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I have both currently and I prefer the Oak levers. The freedom coast levers have a tighter (sharper) radius where they transition from the face of the lever up and over to the top/bottom and back. It can and does creat hotspots when I'm doing trails that are 1-2 miles and very steep and you're constantly on the brakes. Other then those extreme braking situations, the hot spot issue does not show up. The oak levers however have no such issues, have a more comfortable and eased hook to them and do add some leverage. Basically, the oak levers are...

Lead is problematic for multiple reasons. If you need something around the same density (i.e. steel isn't doing it for you) then I suggest 10 carat gold.

27.5/29 mullet ebike. Probably something modular and lighter weight like the Vala (can build it either 150/160 or 160/170) 29 downcountry / trail bike. Something like a Tallboy or Smuggler. Something I could ride all the trails on but lots of vert pedaling on too. Every other size combo can rot. Zero desire to ride any of them.

2024 was decided by one party offering no taxes on tips and overtime and the other offering a 50,000 dollar tax credit to start a new business. If you gonna throw poor people a bone at least make it something they can reach.

Jeff, Location is literally the only thing that matters for small-scale bike shops these days. To really thrive, many, many, things out of the control of a small business owner need to exist. To thrive, once it took building community in your store with group rides, racing, etc. Car-centric culture and social media driven concepts like strava have decimated the traditional ways an enthusiastic entrepreneur could build a business. People are afraid to ride road bikes, people’s egos have been cultivated to cater to Strava Kudos instead of Wednesday Night Worlds… the reality of bike shop ownership has become full...

Jeff, Yes, I know multiple shops that opened new accounts with new brands to try to get themselves some Avinox stock while the hype was boiling… Say someone wanted to open up a Pivot account(they had a couple Avinox bikes that were briefly in stock a month or so ago)…. that intial buy-in is a lot of cash. So say you bought your 3 bikes to open your account and only one of them is Avinox powered and saleable immediately for full-price… you are stuck with two bikes that were very expensive, and on paper, less-good” than the bike with...

This is pretty much my philosophy as well. I'm one of the few weirdos that was never willing to give up gripshift, so it's on all my Eagle drivetrains, and it is simple to fly through gears as fast as you want will spinning at low power. With any significant power, you better be good at easing up strategically during shifts though, or suffer the brutal clicking and popping noises that ensue. I think the marketing info that preceded the release of T-type indicated that it was designed with e-bikes in mind, where shifting under significant loads was expected, and...

Is it bad that I’m hesitant to pick up the new Fuel LX because “it’s just a Trek” even though it checks so many boxes and has been well received basically across the board? Or does speak to what Jeff is speculating?

Honestly not sure the development curve for 32" wheeled bikes will reach sweet-spot geometry before the novelty wears off, interest dries up and brands will pivot to mainly focusing on 29" again. I know of at least two somewhat major bike brands who are fully convinced that 32" wheels will not become mainstream in the mid-/ long term. They're of the opinion that 32" wheels will stick around for roughly 3-5 years before they no longer sell in any sort of profitable quantity and then go the way of 650B-Plus - that is to say, slowly die out except in...

So, I actually fill out those customer surveys that SRAM sends out after you register products. A few weeks ago, I got one related to ebikes. After I filled it out, they reached out (presumably also to other people) to see if I'd do a research interview. I said yes in hopes to read between the lines on what stuff they're considering. Based on the questions they asked, I'd say they're considering various motor options. Everything seems to be on the table from conventional to eCVT. Lots of questions regarding weight, range, power, durability, and aesthetics. Pure speculation on my...

This bit is hilarious to me

Jesse gives first impressions on the RMU night train and a few other components mentioned in the past few pages https://youtu.be/Hz7ZJv9h15o?is=CYMhI8FHTbgYXrEQ

Quick anecdote: I’ve convinced myself to race the MSC DH at Targhee, and the Geometron G1 I pieced together isn’t quite what I hoped it would be, at least not yet. Hence, I started looking for a proper DH bike that wouldn’t break the bank and every bike that was in my budget is out of stock. Then I started shopping for a handful of other DH-adjacent items, shoes, pants, gear, etc., and had the same reaction: inventory feels noticeably lighter across the board. And again, bargain pricing also seems much harder to find. Really hard, actually, which I guess...

just saw this in mojo suspension story. Looks like some kind of dual spring setup for fine tuning/recreating individual dual rate spring curve. I think Dave Garland did something like this for the boxxer quite some years ago.

Ok, so maybe not entirely, but I think a healthy chunk of the ebike market will go that way. I don't own one yet, so really just gaging by the people I see riding ebs around here. Most can't handle maintenance of any kind, so I suspect this will be their preferred option. Probably not for low-power SL bikes though.

I’m thinking about starting a new poll thread. It will be called “would you rather” The options will be: Would you rather take the time to actually read and learn about “ecvt’s” in regards to bikes? Orrrrrrrr…. Would you rather smash up an incandescent light bulb and smash the shards into your eyeballs? This thread is getting exhausting with gearbox nerds.

Not rumor or top secret tech (or is it?!), but all this SS talk got me excited... Fellow Luddites rejoice. $5 in hardware and proper reuse of a destroyed derailleur: Keeping it about tech, though, this little contraption really made me want to try the Lal Supre Drive. I hope the Supre Drive or similar concept shows back up in the future.