All

Wow that was disappointing to read just getting home from Mt Hi. Not even the sad bit of Loic getting injured but the baseless speculation and weirdness from this forum lol. It's fcukin MSA not Andorra... If he's hurt to the level where he knows he can't put in a run to beat Jacko, he absolutely shouldn't take a run down any of those rock gardens for 'professionalism'. If he had to try to B line any rock garden he would be DQ'd for riding out of the poles anyway. It's not even a 'smart' decision from Bruni it's arguably...

It sounds like his leg was so goosed he couldn't even do a warm up, but was just up there to keep the pressure on Goldstone. It was a letdown having the defining moment of the season being some random guy in the start hut, but I don't really begrudge Bruni that. If I'd smoked my leg in practice on the most consequential day of the season, saw the other guy do an incredible run and knew there was nothing to ride for, I'd probably just dip out too. Trying to roll down MSA with an injured leg while being...

he's not wrong

I'm testing a Telum right now for Vital, and I will say I'm super impressed and would recommend to anyone who's not afraid to turn knobs. The base settings are good, although the recommended spring rate was maybe 30 pounds higher than what I settled on (YMMV). The ability to fine tune the shimstacks on HSC and HSR without taking the shock apart is amazing to me, saves $250 on a retune every time I want to play with the Rapid Revalve settings. Super cool shock. Only gripes so far are price (duh), weight (don't care), and I've gone through...

Is that in the megatower? Keep in touch with Vorsprung on that one if you're not already, the Santa Cruz bikes often have shock hardware problems for anything thats not a ball bearing design. While sphericals are generally the best option they might need a different solution Otherwise they're great shocks, I don't see much reason not to get one - if you're especially a fan of tweaking and customisation then its one of your best options. If you want something thats bolt in then set and forget, its still better than most with only the Elevensix topping it IMO...

That is correct - they are technically a progressive spring when in the softest setting, and turning the dial closes the soft "section". So you have the stiff part for the whole travel. So it probably didn't feel too progressive when closed up, it was just feeling harder

One more thing to throw out in this discussion... is that with progressive coils, the spring length vs the stroke length of your shock starts to become something to look at. Meaning that if the progressive rate spring is the constant in this thought process, that a 57.5, 60, 65mm stroke shock are going to dip into that progressiveness at different points in the travel. It makes using progressive springs a bit of a moving target and a non-exact science. It would be really nice if providing spring dyno sheets was common for aftermarket springs. I realize this is "no...

Only issues with Old XT is the leaking or cracking of pistons. Some people complain about the rattling noise, but I didn't find it too bad. What I like is they are not fussy brakes, they are a work horse for the most part. I personally like the on/off feel I haven't ridden the new XT's, but have ridden the XTRs and found them to be a step up- but it's just an R and a lot of money.

Having ridden a DJI powered bike (Mith) extensively, to the extent I still have an order in for one, and also having a Bosch Gen 5 bike, with the power upgrade, the post above covers the pertinent points. I don’t think there is that much variance in efficiency, all things being equal, but I don’t buy into the notion of “if it’s not got a DJI it’s not selling”. Bosch outsell DJI at a rate of thousands to one, they aren’t going anywhere with the latest motor. It’s really good & fractions different in the real world. The problem is...

IMO they nailed the V10 kinematics. Plus press love them and pros are doing well on them. I would expect the updated Nomad and Megatower to stay VPP since they have space to move the shock forward to get that ~120% AS.

Trying to focus this one the thread topic on hand, I'm willing to bet that when SC updates the Nomad and Megatower next year, they go 4-bar also. I have a Vala, a Nomad 6, and a Heckler SL, and strongly prefer the Vala kinematics overall. As mentioned above, it reduces anti-squat and anti-rise to a better level, which pay dividends in reduced pedal feedback when riding hard. The VPP design is nice for making a poppy, energetic platform, so it probably has a place on their shorter travel bikes, but I think on their longer travel enduro/freeride bikes, their...

For all you forum diehards who skip the homepage, here is some insight and our thoughts on Specialized first-gen proto downhill bike that went live today - https://www.vitalmtb.com/features/piece-bigger-puzzle-testing-specializ… It was a privilege to ride this bike and, as you'd expect, it was a damn fast. I'm eager to ride the production #2chainz bike, which I'd guess is coming early next year just based on the vague answers Spesh has given when pressed about it. Fingers crossed it won't cost an organ to buy one.

Hilarious this is now hidden due to downvotes 🤣

Happy two-year anniversary. @jeff.brines got on the horn with @TEAMROBOT and I to discuss what's happened in the bike industry over the last two years. The podcast is below, but I can't thank all of you enough for such an incredible discussion. The knowledge and courtesy in this thread makes me proud to be involved with Vital, and as I say a few times in the podcast, this thread in particular has felt like receiving a free education. We all hope anyone who has lost a bike industry job in the last two years is back on their feet or...

Just a short note re warranties - I had a chat with a carbon rim supplier a couple of years ago when discussing warranties, from what the supplier implied, they take out an insurance policy for each rim. The premium was only a small amount per rim - around £30-£40. It wasn't annual either, it was a simple one-off payment.

I've seen it dozens of times where the ebike is the equalizer.. One person is the stronger rider and the spouse isn't as strong or as serious of a rider.. Suddenly, the ebike allows them to ride together and both are able to have a good time. If there's one thing I've learned during my 30 years in the bike industry, it's the bike industry does an amazing job of marketing to the customers that they already have..