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Blasting up fireroads at 20mph is SO sick. So rad.

the gearbox riders actually have a gear to sprint at the finish where regular drivetrain riders look spun out.

Man, has it ever looked this good at VDS? Seems like its been tons of wet the last few years or full on dust bowl. The dirt looks superb right now. How many men and women get into finals for this, its quite a bit more, right?

Vital RAW from today - speeds picking up for sure.

strong disagree on Dark Crystal, hasn't had loam since everyone loam fevered it into oblivion before it was even finished and its been the most overrated trail in town since. Micro climate was in great shape last week, its had some work and was running really good.

All but two of the trees were under 6" if I remember right. The irony in that to me is that in New England they go out and thin out shrubs and saplings every single year at ski areas and sometimes the people helping to do that will make their own secret gladed spot. There are definitely spots where the tiny trees are too tight to just go around.

I think a huge part of this case involved the cutting down of some trees which the enforcers can then ascribe monetary value to. Once that is cataloged the accused can be held responsible for destruction of property and prosecution becomes much easier. So if you do happen to stray onto some unknown property, don't build anything outa wood, and go around the trees, don't cut em down. There was a similar situation around here in the San Juans not long ago with some national forest people coming down very hard on some riders thought to be responsible for building...

Yeah rule number one of illegal trail building is don't use any wood or screws. Besides the fact that it looks more illegal and permanent than piles of dirt, my understanding is that wooden structures of any sort leave the land manager more legally exposed. Crashing and getting hurt on a dirt trail is different in the eyes of the law than crashing and getting hurt on a structure made of imported construction materials that should have been permitted and engineered for safety.

Illegal trails are the life blood of mountain biking. Unfortunately, there is less land in the Northeast than other places so the viable spots are a) more tightly patrolled and b) not on logging land c) home to legal networks often controlled by older riders less down with cool features. There is also an outbreak of Sierra Club Stickuptheasseosis in the region who don't like trails that aren't for walking.

So fkn lame.

A lot to unpack for me after attending the race. I'm glad I went for sure... My wife did not want to go to the race after almost getting very hurt by a crazy person sliding down the hill through a crowd with a chainsaw flailing on a leash. No photos from me, since I was solo I just roamed the track and took the experience in... And what an experience it was. Part of me loves the unhinged nature of the French fans... But another part of me is grown enough to see that many (easily 30%) towards the...

Wowza! Imagine fans deploying portable bridges and ladders to traverse the moat like something out of the Middle Ages. A Frenchman draped in a flag at the top of the ladder as they swing it across the moat. Les Gets 2027 could really be something some anti-moat nerd doesn't get in the way

Why not, instead of crank arms, make crank discs? Solid 304 stainless steel. You could put several holes in there, offset, so you can choose different “crank lengths” just by switching your pedals into different threaded holes. Adds weight, centered right around the bottom bracket. Ultimate bash guard as well! I should be an engineer. I’d succeed big time (or not).

“all e-bikes are better than any regular bike” is one of the most insane, fat-lazy-guy-coded, bad mountain biker takes i have ever read congratulations

They have nothing wrong with their bikes. Like remove the brand from the frame and Im intrigued. But you put ari on it and I just hate it. Astroturfing, diapers and basic bikes to look like theyre apart of the same boat as Canyon or Specialized, then they just have this design… they just infuriate me lol.

I know I’m in the minority here but I’d take a slightly cheap feeling shifter that feels like a shifter over one that feels like adjusting the volume on a cheap bluetooth speaker any day.

Can you imagine a female in that pit with those three egos...lol. No woman would want to be around that shit.

How was Loic’s suspension at worlds last year?

The absence of Wyn TV this round leaves a massive void for me. And since I've been a massive critic of the commentary in the past it's definitely attained a level of acceptability now with the addition of Mark Beaumont. The last 3 rounds have been a huge improvement by them. I could not handle listening to Rob Warners watch along commentary because of the two morons sitting in the room with him