All

I don't think so. The Privateer's top tube hump looks like a dog taking a dump and I had legitimately forgotten how bad the rocker link is. I've never been a Trek guy and don't think there is anything that'll convince me to be a Trek guy, but the new Fuel is downright svelte compared to the Privateer. Weight? I'm on a Madonna, so not the guy to criticize bike weight. Lol.

Weight reduction will be a big one. Quite a few brands have swung to the heavy side. It's time for a correction.

I agree, incentive is limited. I'm actually a sucker for rad paint jobs, and nobody is doing anything remotely cool these days on that front. Where the hell are the fades, splatters, metallics, neon colors, etc. No originality at all. Please drop some acid and get back to me.

Fox reports earnings after the close. Not expecting anything major, but they remain a solid benchmark for the space. I’ll cover it. Quick aside: after talking to a few private credit guys, it's becoming clear that the smaller the company, the more pain they're feeling...regardless of industry. That might seem obvious, but for many private companies under $50–100M in revenue, key profitability metrics have noticeably compressed over the last 3–4 years. Tariff concerns have eased somewhat, but they still hit these smaller players harder, especially those already operating on thin margins. Worth noting because Fox is large and public, with...

I’ve seen a few, considering there’s not many on Schwalbe regardless, with the Albert as a rear of front and rear both on Dh or EDR 🧐 Also, knobs are not lower than an Assegai, go measure them, I did. And I think it goes hard as a rear tyre and rolls incredibly well for how beefy it is. Was recently on very loose and dry condition around the sea to sky area and it might be the radials doing wonders but even crawling down steep double blacks I’ve had 0 wishes on stronger braking from the tyre

Just my own 2c but I’ve not punctured a tire in probably 20+years, knock on 🪵. But I don’t mess with less than DH type casings for the most part anymore. Spend a few years pedaling 40+lb bikes everywhere and you’ll feel like your riding an ebike every time you jump onto a trail bike with sub 1200g tires. But whatever 35psi in my minions…. 😆

IME tire pressure is the second most important determinant of puncture resistance, with casing construction at #1. Adding more air is the #1 way to avoid pinch flats on any given tire.

Big fan of the Osprey Raptor 14 here.

If you know of any streams or rivers along the way a pocket sized water filter can save you from humping all your water the whole way. Not racing situations but Chilcotins and LOTS rides are now 1/4 full bladder and/or just a water bottle with top ups along the way. https://cascadedesigns.com/en-ca/products/quickdraw-filter Edit- didnt answer your question at all, also on the 2012 dakine pack but I'll do anything not to wear anything on my back if I can help it

Vital RAW from U.S. National Champs at Snow Summit.

Could also just be a defect in that tube, carbon defects are pretty common and responsible for most failures. Yes they use tubes to minimize the chance of defects as they are easier to manufacture, but it doesn't make it zero. Charlie Hatton rode the same frame for the whole of a WC season, which is pretty nuts. The frame is still being ridden by one of the Dyfi guys today. Most pros go through multiple frames in a single season, Atherton bikes are crazy solid, but they can still break. For reference Neko said they snapped 12 of the...

Or maybe it was just one off accident? How many years have Atherton been making dh bikes racing WC and Hardline, crazy Gee lines, etc and this is the first one to break like that?

I'm been using them for 6 months and haven't punctured any less or more. Puncturing seems pretty arbitrary sometimes and a difficult thing to test with so many variable in real life. I've gotten flats in areas I've ridden through trails 100x's no problem but because a rock recently got kicked onto the trail I got a flat. I really wouldn't let this one test deter anyone from any tire.

Brines – thanks for those finance blogs, some solid reads in there. I’m subscribing. On Rapha (and bike apparel in general), saw someone in the thread say, “Walmart bought it, I’m out.” Bit unfair, no? It wasn’t Walmart—it’s the Walton grandsons. Say what you want, but they’re bike fans. And if we’re being honest, if any of us were billionaires, we’d probably scoop up some cool bike brands too. I think they’ve also got their hands in Allied and Wahoo? Honestly, not the worst portfolio if you’re trying to uplift cycling. Rapha’s got a new CEO too, and from what...

Not to rain on the GM hype parade, but let’s not rewrite history… Back in the ‘08–‘09 mess, GM took a fat bailout – over $50B from the U.S. government. They went full bankruptcy, government owned a chunk, and when all was said and done, taxpayers ate like $11B in losses. Not exactly a heroic brand imo. Ford? They saw the writing on the wall early, leveraged everything (even mortgaged the damn blue oval logo), and pre-borrowed $23B in 2006. Didn’t touch the TARP bailout like GM and Chrysler. They did take some smaller loans for tech stuff, but actually...