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Re brembo: Will be interesting to see how they survive in the real world. Was telling a buddy of mine that WC racing isn’t really a stress test considering that those brakes are bled every run. Based on hydraulic leverage ratios they will be quite powerful… Another player isn’t a bad thing…

I'm totally sold on chain wax for off-road riding in dry conditions, but hard to imagine this is worth it when all the other Muc-off lube products are so terrible.

To JVP's point about rougher terrain... Coming from the world of cyclocross tubulars.... A super supple casing at 20psi (almost riding on the rim) is faster on very bumpy grass/rough fields than a stiffer casing tire at 30psi because of deflection (casing having to deform over bumps). The same is true these days with UCI road racing and gravel racing. All are going to lower pressures and all have supple casings. Also, rolling resistance tests on drums are helpful for comparisons between tires, but they aren't fully translatable to the real-world trails. The Radials definitely rolls slow on smooth terrain...

Does it FEEL slow or does it TIME slow back-to-back? I often FEEL SLOWER when my bike is calmer and I'm riding smoother. The TIMING often tells me I'm FASTER when my bike is calmer and I'm riding smoother. If/when I'm interested in how fast something is or isn't, I definitely have to ride at a pretty topped out pace and put the timer on. Half the time my impressions on things like speed during the ride are wrong. Brains are dumb and mine seems to be especially dumb in that category!

Yes, meant comment on this as well. There was a telling video segment from the 2024 season where a Frameworks mechanic talks about how he usually only has riders doing 2-3 runs, 4 max on a set of Contis DH tires before the casings are too broken in/soft. He says the tread is fine, but the casing is what is 'stressed' and not the same. I know all stouter DH tires experience this on some levels, but I was personally shocked by my Conti DH tire... I went to replace the rear tire after it had been used for a...

Ah yes, the periodic table of continental tire skus. If there ever was evidence of how impossible it is to keep mtb consumers happy, it's the list of tire mfg skus.

Great question. I don't know yet. I'm going to ride the fork when it gets back without any additional info, and then follow up with Push to get the details. Whenever possible, I try to know less during a product test so I can hopefully avoid confirmation bias.

From all the interviews I’ve seen everyone seemed relieved that the event was canceled.

I mean there's no elite/juniors distinction at Hardline and he straight up won in Wales.

no residues left from additives

I wonder (and I'm just thinking out loud) if there is a chance that two wildly different places in the world might have different soil conditions that are affected by weather differently?

Downtime doing live shows at Maydena. Aaron sounds like he’s having a great time. Should be another episode upcoming with Rob and Elliot that was taped last night.

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.

Pulsating through the lever is more likely a poorly bedded in pad rather than glazing. I'd recommend "resetting" your rotor by cleaning with IPA and giving it a good cross hatch scrub with 200 grit sandpaper, then clean with IPA again. Then do a pad bed in by slowing down 10+ times from a high speed, but never to a full stop. This will evenly coat the rotor with organic material and should stop the pulsing. If that doesn't work, I'd just drop the cash on a new rotor. It's worth the $50 to have those brakes dialed IMO. Alternatively...

Really sad to hear about Mille. I love watching her ride, she can get pretty sketchy when she's pushing the speed, but she always looks so calm and comfortable on the jumps and things. Her and Lou always seem to have so much fun riding together in videos and it really gets me excited to ride. I was so stoked to see their POVs together like they did at world cups. All the best to her! I did see Luca pop up finally in clips from Troy and in his own instagram stories. I'm wondering if he got there a...