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Yeah, not too many co's that don't have that 'development cycle' in their past. Most have thankfully moved on, and some discover all new and exciting ways for product to go kaplooey. FEA is a helluva tool, having testing labs is a helluva tool, but the best tool is forward thinking when it comes to failures to 1. prevent injury to users and 2. maintain brand integrity when failures start having a commonality. That's where most co's falter IMO. When Shimano announced their crank recall, a pal made mention that the total failures was well under .5%, which in most...

re: the psychology part of riding I happen to be friends with Marla Streb, I've known her and her husband for almost 20 years, I was actually at her house in Costa Rica just 2 weeks ago, I even borrowed one of her daughter's bikes and did a 15-mile ride with her one of the days. I'm a bike nerd, including a racing nerd, especially the late 90's - mid 2000's era which were my formative years. Having ridden with Marla countless times, it always amazed me how little she knew (or cared) about new tech, standards, tire compounds etc...

I think there is an important similarity between bike reviews and top gear though. People who are purchasing a car aren't buying it because it's the fastest car, so the stig test is more fun and anecdotal of potentially how quick it can go. If anyone actually wants a car to race, the stig test isn't really relevant as first thing your doing is putting on slicks and stripping out the interior etc etc. Just like bike reviews, most people aren't buying a bike to race it, it would be nice to see how fast it is potentially. I think...

My light bike is a '23 regular Stumpy as well and it's become my daily driver. I find myself choosing it for backcountry riding as well unless everyone in the group is on a bigger bike. I thought about doing something similar to you and consolidating to just one full squish with the option to change the fork and wheels, but my other bike is an alloy EVO. Considering I'd get next to nothing if I sold the frame, I decided it's worth more to me as a complete second bike.

In regards to " just how significant of a headwind the plateauing of performance has become for the broader industry." I have my own anecdotal experience with this in just the last few months. Background: I have been a mountain biking for almost 30 years, I slowly over time worked my way up to having high-end bikes, custom small builder frames, and usually 4-6 bikes at a time. I currently have a custom steel Singlespeed hardtail, a full suspension trail bike, a tricked out Dirt jump bike (evil imperial 😉), a Rigid Fat bike, a gravel grinder/monstercross bike, and enough...

Yeah this might come as a shock to people but I don't think many brands are making excessive margins just because they can....after being in business a few years now I realise how quickly what looks like a healthy margin can get eaten up by overheads or a slightly below average monthly turnover. Covid showed that business which appear to be healthy still feel the squeeze once trading effectively stops! Each brand has different pricing strategies but very few work in the same way as the high volume retailers in other industries, where they can routinely offer massive discounts. There...

Re: Commencal Had two. 2019 and 2021 Meta AM. The 2019 rode well but had very conservative geometry. Went to the 2021 for the longer reach. One of the fastest non-high pivot bikes I’ve ridden - in a straight line. Very long reach and very short chainstays made it exhausting to ride around corners because you had to get so much over the front wheel. Would wash out regularly at the end of bikepark days because my arms ran out of juice. Build quality was good but not great, frame alignment ok for alloy frames. Worst offender was the kinda...

One hunnid percent. During Covid I sold off most of my bikes, because I only rode a couple of them and - my god - the prices used bikes were going for... I pared my collection down to my V2 Hightower and my road bike. Over the next couple years, I rode the absolute shit out of that bike and it became my all-time favorite. Fast forward a bit and the V3 HT comes out and my buddy at SC was like, "bruh you gotta get that new new!" So, I bought a new frame. The new bike was good...

in Brian Cahal's YouTube video, they take a 2016 Bronson vs 2024 Bronson on 2 tracks and their times are pretty much identical. Has to say something. With e-bikes, the tech is changing so fast so I think a lot of potential buyers/upgraders are staying on the sidelines for a bit.

From my perspective, the key theme emerging in this thread over the past few days is just how significant of a headwind the plateauing of performance has become for the broader industry. I’ve been hammering this point for a while, but it’s worth reiterating: there’s nothing inherent in bicycle engineering that guarantees the new model will be meaningfully better than the old one. Marketers do what they do best—convincing us that every new bike is a game-changer. Cognitive bias is powerful, and for years, we’ve all been conditioned to believe in the necessity of frequent upgrades (and I'd argue this...

With all the above mentioned, Specialized launched it the stumpy 15 at the end of the season, and the alloy basically in the winter. Trek launched the Slash+ in the fall. They haven't even had a selling season to gain traction with customers. It says a lot that two big brands don't have confidence in the market that they won't even let bikes they've just launched get an actual riding season under their belts.

Going off some reviews, it was questioned if the shock was a good enough reason to upgrade to the new bike.. The previous Stumpy Evo was considered to be a pretty good bike by most accounts.. If it was my money, a heavily discounted previous gen bike sounds pretty good to me if you have the 2 bikes side by side..

While it’s hard to know what’s going on at the big companies, I’ve recently heard the Stumpjumper 15 was the worst Specialized product launch in company history and will be going on sale soon. Trek on the other hand hasn’t had a Nocal sales rep since last July. One of the biggest markets in the US. Dealers in the dark.

My other car is a Saint Derailleur

this comment was written out of Lindon, Utah

I'm okay with you having an opinion on the Bike Mechanic profession not paying enough. However, factually speaking we are living in golden economic times. I'd suggest a bike mechanic that needs more money, find employment that pays more, as that's a job of passion and discounted bike parts, not economic advancement. It's not just the stock market that has done insanely well (and it's due for a major correction and could easily drop 20+% in 2025). It's exceedingly low unemployment, its high wage growth, even inflation is very good compared to the rest of the 1st world. And the...

It sounds like you're a great candidate for a mullet. I've ridden full 29 and mullet and I really don't believe there's a significant difference in speed, traction, or bump absorption between the two. They both work great. As a tall person with a ton of racing and product testing experience, I really couldn't care less if my bike is mullet or 29er, as long as I have a spare rear wheel and tires available. BUT if you're short enough that a 29" rear wheel could get in the way of your body's range of motion on the bike, I'd...

I am a zealot so take it for what it is, but I'm 5'10" w/ a short inseam. The reach on my medium has gotten somehow cramped at 450mm, but I'm on a full 27.5" Kona Process 153. I've had a Specialized Demo 29 and then ran it in mullet & felt like I'd unlocked the cheat code for my DH happiness after 20+ yrs. On the opposite end, for trail, something about a 29" front wheel and the odd ride height, leverage it takes to get it to turn and be playful on the trails & the shorter travel...