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I've got precious few educated things to say about USD forks, but just jumping in to say that Robot is easily the best podcaster-interviewer in the MTB world. I could listen to him talk for hours about, well, anything... including comparing axle thickness and wine tastings! :-)

Great video! Nice work, guys. FYI, in the video Charlie says Podium is more than a pound heavier than 38. Podium is only 314g heavier than a comparably spec'd 38, for the record. 1 pound = 454g. 314g equates to almost exactly 2/3 of a pound.

If you listen to the latest Downtime podcast, it was Neko who invited Ken and set up the whole thing. I can't help but feel that people are in the habit now of only seeing everything from a purely negative perspective - maybe we could all get a grip and stop whinging 100% of the time...

it's interesting reece brings les gets into it b/c (from the coziness of the internet, having never been to either venue) that track seems really similar to loudenvielle in that it's high speed and mostly "just dirt," no obvious rocky tech sections like vds or msa. i also thought that by race day loudenvielle was an extremely technical ride. it wasn't wheel-eating rocks, but that first steep left hander that caught people out, that left that bode burke hovered through, and all the other razor thin lines meant skill, delicate braking and bike setup was hugely important. i even find...

i just want to make one last comment re: deleting pics, community etc then i'll be quiet. over the last few years, i've become very aware of how much of a privilege it is to be a part of a community that is supported by some of the best brands in our game. but the key word here is community...YOU all are the community. without you and your sleuthing, your knowledge, your stoke for the sport and its equipment, or your informed opinions, vital wouldn't be very special. with that said, if all vital does is bow down to brands...

i added to my post above with more clarification, FYI. IMO it doesn't come down to shimano (or any brand launching a product) being the problem in this case. they have a launch coming up (they said, june 5). they have to get their product and info in the right places before the launch. it's a kook or two at these places (OE, shops, brands, media, who knows) who are posting things they don't have a right to post. if shimano asks vital to remove stuff but not other outlets, it must mean our viewers are actually important 🤣

I'm happy to report Asa is being well compensated, at a level equal to his talent and future. Despite choices aplenty, Asa decided to stay with a team capable of fully taking care of him, but also one whose business dealings have been genuine and transparent. Asa's a bright kid, but to assume he was not properly represented and took advise, especially as one of the most branded athletes in the sport is a bit dramatic. No money nor opportunity left on the table. Opportunity: Taz, Wales...Rampage? Who gets that? Money: Private for obvious reasons, but he's making more at...

A few things to consider for those thinking Asa might be getting the short end of the stick. First, Neko is not going to take advantage of Asa; in fact I believe it's the opposite. He's looking out for his overall success, financially and between the tape. Those saying Asa doesn't know what he's doing or that a contract just appeared in a parking lot and he signed it w/o spending time on the details beforehand is insulting to Asa as well as Neko's motives. Second, I'd wager Asa is getting very fairly compensated. There may be some creative incentives...

or maybe he just likes the low-key vibes of working with neko and has a good support system where he is. playing the long game of success, comfort, familiarity and fun vs short game of some cash but with a team that may not culturally gel or a bike that doesn't work for him right away.

Amazing news, the symbiotic relationship between Asa and Frameworks/Neko is awesome to see. Racing fans & tech nerds should be stoked for the development content to come. Also, I love that the best "jr" rider in the world is signing with such a small home-grown team for his first few years in elites. Dude could've ridden for any team in the world and decided he wanted chill vibes lol. I love it. There's more rebelliousness and old-school mtb thinking in that than first meets the eye.

This is the (Horst) linkage, defining the axle path: This drives the shock: If it's the same colour, it's a single piece. The chainstay of the horst link has an extension, to which the red short link attaches and pulls down on it to rotate the silver rocker, driving the shock.

I like the vertical scroll format way more than the slide show! Way easier to browse on mobile.

Every loss should be tragic to anyody but it feels harder when that's someone I've been shuttling and practicing with for the last few days. Just doing our things together brings a sense of brotherhood, Unlike some other sports, I really feel a strong bond and sense of community in DH racing, especially in this field of the cat1 19 to 70+. All these guys are true heroes, dedicated racers only doing it for true passion. The pros are cool but the cat1 is truly the core of the sport, we are the guys buying gears, supporting local events and...

When Pidcock decides to race MTB it's like an NHL pro shows up to Sunday beer league to embarrass all the washed up been.

Maybe… just maybe,,, now stay with me here… she (and the other pros saying the same thing) has a valid point that the liaison times were unrealistically short and us armchair racers should refrain from speculating on her (and other pro athletes who do this for a living) fitness levels and take them at their word that they know what they’re talking about and the liaison times were, indeed, unrealistically short.

That bit about Frameworks customers offering their frames got me feeling stuff. Thank you, mountain bike people.

Let’s all take a moment to be grateful that Josh Carlson isn’t in the commentary booth.

Is it to late to add an "indifferent" option to the vote? It's kind of lame enough not to give a shit either way.

Why is everyone bitching about super boost like it is some kind of small one off standard? It’s literally a DH hub. There is nothing majorly different. Grab your DH wheel and goes right in there. The reason pivot did super boost was specifically because it wasn’t a new standard but offered better strength etc. So, boost was in fact the silly new standard when super boost was using something that existed and instead did not add to the standards out there.

Just wait, there will be more coming..... Superboost is fine, I have a Fugitive, Spire and a Sight. Two run 148, and the Fugee runs 157. Im not sure why people seem to care so much, its just something to get wrapped up in. In reality, 148 never should have happened, we should have gone from 142 to 157 really.