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Regarding weight, count the number of flex-stay single pivot bikes present on the world cup start line. Compare that to the suspension systems used in longer travel bikes of the same companies. Then think about the reason for this suspension choice. I'd hazzard a guess an aluminium dual short link Commencal bike would be at least a kilo up on the weight of competing XC frames. That's ~10 % at the total bike weight.

8 out of 10 riders at Proving Grounds would not even make it down the Hardline course.

He has said before that he cant just jump between bikes like Finn, he needs time to get used to it so it makes no sense to do in the middle of the season. So I guess the testing for 2023 has begun

He was there in 2017, sessioned some of the features but eventually decided not to try a full run.

She raced just 2 world cups in 2018, was a privateer as late as 2019, got the rainbow stripes in 2020, and is World Cup Overall Champion in 2022. Camille Balanche has had probably the fastest progression in Downhill MTB since Palmer. I hope she gets the best possible contract out there.

Cam contract might pivot swiftly.

Rami Malek to play Loris in trek racing vidoes in 2023

To be fair, both Charlie Hatton and Andy Kolb did have better seasons this year. Props to the Atherton crew for getting the team to another level.

Could it be a custom 160 mm crank or something like that? That would be my guess.

Roadies aren't supported by the big three as much as it might seem, yeah. But with MTB you can bet your behind that anyone not running a sponsored drivetrain (6 the rest of the gear) will run different cranks, brakes, suspension, etc., vs. full Sram or Shimano/FOX (or TRP/Shimano). Case in point, Specialized (Magura brakes and Ohlins suspension, taped over drivetrain), Neko (Kogel bearings, cranks, TRP brakes) and so on (don't remember any off the top of my head at the moment). There isn't as much outside money in MTB as there is in road cycling. The salaries and costs...

How come people are so interested in fullface helmet models? Its like this thread gets 50% of posts about helmets and the rest about all the other parts making up a bike.

Yea, "aero doesnt matter in DH" .... but riders have their pajamas custom tailored to basically turn them into skin suits...... the big teams still do wind tunnel testing.... in-too-fast-to-pedal sections fast riders get into their "speed-tuck" position. But "aero doesn't matter". No one is claiming multiple second differences with small changes, but it's pretty silly to think that it can't account for fractions of seconds over a 4+ minute track with some wide-open, very fast 60kph sections.

Bit late to post, but here are a few snaps I took of Finn's bike from MSA

Do you remember when there were events in RSA / AUS / NZL ? Pepperidge farm remembers