All

With the global bicycle market coalescing around “mobility solutions” as the future profit center the American response that you are “afraid to ride to work” is just about all the economic insight needed to understand why this thread will soon be 150 pages long. The number of Americans I know who have held pro dh licenses but are hesitant riding a bicycle from their own homes to run an errand is staggeringly high. I mean, I get it, but I don’t have to like it. Before People For Bikes (the defacto US industry trade lobbying group) became embroiled nonstop in...

Speaking for the US only, cycling infrastructure is terrible across the country with only a few bright spots. I have commuted by bike for twenty years and have had so many near death experiences. Public transit in the US is also woefully underfunded and underdeveloped. That’s by design since the US political system has been corrupted by petroleum/auto money for nearly a century. (also add in distance and weather realities) And I could go on…

Spoken like a boomer core lord. That’s what the viral forums seem to have become though. Dario is actually a breath of fresh air in mountain bike media, same as Jason. His perspective is a welcome change from the usual safe, generic industry takes the rest of the media recycles time and time again.

Let’s reframe the debate. It’s not really about whether bikes are more or less affordable than before. It’s about how they could be made more affordable today, and whether the traditional bike industry is even structured to go that direction. Right now, the narrative is almost always performance, performance. Lighter. Stiffer. Faster. More race-proven. That’s great but “simple, fun, affordable” is rarely part of the story. The e-mobility space is interesting because it already brought unexpected players in. Who would’ve imagined Bosch or DJI becoming major forces in e-bike systems? That alone shows the door is open to newcomers with...

Wait a sec… tariffs are taxes paid by US importers and will eventually be passed on to the end consumer in the form of higher prices? Get outta here with that nonsense!

"We have been shoveling money into US Customs and Border Protection faster than we can make it. It's literally our entire operating margin," Evil's Moeschler noted. "We've had some short-term methods to offset the cash that we're shovelling into the government. But that wasn't a long-term plan. That was just, 'here's what we can do for a little bit' – but now we need something to change high level with the US government." Absolutely brutal, horrible way to have to run a business. Just lighting money on fire. IDK, maybe its a PR move from a lot of companies, but...

What an interesting turn this would be, they already make backpacks and tailgate pads so there could be something to this. If I were a ski brand, after this abysmal winter in the west, I’d also be diversifying the portfolio to adding summer products… Big investment if true but the bike looks sick.

I'm not sure I'd put the SJ15 as a success, perhaps it's my own dislike of the special shock stuff, but the wireless only on the carbons and then the alloys being quite a bit later put a bit of a downer on it, felt like a step backwards vs the previous generation. Chisel is great tho, I love my chisel evo, there does seem to be a hole in the lineup between a chisel and a stumpy on the alloy front.

We don't have any Marin County fire roads in VT.

I'd think that if they released one or two more generations of duds, they'll find themselves losing a bunch of market share. Their target demographic won't stay ignorant forever.

Seeing as SRAM has not released a derailer that doesn’t have that direct amount. I wonder how that’s going to affect downhill bike frame design because most downhill bikes have adjustable chain, stay with a flip chip so bikes like the V10 I would say the most sought after downhill don’t have the ability to run the new downhill transmission. I know the last generation TR 11 is also a Flip chip as well it looks like all bikes are gonna have to go toward modular dropouts like forbidden otherwise you’re stuck only being able to offer the older drivetrain...

We'll see how the dust settles, but currently the situation is worse. Trump responded by doubling down and increasing baseline global tariffs from 10-15% and re-introduced even more confusion and uncertainty where this will all land.

Straddling the line of wanting to hold out in hopes things will stabilize vs upgrading now to have a freshie before Total Economic Collapse

Good on RAAW for trying to be pro-active on that shit timing, but jesus what a nightmare. I chose a great year to focus on savings instead of hobby spending, I hope there are products to buy on the other side of this (joking...kinda).

Someone just posted in the RAAW thread on PB. I'm guessing this is just going to be a US issue due to a certain level of... uncertainty... these days? They got this email last night. " Hi xxxxx, First of all, we would like to thank you for your order and we're happy you've chosen to ride a RAAW in the future. Unfortunately, we need to inform you about a short-notice change in the shipping process that affects your DHL shipment, which has already been dispatched. DHL has recently changed its customs clearance procedure for shipments to the USA. However...