Good Month / Bad Month: Hucks to Flat, Photo of the Year, Team Signings & Delays
Hucks to Flat
Field Test Bikes Hucked to Flat at 1,000 FPS
Field Test Bikes Hucked to Flat at 1,000 FPS
What would our Field Tests be without seeing all of the bikes hucked to flat in slow motion? With more than one field test taking place this past year, a compilation was only fitting. With many people still stuck inside, watching @jasonlucas take years off his ankles while bottoming out a series of bikes on camera was a good way to start the year. Fortunately, with all 28 bikes in one video, we were able to balance some of the startling lycra-clad XC bike compressions with proper baggy riding attire and fun-having trail bikes. There's even an appearance by the Grim Donut.
Racing Rumors Confirmed
New Programs, Signings, and More
New Programs, Signings, and More
The end of one year and the start of a new season is always exciting. There are countless rumors as to which riders are switching teams and who has a contract up for renewal. With more uncertainty this year than in years past, it was great to see a lot of riders find homes on new teams.
Some notable mentions include Mitch Ropelato going to Cannondale, Jackson Goldstone to Miranda Factory Racing, Dakotah Norton to YT, Emily Batty to Canyon, Pauline Ferrand Prevot to BMC, Loris Vergier to Trek Factory Racing, Vali Höll to Rockshox Trek Race Team, and Eliot Jackson and Veronique Sandler to Santa Cruz. And, of course, we have Evan Wall joining Orbea's Enduro team. There are far too many talented riders who found new homes to mention here, but a full roundup can be found here
Great Photos
Photo of the Year is Back!
Photo of the Year is Back!
We gave out the Pinkbike Awards at the end of last year for the best bikes, components, gear and performances. Now it's time for everyone to nominate their favourite photos for Photo of the Year, our annual photography competition where the winner receives a $5,000 check from Jenson USA.
All photos taken during 2020 and before Wednesday, January 27, 2021 and then uploaded to Pinkbike and nominated by users before February 5, 2021 are eligible. Each Pinkbike user can nominate up to three different photos. The judges will then spend several sleepless nights narrowing the nominated photos down to 32, after which we will open things up to the public. We will pit each photo against another photo in a college basketball bracket-like showdown. At this point, users will vote on the matchups and the photo with the most votes will move onto the next round. So 32 photos will narrow down to 16, then 8, 4, 2 until there is a single photo deemed 2020 Pinkbike Photo of the Year.
For more information, check out the details here.
Events
Some 2021 Events Looking Less Likely
Some 2021 Events Looking Less Likely
While there is progress being made towards some return to racing, several events including the Sedona Mountain Bike Festival and Sea Otter Classic are being rescheduled to fall dates. There have also been rumblings about whether the 2020 turned 2021 Olympics in Tokyo will be able to happen.
The Times reported earlier this month that an unnamed senior member of the ruling coalition over the Olympics has said, "No one wants to be the first to say so but the consensus is that it’s too difficult. Personally, I don’t think it’s going to happen." Although Reuters also said that "Tokyo 2020 President Yoshiro Mori said on Tuesday that Japan would hold the Summer Olympics regardless of the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic."
The London Bike Show was canceled altogether, and will not return, a casualty of Covid.
With plenty of uncertainty still surrounding travel, vaccines, and when the world will see a sense of normalcy, the dates in the Ultimate Guide to the 2021 Race Season are far from set in stone.
Timing
WeThePeople Postpone Full Suspension BMX Project...
WeThePeople Postpone Full Suspension BMX Project...
Timing is everything and WeThePeople's timing in revealing their interest in creating a full-suspension BMX bike has ruffled some feathers.
In now-deleted social media posts, renderings of WTP's upcoming Swamp Monster BMX were apparently leaked to Ruben Alcantara and Garrett Byrnes of the Fingers Crossed project. Ruben has been documenting the development of the Fingers Crossed full-suspension BMX for the past couple of years via social media and videos of riding it at Revolution Bike Park and in Malaga. His post expressed his anger and perceived disrespect at WeThe People also planning to release a full-suspension frame that was similar to his at the same time as he was publicly developing his own. The posts attracted more than 500 comments and plenty of heated debate, but it seems that the parties have since been in touch, as the posts have now been deleted.
There is no set date on either project for a release date yet, but we'll keep you updated as they progress.
Delays, Availability, & Price Increases
Delays in Components and Manufacturing are Reaching into 2022
Delays in Components and Manufacturing are Reaching into 2022
Last year, the name of the game was scarcity when anyone was searching for bike products. This year seems to be off to a similar start. While some brands have stock here and there, many others are waiting on components that are backordered for the foreseeable future.
Propain, for one, acknowledged their experiences first hand. The brand has also had to deal with the increased price of shipping which will, inevitably, be passed on to consumers. With some delays of up to 14 months, bikes will likely be in demand as much this year as last, if not more. For reference, the average lead time was around 90 days before the COVID bike boom.
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Spent all month last August looking at a fire smoke map website, looking for local trails that weren't choked thick with smoke. I had to cut more than one ride short when waves of smoke got bad enough my eyes began to burn and my throat hurt.
Username checks out
It literally shows the number of deaths above the usual baseline. Read through the assumptions and methodology.
Now, if you actually think the CDC is misreporting data, I can’t help you. But if you just look at the numbers it’s very clear to see that many people are dying due to covid. Now look at New Zealand. They’ve been taking it seriously, and have only had 25 deaths due to covid. We’re approaching half a million.
