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PB going away is sweet to me. After getting attacked and banned for just contrary opinions. They define the term Go Woke, Go Broke. Hilarious.

"Pinkbike is the most visited action sports website. " Wrong. Bikerumor has more views. Pinkbike has massive repeat views. It's organic view count on a standard post is around 10 - 20k. It's the same 10 - 20k people every post. A larger post hits 25k. Then the total post hits 40 - 50k due to repeat visits to argue or read the comments. Pinkbike is a very small, very niche site that 90% of the average MTB user doesn't even know exists. Pinkbike's main traffic source is the classified section. This means their audience is cheap and looking for...

MTBR forums are HUGE compared to a what's happening here on Vital. Every mtb niche imaginable is well covered over there. The main page content has always been crap, but there is a vast wealth of knowledge buried in the forums.

It's still not rocket science, no matter how much we love to think it is- and I need about them as much as anyone else. Save for extreme choices like Unno most frames are pretty similar in geometry, and most of the are prototypes anyway with a wide range of adjustment. You could go to a different team and still have the same bike as last year, geometry wise... Could Brook jump a few spots on the board with a different bike? Maybe, but he's no making podiums, no matter the bike, be it a V10 or a Demo

Agree, I don't think bikes play that big of a role. I mean, frames are not rocket science and, in general, geometries are pretty similar all across the World Cup. In fact, I would go as far as to say that, if frames were covered during tests, 99% of reviewers wouldn't be able to tell brands apart. Mondraker haven't scored that much cuz their riders aren't Top 10, as simple as that.

So it seems wireless disc brakes are about to be a thing! https://hackaday.com/2023/12/11/wireless-bike-brakes/

Ignorance is bliss. I have a full suspension e-mtb with 19,636 kms. (almost 5 years ago). In the Spring of 2023 I purchased a hardtail e-mtb. I avidly ride both. Fun, fun, fun.

12 speeds seem excessive on most bikes,and are certainly excessive on e-bikes. I run 11 speed on everything.

Sounds like you need to ride somewhere steeper. Or enter le Tour.

We've been trolled it seems

Because it's chinese? Hate to break it to you, but when it comes to road stuff, carbon wheels and mechanical drivetrain groups from China appear to be pummeling western products into the ground. I don't think it's a good idea to wholly dismiss overseas stuff and development...

People on this forum were calling them shit aliexpress copies, but the Aliexpress ones are completely different, ~100 € for a pair, sold under the Onirii brand on Ali and under the Clarks banner in the UK. Those have a monoblock caliper for example. The Lewis variant is not available on Aliexpress (at least it wasn't) and takes a lot of inspiration from the Trickstuff... stuff. And they are more expensive. I said at the time they are different, but I was adamantly told it's the same brake. @ncerni has all of them, the Onirii Aliexpress brakes and the Lewis...

These brakes have me curious, initially saw everyone calling them shit aliexpress copies but now seeing more and more people claim they're legitimately good. Saw Alex from wolfpack adventures YT vouching for them but he seemed like a salesman in that video so still skeptical, would like to see some real reviews/comparison tests.

Sounds like I need to make some changes around here! First up we’re going to cosplay as car mechanics for a 73 person track walk. And we’re putting our names down our pant legs. I’m slicing like a fuckin hammer and the guys get shirts!!! DH racing is fantastic. These racers deserve to be household names. That’s all I know for sure. Greg Minnaar!

Greg leaving is the final nail in the coffin but the syndicate has been losing its special sauce for a few years now. These last few seasons the team really doesn’t seem to be gelling and the coverage feels like a chore for the riders. Don’t get me started on the Australia road trip. The whole thing was like icky, forced reality TV.

“Dude that would’ve been so sick if I landed it!” —me, when I was a kid, completely missing the point. This is why we still run em, right? J.Goldstone is so rad, I’m rooting for him. But the only sure thing is there’s no sure thing, and that’s why I watch. I get the impression that he’s fully put together, very comfortable in his position, and that appendix shit can only serve to make him even stronger mentally—he lost like 20% of his body weight in a couple weeks, and still showed up to race? Gnarly! But yeah, even if...