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Wow. Thanks for sharing. What an incredible inside scoop and a reminder that sometimes... common sense makes business sense.

It's a very interesting and impressive interview. Thank you, Sam, for taking the time and going so much into detail and also Jeff, of course for trying and then making this happen! It was interesting to hear how YT experienced the turbulent times during covid. For us, I can say, that we already saw OE orders being postponed and cancelled already around Q2 2022. But the more important thing happened to me in April 2021. There was one particular OE customer who used to need around 1,500 post per year from us. End of 2019 (pre-Covid) we received a projected...

Wrapped up @jeff.brines podcast with Sam yesterday. I'm definitely not a business wonk, but I really appreciated the high-level business discussion that was still digestable for me, as an educator who runs a school. It also gave me a lot to think about even in my own practice of being the "CEO" of a school around making tough decisions, strategy, and revenues vs. outflow. Anyway, I feel like this sort of business insight into the bike world might have a somewhat limited audience... but I do think that it follow the 1,000 true fans model that the people who appreciate...

Two bikes for me and I am very happy with them for the area I live in. YT Izzo, perfect trail bike for my immediate local area Orbea Wild, also a fun bike for my immediate area and I use it for bike park days as well. Let the hate of using an e-bike at a bike park commence. Cheers!

@jeff.brines' interview with Sam Nicols, YT CEO from 2021 to 2024. some really interesting insights about the inner workings of a brand like YT. i found the bike ordering, building and assembly process fascinating. 00:00 Introduction to Sam Nicols and YT Industries 01:49 Sam's Background and Career Path 09:28 Challenges of Stepping into YT During the Pandemic 11:35 Navigating Supply Chain Issues and Customer Care 16:01 The Private Equity Interest and Acquisition Process 23:45 Aligning Goals with Private Equity 30:15 Understanding the Risks of Private Equity 34:11 The Impact of Market Conditions on YT's Valuation 37:05 Transitioning to In-House Assembly...

Commencal have had their media / video / production done in-house for a long time; Leon Perrin who made that video has been there for like 10 years now I believe? In that case it is worth noting as a very different business approach to marketing from just about every other company out there. That's why ALL of the video production is so coherent, on-brand etc, they've actually invested in having that capacity rather than the "throw $X at filmer Y to make a video with athlete Z about product A" that most other brands seem to have.

ten minutes... not gonna let that pass the sniff test. i usually like my lies to be a touch on the believable side. (less on the contrived hype, FOMO side)

yeti sb160 is all i ever need. can do every type of riding i prefer with it. flowtrails, hometrails, enduro races, park laps, you name it. plus a transition pbj for DJ and pumptracks.

4 bikes here, from least to most suspension travel. -Cannondale Supersix Evo road bike. It's a road bike, sometimes I like to get fit and ride fast in a bunch. -Transition Spur as an xc bike, though it's kinda downcountry, I have raced xc on it. Extremely capable bike though considering it's 120mm front and rear with xc suspension. -Transition Sentinel. Great trail bike, mine is nearly 6 years old and still going strong, though it has had replacement tracker links and chain stays under warranty. -Trek Session. New to me for this summer because I had a mid life...

I ditched all my "pedal-fast" bikes (road, cross/gravel, XC, short travel trail, AM) after I stopped riding them, in favor of my 140mm FS emtb. I replaced it with a 160 FS emtb 10k miles after, and have not looked back. I started to convert to a lifestyle rider, using the bike more more utilitarian purposes, like transportation for work and errands (groceries), replacing enough car trips that I felt I could go without a car. I carried a bike lock with me on all my trips, and had a bag ready for bringing stuff home. I didn't really need...

okay okay... just... on the TOPIC of whats good vs whats bad marketing for bikes (and me boomer-moaning about how it used to be cooler). this is EXACTLY... EXACTLY how you market your brand. I almost forgot how legendary Commencal's media production is cuz I feel like there were less concentrated edits in recent years. wow

Others already said it, but we’re a narrow niche inside the bike world. Most people buy bikes based on price, performance, and looks. Unless Markus turned out to be the literal devil, most riders won’t care. And even within our little corner, plenty of people see him as a kind of “savior,” so it’s not like there’s consensus, outside this thread. There’s also a bit of hypocrisy here. I almost always judge a product on those same factors: price, performance, and looks. I’m not doing deep research on the CEO’s ethics, whether employees were treated well, or whether vendors got...

I'm also from Germany, and I have to say that I was equally irritated by how casually people (or at least those commenting) dealt with all the YT fuss. I hope it’s just the people who comment. But outside the „real interested bike-people-bubble“, I think nobody cares if they don’t know the YT story.

Late to the discussion- but I think you'd have to be a pretty good rider doing A-B-A-B testing to feel 250g of unsprung weight on the rear wheel. The unsprung weight on the rear end is probably about 5kg- wheel, tire, brake caliper, cassette, derailleur, chainstay/seatstay, link etc. 250g is a small % change. Another thing I didn't see any discussion about is the fact that the tire is kind of suspension for the wheel. A heavier wheel might make the tire work harder and filter out some vibration before it can even get to the axle. Think about a...

I suspect the demographics of this forum are less susceptible to hype on average... But everyone can get caught up in the moment on occasion.

Kinda insane how quiet he went after Hardline. His clips are some of the most unhinged, epic clips of all freeride. It would be so goated if he just went radio silent the entire rehab and swooped back in with a banger edit. He's def entering 'ur fav rider's fav rider' territory. Just good to watch