All

This guy seems like he has some inside industry knowledge 🤔

This is not a tech rumor so I’m not going to talk about this again. What I will say is we haven’t seen a single case of frame damage due to regular use. Frames are pretty overbuilt. Your wheels are more likely to blow up first. Ask me how I know. Off the top of my head, I can only remember two instances where serious frame damage occurred. One was improper installation and one was incompatible shock. We actually paid for the crash replacement frame for the incompatible shock case because there was a typo on our website that was...

Oh, but I beg to differ! I was on the hill that day in Champery and it was a very very special moment. I yelled my lungs out and could not believe my eyes and neither could the vast majority of the people on location. Of course, the Freecaster commentary of Rob and Nigel shaped it for posterity, but it's superficial to suggest that Danny owes his career just to that broadcast and that's that. Come on! Danny was a prodigy riding the UK scene for Balfa/Appalache and then delivered everything his talent promised as a kid. Not only spectacular...

You make a great point here. Some core assumptions below but here's where it stacks from an ROI perspective for a brand I reckon: - Rider salary: 100k - Logistics, travel, accomodation: 30k - WC mechanic: 40k TOTAL: 170k cost Then let's assume 10% net margin at the bike brand in a "normal" year (gross margin less staff costs, taxes, VAT, shipping costs to dealer/distributors, warranty percentage "hold back" etc). To break even on their contract and so prove they're good value, the rider needs to demonstrate 1.7M of attributable (or at least anecdotally convincing) sales uplift vs standard. Just...

On the left is Elliot Jamieson riding what appears to be a Commencal after riding for Norco since he was a Junior DH racer. More Norco exits.

Bike of the year in 2023 is sort of like the Time Magazine cover that was a mirror. The real winner in 2023 was the consumer, with prices falling across the entire range of mountain bikes and performance (actually) plateauing the last few years. While this may be bad for companies, its incredibly good for the consumer who was often able to purchase at dang near shop-employee pricing from a myriad of companies. There really aren't many "bad" bikes out there these days, but there are better bikes than others depending on what you are trying to do, and there...

For me bike of the very long time (not just this year) has been the Canyon Strive CFR. I have not been happier on a bike in ages, (and I go through bikes). Rider background: mid 40s fast Cat 2 racer that isnt a big jumper or hucker. current weight 270+ lbs. Riding style referenced as "smooth freight train". Lots of mass to slow down, and change directions but excels at mid-grade stuff due to the ability to hold momentum and get light on the bike. lioke it smooth and flowy as well as rough and rocky. due to weight...

not sure how much of a team rumor that is, but seems like Yeti‘s off one up components and on burgtec handlebars…

Pivot is where my money is.

That sucks, dude. Losing teeth is the worst. To answer your question, yes chin guards on helmets absolutely break from time to time, but the anecdotal evidence I've seen and heard says that it happens a lot more often on these lightweight, ventilated, or convertible "enduro" full face helmets, like your Bell Super DH. Personally I would only ever ride a real, heavy, dedicated full face helmet because I like my teeth and because my rough understanding of physics tells me that more padding and structure = more weight = more protection which is the whole point of wearing a...

Why would you put a dampener in there, who wants the fork to get wet?

Or this...

This is such a good question, and I would add to it: Does anyone actually think this looks better? Because the integrated stem LOOKS SO WEIRD to my eyes. It looks like the monster from The Goonies. [Edit: A friend pointed out to me that "The Goonies didn’t have a monster. It had Sloth, who was a normal person who was severely beaten when he was a child. It’s really sad actually." Agreed. You could say the real monster in the Goonies is inside of the people, and everyone has the choice to be brave or become a monster. I...

Picture this - the year is 2006 and you’re trying to find dirt magazine in your local WHSmith. Peaty, Hill and Minnaar are fighting for the overall and your only coverage is a monthly update that probably includes 2/3 rounds. The story is told by Steve Jones and photography by Sven Martin. You watch all the racing on earthed at the end of the season. Absolute quality over quantity. Why can’t I still have this?

Came for the cheap bike talk, stayed for the excellent second half discussion about all kinds of random topics.

That's Dane Jewett's bike.