Dang Johan, you look so cramped standing and pedaling on this thing. No wonder people get bars so wide--your kneepads would be banging on the controls if you just turned the bar a little. The seat looks so slack too; it's closer to being over the rear axle than the BB. Sadly, it's probably needed with the front end being so stubby.

Nice focus on suspension, Cannondale, but how about some geo innovation. Contact me if you want input. Hint: you made one of the greatest fitting size smalls to make my list, the Jekyll 27.5, but short riders have unbendable bias about 165/170 travel. xD

You must have not read the entire thing. I'm trying to emphasize that gravity style racing needs out-of-the-saddle comfort, and that this move sacrificed in-saddle comfort.

Since you brought that up, I'll add my opinion that I consider small bikes to be more for getting wheels off the ground and spinning, on purpose for style, and long better for speed. I don't believe the trade offs to a long bike's cornering come anywhere close to the long bike's benefit of giving confidence to ride faster.

A ) He said in his interview, that he tries to be comfortable on the bike. He didn't say he was.

B ) As long as it's a change that's overall positive, rather than having serious drawbacks that are worse than the benefits, sure.

C ) He's a champion because he is good at adapting. He adapts to the gear, the schedule, the venues, the competition, etc. He needs lots of support, which he puts trust in

Your argument is flawed in the sense that you believe the winner should keep doing what they're doing, as it's working, without taking into consideration that the competition is improving. I believe they should all always be improving/innovating, at a competitive rate. I'm not the type who thinks Sam can win on just any bike, including a bike he's raced in the past. The courses and competition have changed. It's a part of adaptation.

I agree that a pro would try to find anything to improve, but they have to prioritize the more meaningful ones. This one is just basically +25mm to front center, which is very minor in the big picture. He can probably just long-fork his bike and/or run it stiffer to get a similar effect. I'm sure he wouldn't refuse a better bike if it was suggested to him, if it didn't come with any downsides that increased the risk of losing.

My last reply should've answered why, but since you believe it's simple thinking, I'm going to have to elaborate.

The gist of it: I'm wondering if accepting a compromise in seated position comfort, for improved out-of-the-saddle comfort, would improve his results. Upsize to get more front center, at cost of longer ST and ETT.

I believe out-of-the-saddle geo optimization has been largely neglected. I suspect that people sit their asses in the saddle more than they should, because their bike has poor handling quirks out-of-the-saddle.

Take a common CS length, 430 or 435. See these entry level hardtails like a Diamondback Hook. With an 1113 wheelbase in med, its weight is too far forward which comes with a high risk of OTB (asked this guy if he's quitting MTB cause of his shitty experience on it). Beginners learn on these and hang their ass behind the saddle to compensate, and apparently people are fine with it, since it's expected.

A solution is to extend the front axle out more, so the weight isn't so far forward any more. You can get this in any number of ways, from moving the BB back (shorter horizontal chainstay), slacker HA, longer fork, more fork rake/offset, pushing the head tube forward (increased reach). How much? It's a moving target, since fork compression reduces front center, but I personally feel comfortable/central with 1200mm WB with 430mm CS. Any longer in WB with this specific CS length and I need to be more active and aggressive/forward. Any shorter in WB and I need to be pushing my hips further back to carve. I'll accept a 1225 WB with a 435mm CS, or a 1325 WB with a 455 CS (L Pole Machine).

Take a look at the upcoming Pole Taival and also Norco Range 29 and you'll see geo in which they match the CS to WB for different sizes. Other brands don't do this, so riders often customize their bike if they get a size that doesn't happen to be optimized. Look at how tall the test riders are and you'll get an idea what bike size matches up with their design philosophies...

Imagine how dialed a bike would be if you combine this philosophy with the forward geo philosophy. Essentially, match the rider CoG for both sitting and standing. If you get out of the saddle and find that your hips are far forward of the saddle, imagine if the seat tube was steepened enough to be under your hips (and head tube pushed forward to compensate for fit). Your carving position could be the same as your pedaling position, saving time from switching between the two.

Call me officer of the "what size bike are you talking about" police, whenever someone speaks of a bike's handling, as the CS-WB proportions matters for anyone seeking to get stoked, rather than getting bummed that the hype wasn't "real".

He seems to imply that he has to get comfortable on the bike in order to hold things together. He probably thinks back to his riding when he was on DH, but likes the challenge of EWS. Figure if Nukeproof does what other brands are doing, pretty much making L into M, steepening and shortening the seat tube to adjust the ETT...

I wonder how he'd do on the next size up Mega (assuming he rides a M instead of L).

Thanks for all the details in the spec, including price, weight, dropper travel in diff sizes, and higher accuracy geo in hi/lo modes!

It's as if it's not some pre-release BS, and you actually pulled production bikes to measure. Respect!

BTW, is Yari Charger something custom/OE or what?

Watched the video twice to see if there was any pedaling action... only found 0.5 second worth, during a wheelie and out of a berm.

How's their IBD store doing? I've seen 3+ tours of their main warehouse, but never seen the inside of their store. I want to see how they've adapted to a changing market. I've been seeing concept stores popping up, backed by big money, pushing out the small mom and pop and sole proprietors shops. Don't know how newer stores are able to find a customer base big enough to support 'em, to provide their employees benefits like insurance coverage, like Jenson can.

The alloy frame and handlebar display are eye sores. Angling the motor on the carbon did so much to make the frame's lines flow better. Shame they didn't do that for the alloy. Much prefer the position and compactness of the Shimano display; virtually no chance of it getting crushed if the bike happens to flip over, and it's small enough to avoid getting hit by knee pads.