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So my first thought was no, a typical flip chip wouldn't make a big enough difference to be worth it, but on second thought yes you could do it, and here's how it could work: A standard Horst link rear triangle has the brake caliper and the rear axle mounted to the seatstay, which allows the brake caliper on this image to stay relatively level as the suspension compresses (instead of rotating in orientation around the rear axle as the rear suspension compresses) keeping the anti-rise value low, typically somewhere in the 50-80% range. It's not really true that FSR...

Shock set up plays a huge roll there. Higher initial leverage ratio doesn't inherently mean it uses travel easier. It might, but it also might not be that different. But yes, if your suspension is less supportive at a given point in travel it will feel softer on a whole with anti-rise forces added in. That's driven by a combination of leverage curve and shock setup.

I don’t know the technical answer to this but I became a brake dragger once I started using the DT Swiss Degrees of Freedom hub on my bike because I could get away with it 😭

My ideal range would be something starting around 100-120% and dropping to somewhere around 0 by bottom of travel. Hard to put a number on it since such a wide range can really work, but I definitely don't mind over 100% around top of travel as long as that drops off to at or below 100% by sag.

Shout out to Neko for testing this question about high vs. low AR, and I loved the test results because they were so undefinitive and subjective. Neko and Asa liked lower AR values (70-75%) and Angel liked higher AR values: "The better rider you are, the higher AR value you might want. If you're braking really intentionally, late, and hard with both brakes, I can see why you'd want the bike to squat, even though it loads the spring and feels stiff, the position is definitely more confidence-inspiring when you need to brake hard and late. If you drag your...

My two cents on anti-rise... First and foremost, it depends on the trails you are riding. There isn't a universal value that's best on everything. Low angle trails, especially one's where you're trailing the brakes to maintain speed, favor low anti-rise. On the other hand, steep trails and/or trails where you're hard on the brakes favor higher anti-rise. Sure low anti-rise can make for more active suspension, but it's impossible for your suspension to be active at all when it's fully extended. Having the rear go to full extension also really messes up geo usually when you're in a scenario...

So theres a few things - Most riders, even the best ones spend for more time on the rear brake so it will get hotter faster, and this only gets more pronounced on steeper/faster tracks. The terrain is a lot more uneven and loose which makes it tricky to apply maximum front brake for every corner, plus a rider can shift their weight backwards much more than a car or motorcycle can. The other thing is polymers have a non-linear relationship between load and friction, which means there are diminishing returns to loading the front wheel under braking. ie if...

I challenge anyone that believes they do more braking with the front than with the rear to mount some brake ace data acquisition and prove it

A 32"/27,5" is basically a full 29".

Are any of us getting front brake fade in a big way? Maybe if you have huge sustained steep trails? I've not experienced it at Pleney on rental bikes with 200 f&r, less knowledge of where the line goes, and lots of brake dragging. I've been running 220r 200f on the park and ebike for a while now and have not experienced horrible brake fade on local steeps (XT's and now Mavens). Local steep with 1,500ft drop with 3 flat off the brakes sections in between the steeps. I've been able to get some fade on the ebike with the...

HPC is a blight, I used to get adds for them and they always pissed me off. Prime example of the problem. I said this on PB and figured I should say it here. It would be awesome if reviewers and news sights would come together and refuse to review or cover any ebike that has a power output over a specific threshold, maybe like 1000 watts. I think that it would go a very long way in stopping the nonsense power output wars that are going on with ebike motors. People who need or want assistance while riding can...

photo PIT BITS from World Champs https://www.vitalmtb.com/features/pit-bits-2026-world-championships-val…

What do you mean amplify. Weight transfer gives you more grip. It only makes sense to have more braking power (i.e. bigger rotor) in the front. QED: literally every car on the road. If it has a rear weight bias (Porsche for example) or a near 50 50 split, the difference front to rear is smaller, but still present.

You're preaching to the choir, here.

Finally. Bigger front rotors have never made any sense to me. The natural weight transfer induced by braking will make your front brake naturally more powerful, why would you amplify that effect with a bigger front rotor?

32" wheels excite me about as much as headset cable routing

iirc, troy's used that rotor combo at VDS and other steep tracks before.

One big tech not and one small tech note from World Champs pit bits- As y'all mentioned, Schwalbe now makes a 32" Radial Gravity Pro Magic Mary, which is a big deal because that makes it the first truly heavy duty 32" tire from any brand. Previously Neko was running an EXO+ Dissector up front on his 32" Frameworks DH bike at Mountain Creek. He said the EXO+ front tire felt fine and didn't bug him, which is nuts, and makes me suspect that the 32" front wheel could actually feel really really good with a proper DH tread, casing...

I agree. Use poles where the track is ultra wide, the track is very easy to see, and no advantage can be gained and tape everywhere else. Beyond that it’s an obvious opportunity for sponsorship. I’ve seen kids snag pieces of the fox tape at the monster pros.

I'm a big believer in climate change, but the main climate impact of the World Cup circuit isn't plastic course tape. And how many rolls of course tape does it even take to tape off the track? Ten, maybe? Definitely less than 20, even if you're taping all the B-zones, too. There's more petroleum in the tires that get used in a weekend. Getting rid of course tape feels like a charade to make it look like someone in the organization is thinking about the climate, but its obvious that the climate hasn't factored into any other part of the...