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ShapeThings Liked a reply to forum topic The Bikeconomics (Mega)Thread
9/26/2026 10:57am
What a boneheaded acquisition. The c-suite deserves to get vaporized over it. But we know they’ll be fine.
This forum topic has 5304 replies.
jeff.brines Liked a reply to forum topic The Bikeconomics (Mega)Thread
9/26/2026 10:57am
I'm going to try and include both sides of this, but the short answer is if I destroyed this much value in anything I was working on I'd 100% be fired (and maybe a lawsuit would follow).
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jeff.brines Liked a reply to forum topic The Bikeconomics (Mega)Thread
9/26/2026 9:34am
Hopefully I'll do a quick substack on this one, because its really bad. LOL. Fox bought the company for $572M, financed with debt. Interest on the debt was roughly $107-115M per year. The unit was generating roughly $65-73M in EBTIDA per year. When you net everything out, Fox lost about $400M before counting capex and working capital. The only thing Fox retains in this deal are the losses. No IP sticks around, not that they'd want it anyway. Baseball has nothing to do with suspension. OUCH.
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Primoz Liked a reply to forum topic Norco's New Team DH Bike and HVP6 Suspension Design
9/26/2026 7:24am
The marketing saying it's six links is muddying the waters. But yes, it's a linkage driven four bar, just like the old Demo and Enduro are or most (all?) Knollys.
This forum topic has 12 replies.
Sherbet Added a reply to 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
9/25/2026 2:14pm The DH is a Four bar linkage with two actuating links, not a Six bar in the sense of Commencal or Scott, where the extra arms define wheelpath. Obviously there's a lot more to linkages than 4 vs 6, and this new bike absolutely is not the "same" as the range, but they are both Four bar.
Sherbet Added a reply to Norco's New Team DH Bike and HVP6 Suspension Design
9/25/2026 2:02pm Am I crazy or is that just an inverted four bar? Upper "pulley" pivot is the main, down to the inverted horst link on the chainstay, chainstay to rocker link, rocker link connects to both another rocker as well as the main frame, but the link it actuates isn't doing anything with the wheel path, it's just an extra set...
Jason_Schroeder Liked a forum topic Norco's New Team DH Bike and HVP6 Suspension Design
9/25/2026 1:40pm
After five years of developing, testing, and racing, Norco has finally released its new downhill bike, appropriately named the Team DH. They started with their Range enduro bike, evolved on its high pivot design with some additional links, prototyped a bunch of frames in different materials, and then had its legitimacy proven by their factory team. Much of the process of creating the Team DH has happened in plain sight, so if you've been following along, what has become production may not be a huge surprise. But the fact that Norco is releasing the exact bike their factory team is...
This forum topic has 12 replies.
sethimus Liked a reply to forum topic The Bikeconomics (Mega)Thread
9/25/2026 1:25pm
or company bike leasing in germany. that’s huge over there. your employer leases the bike for you, sometimes pays also the full rates or partly, if the employee pays it gets deducted from their salary before taxes or all the social insurances, so they pay less than if they lease it on their own. one of the main reasons ebikes took off so hard in that market
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TheSuspensionLabNZ Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
9/25/2026 12:55pm
I think you kind of nailed the point- DH bike development isn't for selling DH bikes but selling trail bikes. The R & D probably helps the whole line up of bikes, but it raises the brands profile so much it doesnt matter if they make the money back on DH bike sales or not. Despite the high prices it wouldnt surprise me if they still aren't hugely profitable at all
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bambambigelow Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
9/25/2026 12:54pm
I'm with you on this. I always look at it like F1 is to the car industry. Some of that good tech eventually trickles into the grocery getters that I drive and I am better off for it. I like that some companies try crazy or impractical designs without considering cost. There are plenty of "dumbed" down DH bikes for people like me, but i do appreciate that there is super high end DH bikes that I can drool over and maybe ride in a parking lot someday. Also think I heard on a podcast onetime that the DH bikes...
This forum topic has 6552 replies.
sethimus Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
9/25/2026 10:51am
i suggest you read up and don't just look at the pretty pictures
This forum topic has 6552 replies.
Sherbet Added a reply to 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
9/25/2026 8:51am Doing specific molds, single size shock cradles, and etc seems like an expensive way to do it, but honestly, it kind of feels like the right way to do it. It's expensive, and they make another bike to grab if you're on a budget. I dig it.
Jotegr Liked a reply to forum topic The Bikeconomics (Mega)Thread
9/23/2026 10:19am
Trek has been making some interesting moves in BC. They told a bunch of A-level stores that they essentially had to become concept stores (80% of floor space dedicated to Trek and Bontrager) or they would get dropped, got told to f-off by those stores, dropped them, and now: are in the process of massively increasing the number of dealers in some areas without concern for overlap gave their A-level bike accounts to powersports stores in the region I wonder if this is happening elsewhere in Canada. They didn't really have anything to buy in the first place and their...
This forum topic has 5304 replies.
Sherbet Added a reply to 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
9/19/2026 11:22am Please tell me you have a video
CascadeComponents Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
9/19/2026 11:18am
After. It was one of the more comical experiences I’ve had with bike links. I don’t weigh a lot and I kept having to add more and more air to get sag (near max pressure and I’m only 150 lbs). So it was obvious something wasn’t right. Went to check the machining and the simulated machined part didn’t match the modeled part despite all the tool paths being up to date. Strangely the thing cleared full travel. Bounced on it a little for the fun of it… 170 mm of travel with a 45 mm shock stroke is probably one...
This forum topic has 6552 replies.
CascadeComponents Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
9/19/2026 9:23am
I don’t even know if that will happen! But if I had to make a rumor, it would be that Cascade is going to make a 170 mm Tallboy link. *this may have happened at one point due to a CAD software glitch
This forum topic has 6552 replies.
hamncheez2003 Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 Race Talk
9/18/2026 4:17pm
Live update from Midway. Also, excellent choice of words from my boots on the ground.
This forum topic has 1210 replies.
Sherbet Added a comment about feature G-Out Project - 2026 U.S. Open
9/18/2026 12:45pm
204 has some interesting ergonomics
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alonzobutler Liked a reply to forum topic 2026 MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation - Longer and Slacker
9/17/2026 3:10pm
Sorry, Dad.
This forum topic has 6552 replies.
ebruner Liked a reply to forum topic E-bike talk: not tech rumor derailment
9/17/2026 10:50am
For the most part, batteries are 1-1.2lbs per 100wh and that rings true for the bosch lineup. The 800wh is 2.1lbs heavier and the range extender is 3.3lbs heavier... again, in line with the 1-1.2lbs per 100wh. Since the 600+250 is 850wh and the 800wh is both less wh and less packaging, it's going to weigh less. We also have steep (and long) climbs where I ride and as mentioned I do a lot of big days on the bike. 8k of elevation gain is a glass ceiling with ebikes atm from my perspective. There is no drive unit on...
This forum topic has 1721 replies.