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I like all your trail takes –– I think we like the same kind of fun. This makes me want to go to Whistler!

I do not disagree that income inequality, housing costs, weak local economies, and the erosion of discretionary spending make it harder to sell expensive recreational products. I have been making that argument for a while, and it fits directly into the “barbell hypothesis.” That said, invoking homelessness, smartphone addiction, Strava, cul-de-sacs, and the broader failures of capitalism does not demonstrate that independent bike shops are unbankable or that cycling culture is broadly collapsing. This conversation has taken a relatively narrow discussion about dealer economics and expanded it into a sweeping cultural diagnosis that is difficult to respond to directly, though...

Ah, got it. So shops were opening entirely new brand accounts to gain access to Avinox inventory and capitalize on the hype. That is materially different from an established dealer in good standing being required to fund inventory before taking delivery. Most of my finance work is one step upstream from the retailer, but every outdoor company I have worked with offers qualified dealers terms. Cash up front is generally reserved for new accounts, weak credits, or unusual demand situations. The Pivot example sounds less like a failure of dealer financing and more like shops making a speculative inventory bet...

Anecdotally, I have noticed multiple shops this summer that are down on stock of things like helmets, stems, pedals, gloves etc. because they frantically tied up their free cash pre-ordering Avinox equipped bikes... that still aren’t on the floor… in that brief period before all the Eeb-talk went Gobao and E-cvt shaped. This is all pretty much exactly what Richard Cunningham predicted when he resigned from Pinkbike a few years ago. A horsepower-driven race to the bottom.

So stoked to put them on my bike, i think its gonna be a great upgrade. Gotta head to the LBS to fit some caliper spacers and then im off to the trails to bed em in. Was able to get two for cheaper than a single Galfer shark, from amazon of all places... They were selling them in pairs for $165 CAD.

My wife and I were there From the 10th to the 18th for the first time in about 4 years. It was our first trip back since having kids. My hot take was that it's actually a really fun place to take the whole family. Family Stuff: Axis bike camps are sick, they have drop in and weekly options. We took our Toddler who just turned 3 in June and when we picked him up he was riding his pedal bike on his own. He could pedal prior to our trip but needed help starting. He was fully independent on...

don't want to derail too hard, but are people having trouble sourcing XC bikes/gear/parts in a similar way to DH parts that were mentioned? i would figure XC is way less niche, but am curious.

Horst Link Knucklebox

Giant Syncdrive motors are not produced in-house. The center drive motors are rebadged Yamaha units and the hub-drive likely bafang produced . I would describe the product development as “semi-custom” with unique user interface, software and tuning. Having them branded as a Giant product has advantages for the consumer as they become the source for tech and warranty support and distinguishes the product from other companies offerings. This is similar to what Specialized has done with Brose and Mahle made products.

It's physics. The braking torque applied increases linearly with the radius of the brake disc. Torque = Force × radius Ignoring other variables (like brake setup, applied force on the lever, same disc design, equally bed in brake pads and discs), increasing the brake disc diameter from 200 mm to 220 mm corresponds to a 10% increase in braking torque. This, in fact, feels for the user like "power is more easily accessible" and "you don't need to squeeze the levers as much". It's actually 10% less squeezing 😄 Then there are other benefits like a generally cooler disc and...

It is, the DHR in the rear is draggy as, the dhf rolls way nicer

Seeing these Trek abominations its funny how it goes exactly in the opposite direction of what we see with high rise bars and reverse stem combo in gravity. Once these realities will meet in the near future we will end up somewhere in the middle with straight 50mm stems… oh wait.

it was quiet a "shock" that rebound was maxed with a rider at only 170lbs. aside from when we did our $2k budget bike test 5 or 6 years ago, we haven't seen anything this dramatic w/ a tune.

Avinox is far from a monopoly. Looking just at MGUs, I wouldn't underestimate players like Gobao. And, more broadly speaking, I wouldn't count out TQ or Bosch just yet. But SRAM and Shimano have had a duopoly in the drivetrain market for ages, so maybe it's about time some others get some market share too. While I like both companies, I'm certainly not looking at the current landscape and saying "I hope this doesn't mean I'll be able to choose something other than SRAM or Shimano in the future."

Nice! This is great info. I'm surprised, but encouraged to see it. I certainly hope SRAM and Shimano are both able to roll out new motors and compete with Avinox. Monopolies are bad.

Respectfully, were you able to change rear spring rate on both bikes? I can see that the V10 has a coil, but I can't tell on the TR11 because the shock is behind your leg. I ask because one of the worst days of bike riding in my life was when I rented a V10 from a shop in Creekside (maybe Coastal Culture Sports? I can't remember) that had a coil rear shock. I hadn't ridden a DH bike in years at that point and had been loving my XL 29" Megatower, so I was excited to see what a...

For what it's worth your experience with the new TR11 and the new RS suspension tracks pretty well with what I've seen. I got my wife a TR11 in the S size and she's a good rider, but wanted a couch with some wheels attached over a lap time hunting machine. I wasn't sure she would ever find bottom on the new boxxer without having to run a stupid amount of sag, but to RS credit she's able to use full travel when appropriate and run the recommended PSI. As for my fox 40. I love the thing but it...