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Look at the age of the Shore. It's at the end of it's cycle, Norco killed the Range to replace it with the 170/160mm Sight, and the only bike that the public knows about that is bigger than the Sight is the probably-maybe to be released DH bike which rumour has it will be very expensive and very limited. Further, just last summer Norco partnered up with the bike park on Grouse mountain, which is a new lift-access bike park located within 40 minutes (or 4 hours, traffic depending) from Norco's headquarters in Port Coquitlam. The rental fleet is/was made...

You would chose a horst tallboy over those bikes for the same reason you would currently chose a vpp tallboy over those bikes. Frame quality, ride feel and kinematics, frame stiffness/compliance tuning/feel, geo fit/dimensions, brand loyalty/identification, colors/industrial design, warranty support, LBS/retailer loyalty and support, etc. I have owned countless VPP santacruz bikes and I also own a horst link bullit. I have owned many other brands horst link bikes: specialized, rocky mountain, transition, norco, orbea. Unsurprisingly, my bullit rides like a santacruz and has a few characteristics that other horst link bikes have that are nice. Based on my experience...

which is it? You have them? Or you're getting them?

I'm overdue to write that Telum review, but in short it's phenomenal. If the damper is anywhere near as good as the shock, it will be unreal. I couldn't believe how much better my fork felt with the MRP Lift damper, so I'm totally down for a Vorsprung fork damper.

Yep. Exactly this (like I mentioned in my marketing spiel above). Sam Hill is no more or less valid of a brand ambassador than a German Youtuber who puts out a high volume of stuff. They speak to different audiences and carry different intentions. Both have their places and can be utilized by brands to speak to specific sorts of audiences. Matt Jones isn't selling many Marin Quakes to 55-year-old gravel guys just like Christopher Blevins isn't going to sell Tailwind high carb fuel to 17-year-olds riding Whistler on clapped out downhill bikes. Know your audience. Figure out how to...

Its micro marketing and not meant to be a global marketing campaign i would guess. Clearly doesnt move the needle as much as lets say sponsoring an athlete like vali, but will probably also just cost a fraction. I have no clue, but could be that trp doesnt sell as good in germany, hence give a guy from germany a couple of the brakes and he might help sales there. This guy is well known around here, but not only because he does youtube. I have seen him doing comunity stuff like shaping dirtjumps in free acces areas with local...

Marketing is interesting. Some of it is literally ONLY for brand/product awareness. It's an important part of creating a brand. It doesn't matter how good a product is if no one knows about it. Additionally, lots of folks in the world are the sort of folks who believe everything their brain tells them. Those folks also tend to buy the things that they think of first. If those people see a specific name come up 5 times more often than other names (perhaps because a YouTuber is posting a lot, has their videos get recommended a lot, and talks a...

Better in engineering terms != better in practical terms. There's a lot of people out there with heel rub on 148 frames. I also don't really like the idea of my $400 electronic derailleur being any further outboard than it already is. Sure, 157 is better on paper, but in the real world, 148 works fine for everyone from beginners all the way up to world cup pros.

I'm on a similar quest and have come to the conclusion that the answer is "try them all." I have a butcher, dhf, and assegai in the shed, then radial magic mary and kryptotal in the cart with a stockpile of sealant and an eye on cheap front wheels to make swaps easier

https://www.pivotcycles.com/en-us/bikes/shuttle-lt/ Adjustable seat tube angle is very interesting

Probably the 2-Chainz "Super Enduro/DH" e-bike.

more insight with Vorsprung

I can agree with you on the dipping their toes in the water.. By using an existing platform, Brose, it was about the easiest way to get in.. Losing a couple of their exclusive partners shortly after launch didn't help.. Then, DJi showed up...

In case anybody is curious about how the new derailleur kid on the block performs, here's our Madrone Jab review after a few months of trail time: https://www.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/rear-derailleurs/madrone-cycles/….

Yep, just as I pointed out in the article... 😉 I even made a pun about, for your entertainment.

Madrone Cycles was named after the Madrone trees that grow in the Oregon region that the company calls home. It was founded in 2023 by Aaron Bland, who had become disenchanted with the lack of good rebuild and repair options for rear derailleurs. After initially launching a series of replacement parts for SRAM derailleurs, Aaron realized that Madrone could easily make a whole derailleur by themselves. The Jab was launched in 2025, and it sports a number of unique features that made us want to test it – after several months on the trail, this is our report! Madrone...

Came to say the same thing. Sam is a legend, however he is pretty quiet on the socials, does the odd race, man of few words, isnt proactively chasing media and doing the moto life with his sons. Not really what a brand would be looking for in an ambassador.

No downvoting from me. Everyone has different taste and there's nothing wrong with that! Brage - that's fair. I think he's the right balance between lots of prep, insane riding skill and willingness to send it. I think he's far more calculating than it looks like in his riding. I think Gee is kinda similar, but I legitimately think that man needs some therapy to work out that death wish he seems to have. Lol Tippie - can't get on board with your take. By every single person who's spent time interacting with him, living near him, riding with him...

Few speculations: New Sram stuff: there is currently a countdown at this page https://www.sram.com/en/sram/mountain/campaigns/dh for February 23rd-24th, that is most likely Transmission AXS DH and new Boxxer E1 with linear XL air spring add-on and Charger 3.2 being launched. There is a possibility new Zeb B1 get launched at the same time they share the Linear XL air spring add-on. New Lyrik would most likely be only updated to charger 3.2 so could be soft launched at later date (possibly switch from D2 to D3 in Sram product nomenclature) I hope the new Pike D1 doesn't only get the updated...