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If you are living 1000 years in the future, how can you answer reader mail promptly? Are you Joel or an actual robot like Tom Servo or Crow?

Have you studied how much weight reduction improves suspension? I'm not 100% convinced that reducing unsprung mass makes the bike go noticeably faster. If we are splitting hairs on descending performance why not chase the lost watts while climbing? I guess you could walk up and coast down with no drivetrain? Also gearboxes are expensive- and always will be due to machining. You can stamp 90% of the parts in a derailleur or cassette... Can't make a gearbox like that. This is all coming from a big gearbox fan- I made 2 frames with them... but both were terrible. haha

I firmly believe that there is only one hurdle to overcome with gearboxes, and it has nothing to do with efficiency. Between the top companies, there is enough funding and engineering creativity, to overcome all "problems" associated with gearboxes. We do not need constantly meshing gears that are way overbuilt for human power. Ceramicspeed's driven1 driveshaft system showed that you can beat the standard efficiency of a chain. But they made it over complicated and left it outside the bike..... The ONLY issue holding back gearbox drivetrains, is that the current drivetrain manufactures have an absolutely massive market domination on...

A long time ago (~15yrs ago) - I was watching America’s Funniest Home Videos and the host introduced the bike crashes section of the show by saying: “What is it about bicycles that makes regular people who get on one, think they are 5 times better then they actually are?” ——- Well this was, and is, a profoundly true statement and to this day i have not really been able to answer it fully. You hinted around the idea of this for #3 but also did not elucidate. It is like a koan of the bike

Does this mean the great Rolf Van Sosen, the account manager at Bellevue firm EquiMidas Equity Management and Investment Capital Strategies, LLC, is not as sick as a mountain biker his instagram account portrays him to be?

"Jeff Bezos has two feet and two hands, but he isn’t a human being." Top notch. Maybe the toppest of all conceivable notches. If I may offer a pared-down version of the answer (knowing full well that I am likely to be roasted and then have the charred flesh torn from my bones,) the suck comes from an overwrought ideal of individualism. Dare I say neoliberalism? We're not the only ones out there enjoying the trails, and our amusement is never more important than anyone else's right to enjoy the trails.

Good points... if I'm honest with myself, I'd say it took me a good full year of riding clips to fully regain the same confidence I had in cornering and slow tech gnar. But I know I am a faster racer on clips so I stuck with it. One of the keys for me is using Crank Brothers easy release cleats. I don't seem to have any issues with accidental releases but I can get out really quick when I need to... and I think mentally knowing I'm able to get out quick helps.

Great advice and insights, plus a reality check. Excellent way to start a Monday! Keep these coming!

If transition brings aluminum back like they are promising they deserve a big nod. Everyone is still copying their geo from 4 years ago and most still haven’t figured out getting the extremely low stand over the transition line has. I’m also a huge fan of their content of fresh cut trails by a pretty unique gang of people.

Ah, noticed the details in the review afterward. Sorry

Whats in - turning your canti/v brake retro 90's hardtail bike into a gravel grinder.

Out: Bro Deals and Employee Purchase (Perks) Bike Companies: "Hey we're really busy and are selling loads of stuff (all at full RRP), so because of that were going to stop our employee perks as a thank you to all of our staff or all of their stellar work this year. They still get minimum wage, so they'll be alright" What a time to be working in a bike shop. You'd think it would be different and that they'd be trying their best to show how much they value their workers.