ATXZJ

That sucks man. I had some bontrager dusters that were pretty squishy. On the other side of carbon spectrum are the super stiff wheels like i have that ride like crap no matter what you do. Grab a set of these hoops and call it done https://www.dtswiss.com/en/products/rims/mtb/enduro/ex-511/

It looks like the lower link and base of the suspension where the cylinder is, are too close together and will create a lot of stress on bearings and materials. With that close proximity all that lateral flex gets transmitted into the next link, the shock. I would guess this is why they made the links that attach the swingarm to the shock thin so they would also flex with the swingarm rather than transmitting that sideload to the shock assembly. My 2c

this is only from where the tester talks about the suspension.

The driver of that expedition learned a valuable lesson in snap oversteer🤣

You should watch the video of the rear flexing enough to bind up the shock. There's so many other (proven) options out there it's amazing somebody actually bankrolled that project for marin. On the e-bike tip, looks like another is being put to use for a good cause: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/ride-concepts-hires-paul-basagoitia-as-team-manager-and-rick-reed-as-brand-manager.html

Also about as aesthetically pleasing as an E-bike with a trust fork. If only it came with a monkey that punched you in the face every time you looked at it. Dat rear suspension: https://www.bikeradar.com/us/mtb/gear/category/bikes/mountain-bikes/full-suspension/product/marin-wolf-ridge-9-review-51800/

Meh, it's Houston. A city that sold it's soul to petrol is being flooded because of it.

This right here is the bottom line^ MTBs, like roadbikes did a decade ago, are beginning to plateau when it comes to innovation. At this point, most all name brand, off the shelf MTBs are really good bikes, and would be perfectly suited for 99% of the riders on 99% of the trails. So that's the rub. Where do manufacturers go next to earn a buck? E-bikes IMHO, are the next step in innovation, marketing and sales. CEO of a large bike company said "If joe consumer goes into a shop with $5k and he/she has an option to buy a bike with a motor and one without, the motor will win". Do i want one? No. Will there be issues on local trails involving E-bikes? Yes Are they a practical option for people with disabilities/ETC to get outdoors? Yes The one thing I've learned in my 40+ years is as long as people are involved, sh@t will go wrong.

X2 on the sram brakes. You can pick up M7000s cheap and they are more than enough for here https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-slx-m7000-front-and-rear-disc-brake-set-95363.html

Build is a bit hit n miss but TPC is good to deal with and will negotiate a little offline if you try. Trek looks good man and the reviews on that bike are pretty good and will be fun on SM.

did you see this😈 https://www.theproscloset.com/products/mondraker-foxy-carbon-r-large-bike-2018?gclid=Cj0KCQiAh9njBRCYARIsALJhQkHcCP8IZj1ghgm0SIkhVRjuajx0BIIH4TiFDqLZCRWbFhIth38PqJUaAjWjEALw_wcB

Prices are very competitive for frames and the geo looks close enough to get the job done. The new PB review of the 27.5 is pretty positive, particularly when it came to the suspension. Canfield knows suspension and it shows on this and their own bikes. Hoping someday they'll start building aluminum frames again and would love to see them reintroduce the idler setup they used on the jedi.

Transition is a solid choice. I was really surprised by how well the sentinel climbed. Were you looking into mondraker a ways back? TPC has a fairly good deal on a foxy right now: https://www.theproscloset.com/products/mondraker-foxy-carbon-r-large-bike-2018?gclid=Cj0KCQiAh9njBRCYARIsALJhQkHcCP8IZj1ghgm0SIkhVRjuajx0BIIH4TiFDqLZCRWbFhIth38PqJUaAjWjEALw_wcB Also, don't rule out a used or leftover balance if you can find one. Very efficient suspension for pedaling considering the amount of travel they offer. Hopefully they get their act together and start building some bikes again. https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/2458416/

Saw the vids on IG and was surprised to see that. He's definitely one to give that fork a proper test. P.S. Was he the first to clean the climb up the entrance to cat?

Anything overbuilt and made from aluminum with 6" of travel and modern GEO. In addition to the previously mentioned GG offerings, id consider: https://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en-US/nomad https://www.knollybikes.com/warden https://www.transitionbikes.com/Bikes_Patrol.cfm https://www.commencalusa.com/PBSCCatalog.asp?ActionID=67174912&PBCATID=3534532 The nomad will be the worst climber of the four. Narrowed my selection down to one of these two, climbing be damned. http://konaworld.com/process_165.cfm https://www.commencalusa.com/PBSCCatalog.asp?ActionID=67174912&PBCATID=3044467

Keeping with the spanish theme, this is one of our favorite local bands. Grupo puts on a hell of show, and your ears will be ringing from the wall of sound they bring!

Saw this guy playing at at our local cidery last friday. Not exactly my style of music, but he was really good and might be of interest to you. https://www.anthonygarciamusic.com/guitar

san antonio

Buddy of mine converted an older lefty to be used on his salsa fatbike with 4.5" tires. Had a strange dish/spoke configuration. He gave up on that POS fork and went back to rigid.

From my perspective, that was completely intentional.

Nino dropper pron

Primer will be fine. FWIW, I'm down to just one rig, a flexy-stay 100mm 29 that I plan on riding there. Failing that, they rent downhill sleds at SM. This summer I'll pick up a used process 165 or high pivot commencal supreme sx for spider and cat mountain.

So why do you ask😈

Seth posted his spider mountain video for his patreons today. Video was well done, and will probably drive quite a bit of interest for the resort for people outside the enduro/local circles. Will probably be on YT tomorrow at latest

lucky bastard. Seen some PIL and that was as close as I got. "I am an antichrist I am an anarchist Don't know what I want But I know how to get it I wanna destroy passer by" First verse of that song was a declartion, like a bomb going off when i heard it as a kid. Music was never the same for me after that.