All

I know I'm repeating common talking points that have been said over and over for years. But every so often it hits me, as I don't really follow regular mtb pricing too much anymore. But when I saw the tallboy release the other day, and it is a beautiful bike, all I could think was "How could anyone consider the entry level spec for 6k when a similar spec Amflow PR for 4,5k exists?" Apples and oranges, I'm not saying the ebike will be better for everything, but from a simple "add up all the parts on those frames and...

I think this might be more of a US/Canada-centric view. The Specialized Turbo Levo line is over 10 years old. The Canyon Spectral:ON line is over 8 years old. Those are just two examples of model lineage/aging, but they were released to capitalise on an already-growing market. In Europe, eBikes are huge, and they totally dwarf mountain bike sales. This isn't a recent phenomenon - it's been the case for a while now. All the reports from shops are that they don't really sell many/any mountain bikes over the £/€3,000ish mark - once consumers get to that price point, they...

I just got a little queasy

Or maybe it becomes like the car industry where leasing is one of the main forms of "ownership".

How much of the appearance that “e-bikes are the only thing selling” is an artificial bubble based on the fact that they are a market that essentially did not exist 6-7 years ago? Thus, we are still working through the initial phase of: everyone who is interested buying into the market (often for the first time) looks like greater demand than what will stabilize over the ensuing 5-10 years. I imagine over time as there are less ‘new’ buyers and the demand becomes only individuals turning over from an older model to a newer one that e-bike sales actually drop...

Just going off of 'site sponsors' for Vital and Pinkbike: Ari: Budget I guess? Cannondale: more road for PON Ibis: small, but maybe getting their lunch eaten by other 'small' brands. Intense: probably continues with USA focus. Seems like odd things going on there for the past while but they are still surviving. Kona: I would be concerned, but they were just bought back Mondraker: doesn't seem super big here in Canada Niner: RIP (pun intended) Norco: Oddly medium-sized, but they do own a distribution company in Canada so that may help with the budget Pivot: small enough Polygon: not...

Not to totally rip off Bicycle Retailer but their home page is full of interesting stories I missed right now... -Amazon to stop selling e-bikes that exceed 28mph in CA (no more Surrons via Amazon) -Giant reports April sales (3%) -GoPro sale or merger being considered (how'd I miss this!? Wild! Insta360+DJI ate their lunch) -Leatt continues to crush; sales up 27% y/y in Q1. -Merida and Ideal sales down (14%) and (22%) respectively y/y

Niner shutting shop shouldn't surprise anyone. They haven't done anything relevant in near a decade. Geo and aesthetics for their full sus platforms are very much off the back. That they lasted as long as they did was always a wonder to me.

Side point, but after talking to a number of brands and shops, one thing keeps standing out: e-MTB is no longer a side quest (even if you aren't amflow). I know this is a big "duh" to those in Europe, but for me (a long time analog bike guy) its a stark reminder things have changed. I have three brands telling me off the record e bikes drive over half the company's revenue. If you don’t have a real e-MTB story right now (like Niner), you’re making yourself harder for shops to justify carrying. From the shop’s perspective, they can...

It looks like a bicycle

I rode hammershcmidt I love tech and the idea of a gearbox, But seriously, did anyone even try the last Shimano front derailer that was essentially a bombproof idiotproof chainguide? It was so good, just about two years too late. These things can’t touch that for weight and simplicity Someone told me a while back that while the rear deraillier shouldn’t have lasted, it’s now been refined so far that it’s actually is the best way to shift a human powered gear cluster Personally I’d like to se pinion refine that set up a couple more times, and a high...

I think aerodynamic fairings are banned but this one’s “to facilitate maintenance during race operations.”

Didn’t VPP only exist to get around the FSR patent?

I think the funniest thing is all the chatter about how loose and rocky South Korea was. Can you imagine a Deer Valley track in late summer/early fall when it hasn’t rained in two months and you put a few hundred WC racers down it for four days?

Whichever bike has the best damper tune specced probably wins at that point. I'm pretty sure that's a big deciding factor between bikes with different linkage designs also though. You would need control wheels, and tires at a minimum, and probably drivetrain also to get any useful data about which frame works better.

You mean chainstays?

This might help with placing it in history

yeah I prefer this to arguing about brake mounting standards tbh

I don't buy Ford because of the Michigan Supreme Court's decision in the 1919 case Dodge v. Ford Motor Company.