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I just want balanced geo and tall stack on XL. I feel like that shouldn't be that crazy of a concept but thats what I am after. shorter reach (sub 500) tall stack (660+) steep seat tube angle (78 or so) chainstay doesn't matter as a number to me (just want 1.8-1.82 ratio in the bike)

should trousers always come in the same length and only with different widths at the waist?

Interesting in Lawlor's video Andi Kolb talking about the smoke putting him off. You see it in road races too. The "fans".

Yeah I feel like this post is a setup for average dudes to admit they’re afraid of the DHF! I am afraid of the DHF.

yet another brand who isn't seemingly convinced riders have rib cages. among a few other issues with this option. and all, of course, still more expensive than the Leatt version with very similar design and protection ratings but for less. and i'd still just shell out for the Arcon instead

as already mentioned, ION arcon chest is the best chesty in the game and it's not even close. I swear every other chest pro design in the industry doesnt believe riders have ribcages...

Hmmm. This might be tough, but... 1983-87: Huffy pro Thunder, SE Quadangle, Dyno, Haro Team Master (with a GT, another Quad and a PK Ripper thrown-in). This was from working all summer trimming Xmas trees up to a bike shop job. '87-96: Diamond Back Apex, smoke gray. Mongoose IBOC, GT Avalanche. Yeti FRO (steel, numbered in the 1000s), Fat Chance (borrowed from a friend), Yakota, Caloi. (worked in a bike shop, and did cross-country races for a regional team, and sponsorship from Caloi). Cannondale road bike, Giant carbon road bike. 2006-present. Mongoose dual suspension (cracked frame). Gen 2 Santa Cruz...

A higher stack is going to be better than a lower stack, everything else being equal, but it’s not a full solution. With a higher stack, it’s harder to get your weight forward and actually weight the front wheel on techy climbs and into turns. It’s more comfortable because you’re not forced either into a deep squat or a pike plank position as much. But it’s not going to change the basic fact that a standing rider will always have the overwhelming majority of their weight supported via their feet and thus distributed between the two contact patches according to...

The whole “taller riders have more of their mass forward of the bottom bracket” thing doesn’t at all track for me for three reasons. First, taller riders have the same limb/torso proportions are shorter riders, so their mass is going to be distributed on their body the same way. Humans have roughly the same arm span as height and our femurs are roughly 1/4th of our height, pretty much across the board. Obviously, there is variance between individuals, but it’s not like tall people are just people with really long shins. (We’re not talking about a cromegaly, I’m assuming.) Second...

Just buy a new Leatt Gravity 8. That’s also moto rated and will give you the best protection. Doesn’t solve questionable line choices though.

You must know this already as you own the proframe, but my 2c. I have a proframe for racing and a dropframe for every other usage. I litterally don't consider the proframe to be safer than the dropframe, the only scenario I think it would provide additional protection is a small face-perfectly-centered impact, I can't see that chin bar resisting any kind of serious impact. So to me the proframe is a safe trail helmet, but not a real DH/ bike park helmet. That said, I don't own a real DH helmet anymore, so when I do go to bikeparks...

Interesting article, I’ll pull it tomorrow to check out at work when I can log into asme with my work credentials. Worth noting that anytime polymeric aging studies are done you typically need controls to compare the new vs the aged materials to determine if there was degradation or not. Sounds like they just rounded up a bunch of old helmets and compared their properties against baseline material standards, which is possibly a valid approach, but possibly not. When we conduct HALT testing on bespoke polymer blends at work we don’t just pull crap out of a drawer and pop...

I work in the medical device industry. All polymers degrade over time, especially with exposure to UV light, heat, and humidity. Which properties degrade depends on the polymer and amount and type of exposure. Base Polystyrene is known for embrittlement over time especially under the conditions previously mentioned. While it can / does occur with eps, it tends to do so at a slower rate. Whether or not it's enough to reduce overall performance/ safety is tough to say, as there's a lot of factors (manufacturing quality, storage conditions over time, how much use it's seen, etc). All that said...

Im certainly not planning to bin off my rarely used 2018 fox rampage pro carbon. Bloody lovely helmet and the best fitting I've owned. Feels very sturdy, more like a motorcycle helmet. I actually binned an original model proframe this morning, pre that stupid twiddly adjustor. Not used it for years as i replaced it with a leatt gravity 4.0 after a hefty impact. Felt absolute garbage comfort wise. Can't believe i used to wear it. I notice dyfi, bpw etc saying helmet over 4 years(?) old are not to be used. I can't see this being enforced.

that study has a sample size of 63, and the abstract doesn't indicate how (or even if) the aging conditions were managed consistently across the sample set. i would take their conclusions with a grain of salt. (note: part of my job function includes studying aging & performance of polymer based materials)

Preeeeeetty sure Frameworks isn’t being kept afloat by 32” wheel social media buzz, bud.

I can comment on these setups. I have posted on vital MTB a little before and felt there was a closed mindedness to this kind of a-typical stuff... That seems to be changing in MTB circles. I am not here to change any minds. I have my own opinions, coming from the moto side of things and the trends in MTB just do not feel right in terms of front wheel grip and rider / body position. I post regularly on VitalMX and have been a motocross racer for most of my life at the amateur / expert level. June...

Surely not every bike fits everyone, but I do think people freak out over mere millemeters when the fact is - you can get used to just about anything. Its just fucking bikes. I've got an XL GT Fury with 515 reach & 70mm bars: best DH bike I've ever had in 20+ years... a 2019 YT capra with 480 reach and 50mm bars: super fun, still going strong. A size L 2023 Marin Alpine with 490 reach and 35mm...no 50mm... no 80mm bars. Super fun. I move around on these bikes, jump them all mercilessly and continue to get...

Combine that setup with the ever-growing front wheel trend and we're slowly but surely getting there