All

Good read. The only issue I have with this idea is that the makeup of the mtb consumer population is different from say the general shopping population which are looking for mid-priced goods. If I were to speculate, it's that we will see a shift away from the high end product towards mid-end product for the reasons you've laid out. We already see that sentiment here in the forums, on new product launch articles, with fatigue over electronics taking over from their mechanical siblings, or the swing back to high end alloy components over their carbon counterparts. Mountain Bikers that...

Nice read, and I think in the future you'll be able to extrapolate this theory out even further with the hollowing out of the middle class. PS, fuck Marc Andressen. He is a parasite who is part of the intentional collapse of America in an attempt to move toward corporate fiefdoms AKA "Network States". Marc quotes Nick Land in his "Techno-Optimist Manifesto". Land is blatant racist whose ideas include "hyper-racism" (literally).

Great read, and a pretty brief effective summary. Sadly... I agree with your analysis. Sad because middle is nice, and extremes are tough. But yeah.

My latest mulling over the barbell effect and how it might apply to bikes. In essence, in this post I play with the idea that we're seeing a hollowing out of the middle, both with respect to company size and product pricing. // Substack // Blog EDIT: I've given @sspomer permission to post any of my stuff in full here so you don't have to click through to anything. Plus, I'm totally cool with him editing it (which I very likely need). If you all want me to aim at anything specifically for next week just let me know!

I have to say I completely agree with what’s already been said here. This type of mudguard solution is not new, other brands have been doing it for years. Personally, I run an EXT Vaia fork and bought this version of their fender: https://visionvelo.eu/product/ext-vaia-racing-mudguard/ In my experience the quality isn’t great, the hose clamp actually broke after just two days of bike park riding and for the price it’s honestly pretty crazy for what’s essentially a mudguard. But regardless of the quality, the point is that this exact concept already exists on the market, so trying to claim novelty here...

Darren, I feel like you probably already know this, or at least you should already know it, but this is a ridiculous claim and isn’t a defensible patent based on prior art. There are multiple previously existing fenders for inverted forks have attached the fender to the stanchion guards. Off the top of my head: 1.The Manitou Dorado has had fender a fender that is integrated into the stanchion guards since at least 2019. 2. The EXT Vaia Has a similar type of fender that attaches to the stanchion guards. 3. There are a multitude of motorcycle forks the have...

NO INTENDS FOR YOU (AMERICANS) (blame the fat fuck)

We've had zero issues with bearing life or even paint for that matter and im going to say it: 100% success rate in washing with a pressure washer(being a basic one on 'fan' mode.) without 1 bearing failure from water. Build your bike to make it easy Maintenace for a customer the mtb industry moved away from exposed bearings many years ago so this issue of pressure washing risk of bearing rust should be next to gone if using a proper shielded washer/thick grease.

Eh I guess that's nice? Dissector was always an OK tire, not really better in any way than the Spec Eliminator. Do they last more than 6 rides? That's really what we all truly need to know. The Eliminator T7/9 grid gravity has been the burly, long lasting Dissector you've been wanting all this time. The new v2 Eliminator is more gravity focused than the old one. Better cornering and braking traction. Once I burn through my Spec tires I'm trying Contis to see if I've been missing anything.

It’s time people accept that we ask 140mm frames to ride the same trails and features that used to be exclusive to downhill bikes. The big difference is the trail bike has to do it with a dropper post and 12 speed cassette

I wouldn't be surprised if they basically end up with three key frames: Next Gen Top Fuel for Cross Country/Downcountry/Trail Fuel for Trail/All-Mountain/Enduro Then the Next Gen Slash/Session for Enduro/Downhill. Similar to the latest Orbea Rallon. I actually saw this on the Slash FB page the other day, apparently it’s a custom 190/190mm travel Gen 6 Slash with custom rocker/lower linkages and dual crown fork. I imagine a Slashession would be extremely popular since it can be pretty hard to justify a downhill bike for a lot of people, but something that could do both without too many compromises would...

From the consumer side it definitely looks more complex, but from the manufacturing side even with all these options they have still reduced their SKU's, what was previously three bikes has now been wrapped into one frame, the only parts that change are the Rocker links and lower shock mounts which are pretty small and easy to manufacture. Before they had three bikes, the Remedy, Gen 5 Slash and Fuel, each with their own corresponding parts, e.g different rocker links, different chainstays, different seatstays, different frames, etc. Now with the new model, you have one frame, one set of seatstays/chainstays...

my gen 7 ex 8 is approx 15.8-15.9kg... thats nowhere near DH bike's... in its burly config the alloy is similar weight to a Pro's enduro bike ... Comparing to my slightly lighter test bike - spectral AL 6(new one) I dont think i can tell a difference... In stock form the 30t ring gets the cranks moving more but i've since swapped to SLX drivetrain with 32T ring and swapped wheels/tyres, fork and some other bits over and according to my ride Data, theres no measurable difference - i certainly didnt feel any difference(this is based on my Daily...

That face when a square section is randomly welded inside my front triangle and you ask if its for a proprietary frame storage bag and I say "No, but if you're in NEED of a stylish website today... YOU TOO can promote your business online with SQUARE SPACE" (and then proceed to drop in to the easiest line at San Clemente and go over the bars on the second gap jump)

Oh every single bike will be an ebike but with the latest and greatest underpowered Fazua battery (to keep weight down) so that you go about as fast as your normal biking friends (don't wanna leave friends behind), and so the battery dies after about an hour. So that you are forced to buy the range extender and give up a water bottle slot. But don't worry. We will be integrating a hydration system within the carbon frame with a hose that leads directly to your face. Also it will come stock with Mountain Dew Baja Blast (further Baja Blast...

Maybe this was wondered over on another page on this thread, but how is it that Niner is still around? Been a long time since I've seen one 'round my parts, and even then those were pre2020 models. Can't recollect seeing a modern one on any of my MTB trips over the last decade.

Heard from a credible source that Kona is done. Employees told today, PR tomorrow. RIP (Small chance a buyer will step in but not holding my breath).

Beringer the motorcycle brake brand out of France known for their high end brake systems for motorcycles has stepped into the mtb market, these brakes are CNC machined that are made in house in their factory in France. They are not cheap they start at €999 & €1199 for the custom option. https://www.ride-beringer.com/components/en/content/10-br4ve-braking-sy…

Steel for the teeth, carbon for the spider, aluminum for the direct mount attachment. $149. I wonder if you could reduce the eventual cost of replacement by making just the wear portion of the chainring replaceable, and integrating the spider into the crankarm since the spider doesn't experience any wear.... no, that's too ludicrous to consider. (I'm sure it's a very nice chainring. Just funny how we end up engineering ourselves almost all the way back to older concepts.)