All

a) That's not the new Orbea DH bike. That's just a Rallon with a dual crown. Photos from the orbeafmdracing 'gram show riders eying up a bike with a very differently shaped top tube and head tube, as well as internal cable routing that enters the frame closer to the head tube (probably better suited to use w/ a dual crown). b) That kind of discussion would be probably better for the Tech Rumors thread.

Hurts my heart

Enduro, Dh.... probably all looks the same to the roadies controlling the UCI.

Bulldog not racing world cups but riding an ARI with other sponsors

Here's a full team announcement from Canyon, just dropped earlier today: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- New CLLCTV DH riders Marine Cabirou, Henri Kiefer, and Aletha Ostgaard join fan favorites Troy Brosnan and Luca Shaw in the fastest CLLCTV set-up yet It’s official: Canyon is throwing its full weight behind the CLLCTV Factory Team for 2025. This isn’t just a refresh—it’s full commitment to building a race program designed to win today and shape the champions of tomorrow. With the largest Factory MTB team in Canyon’s history, featuring five world-class riders, Canyon is bringing its engineering muscle, team support, and product innovation to a...

I have a feeling we won't see lapierre this season. The goal of their WC last season was to develop the new spicy, as the previous generation spicys kept snapping. As much as I like the lug and tube protos and belt driven bikes there's something about the twin-shock cannondale and optional high pivot spicy that the pits will be missing. The recent changes make me feel like DH is moving away from innovation and engineering and towards a rider and personality based spectacle, especially now teams can't simply field their new ideas to test them at the best mountain...

that's freaking sweet! here's a blown up detail from that pic. lots going on, eh?

Bushing require tight tolerances and proper maintenance. The cycling industry is crappy at tight tolerances. Most cyclist are crappy at maintenance. It's a win win resulting in the horrible reputation that bushings have. Like press fit bearings, they are the correct engineering solution. But that would require the bike industry to stop being crappy.

troy brosnan won MSA on that bike fwiw.

From Wyn’s comment on the other site: “ Still on GT as of now, and still have all my other sponsors also so can’t say I’m privateer, more just have my own program.”

in an alternate universe, there is a Guerilla Gravity DH team sponsored by Gorilla Glue

Loic posted this on his insta. Is he moving to Sellotape, 3M, Gorilla tape? Wild!

So it is written in the book of Spomer

Team rumours rule 16.2E: An athlete using a bike during an offseason training ride shall not be strong indicator of sponsorship changes. If the bike is not from the category of the athlete's chosen discipline or if the athlete is travelling, it will not constitute a rumour. Team rumours rule 24.6B: The liking and following between brands on social media does not constitute a rumour.

Which makes me hope Gate ups the ante after someone takes the win and allocates &500k to a $1mil to someone who wins an overall on a gearbox. For men and women.

Polygon, or Ari?

This week on team rumors: IS AMAURY CHEATING ON MAX WITH THE BIG "S"? SHOULD PIVOT HR TALK TO BK? IS KATE COURTNEY'S NEW TRUCK RELIABLE? Now that I have your attention, do we think the other teams would even bother with the belt drive if they knew Rach was possibly returning aboard that Atherton belt drive prototype this season? I know the elite women's field has changed a lot since she was last in the mix. That said, I honestly think Rachel could win pushing a '99 Uzzi this season if that was her ride.

A bit of shameless promotion, but hopefully it's relevant. I just put out a podcast episode where me and Alan Milway chat through all the 2025 team moves (confirmed and rumoured). Hopefully it's an interesting watch/listen. https://youtu.be/Mu0JAhGceB8 or https://www.downtimepodcast.com/team-moves-2025/ Clearly this forum gets a mention! Thanks to everyone here who keeps the rumour fire burning, I personally love it!