@dig-with-Al Dude, not saying that they should stop working, but Megavalanche is longer than most people( or at least me) will ever descend. Very interesting about the boiling point though. I have some friends that use different fluids for certain races like that. Of coarse the brake companies never like that. 250lb rider weight is pretty considerable on long descents also. I’m glad the Shimano’s work for you though. Plenty of my friends like them. But plenty of them don’t. Like any brake. I happen to love the hc3 levers, but that’s preference for sure. I hope to do megavalanche someday, at least you survived!

That’s going to be rad!

Both are adjustable, both are comfortable, but I still like the MT7s better. They are nothing but consistent, where the bite point wanders a bit on the XTR. Magura has a bunch of different leavers you can buy to dial in the fit as well. The XTRs stock levers are actually really nice though. For me MT7 for sure.

If you look at the frame weight with the coil shocks, it’s not that bad weight wise. Throw on the DD tires that other manufacturers are too scared to spec on their bikes in order to hide their weight a bit and it looks pretty decent. All that being said my Demo 29 Dh rig is running 38 lbs...

I have been running the new XTR groupset for 3 months now and it’s been rad. I’ll try and right my own review soon, but over all I would agree with this being the best out there right now from a performance perspective. Incredibly reliable, and super fun to shift at otherwise inappropriate times. I can say if you don’t like climbing, or even trail riding with lots of ups and downs then you might look elsewhere to save weight or money. This groupset is the best for hard riding with hard climbing in mind. I can’t comment on the four piston brakes yet, but the 2 piston brakes, even after swapping to bigger rotors just don’t do it for me. They work, but not as well as my lighter weight MT7 Magura brakes. To end on a positive note the brake levers on the XTR are very comfortable.

I have spent the money, and I really like it so far, at least compared to the XX1 set up. Sure I could have saved maybe a half pound going with an XX1 groupset, but the XTR has been wicked. I think I forgot how to properly shift now that I haven’t had to. Technical climbs where you mess up a bit and need to do a quick shift are no problem under power, full power. Other than a random broken chain, I have not had one issue over three months. For me at least, this was well with the price. I’ll have to try the four piston brakes though, the two piston even on my Ibis Ripley feels a bit weak.

lol Yes, you aren’t wrong, but really increasing the “trail” figure of the bike in order to make the bike feel more stable without having to stretch the reach even more or make the bike even more slack seemed overkill to say at the time. I’m sorry

I think their website is all messed up. Yeti claims a size Large is 505mm reach. The xl is 505, the large is 480.

Three years ago it wouldn’t have had a 37mm reduced offset fork to bring the front wheel closer.

They are the guide 2 brakes. I’m not a fan. Codes would have been better.

My rear did last while riding my local trails in Santa Cruz CA. In a lot of steep chutes and roots they did great. But as soon as I got to Tahoe with the sharp granite rocks all over the place all I had to do was look at a bad line and they slashed. Front was totally cool so far.