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Big if true

I'm saying that it's too early to tell from that result and that the Frameworks brand was built with the frame development in part as a marketing tool because it was covered and promoted explicitly from the very beginning for social media. I'm not criticizing it but it's just a fact that if you want to stand out as a racer today you're either competing for top 5 or 10 or you have to stand out in some other way via social media. And bike brands use racing as promo for their products so racers starting bike brands and promoting...

I can't speak for other countries, but I think distribution was the reason nobody bought GT bikes in the US, not the product. Everyone I knew who had a GT bike for the last six or so years seemed pretty stoked with it, but IIRC the only place you could buy one in most metro areas was through Dicks Sporting Goods, which is a great place to get an exercise ball but not a great place to buy a $5000+ mountain bike.

For context. Reece finished 7.3 seconds behind Hatton's winning time. Both are highly accomplished at Fort William. But Hatton's average World Cup finishing position in 2025 (when he made finals) was 16th. So 7 seconds slower than a racer who's at best a solid top 20 racer is not a great advertisement for Stemgate. Although, Fort William being flat compared to other tracks, I'd assume it's a track where the reverse stem would have more drawbacks than benefits. Very competitive time for Harnden compared to the men. But she had no competition for the win in her category. With Mille...

I’d love to see a shoot out of trail bikes using the same linkage designs. It would really interesting to start to dig a bit deeper as to what sets them apart - quality control, kinematics, maintenance, etc etc.

visual summary

Doping is always a step ahead, only the dumb dopers get caught

Its similar to Neko winning Sea Otter on 32 inch. Neko also used to be a top 10 contender but he knows he's not able to ride at that level anymore. The thing is also those riders know they only can keep their careers/business flourishing if they get attention via social media and tinkering like that will get them attention. But its hard to say from those two results if this is really a big advantage or not. Like for that they would have to have a sudden much better result on a real dh track against the top dogs...

My prediction of super enduro bikes with dual crowns has yet to pay out, but it will. Mark my words.

Asa has a ton of skill, that's undeniable. He rides and acts like no one has ever told him that performing at this level is supposed to be hard.

One thing missing here is the fact that with the proliferation of composite know how, there are more people around able to safely repair a wider range of issues. Rather than pretending we are recycling carbon bikes I’d love to see more frames designed in ways that facilitate repair. Repair is verifiable in a way that recycling is not, it is cost effective for everyone concerned, and it is as close as you’ll get to good for the environment. It probably flows on to other design decisions to ensure repair is viable (like bearing placement, etc etc), but designing bikes...

Long time lurker, first time poster here. For some background I’m an aerospace composites engineer and spent several years in Advanced Product Development with an emphasis on environmentally friendly materials. There’s so much to get into on this topic and if folks are interested I’d love to start a dedicated thread on materials and environmental impacts. The TLDR is, carbon fiber as a green product on its own is a fallacy. The raw fiber production may result in a certain level of carbon sequestering, but the process is still so energy intensive I wouldn’t call it an environmental positive. As...

Gas Gas had the right idea with the moto-inspired replaceable plastics kits for their ECC ebikes. How many carbon frames become landfill waste from rock strikes or crashes where a sacrificial "fairing" could have taken the blow? If the industry wants to improve durability, this is the right place.