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https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGlXfYzMdDA/?igsh=MWFlZ2JvN3E4M2cybA%3D%… Sorry, I'm old, don't know how to embed that thing into my post. Kinda surprised that thing wasn't already here. On another note, a new non-Saint DH drivetrain is a coming!

went to check in w/ Chris Canfield at Vampire last week. super interesting stuff. showed his steel and new titanium bike and discussed it all. detail pics here https://www.vitalmtb.com/features/vampire-bikes-basement-chris-canfield

The course Marshall's removing a "golden ticket" holder from the C pits after they are disqualified for reentering the course in the wrong spot....

Adjustable noise levels?!?

TLDR: More volts = more betterer for design, and battery requirements, but not a huge impact to the end user if the design is done right. Complicated question and answer. There isn't a massive reason to favor a 48v system over a 36v system. The biggest advantage to a higher voltage system is within the formula/equation for current/watts/amps. Said another way... Amps = Watts / Volts. Here is an example... Assuming 750w power request/output by the motor. 750 watts / 48 volts = 15.6 amps 750 watts / 36 volts = 20.8 amps Batteries are generally more efficient the less...

RE Maurer's brakes: the star-shape cutout for the pistons is not something exclusive to Hope. The lever looks really similar in shape to the ones Oak Components sell. The Galfer caliper looked different (pics from 2023):

Looks familiar 🤔

Took me a bit to dig this up... Specialized patent drawing from late 2023. Looks like they're continuing to iterate on this.

Reading the news about Ari opening up a "satellite" location today:

to quote matt walker in his bike check video - "if the rider isn't happy, but the data looks good, you're not going to go fast." if data were the end-all-be-all for bike design, there'd be a single bike design out there, wouldn't there? to say data X is better than data Y may be nice in a lab, but it could go out the window when dirt changes or rain falls or a rider is more forward-biased or heavier tires are used or [insert infinite variables because mountain biking is awesome].

The collar is already pretty fat on the AXS V1, and by the looks of it, it hasnt increased in size very much adding a battery to it on the V2 So by doing this, they've dropped a significant ammount of stack from the seat mount part/top of the dropper. Sorry if that wasnt clear enough in the above post. The old "collar" is quite fat on the old version: So by putting the battery there instead of at the top, I'd say they lost a good ammount of stack - as pictured in my last post I just measured...

If you did the dropouts the way Banshee does it, it shouldn't be too hard even with UDH... UDH by itself will make the adjustable chainstay option, if done at the axle, a bit more clunky and it could be a problem with Horst link bikes due to the pivot proximity, but it can be done. The question is, is it worth it? Do people actually use it?

Rocky did one... https://bikes.com/products/instinct-c70-axs-24 I think there are others, just not coming to mind right now.

The guys at Onlymotion are close to selling their wireless electronics kit. Pretty amazing that they have managed to pack all this into such a small volume. Also, I truly appreciate that you can charge it without removing the dropper, in contrast to certain mtbr comments. As long as you utilize this conversion kit with any of your mechanical droppers that fit it, you just need to put the included USB-C into the frame once. 10min for 2000 actuations and no proprietary charger sounds good to me. Might be difficult to fit the right insertion on some frames with the...

I can't believe we don't have an online conversion kit for reg posts using a servo that pulls the cable at the bottom of the post from anyone. Archer would have set the world on fire with that instead of half mechanical shifting.

Some eye candy from Germany: https://www.mtb-news.de/news/fracebike-getriebe-dh-bike/

I know I'm late to this party, but the difference between a 650b front wheel and a 29" front wheel is enormous in terms of stack height. The same head tube length will be 40 mm lower on a 650b front wheel and 650b specific fork. Especially in a world where manufacturers are already running teeny tiny head tubes (90mm!!) on some size small bikes to get that stack down for small riders, a 650b front wheel makes a big difference in getting small bike geometry and extra large bike geometry into the same ballpark of body position and handling.

Bikes peaked at the 2014 Devinci Wilson, I've been chasing rear suspension that can compare for the last 10 years lol.