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Caerphilly, GB
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5/4/2023
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swoopswoop Added a reply to 2024 TEAM RUMORS
12/16/2023 10:35am Continental GT has got ultimate "marriage of convenience" vibes. Continental lose their bike partner and need a new one, GT don't want to have a Factory status team any more but still have product, 🤝.
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swoopswoop Added a reply to 2024 Racing Talk
12/16/2023 3:40am The GCN app and GCN+ streaming service were the dedicated app/service for watching bike racing. From the GCN closure announcement video it sounds like they were doing fine, and performing above WBD's expectations, but this is part of a much bigger push by WBD to consolidate their streaming services to save money/boost subscriptions. A quick reminder that WBD are something...
swoopswoop Added a reply to Wireless brakes - is this even slightly a good idea?
12/12/2023 2:53am That's the case with these brakes, they have a 'failsafe' like that built in. It gets explained in the Tech video about them: It is interesting to see how many people are talking about failsafe systems when no existing brakes have them. All of our hydraulic brakes default to the open position regardless - as my friend found out when...
swoopswoop Added a reply to MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation
12/5/2023 9:09am There's no way of braking with hydraulic brakes if they have a problem. It's easier to build a fail safe into a brake like that than it is with a hydraulic system, surely? e.g. if the caliper losses connection to the lever it could be set up automatically apply X amount of force to bring you to a controlled stop...
swoopswoop Added a reply to GCN App and GCN+ no more?
11/18/2023 8:16am It sounds like they're still working on rights in the US. Could just be that it's more complicated working around rights for that territory than it was elsewhere. Seems odd to have actioned this without a clear plan in place but my understanding is their financial year ends at the end of the calendar year so maybe it's something to...
swoopswoop Added a reply to 2024 TEAM RUMORS
10/21/2023 6:42am There's a bit more going on with the Wiggle CRC side of things - their parent company SSU had a contract for 3 years of funding (covering 2022-2025 from memory) revoked out of the blue at the start of this week by their parent company. SSU owned a lot of e-commerce/retail brands in different sectors in different countries. The factors...
swoopswoop Added a reply to 2023 Racing Talk
10/15/2023 2:14pm There was, but if you listen to the Vital podcast about how 2023 was compared to 2022, the views from most of those riders were extremely varied. Even just Bernard to Bruni. It wouldn't surprise me if they tried seeing what the union would be aiming to achieve, realised they all had vastly different end games in mind, realised there...
swoopswoop Added a reply to 2023 Racing Talk
10/12/2023 1:21pm World Champs have been on a separate media/broadcast licensing deal for a long time. It's nothing to do with the ESO/WBD takeover.
swoopswoop Added a reply to All Things MONT-SAINTE-ANNE World Cup Downhill
10/5/2023 11:27am How indeed... It's P26 on the regulations here. Could be that the local regulations supercede the UCI regulations, e.g. having to wear elbow or back protectors in World Cups in certain countries?
swoopswoop Added a reply to All Things MONT-SAINTE-ANNE World Cup Downhill
10/5/2023 5:31am The amendment's been in force since January: https://assets.ctfassets.net/761l7gh5x5an/7hc02SVWPcL4NXtg1DRyNB/4d882d…
trytochaseme Liked a reply to forum topic MTB Tech Rumors and Innovation
9/26/2023 2:47pm
I built some 170mm dorados a few years ago. they are the shiz
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swoopswoop Added a reply to UCI grant Discovery WC rights from 2023 to 2030
9/26/2023 2:46pm They posted a bunch of feed posts for each round, and Stories on race days. Not being able to see those posts in your feed is a result of social media algorithms. If you go to their account/profile you can see all the clips they've been posting through the year. Spoiler alert: it's more than 4.
swoopswoop Added a reply to How would you save EDR/EWS/"World Cup" Enduro
9/17/2023 3:17am Mercedes were spending significantly more than that during their peak years. The cost cap in place now is over €100million (can't remember what it is this year, €130m rings a bell), and they had to downsize their operation significantly to make that budget cap, as did Ferrari and Red Bull. The way the EDR works now is pretty much how...
swoopswoop Added a reply to How would you save EDR/EWS/"World Cup" Enduro
9/16/2023 11:33am In terms of iconic enduro events, we already have quite a few like the Trans Madeira, Stone King Rally, and events along those lines. Even just in the UK specifically we have a few stand-alone iconic events. In some ways I'm glad that the cool media is being put out by independent publishers. Misspent tell it how it is and...
swoopswoop Added a reply to 2024 TEAM RUMORS
9/16/2023 2:55am If you're seriously suggesting that the coverage of racing this year has had more of an impact on bike companies than the global economy and recovery from the pandemic you are absolutely dreaming. There have been multiple stories over the past 18-24 months about how companies have been paying more for stock/production/shipping than before, increasing their retail prices dramatically, and...
swoopswoop Added a reply to How would you save EDR/EWS/"World Cup" Enduro
9/16/2023 2:35am I can't highlight the right section of your quote, but Sven is doing exactly what you're talking about there, but for Misspent Summers. They're putting out little online zines/recaps every day from the DH and enduro World Cups, and Sven is interviewing riders which they're then posting on social media and possibly YouTube. I imagine the reason this is happening...
swoopswoop Added a reply to How would you save EDR/EWS/"World Cup" Enduro
9/15/2023 5:13pm To be fair I think that doubling up can work if it's done right. Both DH and EDR riders were keen on the tracks at Loudenvielle, and the same again now at Les Gets/Chatel. The issue, as ever, is coverage. It does seem like that has dipped a bit this year but as everyone says it's more WRC than F1...
swoopswoop Added a reply to LES GETS World Cup Downhill 🔴 FREE, LIVE RACING & RACE TALK 🔴
9/9/2023 4:31am Glad someone pointed this out. The narrative that DH is getting faster and more dangerous has been the same for years and years. The bikes are more capable than ever, riders train more and are fitter and stronger than ever - it's not too surprising that when everyone is pushing as hard as they are that when they crash, there's...
swoopswoop Added a reply to 2023 Racing Talk
7/8/2023 9:05am I don't remember Red Bull doing much other than just having the replay available to watch and posting winning runs? There wasn't a stand-alone recap show as far as I can remember, although I didn't really seek it out. The other video you're talking about wasn't GCN.
swoopswoop Added a reply to Crank length/bb height . Is shorter/lower the future?
5/4/2023 8:41am That's true for some cranks from some manufacturers. From memory, the SRAM GX cranks I had were essentially the same basic crank, but the pedal broaching was drilled in a different place. I had 175s on one of my bikes and got a set of 170s for another, and the overall crank arm length was the same but the pedal...