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Wrong thread.

Local shop told me that a replacement for the Yeti SB160E is launching next week (presumably Tuesday, the unofficial launch day of new things). It might use the MT-something name. Should be 160 or 170 travel. Full power Bosch motor. Very expensive, as expected. Dentists rejoice!

Can we officially rename this thread to "The Derailleur"?

https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/hub/e-bike-talk-not-tech-rumor-derailme…

This is a message board where Pinkbike sources their news

pinkbike (did the vital break yet?)

I wonder how many people freaked out when Kaz said something to the effect of, "It's funny when people in the chat refer to Vital as the other site.. Like you can't say their name here.. We don't care if you visit more than one site. In fact, you should. Get another opinion before spending your money..." This was on the podcast within the last few weeks.

when i heard about specialized auburn facility closing, i figured that since the demo is obviously baked and ready for production (based on WC bikes), stumpy15 is out and maybe enduro is done (no idea), that they prob figure they don't need an off-site suspension and long-travel bike development lab for half a decade or more. would have to believe their focus is going to be on motor/battery tech in the future.

bowling ball visual flair ain't cheap

If they didn't have as many warranty issues they would probably have a better shot at it. The price is right, the customer service is garbage and has turned many people off dealing with them.

Cool, but based on comments from Oisin and Andi Kolb it sounds like they are not even getting paid right now. If YT comes back maybe they'll sell to people who don't know, but they have lost so much goodwill. This isn't the first time they have dumped their riders/team. And we're just seeing the situation for the most public employees of the brand, lots of other staff are affected.

A $20,000 electric bowling ball. Don’t ever change Specialized…

It will be interesting to see how the Supreme Court looks at this.. Remember, there are a couple of right leaning justices who are known to to be constitutionalists and have ruled against Trump.. Looking at the top end pricing on the new Fuel, Trek might be tightening up it's margins a bit.. I know several companies have been trying to absorb as much of the tariffs as possible to avoid pricing themselves out of the game at a retail level. Had someone try to tell me that shops were making a 50% margin on top end bikes.. Spending most...

Quick Note - A federal appeals court ruled 7-4 that most of Trump's sweeping global tariffs are unlawful. When I first heard this I thought "this could be really good". As I dug in further, I realized this will be appealed at the Supreme Court. Considering the makeup of the court, I'm guessing the ruling will be reversed. To add, the administration could pivot to alternative legal bases or new EAs to reimpose similar measures (sigh). Hence, my thoughts are to continue operating as if we'll continue to deal with these tariffs head on, as they are currently "on the...

I don't even think the high dollar bikes have a good margin, when you roll up R&D costs and marketing. Part of the reason they're perceived as being worth the extra $$$$ is because the company has poured a ton of money into convincing customers to think so. A halo-level bike, even a silly one like the $10000 Vado e-bike, is really nothing like a Channel bag. For example, a $15k Cervelo road bike is clearly way too much money and not worth it in any way, shape, or form. It's roughly the same performance as a $2500 Trek, so...

(should have transferred it to ownership by YT US before the bankruptcy... there's some kind of joke in here somewhere, about YT selling the race truck to stay afloat but the owner keeping every one of his toys, hm)

I for one am just glad the industry pulled itself out of SRAM SX hell, and we have so many Deore 12 speed options. The fact that covid happened right around the tail end of the whole SRAM SX thing may have done a huge disservice to beginners learning to ride lol We maybe could have avoided all of this if people got Deore (or maybe even CUES) entry level bikes instead of SX in 2020. People probably thought 'wow, these mountain bikes STILL can't shift just like the one I had as a kid 20 years ago'. Here, I...

One of the reasons I think Jeff's right about the barbell theory of pricing is that there's so much stinking money out there at the top end of the tax brackets right now. There's a shocking amount of people who live in Makebelieveland and are just looking, itching, for new ways to burn money. There are so many people for whom a $10000 Vado Sl 30 pound e-bike is a rounding error. And for people like this, having the newest, the most expensive, or the most exclusive can serve as the entire USP for a product purchase. Bike companies will...

I vote closing and archiving this thread at precisely 4:03pm PST on October 3, 2025, and then starting a new one. Still 37 days left to see more companies shut down, people! With respect to Shimano... I think points that it was too close to either Deore or XT from Tim and Ken are valid, especially considering both of those guys' experience having to come up with bike specs at various pricepoints. Looking back, I really didn't see that many full SLX bikes offered. Deore, XT, and SRAM drivetrains were common on spec sheets - seemed like that one was...

What do we think... 5k for the frame? Two years of diapers for a more complicated suspension package that probably isn't any faster than the current v10.