Yeah, they’re a smaller country. But they’re 70 times smaller, and have had 20,000 times fewer deaths due to covid.
Let that sink in. If we had treated covid the same way NZ did, we would have had approximately 300 times fewer deaths due to covid. None of my family has died, and my mom who is at risk is getting the vaccine very soon, so I’m not too worried. But this sucks for all those who have been impacted
And that the CDC is misreporting data isn't even a question... they're indisputably misreporting data, the only question is to what extent that's been done and whether it's intentional. Literally every state has been caught with overreports and underreports and unrelated reports linked to covid where actual cause of death was something like a motorcycle accident (actual example from Florida). Additionally, per the CDC, the flu has all but disappeared this year despite typically killing 40-60,000 people... this year, the CDC reports that of more than a half million tests, only 1276 people have tested positive for the flu since last September. Either covid cured the flu or the flu is just being lumped in with covid... so we know the data is skewed based on even the CDC's reporting without anecdotal examples from individual states.
Irrespective of all that, it's well established that covid is only minimally problematic for the enormous majority of people who do not have preexisting comorbidities... 75% of all covid deaths were in patients suffering from influenza, pneumonia, hypertension, or diabetes. All conditions that are either directly linked to or exacerbated by obesity... we know that ischaemic heart disease regularly kills 5x as many people as covid has worldwide and is likewise caused or exacerbated by obesity but rather than treat these issues because of the staggering body count each year, we prattle on about "body positivity" and effectively encourage obesity in this country... but you think covid is what we need to worry about?
All the covid hysteria has nothing to do with public health and keeping people healthy and everything to do with keeping people afraid and surrendering control over their lives and livelihoods.
Your strawman argument about a "bogus global catastrophe" clearly shows that you don't have the first clue what you're talking about and just want to defend the popular narrative... that's cool, if you want to believe there's a crisis and lock yourself inside or live in a bubble, you're welcome to do so. I'd never tell a coward not to be a coward, you do you. But pretending that a few hundred thousand people dying in the US or a few million worldwide from a novel virus is a "global catastrophe", bogus or otherwise, only highlights just how little you know about the subject. And that you think it restrictions imposed in the name of covid aren't unprecedented and were already in the grasp of governments only shows how little you know in general. There's nothing bogus about the virus, aside from the extreme overreaction to it... whats bogus is the false claims that the measures taken have been necessary, or even reasonably beneficial. Those are the facts, no matter how much you're personally embracing day 326 of "14 days to flatten the curve."
Here's the reality... Covid isn't going away, not this year not next year, not ever... we'll live with from now on, it's already killed most of the people it stands to kill in the near term and it'll only continue to be a threat to the few demographics that it's already been a threat to... demographics that are beset by preexisting comorbidities that we wantonly ignore. We know what it is, we know how it works, all that's left is the mutations and the yearly outbreaks... I've had it, twice now, I'll get it again in the future... just like the flu. And, just like the flu, it'll continue to be a moderate annoyance in my life once every year or two and nothing more... But since cowards like you keep begging big daddy government to shit on your rights and give you the illusion of safety, the impact on life, liberty, and happiness will continue to be a problem for generations to come.
For f*ck's sake familiarize yourself with what a strawman argument is before you really start sounding like a kook. I attacked your position directly. You posit that the government is conducting nefarious action X. My rebuttal is that a government with the means to conduct X has no incentive to conduct X and therefore is very likely not conducting X. Don't bother writing back, I'm really leaving and I really don't care anymore.
And no, you idiot, my position isn't that the government is "conducting nefarious action".... for f*cks sake, that's not even the position you're refuting so if you actually thought that was my position then you just f*cking failed even harder, sober up and try again kid.
@badbadleroybrown: Who, pray tell, is mongering the fear?
Damn bro, I wouldn't have been so hard on you if you would've just told me you were dealing with a head injury and running with a few cylinders not firing... shit, no wonder all you've got is strawman, you don't even know what point you're making let alone what point you're refuting... damn, now I feel kinda bad. Sorry bud. Good luck recovering from that TBI, get well soon.
Gosh, it's like picking on a disabled kid at this point...
You: "Who, pray tell, is mongering the fear?"
Me: "fear mongering by the government"
You: "wHo iS rEsPoNsIbLe iF nOt tHe GoVeRnMeNt"
Come on buddy... sober up and try again in the morning.
Guns Mericaaaa raaaa beeeeeeer
Boy, you kids will believe anything.
If you want a comparison, compare California and Florida... two coastal cities popular among domestic tourists with similar population density distribution who handled things in vastly different ways. Florida did next to nothing and fought luck down orders at every step... when they were implemented, they were largely ignored. California was among the first to lock down and vigorously enforced everything from masks to social distancing to business closures to outdoor space shutdowns. The results have been roughly equal with California actually doing slightly worse.
If shutting everything down and forcing people to wear masks is so effective, then why isn't Florida doing far worse than California?
Costa Rica 195,537 cases 5,121,712 population
Ireland 200,744 cases 4,970,465 population
New Zealand 2,313 cases 5,002,100 population
Better comparison for you?
Ireland, sure but still has shared borders.
So many other factors, pop. density, age and health of the popularion. # of travelers in/out, etc..
You can't just look at # of deaths. New Z should have the lowest #s it's completely isolated if you shutdown the airport.
Notable though that you can't touch the Florida California comparison and keep trying to dredge up other dissimilar regions to make a point cause you know you can't use relevant data since it proves you wrong.