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posting a question i heard it in a text thread - WBD signed an 8-year deal w/ UCI in 2022. how does ditching one of the events before the contract is up work? is it breach of contract? does someone get paid out? are they vague b/c they're sorting those details out?

It's an unbelievably vague press release. My first thought was that they were trying to sugarcoat "We're killing the series forever" in positive-sounding corporate-speak, but on second read it's kind of wishy washy and undefined, like maybe the UCI is exploring ways to offload the series to another organizer or multiple organizers, which is what it was all along until Chris Ball sold it to the UCI. Back in the day, the EWS was mostly a collection of events that were already taking place independent of the UCI, like the SuperEnduro series in Italy or Crankworx Whistler. After rereading it...

Sorry, yeah... I think you're the only one.

Kneepads at ankles is the way to go and I refuse any other opinion on the matter. I prefer my knees not constantly feeling like they are going to get some form of trenchfoot (trenchknee?)

Im not core enough to comment on the core element of this. But I gotta say I agree with Lars on the long travel bike thoughts. I still love to go for big long pedals. I want to rip downhill, but it needs to still let me climb a shit ton in a day. Although I do pedal with my knee pads around my ankles. D:

Yes, all rim production is still in Kamloops.

It doesn't matter as much on the way up, but it certainly does on the way down. Heavy bikes are less agile and take more effort to move around. When speeds are below a certain threshold, a heavy bike just won't handle that well. Changing direction on a 50lb bike vs. a 30lb bike is a noticeable difference in effort. When speeds go up, you're generally riding or looking the straighter open lines that don't require as much input.

True Core isn't discussed, claimed, or performative. It just is. Anyone that claims to be core, isn't. Anyone talking about what is or is not core, isn't. Anyone that puts any effort into being core, isn't. Core just doing it for the love of it with zero concern for whatever is going on around you. Unfortunately for us in here neither age, experience, knowledge, or riding ability, makes us core. I would surmise that there are very few true core people out there in the rest of the world, and they likely don't care about receiving the title if they...

I do enjoy seeing those kind of topics come up, and I think that there can't be a definitive answer. Being "core" depends on everyone's point of view since there is no fixed point of view on that. But I do think that there are some basic "core" values related to mountain biking, as there are core values in the hardcore music scene for example. Core MTB values that help the community stay fun : respect the trail work, respect other riders and their skillset, be courteous in the trails and help build trails if you can.

I don't think confirmation bias is exclusive to bosch owners.....

Completely agree. Someone at some point made the same observation when comparing mountain bikes from 1990 to 2010. Today I would prefer to ride the 2010 bike myself, but 6 year old me wouldn't have compiled enough experience to care as long as the tires weren't flat. Youth E-MTBs are for the parents, not the kids.

Beware the guy at the group ride who claims to be coming off the couch.

How did we ever have fun riding bikes as kids before batteries and motors? What a terrible childhood I must have had.

The riders are NOT earning more due to the WB deal. Overall they are getting the much the same, while as the teams have to fork out more to even be present there will be less riders getting paid moving forward. The UCI is getting paid vastly more, but that increase is NOT translating into more money from the UCI into mountain biking. It's a con job by a bloated corpulent and corrupt organization frankly.

John Tomac is widely considered one of the greatest (American) mountain bike racers of all time. During the early years of international racing he won numerous DH and XC events. He went on to be the namesake and involved with Tomac bikes. The 204 DH frame in the photo was their flagship model. The bike company then ceased to exist (in the late 2000s?). I also believe he helped coach several (a lot?) of racers over the years including Aaron Gwin for a time. Finally, if you’re into motocross, he is the father of Eli Tomac. Basically, John Tomac was...

Wow. Seeing a Tomac 205 with a belt drive gearbox wasn’t on my bingo card this year.