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Eae903 Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/6/2026 6:11am
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jones007 Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/6/2026 6:10am There are some pretty tough engineering challenges that need to be overcome before gearboxes can find their way into mainstream pedal MTBs. They pretty much have to be fully enclosed, as lubricated gears at BB height would never survive otherwise. That's a lot of material to form that enclosure. Perhaps some use of really tough fiber-filled thermo-plastics could offset some of this weight, but the GB is also the bash guard, and there are a lot of internal stresses that the shell has to handle. Due to material properties of even the most exotic metals, the gears really can't get...
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Primoz Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/6/2026 6:09am FWIW regarding upcoming gearbox ebikes and trickledown to classic bikes, it's a big no. The way these gearbox concepts from Avinox and Gobao work requires an electric motor, so it's a no go for a non electric bicycle. As for shifters, Pinion has electric shifting via triggers and Effigear always supported trigger shifting, but brings it's own problems in regards to shifting with it. Regardless if the benefits it's quite likely the current crop of gearboxes would indeed be a no go for the average rider based on the limitations they bring with them.
This forum topic has 6552 replies.
Eae903 Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/6/2026 6:08am I don't think most people articulate why they dismiss gearboxes very well, or at all haha. For me, I'm not too interested in them for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I don't have the issues with derailleurs that others seem to have, I don't smash them or snag them on rocks, and I race DH and enduro in Utah and Colorado so there are plenty of opportunities for me to do so. Secondly, I like mechanical drivetrains and don't like grip shifts. Unless I have missed something, all mechanical Gear boxes have to use a grip shift to pull cables...
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Secondfavteacher Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/6/2026 6:07am May have been brought up before, but heard Norco Aurum release planned for Whistler World Cup weekend.
This forum topic has 6552 replies.
jones007 Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/6/2026 6:06am I think part of the problem is that "MTB" covers a really diverse range of riding styles, and for the different styles, a variety of engineering requirements and interests. It's easy for people (myself included) to only consider the style(s) of riding they do when they promote or bash posts. I agree that there might be interesting trickle-down technology from the latest "moped" innovations in MGUs for predominantly gravity-driven forms of pedal MTBs. While the idea of a gearbox that is comparable in weight in efficiency to a conventional 1X drive train is exciting, from the engineering side of things...
This forum topic has 6552 replies.
brash Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/6/2026 6:05am
This forum topic has 6552 replies.
DontWorryImAPilot Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/6/2026 6:05am No Lycra here. All XC and downcountry all the time since I'm in the midwest of the US. Pedaling matters 100% of the time to me. It doesn't matter to you and that's cool. Most people on mountain bikes (not ebikes) do some amount of pedaling where they'd find themselves less happy if their experience pedaling were noticeable made worse. Remember, Vital's forum is where the most enthusiastic of the enthusiasts hang out. The MOST obsessed enthusiasts who are often pushing themselves and their gear to greater and greater heights in the pursuit of mountain bike progression and achievement are...
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AgrAde Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/2/2026 11:08am As though the the gearbox wasn't also invented in the 1800s... Feel free to hate the lightest, simplest, most serviceable, most efficient method of changing gears on a bicycle that humanity has invented so far, but the rest of us will accept derailleurs where they make sense.
This forum topic has 6552 replies.
jones007 Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/2/2026 11:07am Know of any carbon XC bikes that use a gearbox? For the downhill and adventure crowd, gearboxes may be a reasonable solution, but the current offerings are not great for those of us that like to pedal a lot. Maybe they'll get there eventually, but at the moment they would add about 3.5 lbs to my 22 lb bike, while costing me a bit on efficiency. I'll stick with the 1860's technology until something observably better comes along.
This forum topic has 6552 replies.
Zuestman Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/2/2026 11:06am I am going to be completely transparent here in that I work for FSA, but I will say I worked really hard on making the 31.8 40mm Gradient alloy bar one of the most compliant on the market. and here is the proof: (chart from PB article)
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AgrAde Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/1/2026 1:28pm
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matmattmatthew Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/1/2026 1:28pm No ageism in here! I'm 40, and the bike I ride most is my Singlespeed. So I, in fact, do stand while climbing, a lot.
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seanfisseli Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/1/2026 1:27pm The electronic suspension/high pivot/stand up and pedal convo is the dumbest thing to happen to tech rumors in a long time. Banal, illogical, myopic.
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thresh Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/1/2026 1:22pm
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noideamtber Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
7/1/2026 1:21pm
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TEAMROBOT Liked a reply to forum topic The Bikeconomics (Mega)Thread
6/26/2026 6:25am I also read 52 books last year! Well, I didn't exactly read each book all the way through. But I read the title on the spine, and if it sounded promising, I looked at the pictures on the cover and read the rest of the book jacket.
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sspomer Liked a reply to forum topic The Bikeconomics (Mega)Thread
6/26/2026 6:24am some dust ups in the bike protection world - https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/hub/ridewrap-vs-dyedbro-vhs-vs-shush
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CamNeelyCantWheelie Liked a reply to forum topic The Bikeconomics (Mega)Thread
6/26/2026 6:24am I love how you kind of disproved the validity of his book scanning method. You got a different impression scanning vs reading the article in full. These CEO thought leader types always need to come up with a new method to do everything. It can't just be "I read a book" It needs to be some systematic time saving "get to the inspiring business strategy defining point/lesson quote" now so I can make and excel entry admission. Just read the paragraphs man.
This forum topic has 5303 replies.
ex-ballz Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
6/25/2026 6:13am
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