chri

If you can't use your breaks with the last phalanx it's likely you have the wrong / bad setup breaks for your riding style. Most likely you also don't have a neutral wrist-underarm in your "attack" position. At least I don't have such issues with my 4 piston XT/XTR and MT5/MT7 i've used the last couple of years. That said I didn't like some of maguras levers.

One might also put it the other way round: Know your riding preferences and get to know how you should/want to position your self on the bike (when going fast/down). Then adjust the lever to get a neutral wrist-underarm position. As always there are exceptions but the lever adjustment is the easy part. Getting to know the right position on the right bike (geometry) is the hard part and should come first.

I personally don't have an issue with the judging. Everyone at the event did an amazing job this year. Zink for sure did a very raw line and well deserved to win a big mountain judging. But unlike others he did practice for that run like no other. True there is only so much "real estate" but still the idea behind rampage does not go along with riding and practicing the same lines year after year in and out Ramapage season very well. At least for me. It is/was supposed to be a contest where you have limited time to prepare for it. From that perspective I would have liked to see Brendan in the top 3. New line, good execution. On the other hand things changed a lot duing the last decade. Athleates have training grounds the veterans would not have been dreaming about. 16x Ramapage. So my expecations might be outdated. If the site does not allow to much line creativity any more anyway. Maybe it's really best to rate the lines upfront so riders and views have a better idea of the judging upfront.

for the rider who has the money and need to ride something unique, expensive with impressive numbers on paper (weight) and a bit more comfort than XC bikes ... in some parts of the world this class is called "dentist bikes" ;)

I guess it comes all down to what type of riding your after. If your focused on descending with high speed, and thats what 170mm+ bikes are made for usually, then I would agree on most parts. If your more in the trail riding+ category - loads of uphills with descends ranging from very technical to pretty fast at times, then I'd say it depends. Usually you'e going for a 150mm bike to have a liveier / poppy / nimble bike. A coil is not necessarely benefitial here. As you usually would do longer distances then on an enduro bike a more robust cassette might even make more sence here but to be honest - if money is not the biggest consern, I don't see a need for it on a non-e-bike. Heavier frame - also more a price issue. Solid tires - anytime. Inserts, depending on rider weight - super gravity / DD are just fine for this category and a 75kg rider.

@cuban-b: there was a quote from a Shimano manager saying that they do expect a higher demand in the future but can't scale the production in such a short time. It's not that you need to hire only more people - you need a site + very specialized machines. Not sure if they where just lucky enough that they couldn't react faster or if they where sure to be right but of course a mulit-million $ company having access to sales figures of pretty much the whole induscty has a better view on the market then small companies.

would be quite cool having the fazua in the next Rise. The ratteling of the EP8 is ... just not what I want. Saving another 0.7 kg+ is not bad either. Plus a removeable battery is another plus, so I can charge it in my RV when traveling

Pretty solid lever for a pretty unsolid master cylinder. Interessing combination. The problem with Magura is not that the levers break a lot but that the membrane where the lever pushes against the master cylinder becomes leaky. Even though the 5 years warranty is a game of chance anyway using a non-Magura lever won't make it better and the MT7 master cylinder is rather expensive. "Worst they can say is no" ... + the dealer charges you for handling the non-warranty case (yes, that actually happend in the past)

I guess Woom and others will send a million thanks to specialized for not being able to compete