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I’m all for the hardtail cat (whether real or just a bro title) at the local races. Maybe not World Cup Dh though? I’m all for accessibility and keeping the world cups somewhat participatory for young/obscure country racers. But not sure showing up with a hardtail is cool. If you gotta ride a 10 year old trailbike it will be way more competitive and probably cheaper than that thing. huge props to that Indonesian champ in the wyn interview. That’s the type of character this sport should really make an effort not to push out.

Yeah, watching two teammates hospitalise themselves and as a result become with no warning the de-facto lead rider on (what should be) a top 10 team. Plus reading the internet trolls disect her personal life while also suggesting her bike would snap in half if she landed wrong. A lot of stress for a 20 year old.

I can speak to clothing as I run a tiny MTB apparel brand, Abit Gear. The short story is that for USA brands, tariffs are making it a royal PITA and covid saw a glut of inventory that isn't yet cleared. Sure, margins are good on paper, but you have a SKU problem with apparel do to size and color variants, you have to carry a lot of aged inventory, and fight discounting from competitors more than with hard goods. For technical apparel, China is, by far, the best quality. Most of the technical apparel factories are in China. They...

Hi, long time WC media guy here (14 years long).. I'm also very curious to hear some names and facts about this from you But in the meantime let me share some of my own. Each team is allowed to register photographers and videographers (each team then receives a set number of photo and video bibs for the season). if someone doesnt work for a team they can register as independent media once they have letters of assignment from a verified media outlet. there are little to no restrictions as to what can be shot/posted. This hasnt changed since the...

Well, considered yourself lucky that PFR did not reach out to you for you to be part of their team nor does the manager wants to sleep with you. Besides, they been together for 2 or 3 years at this point. You would think that if it was as predatory as you are making it out to be he would have dumped her pretty quick. To be clear, I was also questioning the whole thing early on when they kind of went public, but I reserved my judgment because I have no clue how the whole thing came to be...

and? he gets the paid, by the fees WE pay to see the races, therefore WE can expect decent commentary and not this amateur hour we got right now

And this from Josh too ….ooo a bit of a huck a buck there Again almost every rider. It becomes too much Bring back Rob and pair Rob with Rachael Atheron , there’s a commentary team

I am not one to dis someone but that guy is sooooo annoying announcing DH. He seems perfect for the pits and maybe in corral post race but commentating he is super in accurate with what he is saying - ____ ALMOST OUT THE FRONT DOOR every 3rd rider. The nonsense that dribbles out of him is just an embarrassment. It's gotta be crazy hard but they need to replace him. Rewatching all the races from 2025 and if my wife is the room I have to put headphones so she doesnt have listen to him!

I am a Tippie fan, but can someone explain to me why he should get a ride over some up and comer? A very few amount of riders from his generation are still sponsored full time, even a much younger Gully works full time for Orbea not as a rider. Love the guy, but in times apparently so tight in the industry, why him and not someone current like the people who we talk about in this thread losing rides?

When the poors started showing up to group rides in Rapha on last model year's bike, PNS and MAAP were standing by ready to rinse the REAL roadies with even more muted earth tone offerings.

blablabla bad words blabla bad words yet you have your oh so family friendly hockey with bloody fights, ads for guns on tv, can’decide as a nation how to deal with gun violence caused by gun add but omg plz don‘t say certain words on tv. get a grip

Just don’t tell Supreme Leader Legault that or he will lose his sh!t

Not sure it is being discussed here, but word from many sources is that the next gen Levo has been ready for ages and they just keep pushing back the announcement due to the amount of unsold current gen stock.

Or you could make as many bikes as you want, force your dealer network to pre-buy bikes ahead of time with the promise of a small volume discount, and then they get stuck with your overstock sitting on their books and sales floors. Win win!

Your last sentence is the kicker. Most companies are estimating their demand and place an order with their supplier. But if you have your forecast wrong, you have working capital tied up in your excess inventory. Conversely, with a drop model, you first obtain commitment from your customers up front, then send the order to the supplier for precisely the amount of frames you need to meet demand. It's a more predicitable way to manage your working capital.

Dude racing is racing......doesn't matter what sport, age or era you are in the top guys will be getting as much speed as the technology allows them. Have you ridden a downhill bike from 1997?! It only looks like they were slower because the bikes had about 1/3 of the grip they do now...