All

I really need to see you guys ride.

You mean like, downhill bikes from 25 years ago? They were still a shit load of fun to me. 🤷‍♂️

My position is that with the mid-power e-bikes that are coming out, those are going to replace 'Enduro' bikes. Did you see the O'chain test that TeamRobot did? Pushing his Santa Cruz up that hill every time, while enjoying the improvement that the O-Chain brought. Wouldn't the E-Slash fix both of those issues? Don't tell me that a mid-power e-bike is cheating. How is riding your e-bike uphill cheating, yet walking or shuttling is somehow considered real biking? Give me a break.

I think the “enduro” bike as we know it is dying. We keep seeing enduro bikes creeping towards DH bike territory with longer travel and dual crown compatibility, while trail bikes are creeping up on enduro bikes from the other side. I can see the classic 160mm enduro bike going away and being replaced by 170-190mm descent focused bikes with dual crown compatibility like the Spire and Spindrift. Then riders with more mixed trails will gravitate to slightly shorter travel “all mountain” bikes like the Ripmo, Stumpy, and Bronson.

I prefer climbing with an 11 speed, even when I travel to CO to ride bigger stuff than what we have locally, as it prevents me from dropping in to a too low gear. Especially with the MX rear tire being smaller and providing some gearing advantage. Also, the extra ground clearance of the shorter derailleur combined with the MX rear wheel is appreciated. The weight savings off of the rear wheel (cassette & derailleur) is a solid 300 grams (2/3#s) which I'm convinced is enough that I can tell a difference in suspension performance, but maybe it's just in...

You've got it wrong. This is Scott, if you remember. High/low speed compression and rebound will be easily accessible externally, via handlebar mounted, cable actuated remote.

22k for a prototype frame isn't insane when you consider what production carbon frame molds cost.

I'm kind of surprised no one mentioned new Firebird. Yeah it has sharper edges and a different headtube style than the current Pivots, but the flip chip on the swingarm is almost identical to the current firebird. Plus the overall suspension layout is really similar to the previous firebird. Also, the current Pivot shock layout is a bit limiting for ebikes, hence the angled shock on the Shuttle LT. This layout leaves tons of space for motors and batteries.

I would add that part of this is also that the major evolution in the last 2-3 years have been in ebikes, which this forum is relatively hostile towards. Generalization and hyperbole incoming: take a 2021 ebike and compare it to it's 2024/5 variant, it will look better, have better geo, better integration, more range, more power, lighter... Take a 2021 MTB and compare it to its 2024/2025 variant, it's the same bike but with headset routing, no rear derailleur routing and maybe some minor reworking of front and rear lengths or suspension curves barely anyone can feel.