chompinchuck

We engage in an activity like ours almost entirely because it is challenging. Then we spend enormous effort and money to make it less challenging. We want trail "features" and do the hate dance of "sanitized" all while endlessly upping suspension and adding juicy electric power to lessen trail "features" to "sanitize" our rides.

I think most comments here are not incorporating the most controlling part of where we go with this racing. It will be going, maybe not always in a linear line, towards what sells the best for financial gain to all involved. I'd be focused particularly on what the bike industry gains the most from. Whatever that is - is what will be the model path. The crowd doing this sort of cycling won't be large but it will be an extreme display of expensive technology.

If there is one slight dip or may one turn in the trail? You MUST...even on a 140mm fork and 130mm shock, have a dropper else you will surely be splayed...says all those who's ancestors rode 26 hardtails over the same turf at the same speed.

Excuse me...I use this on my mtn bike...get on the strava podium too.

Not related to cycling? Funny...just watch.

Whether ebikes or ehikers speed is the game. All of us want to blow the doors off others...and of course post up on strava.

Here's the deal people: We initially began cycling for a challenge and both trails and bike were just that...plain rough and quite a physical experience. But then? Hell, we get older and we want to be out on the trails...because you know we're endlessly trying to show our (aging) perpetual macho...but honestly we just want to post on Strava our lap times. So slowly but surely we get more features on our bikes (slack ain't left out) and in the end we need some "e" to push them all. We tend to ride what sells best too and the big box bike makers jerk us around like abusive parents to toddlers. Won't be long till a challenging trail "feature" will need to be a Greyhound bus laid across the trail...out 250 inch suspension 950 watt e's just mandate it.

Heck, be like us (that's US) where concealed carry stops some theft and the only residue is a few thousand dead bodies (innocent often) from all the bullets that go where they weren't supposed to. .

Hey...we are all feature seekers, that bunch that takes our one foot long front and rear sus plus dropper station wagons over terrain we claim is new era macho, never before existed. Truth is we now have a generation of riders who have never felt the trail, it rides like smooth sidewalk given our battleship choices. Hey ebike racing too...even more suspension!

@Muckal: yes yes the loading on the car to me is a weighty decision.