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I second the MX gear bag suggestion. I have a 2004 example from TLD that is awesome. (I use it for my MX stuff, but it would easily fit several pairs of shoes, a full face helmet, all the pads, and several days' worth of clothing. After that, there are five additional pockets for tools, energy gels, etc. The only issue is that it is big - really big. I bought one of these from Commencal for my MTB gear last year, and it works pretty well for 2-3 day trips: https://www.commencal.com/us/en/apparel/accessories/T23RACEDAYBAGBK.htm…

Our model is built around a roughly 30 rider structure for many reasons, including; Prize money: in year one we need to be conservative and ensure our prize money is impactful. If we spread it to thin it obviously dilutes this, Course: you can’t keep a course in top condition with too many riders. Course safety: while we are providing some easier options on big features, this course is still absolutely insane. It is challenging enough managing rider safety on a course with so many big features with 30 riders. This course would never work for a large rider field...

Keep your eyes peeled on Monday and you might see a fresh Loic Bruni interview.

Maybe most of them know that would be inappropriate and choose not to be weirdos

So I went and grabbed my DH bike to see how the CG location stacks up. This is an easy experiment to do if anyone feels inclined to put some real numbers on themselves… measure the weight of you and your bike. In my case this is 190.4 lbs. Then find a nice level spot where you can balance with your bar end ever so slightly on a wall for support. Put the scale under the front wheel and then weight the bike however you see fit. Record that weight. (Total weight-front wheel weight)/total weight is the percentage of weight...

I agree that butted spokes are essential for wheel strength. They allow the spokes and the wheel to bend and not break. But even more important than that, butted spokes hold tension better. Because spokes are always being cycled from more tension to less tension (and in heavy duty bike park or DH riding they're also being reduced to zero tension in heavy berms and ruts), the spokes need a way to absorb constant changes in spoke tension. With a butted spoke, that take-up of tension is built in, but straight gauge spokes are much less elastic, so they tend...

It’s less than 1mm thick but it’s plenty durable and has no issue being stretched. I’ve been harping on about this stuff for a while and it’s recently been brought to my attention that absolute black is selling rebranded kapton tape at a 500% markup. $20 for 33ft Vs $10 for 100ft AbsoluteBlack do go out of their way to deny that this is off the shelf Kapton tape but color me skeptical of their AI generated explanation.

$190k is the GDP of Tasmania lol Could buy the joint for that.

It all depends on the bike, tbh. I've ridden all the new Di2 stuff on a ton of different bikes, and I've found that chain sizing really matters. I've tested T-Type and the new Di2 back-to-back on the same bikes, and while SRAM does do a slightly better job of keeping the spazzing to a minimum, it's certainly not perfect. The dual-spring on Shimano takes about 5-6 lbs of force to break free when in the smallest cog on the cassette, and the SRAM T-Type clutch takes about 7.5-8 lbs to break free no matter what cog. The major difference...

Just get a Telum

My two cents on anti-rise... First and foremost, it depends on the trails you are riding. There isn't a universal value that's best on everything. Low angle trails, especially one's where you're trailing the brakes to maintain speed, favor low anti-rise. On the other hand, steep trails and/or trails where you're hard on the brakes favor higher anti-rise. Sure low anti-rise can make for more active suspension, but it's impossible for your suspension to be active at all when it's fully extended. Having the rear go to full extension also really messes up geo usually when you're in a scenario...

Given the talent, the talent in opposition to Hattie, and the hard yards she's done, it's pretty bloody well earned!

A yoke 🤮

Shoutout to a guy from Ridemonkey who saw my thread here and offered up a set of HT X3s for beer+shipping from when he went through this process himself. And I found a cheap-ish pair of BNIB OneUps on PB to try also. I should be able to get to a setup I can live with between those two and a variety of cleats. The Fox Union shoes I got on sale from Jenson fit nicely like I remember, especially with my own insoles to take up some of the volume. I'm looking forward to learning something new. I'll probably...