corerider

@BermJunky: Maybe it is time to give up the sport if pedalling is less than fun.

They cost more, are more expensive to fix, are obsolete faster and make more money for the industry in the long run. As to a race, I am not sure it even counts but the application of the e-assist may be a factor. I don't understand it myself.

High pivots. So 1996/1997. You would think we would evolve past this but with most things retro is in. I am not sure the high idler wheel is any help but........

@lumpy873: my observation is that those whom use ebikes are not skilled riders...so trail impact on that basis alone is significant. More use too, definitely, but a skilled rider knows how to ride steeps, handle corners (mostly). Another uncalculated cost of progression.......

@rich-2000: buy a normal bike and you don't have this problem.

Lifetime warranties.....just ask Ellsworth (or Tony Ellsworth for that matter) the thoughts on this after the release of the Joker explicitly for freeride use only to have most of them break at the swingarm....up, I was there to see the effect. Wonder what it cost in the end. If a company is going to offer it I would pay for it but there had better be no BS if it is needed; moreover, I would expect if it is offered the bike had better be able to take a LOT of punishment before it whimpers. I remember Marin Bikes (in the 90's) saw 80% of its warranty claims come from the Cove Bike Shop alone......lesson being: you had better engineer your bike before offering something that can come back to haunt you. If it can fail, it will.

@wonkle: careful....I have personally witnessed a JRA failure: complete loss of the head tube on the road up Fromme. Obviously the damage had been done previous but to see the rider JRA and then the front of the bike just fall away.....this was pre iPhone of course.....

@brianpark: Why? Loyalty should amount to something. If you feel strongly to keep a bike for the life of it there should be something special to consider if the company is worth its integrity.

And here, a North Shore rider for 42 years, and I clearly remember a time when it was Marzocchi, and nothing else. There were no shootouts, comparisons or debate. Period. Marzocchi ruled until 2008 when they decided to go cheap and got bit in the ass hard. So hard they folded. Sad, really. They made forks that were admittedly heavy but performed and were easy to service with the open bath. Moreover, they were tough. Saving weight? Get to the gym. I miss those days. Ya, today's forks have better tech but I am not sure it translates to performance that actually matters. What can be achieved on paper is one thing. The trail, another. I am a Fox guy (the Kashima coating sells me) but if Marzocchi could come back to what it what was once was........owned by Fox....game over. RIP old days.