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I went from an enduro die hard fan when EWS started back in the day, to barely checking results or coverage around 2024. Some of it is personal, when EWS started out, I had met a lot of the French pros at local/regional/national races, it was easy to root for your local teenager: Nicolai, Cure, Dailly, Tordo and the legends Barel and Vouilloz. Little by little they started to retire or get hurt and not perform quite as well, these days I only recognise a handful of the names in the top 10. Hate to bring up a sour subject...

First let me say this is an awesome and informative thread so keep it up because I want to learn more. Now, my inner 10 year old that I can't seem to control, who knows very little about trophy trucks other than they are the coolest thing on the planet, and desperately wants a Raptor because its the closest thing he'll ever get to one, wants you to know he spent his entire birthday money on this in 1989.

Asa still on the team too

With the arrival of 2025 and big changes underway, here's a quick look back at how team and rider numbers have evolved over the years. All data pulled from the UCI website (https://www.uci.org/riders/mountain-bike-riders-teams/1V5hGPnEvXzbIqkjU…). The number of teams peaked in 2023 with a total of 184 (128 standard, 56 elite). 2024 saw the second highest number of teams on record with 163 (112 standard, 51 elite). The bike bubble bursting was already beginning to have an effect going into the 2024 season, even with the upcoming Olympic games. The growth in teams from 2021 (119 teams) to 2023 (184 teams) likely...

I’m interested to know why you think people have less purchasing power than say early or pre pandemic. I will agree some people have less purchasing power than during the pandemic. 1200 a week is a significant raise for a vast portion of Americans even if a significant decrease for “middle class Americans”. And they could do that while staying home and not paying for child care. Again i work in the restaurant industry. I have no problem saying we have greatly increased our costs towards our consumers. But its purely labor. Honestly profit margins are slightly down and product...

Same here, and also have 2 kids who are getting towards college age but MTB is pretty much the only hobby I spend money on (I run too but shoes are cheap compared to bikes) and I quit drinking a few years ago so that also freed up some cash. Also fortunate that my family understands how integral to my physical and mental health bikes are so they are supportive (occasional eye-rolling aside 🤣)

The Sentinel is still a bit more descent hungry than the Stumpjumper 15. It just rides with more authority and isn't as light on its feet as the Stumpy when it comes to moving the bike around. Not to say you can't get jiggy on the Sentinel. I would just pick it over the Stumpy if I was heading to a bike park or going shuttling since it felt more composed in the rough stuff. Climbing abilities are really similar. I rode the Stumpy with an Eliminator/Bucher GridTrail casing tire combo, and the Sentinel with a High Roller 3/Assegai DH...

In March, Rocky Mountain pulled back the veil on their latest Instinct trail bike. After a few years of sharing frames with its more capable big brother, the Altitude, the Instinct regained its independence with a dedicated and revised chassis. Complete with internal storage, a grip of geometry adjustments, and a proven suspension layout, Rocky aimed to give riders the do-it-all trail bike that could adapt to any terrain or rider preference. We spent the past four months finding out what's on offer with each Instinct adaptation and where this aggressive trail bike shines or leaves more to be desired...

Imagine if he went to that reverse raised or whatever it called stem too 😂

Rockshox did it before Fox were even on the scene in 2001! Thats the issue with the scene these days everyones to young to remember haha