All

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

Me too! Love the dual crown setup on mine. My original V5 set up for park 180r/200f, dropper post, 10-42t 11sp. This year I got the G2 so my V5 went back to 160r/160f. High leverage link bumped it to 200r/200f. Ran the +10 and +20mm dropouts and really enjoyed the longer rear end. 9sp SmartShift Pinion, super quiet and planted like my e-bike. This bike eats. My buddy runs a Crestline setup similarly.

Go for it.. the Infinity EN solves all Enduro bike issues.. same hub, no adapters.., same stem.. low weight.. this one is the same I used on my canfield one.2... and the Spire with the CClink was 90% a DH bike.

Oh, how I miss the ole MBA days! Nothing was better than nudie magazine day! I mean new magazine day…

Hey look what I found in the parts bin: This was one of the last things I worked on at RS before I left... goal was to control big hits by weakening or slowing down the return of the air spring. I run my setup with a lot of spring and no damping, so getting bucked on big hits is part of the deal. This thing 'gulps' all the air in the positive chamber on compression and lets it out with a tiny delay (since it all has to go through the tiny hole to get out). No delay on...

I thought it was very brave of Ebruner to be vulnerable and share how many bikes he and his wife have. It can be tough to come clean. We’re all active or recovering bikes addicts here, and this is supposed to be a supportive community for recovery. Or enabling rationalizations and fostering codependency, if that’s what you’re looking for. Both, really. JUDGEMENT FREE SPACE

Facts from the Rumor forum: Nukeproof wants to stay true to its UK roots. Doesn't want to spend the money on a big team with flashy truck. New rider has luscious locks. There are two small (no truck or blue US school bus) UK based teams with Rider/Owners, but only one has long hair. Could we see a Nukeproof camper van pit set up?

I’ve been surprised for awhile there’s not a crowdfunded racing team. Put a bunch of fan fave riders on a fan fave team and watch magic happen like it did when Moir, Dean Lucas, and Charlie Harrison were together on Intense. Would pitch in a few hundred bucks for Frameworks or Gwin Racing to pick up Dak. Surely there’s a bunch of folks willing to do similar. Could do it under the auspices of Vital Racing

Easily mistaken for the real thing.