All

Wait. For accuracy I have to call this out: two things can be true at once. The defense contracting world has historically been a stealthy, backroom deal making, hush hush industry and Silicon Valley types can buck that trend while still building legitimate business and being very important people at their respective companies. To act like Palmer Luckey or someone like Alex Karp are not making real decisions because they show up on podcasts from time to time or come from tech is wrong. Palmer runs Anduril. Alex runs Palantir. Do you really think they do not influence outcomes at...

ya, strange one if true. PFR should have been rebranded BK Lifestyle Racing a long time ago, as it seems the primary reason Bernard runs that team is to fund his own preferred lifestyle. A guy who's so close to consistent top 10s like Maples needs better I feel.

Was it the broadcast that they said he had multiple options (like 6)? Seems like a decent bike but weird team fit, would prefer to see him on a Yeti, Crestline or Frameworks.

Except Orwell never actually said that at all, so get back on your Google machine and do some research because you are actually talking about yourself & your ideas, not Orwell or this article... did you even read it? What Orwell was talking about at the time was some intellectuals who supported totalitarianism – and obviously this article is about Ebikes - with data - and making strong point about training zones, so your quote & logic here is about as relevant and sharp as a spent chainring

Is this just a low key flex that you own two of the coolest bikes on the market?? 😂😂

If WBD was a guy you know, he’d be in sales.

No team rumor disclaimer. Baseball is a viable TV package. Hell, there was a World Series game the other night that went 18 innings and orders of magnitude more people watched the whole thing than watch DH. The length of the broadcast isn't what's keeping us from going mainstream, it's the bikes. The crucial number that I hope WBD are operating with is: "how many non-bikers watch The Tour". We'll likely never be over that number.

Shimano's latest for their first 9 months compared to same period last year (Bicycle Division) *Sales up 5% *Operating income down 27% * Net profit (overall company) thus far is down 61% y/y. Commentary They are cautious on changes in trade policies around the world and "rising geopolitical risks" caused by prolonged international conflicts. They also cite a US economy that is showing signs of deceleration amid the "cooling sentiment due to rising prices stemming from tariff hikes and a slowdown in the labor market". With respect to bikes, specifically, they are noting "While the strong interest in bicycles continued...

Interesting feedback! Cool to hear that you had the opposite problem with spring rate calculations. I think optimal spring rate is pretty subjective overall, and while there are many wrong answers, there isn't one correct answer for any and all riders of a certain weight, height, riding style, etc. For a long time I've thought it was pretty bold of any company to try to guess spring rate over the internet (whether that company is Vorsprung, Push, EXT, etc), but this was my first time trying out a company's best guess. I was actually surprised how close they got, only...

Hot take: we need less elites in finals (for men). I'd vote for 20 Elite Men, 15 (and eventually 20) Elite Women in Finals. Maybe not right this moment, but eventually. The current package is already a long watch, and they still don't capture entire runs of every rider. I think there is lot of potential with less racers to hone in on elevating each racers notoriety; potential to adjust the schedule to minimize track degradation and allow for safer speed increases throughout a weekend; and hopefully more money paid across the entire field. These changes feel very dependent on...

I can chime in here on this one. I just took gx axs transmission off of my trail bike in favor of eagle 90. I retained the XS1275 cassette and the x01 chain that I was running previously and replaced the controller and derailleur for eagle 90 parts. FWIW, I am running a 53mm chainline crankset and chainring on this bike. From my experience with several bikes, there is not a shift quality difference with 53 vs 55 chainline on transmission. Overall, I'm happy with eagle 90 and impressed with it. The shift quality is pretty much on par with...

Carbon pinion MGU Zerode ??

So Trek Factory has "ocean" side views next year?

As one who had a 'career' in freeride and spent that career working to get into Rampage, I have a lot to say about Rampage, its evolution, and its current state. I will try to keep it short. The professionalization of Rampage over the last 25 years has made for a better event. Riders and builders are better paid. It has resulted in more coverage, more reward, and the ability to build a professional career around the event. Is it perfect? No. But it is pretty darn good. Is there room for improvement? Yes. Has it gotten safer for athletes...

V+R Racing is just two mere peasants (well, a nurse and a medical device engineer). When we started out in 2019 the two of us were just buying DH bikes for junior riders who needed them. Many seasons and many riders later, we had two world cup DH juniors in '25 with one finishing second overall and the other finishing 10th overall. We obviously can't afford our own team, but we can still be a hat/helmet sponsor. I'm still driving my 16 year old car - it just comes down to priorities for us. And we're proof it doesn't have...

This thread is reminding me of that one time Brian Cahal put 12spd and an axs dropper on his Phoenix for some enduro races