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New Bronson: - Somehow poking an extra hole in the frame isn't suddenly too hard/costly! "Premium" wireless only for the top end frame only where it belongs. - Solid build kit with OneUp bars/dropper and DT 370 hubs you'd actually want. - Lifetime warranty wheels on all builds (even alloys have the lifetime warranty and I've had friends successfully warranty bent ones) + solid SC frame/bearing warranty - $5K entry level build. No price increases from what I can see? (CC frame still $3,900) If that study Trek did that showed that SC blows everyone out of the water above...

ah i see you speak marketing, sounds alot like a soft tail. I'm gonna guess its something like that specialized gravel bike with the little wire top tube connector.

Maybe they want to move to a design that is less prone to downtube failures. Delta link has a bad reputation in this regard, no idea how many fail as a percentage of overall production, but I've seen a few.

Another hot take (in light of rumors the new Hightower will also move towards 160/160 mm travel): keep bike model names in the same category, do not move them around. One of the main offenders of this is Trek who moved the Fuel EX from what was a downcountry bike before downcountry existed (120/120) to almost enduro levels (150/140 with the Gen6). It can kind of be explained by people wanting to buy the same bike over the years when they progress, so start off with less travel and move to more travel and just throw them the same model...

Maybe someone could make a thread specifically for tech rumors so we don't derail this suspension kinematic thread?

This is one of the best threads in the MTB world. Awesome tech rumors and new products, but even better are the discussions that follow. People have questions about MTB products. It takes time to sort it out. We’re all still learning, always learning! And the discussions about new products and rumored products are kinda central to our progression. Maybe the discussion gets too granular for some, but in my short time here I have seen what others have mentioned, a natural ebb and flow of topics governed by the actual posting of rumors or releases. I think that if...

Worse than that is this… when you see it

I had you at "rectal probe" didn't I?

In my experience, "Pro" tends to mean it costs more. Also see "Elite," "Ultimate," or the model with the most extra letters after it.

Having run plenty of demo days I'd say it's about 30% just having a go on an expensive bike for free, 20% just telling you what is wrong with the bike, 20% "just confirming that my bike IS better", 20% "I'm thinking of replacing my 2011 bike in the next 3-5 years" , 9% having one of the bikes on a shortlist but "I'm going to buy whatever I get the best deal on" and 1% actually going on to buy something from the demo. A couple a year was more than enough to never want to do it again.

MTB = Monetary, Tariff, & Budget rumors

Showed up today. Will likely head to a bike park on 8/30 so that's probably when I'll try it out and will post a review in a separate thread when I do (sorry not a rumor but relevant to what we had discussed). Feels very solidly built and installation looks extremely straightforward.

Presumably its name is "Spear" (which is German for "Spear")