cueTIP

Honestly, I have both a North Shore rack and a 4 bike Yakima tray rack as well as a tailgate pad. I seriously dislike loading the NS rack and it is a massive pain in the ass if we leave it on for an extended period of time. The Yakima is nice to keep on my wife's EV because it folds up nice and is easy to load for her and my kids. I leave the tailgate pad on all summer long on my truck and use it damn near daily. It is just so much more convenient than a rack and it keeps the bikes more-or-less out of the dust when on a gravel road. At this point we keep the NS rack around just in case we need to move more than 4 bikes with my wife's car one day. If we don't use it this summer it will be officially 3 years since we last used it and we'll probably just sell it next spring.

@jorennmt: Or. And hear me out. TWO rotors.

Yep. I'm pushing 40 and I have a kid that I tow up hills with my Shotgun tow rope. I'd love to say I am fit enough to do that with a 32T ring, but I just ain't anymore. I'm still "fit-ish" in that I can complete a BC Enduro in the top 20% but I've got a few businesses to run, two kids, a house to maintain and a social life. As much as I'd love to practice my hill climbs non-stop I just can't anymore. And until I can't ride up Moose Mountain more than a couple of times in a day I'm not buying a motorcycle to do it.

Yeah, my wife and I were there back in the day too and have seen her "grow up" over the years. Last spring my brother and I were on the truck with her and there was another woman, maybe mid 20s, that was pretty new to riding and she was asking Gracey just general newb questions like "how long have you been riding?" and which trails were good for new riders etc. I don't think she had any idea what the Red Bull helmet meant, just general girl banter. Gracey was such a sweetheart and gave her pointers and even took her for a lap or two. I still wonder if that woman knew she was talking to what is possibly the single best female rider on the planet.

B-Line is such an under-rated facility. Glad to see Ryan and the team getting some publicity. Calgary folks, get your ass to B-Line! Plenty for everyone from a wicked pump track to the big air room and jump lines. Plus a phone...I mean foam...pit to practice in.

@ridedigrepeat: How they aren't called MO(terized)PED(al) bikes I still can't fathom.

@ESKato: Honeslty, the more I play with my Mezzer, the more I love this damn thing. Comes out of the box at 180mm and can be adjusted FOR FREE in less than 10 minutes to 170, 160, 150 or 140mm. Weighs about the same as a 36 or Lyrik but is roughly as stiff as a Zeb or 38.

Until it works with Google Assistant, Alexa and Siri what's even the point? I want to scream "Hey Siri - lower my dropper post!" while flying down the trail only to have it start playing "Danger Zone" as I go over a steep section with my seat fully raised.

@onawalk: It wasn't that I didn't like the bike. But after riding a series of other bikes I realized that I liked some of them more. I could never get the right combo of support and square edge hit compliance out of the rear end that I could almost immediately on bikes that I was borrowing from other riders. It rode like a shorter travel bike. I also found the HTA rather steep compared to its contemporaries and the seat tube was just a tad too tall to run a long dropper on the frame that fit me in all the other dimensions. In short, it was a good bike. But far from best in class. The high pivot I rode was brilliant over the rough stuff and it honestly was OK on the jump lines too. But pedalling to the top of 5620 was honestly brutal. I don't know if it was the idler drag or just a bike that I could not get to fit right. It pedaled well at 25-30% sag but got a little harsh at that setting. It ate up the chunk at 35% sag but kinda wallowed around. I suspect that I just don't like high pivot bikes as I also don't really like any of the Forbidden's I've ridden or the Range. Just a personal preference thing. This time around I had the time to ride a bunch of bikes before I purchased. I went to a few demo days, called up local reps and asked if they had any demos I could borrow etc. I even ended up down at the JensonUSA headquarters in Riverpoint while I was in the area finalizing a deal to provide Disney all new faucets for future renovations and managed to snag a few bikes to ride from them. I ended up falling in love with a bike I didn't even know existed. Loving my 2023 Niner WFO now. I thought it was going to be an absolute pig, but it legit rides the way I want an enduro bike to ride. At least for me. It pops like nothing I've ever ridden off little compressions and lips on the side of the trail. Pedals like a Troy and holds a line as well as the Spartan on the rough stuff. It could definitely use some aesthetic love, but for now its my personal choice. Had I not had the time and luck to try at least a dozen different bikes on actual trails for entire days at a time each I probably would never have even considered it. But that's kind of the issue we run into buying bikes isn't it? Parking lot rides are useless for picking a bike IMO.

I have had many Devinci bikes over the years. Had a Chili Pepper way back in the 90s that I loved. Then went through a few Konas, Santa Cruzes etc. Picked up a 2011 Wilson when it came out and fell in love with the brand again. Bought a 2014 Troy Carbon and a 2015 Spartan then a 2019 Spartan. The 2019 Spartan was a good bike, but not great. Got my hands on a 2023 Spartan HP to try for a weekend in Revelstoke. Didn't much like it for what I ride. Grabbed a Troy for Panorama. Was kinda strangely harsh even after getting it set up. They're good bikes, but I think they've been struggling to match the bigger players for a while. They're still a small brand but they have a very large catalog and I think their development dollars are a little too spread out.