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Yeah based on his needs, it looks like the Giant checks all the boxes, and the geometry and suspension design look solid too: Mullet wheel compatible 157mm hub Ships with coil shock Reach 482-494mm depending on settings Available today in his size But boy howdy that new paint job is... interesting:

With how sensitive 1x derailleurs became to misalignment of the hanger, it makes sense to beef up the mount. Either do it directly (transmission) or the way 8pins does it. Frames are also much stronger today than they were before, especially if you have an UDH mount.

After 5 years of riding and living with Dominions on a daily basis I wouldn’t change a thing. Have to give Hayes credit for not following the lemmings and routing the hose next to the bar ‘because it looks cleaner but rattles’ like the two S’s

New brake lever in the aon pits

Assegai is just kind of numb, works at all angles, but isn't the best at any of them. Not sure if it's the casing (feels different than previous maxxis dh casings), but I'm really liking the dh highroller 3 right now. Bites like a dhf in corners, but still conforms to off camber roots and such nicely.

ALBERT 2.5 GRAVITY ULTRA SOFT first ride Reading all the comments here about the Alberts and having just recovered from a BMX crash a month ago, I hopped on my bike almost scared that I would go down on faster berms because of the Albert's vagueness and too-soft casing that many were mentionning in the forums. I was previously riding a DH casing Continental Kryptotal Fr Ultra soft in the front and Kryptotal R Enduro Soft in the rear with a Tubolight HD insert (old version, like Vittoria's new airliners). The Alberts I have on my Meta are the 2.5...

I've had great luck with the Specialized Cannibal. I know running Specialized tires isn't everyone's cup of tea, but the slightly stiffer carcass means you can drop a psi or two and help with some of the sensation you're talking about (along with a grippy compound). They work great for the summer dirt surfing here in Colorado. Not to mention they're a few dollars cheaper, which never hurts.

Power of thiccness is a wild marketing line

Downtime mentioned how widespread the breeden bar ends are becoming, with people like Bruni, Pierron and many many others using them. Owning a pair, having recovered from 2 broken hands (left then right) in 3 years, I've found they definitely live up to the hype and really helped with arm pump and security of my weak hands on the bars. The bar ends are a much more interesting innovation than I originally expected, because they significantly change the biomechanics of the upper-body while riding. Stopped by the Orbea pits this weekend and they've cut grips down (pretty sure it was...

Sorry for the ted talk, but it's actually official:

Nah I think it's just a modern perspective on an older brake. The Code RSC has always felt like an OK brake for trail bikes for me and that's about it. Code R belongs on Trek Marlin factory builds and not a lot else. Codes have plenty of power in the same way that my old Transition Patrol from 2015 had plenty of wheelbase. Got great memories of that bike feeling fantastically long and slack, I hope to never ride one again because the memories will be ruined.

I did not actually know how bad the Codes on my V10 were until I replaced them with GR4s

That's also because Codes were god awful and the sram riders were so happy to get on an actual brake. I recently felt some older codes on some bikes I was dealing with and they were shockingly worse than I remembered. Say what you will about Shimano brakes, but they've been consistently good for a while.

Domi M4. Mineral oil all but confirmed?

Hoping the vital pit bits is Spec doing proto hillbilly radial. That and the cannibal in radial would rip, but radial hillbilly is first on my wish list.

Some new helmet tech coming from Kali in their latest Shiva Nano model called Full Nano Technology. The main benefit being how the material can manage multiple hits without needing to be replaced, which has always been a downside with commonly used EPS foam. It is wildly expensive at $1000 USD, and subjectively a bit hard on the eyes. But I do appreciate the effort to keep advancing helmet safety. https://www.kaliprotectives.com/products/shiva-nano?variant=42818840526…

That Levo X is weird with that parts kit but put Deore level stuff on it and paint it camo and they'll sell an absolute shit ton of them.