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That proto frame goes way back. I shot this photo of it in the early fall of 2023. Sorry for poor quality. The obvious heel rub and linkage swap-out (on your more current photo) shows it's seen a lot of hours. The guy riding it started working for a different bike company, so he may have offloaded this one to another industry friend. At the time, I was thinking it was maybe a Diamondback prototype that got canceled/never saw the light of day. He was fairly open with it; it was spotted at local Seattle area watering hole(s), etc.

Going off @ therock911's cryptic comment to check out the headtube cable insertion for clues, it doesn't look like a Yeti SB120 or new Scott Gambler, but it does look pretty close to a new Norco Sight. I chose the newest bikes I could think of from each brand as a gauge of how they're doing cable routing right now:

More on this, the shape says Yeti but it's not their usual Sixfinity layout? I know from messing with 6-Bars in Linkage that you can get a similar effect from those twin chainstay links as you can from the sliding link too. The shock layout compromised water bottle mounting and the sliding link compromised seatpost insertion, so IF (and it's a big if) this is a Yeti, it seems like they'd be moving away from their old platform for quality of life reasons?

On the topic of 6 bar pedal bikes, anyone got info on this? Spotted at my local trails a while back, seems pretty dialed for a proto….

Rumors are 170mm aluminum ebike in the works from Atherton, probably modeled around the S-series DW4 link. Nothing confirmed on drive unit yet.

Aston and Cahal have their quirks but calling them mediocre riders is complete BS. Both of those guys rip. Also 435 chainstay on a modern XL mtb is a joke IMO. Especially for a frame that costs $4k.

But is it laterally stiff while maintaining vertical compliance?!?

Giant will stop manufacturing bicycles and shift all R&D and manufacturing to pickleball paddles.

Guess that would fit with the rumor of having the Avinox M2 with alloy (heavier) frame

I can't remember if it's been mentioned, but sounds like the Forbidden e-Dreadnought will be aluminum and they're also working on a short travel bike.

It would be interesting to get a comparison of the Sava and the WR1 frames..

Vital article from a while back at the Chinese bike show this year. Chatted with my local shop in regards to WR1 and they aren’t doing frame replacements unless catastrophic failure. Frames are being sent to a company in Vancouver for carbon repair. Molds apparently are being sold to Sava Cycles and they will be flying the bikes under them and not WR1. Below pictured is the proto dh WR1 but now Sava will be bringing it to production in the distant future.

If anyone wants to invest a few hundred grand with no guaranteed return, anything is possible.

Thanks & great question - it's a longer answer than we can reasonably sum up here, but we'll do our best. Your assessment is correct - an "agile" ride character has always been somewhat of a hallmark here at Evil. We try to walk the line between agile/fun, and stable/confident. Short stays make for fun wheelies & jumps, thus, we've always stayed on the shorter side. There's a great argument for size-specific chainstay lengths - that much, we do not debate. Our rear triangles are a relatively complex mold. Molds are quite expensive. Introducing another rear triangle mold increases total...

why do you think everyone should have the same length rear center but a size specific front center and do you believe every size rides exactly the same?

Priority just released the Vanth—165mm rear/170mm fork enduro gearbox bike. $5,999 starting price, three sizes, alloy front, carbon rear, Pinion Smart.Shift. We just got one in for testing. The bike will begin shipping January 16th, so look for a complete review around that time. - Aluminum front triangle with a carbon rear end - 165mm rear wheel travel // 170mm fork - Stillpoint High Pivot suspension - 9-speed Pinion Smart.Shift electronic gearbox - Gates CDX carbon belt - 64° head tube angle - Three sizes: S1 (440mm reach), S2 (475mm reach), S3 (510mm reach) - Weight (size S3): 39.2 lb...

Actofive charges 400 eur for cranks that are heavier than GX cranks. And the two piece glued cranks are no longer available (I wonder if it was the price or delaminating that killed them).

genuine question, how hard is it to get support for intend n NA? either full service or parts for DIY? It always scared me off of niche Euro based product. I've been more likely to consider Push, simply because they are this side of the ocean.

More news in the wake of CSS shutting its doors: An Update on Chris King Wheels and Future Warranty Claims To Our Industry Friends, Partners and Riders, You may be aware that our rim partner, CSS Composites, has recently gone out of business. CSS developed the FusionFiber rims we built into our own brand of road, gravel and mountain bike wheels. FusionFiber was a technology we were excited about and a company who shared our ideals for sustainable manufacturing. We are heartbroken for the people who lost their jobs and the vision that won’t now be realized. We never like...