All

Re: IMBA (and other trail associations) besides them building almost exclusively flow trails, I find the biggest drawback is the mob mentality of people that take part. -Come in and gaslight local government into letting them be the judge jury and executioner regarding how the entire trail system will be built and managed moving forward. -Build exclusively flow. (Requires excavators) -Gaslight local government into requiring parking permits to support excavator trails people didn’t ask for. Parking used to free. -Extended and unnecessary trail closures whenever it even slightly rains. “It’ll ruin the flow berms bro, be a good trail steward...

I disagree. The effects you cite are second order at best and debatable in comparison to wheel size rollover when explicitly considering XC racing. Most of the womens xc field already looks to be at the fit limit with 29”. But honestly, I don’t personally care about competitive XC beyond occasionally watching the racing.

I will put it plainly. Big people on little wheels -> frames can accommodate their size => no practical advantage Little people on big wheels -> frames cannot accommodate their size => practical disadvantage There is a fundamental physical advantage for bigger wheels relative to smaller ones in mildly bumpy terrain (XC like). Smaller riders cannot practically access this advantage. There is no disadvantage to small wheels if everyone is on the same wheel size. This is the issue. UCI has regulated road bikes (and others) for decades, sometimes just to keep the classic bicycle aesthetic. It’s funny that they...

Great question. You'd think so, but no. Because the BB sits below the axles, and because FC and RC are measured from the center of the hub axle to the center of the BB, the FC and RC don't form a straight line. They form a slight "V" as they both dip down to the BB. Then you consult Pythagorus to get the exact difference in length. [Editor's note: This is wrong. See @kperras post below for full and correct explanation]

I'm not saying that isn't a Manitou coil shock but the spring retention piece is very similar/same as a Vorsprung Telum: I'm fortunate enough to have a Telum and walked out to my garage to verify the shape as my first impression seeing the photo of that shock was 'that looks familiar'. You could say I was...bites knuckle...shocked. Not sure why Manitou hasn't made a coil shock in ages though so intrigued if it is a Manitou for sure.

I have heard from a LBS that Norco should have a new affordable simple Horst link DH option like around 6k CAD for a complete DH bike with Rockshox Select suspension for this spring-summer.

Someone does and they don’t even know it yet

I'm waiting for someone to make the claim they have the roundest wheel ever.

For a while, half the people I rode with were on one Forbidden model or another, and honestly, those frames have some of the worst QC and overall design execution I’ve seen in that price range. Unless it’s the bike’s very first ride, they creek like crazy, and the suspension pivot hardware is borderline laughable. A buddy of mine—who posts here pretty often—ended up getting his frame replaced under warranty after endless battles with headset creaking. Forbidden eventually admitted the carbon had ovalized. No, Specialized isn’t the most exotic brand out there, but I definitely wouldn’t put Forbidden anywhere near...

More fuel to that fire...

And that's the issue with being a bike nerd in western canada. I value descending performance over most other metrics, and like a bit of character to my bikes. Couldn't care less about road or gravel bikes. Specialized "specializes" in bikes that appeal to the weekend warrior that will be dropping the kids off at soccer first. So darn vanilla that you'll fall asleep reading the geo/spec chart. And I'm not talking about the advertising, I'm talking about the bikes. Ride a forbidden druid v2 and a sj15 back to back. The difference is stark. The levo 4 was a...

what, they didn't wanna make tens of dollars?

I'm not sure I'd put the SJ15 as a success, perhaps it's my own dislike of the special shock stuff, but the wireless only on the carbons and then the alloys being quite a bit later put a bit of a downer on it, felt like a step backwards vs the previous generation. Chisel is great tho, I love my chisel evo, there does seem to be a hole in the lineup between a chisel and a stumpy on the alloy front.

Gotta say, while not a huge specialized fan, there was a while there where i had to be like, don’t love em, but no denying they are doing good shit, but i think the stumpy and all their recent e-bikes have really missed the mark. I’m sure the new demo will be good, but that was developed back when all the good shit was being developed. Wonder if there were big changes over there, or they just missed.

Nah, The Industry™ will widely adopt the same marketing/design paradigm Orange wielded for so many years, moving the main pivot a couple milimeters up, then a couple milimeters to the front, then machining it before heat-treating the frame, then afterwards... Circle development, seasoned with a subtle price hike on each stop.

Great question. I read something recently that said XC mountain bike design, geometry and tech has basically been tapped out and every brand makes a very capable bike. Certainly plenty of bikes that look like the Epic. That’s hurting the industry as there’s not much new/improved to sell us consumers. So the question is, are 32er’s really an improvement or just something the industry is hyping to help boost sales? I don’t see a need for a 32 but will stay open minded. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

https://www.crankbrothers.com/products/plug-mate-tire-plug-anchor-kit 👀 No more blowouts.

Forbidden will have the e-dreadnought, with m2 motor, in april-may time frame. Limited initial run.