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that guy? https://christophorus.porsche.com/en/2025/414/markus-flossmann.html what makes you think he cashed out? he looks like a modest living guy

I don’t mean to make light of a bad situation, but this felt inevitable. Anyone with any level of inside knowledge of the bike industry could look at YT from 30,000 feet and perhaps wonder if they have long had a money tree or maybe the operation was a money laundering front for the cartel.\ Some head scratchers, in no particular order: -Aggressively low prices (like...how is this possible low pricing) -Bloated SKU count (for them, its mostly the number of builds they have per model of bike) -Complex global supplier web (true for everyone, but their vendor count is...

You sound very unbiased

My jerseys are all (both?) from like 15 years ago

It straight up works. Why change it? Man bike riders are a fickle bunch, not happy when a good product doesn't get updated or revised, not happy when a part constantly changes.

SPD's belong in a hall of fame with Nokia 9210's and cast iron cookware, they'll survive the heat death of the universe. If the OneUp SPD's last even half as long as a shimano they'll be incredible

the million dollar question - will they be as durable as shimano pedals?

For those playing along at home, here’s where we stand with the most ridiculous rumors so far… #3 - Phoebe Gale off FMD, going to Reece Wilson’s new AON team, after being prominently featured in the Orbea FMD press release. #2 - Aaron Gwin back to mentor the kids on lower budget Trek Factory after becoming a partner in Crestline bikes last year. #1 - Old man Dan Atherton returning to stomp $$$ DH podiums on a prototype belt drive after his most recent 57th at a 2018 Crankworx stop. There’s a few others close to the top 3, but...

Seriously?

No high pivot, no idler, no flip-chip, no bonded lugs, no belt, no cable tourism, only four bars and a single chain? Will they even be able to ride that thing?

Here's a better picture. I downloaded this in September and I have no idea where I got it. I made a whole post about it yesterday but I deleted it because my speculation was based upon the rocker looking like the Wild. This is likely an aluminium mule.

Tasmania isn't for sale

Lock Ness bikes? Never heard of them.

Something everyone has to realize about UBM and UDH is that SRAM is in the business of selling OEM to massive bike companies. Anything SRAM can do to make the process faster and cheaper/better for the OEMs is seen as a win. In the case of Transmission/wireless drivetrains, that is a WIN for OEMs. Say they can shave -5-10 minutes a bike not having to deal with cables, setting stops, tension, etc. They can install a Transmission drivetrain in <5mins, vs. say 10-12min for a cable-actuated version. Now, multiply that times 20,000 MTB builds and you have million(s) of dollars...

Actuaaaaly, if you check aonracng on instagram profile they only follow 24 profiles, obvious ones like pb/vital/uci/gamux/manitou/hayes/ gates/reece/sleeper/... but there is also an interesting one in the form of "kdrajd", Slovenian club run by the same people who have been behind the Unior racing in all of its iterations since day 1. This is also a team Reece also used to be a part of. And considering mention of Uk-Switzerland-Slovenia rumors that makes a lot of sense.

This is almost as good as Dan Atherton coming back to chase the belt cash bag. Excellent try for the most ridiculous rumor award. I applaud you sir.

If you think a World Cup team like FMD are going to risk an entire season on some old prototype frames from canyon or specialized you have been smoking that crack again.

" Orbea still doesn't have a DH bike yet that we have seen" (bold is mine). It cracks me up that we keep dwelling on this while the folks w/ the biggest stake, who's careers and livelihoods are on the line, clearly feel good enough about what's available (or will be) to sign on the dotted line...

Or perhaps he's signed with a Japanese sponsor, as that sort of blurring looks familiar.

When you think of a week in Vital time.....