JWP

My personal opinion. 25 years experience in MTB. Ridden lots of different type bikes. In general I think the geo numbers have become too slack. I know I am alone in this. High speed stability is less important than manoeuvrability IMO.

Picture 5; ‘ Some freshly cut, perfectly flat brake mounts’? Why?😳

When the Tallboy V4 and V5 came out, XC bikes weren't nearly as capable (geo wise) as they are (+-) today. So the Tallboy fitted nicely between XC bikes then and real trailbikes. Building it up as a burly build, is a strange choice I could argue. That was never it's intended use. And still; XC bikes are race bikes. They are light and thus.. fragile (imo). What bike should someone who absolute has no interest in racing and wearing lycra, but who likes to ride long distances, enjoys the downhills and general trail riding than buy? I think 120-130mm bikes are an ideal sweet spot between light but capable and strong. Since XC bikes are now 120-120, I think Tallboy will move a little more to trailbike categorie. The Hightower has become a really big bike (geo wise) so there is room for a light'ish' trailbike in the line up.

Seeing this bike. Would this mean a Stumpjumper short travel is next? Between this Epic 9 and the current stumpjumper is a gap no?

As a dad myself, luckily NOT a ‘content creator’, all I see in these athletes and their stories is ‘me, me, me’. I don’t ever find athletes inspiring people. Of course I respect their discipline and dedication and the fact they drive a sport forward.

@chrismac70: the chance of that happening on a transmission drivetrain do is a lot smaller.

@ocnlogan: xc racers tend to ride so deep because the pedalstroke that way can produce a lot more power because of the better position the glutes are in. Thisis especially true on climbs. Also aero on some stretches. Not every xc pro rides so deep by the way. There is a lot of personal preference

Endlessy is a bit of an overstatement?

+1 !

"But we're all riding trails that are harder now" Is that really the case? Trails don't magicaly turn harder. I think we fool ourselves into thinking we're riding hard trails and therefore we need a this or that bike. It's a bit wishfull thinking