bkm303

@BullMooose: not to mention he still had an extra $150 he didn't spend. You can source a rear wheel for that (or close to it). Not a very nice one, but one that will work.

@SJP: great points all around, I had many of the same thoughts. For something he's been working on for 10 years (and apparently invested money & effort in patenting/prototypling) there sure seem to be a lot of hand-wavy technical aspects to this. Gonna need to develop hydraulic shifters to actuate this thing, and I sure hope it's easy to swap out bent crank spindles bc they're going to be smaller than square taper. Also imagine (a) how much that crazy ass chain would cost, and (b) how fast you're going to wear it out under that much chain tension and clamping force.

@luca-thekid: I ran Advent X and Deore 11 each for ~2 years on the same bike. Advent X isn't bad but it felt a little less smooth and dropped more chains in my experience. I'd probaby chalk that up to the ratcheting clutch but IDK for sure. It totally works and I wouldn't take it off a bike if it wasn't broken. But idk if I'd call it an upgrade over anything Shimano makes, especially since Deore usually costs about the same.

So many hiker-only trails already exist alongside these trails. Hikers who don't want to be around bikes have always had bike-free alternatives literally minutes away, and more convenient to access from town. MTB riders are just supposed to drive to Golden I guess? It's not surprising that there are conflicts when the region's population has grown so much... but it is surprising that the solutions never include MORE TRAILS to spread the usage out.

@amschroeder555: You seem very knowledgeable about F1 but I don't think any of that is relevant to what's happening here. What mtb "skill set" would be lost if the venue had provided a mostly rideable course? The UCI already has standards for how courses should be prepared for rain. Every other venue on the circuit meets those expecations (and in general the tracks are better than they've ever been). The venue in South Korea did not meet the standards but it should have. It's very weird to argue against that.

@amschroeder555: Les Gets was awesome (in part) because the organizers gave some consideration to how the course would ride in the wet - just like every other course organizer on the circuit already does. That's all anyone is asking for. We get actual *good mtb racing* in the mud basically every year, so I feel like your F1 comparison is just not really applicable here. Leogang 2025, Crans Montana 2024, MSA 2023, Snowshoe 2022... I'm sure I'm forgetting some. Those were all great, technical courses (wet or dry) and produced awesome racing. There are only 10 races per year including world champs. If this kind of shit happens multiple times per year it's a disaster. Especially when all the teams have spent significant money to go race on the other side of the world.

@mikesee: IIRC in the broadcast there were people riding everything from 2.0" mud tires (loads of clearance) to wide Maxxis Beavers. If *nobody in the entire race* was able to ride up any of the main climbs on any of the laps, I think it's safe to say tire choice wasn't the issue.

@amschroeder555: You're talking about this as if we haven't had muddy XCO races before. Nobody is scandalized at the idea of running with a bike and we've had awesome wet races that involved *limited* running on certain sections. For example, the 2021 women's Les Gets race was amazing - people making tactical decisions about which sections were faster on foot, more skilled riders able to ride more, people sprinting ahead on foot when a rider in front slips, etc. That's the XCO analogue to the wet F1 race. This weekend was nothing like a wet F1 race because (1) they have canceled or rescheduled F1 races if the weather makes the course undriveable, and (2) wet F1 races still hinge on actual driving skill in a car. A normal XCO venue that has their shit together designs the course so that rain won't make it unrideable - either by routing or by adding rock/gravel/etc to help drainage. Hell, even cyclocross course guidelines say the course should be 90% rideable. And you're supposed to run in those. How many of you guys actually watched both XCO races all the way through? Because I haven't missed a race in like 10 years but this one was a rough watch. That's not to take anything away from those who came out on top, you have to race in whatever conditions you're given (as long as they're safe). But just because the conditions were the same for everyone doesn't mean it's a good XCO event.

@jalopyj: I went back and forth between Trax (retractable) and Tow Whee but the other parents I asked said the stretchiness of the Tow Whee made for a much better / more natural riding experience for the kid. My son actually likes to pedal up and once we get moving there's a decent amount of time where he's riding in the elastic range of the Tow Whee (not fully extended, like riding in eco mode). And the 'jerk' when it reaches full extension is really soft. Anyway, it would be cool if it was somehow retractable, but usually he just unclips himself and I catch up to him a few seconds later after I stow it. I think the elasticity is totally worth the slight added hassle.

@collapsedlung: I mean Salsa would definitely like people to think that, but the truth is with all the bag and rack options these days virtually any other mtb is just as capable. Some kind of handlebar cradle for a stuff sack + dropper-compatible seat bag (and maybe a wolftooth valais) + a burrito roll and some voile straps is all you need. It's not like the Salsa had a whole slew of bikepack-specific features that other bikes don't. It's just their bikepacky brand image at this point.