Prototype Tires, Custom Bikes & More Tech Randoms from the Albstadt XC World Cup 2022

 @elrad surprised u not getting more upvotes

 It seems like the next illogical step by the bike industry! Remember when their were a lot of push back with internal routing then a few bike companies responded with internal routing tubes…..most everyone is happy. The next thing will be forced super boost with PF92 BBs

 @rivercitycycles: dont forget flat mount stupid brakes in mtb frames.

 came here to say the same.. that is just idiotic.. there cannot be possible any advantage of doing that????

 @saladdodger: the advantage is cost reduction on building frames. Fewer holes means quicker layup.

 MOAR cables through the headset! AAAALLLLL the cablezzzzzzzzz!

 @salespunk: It's actually more expensive to run the cables through the headset because you have to use a 1.5/1.5 headset vs a 1 1/8"/1.5. You have two big bearings and cups to buy. The routing must be a look things. Not having cables around the head tube, does look nice!

 dude... imagine... THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!

 Like the original Klein patent!

 Xc direct mount

 You could add an extra crown to the fork higher up for stiffness and then mount the handlebars there. I heard it makes people really fast.

 Yeh. Jordan ran a manual lockout fork too. Im buying an EVO rear end ASAP

 You're not alone

 DH bikes are boring, they’re all Sessions

 XC is certainly the F1 of bikes

 @SintraFreeride: I love how you got downvoted, when XC is literally extreme gravel. It's not an opinion, it's just an objective truth. A gravel bike nowadays is just an xc bike from 10 years ago.

Downhill, is and always will be the pinnacle of mtb. People who say they're all sessions just dont understand what they are looking at. There is a certain breed of mtber who thinks aesthetics=engineering. These people are very silly...

 @gabriel-mission9: The person who came up with the idea to recycle 90s fully rigid XC bikes with modern parts add drop bars and sell it to roadies is a freaking genius!
Having a bunch of pros ride those bikes way out of their element and video it was another stroke of genius.

XC racing is the slowest and least advanced sector of mountainbiking. Dated geometry with most bikes still not running dropper posts...Comparing them to F1 is just ridiculous!

DH is the pinnacle for sure but we are only now getting back to the level of tech used by the mighty all winning Sunn team from the late 90s.

 @SintraFreeride: how did you get down voted, that's exactly the truth

 @Bikes-are-awesome: Because we live in a world where facts no longer matter...

 I really like the BMC too

 @KUBBY: That BMC looks so fresh.

 The ibis is super ugly

 @rrsport: yeah looks like it got a little too heated in the sun and was driven into a wall. What are those proportions..

 @daweil: it's a small frame...

 @daweil: which is hilarious given they’re the only brand that talks so much about how they have a graphic designer design their frames. They look horrendous.

 Only topped by J Rissveds having her name layed up in CF into the mould. Both are exquisite details.

 @ROOTminus1: There looks like a patch of resin missing on the "D" otherwise I agree, it looks dope.

 @Nygaard: Not the silicone ones. I have ridden ESI grips in super wet conditions no problem.

 @ak-77: My Scalpel came with ESI grips. Decided to give them a go. First time in rain my hands slipped off the bar TWICE.

 @Nygaard: bare hands or with gloves?

 @Nygaard: typical case of YMMV then.

 @ROOTminus1: Alchemy will do this for you if you asked them to…

 I did, I'd like a look at that tread pattern. New Specialized Cannibal DH tyre spotting recently as well. They've been doing so great with their tyres recently.

 Everyone should have a bell

 @max-watts: prob ti

 You thought the whole crank and chainring were one piece? Or what do you mean?

 @laupe: The chainring and power meter. On the road side they are doing one-piece chainring / power meter combos. The one photo seems to show the chainring off of the power meter in the background.

 @jqwan: Then how would you be able to change chainring size? XC riders change chanring size all the time so i don't think that would be an option

 @laupe: Well lots of people didn't think it wouldn't be an option in the road world as well yet they did it. You have to trade in your PM every time you change your chainrings. Thankfully, by the looks of that photo, they are in fact two piece. I assume by a threaded interface.

 The original version of this prototype powermeter was, in fact, a one-piece system as you suspected— in other words the chainring was not removable from the powermeter just like the road equivalent. Swapping ring sizes meant swapping the powermeter as well. Subsequent iterations (it remains a prototype Blackbox product) evolved to the version you see here with a threaded, removable ring allowing you to change the ring size without changing the powermeter as well.

 @bbcopeland: Nice, that's cool, thanks! When I saw the all black one I thought it was getting closer to a possible release. I think the regular 4 bolt version is better for consumers, especially as it's a low volume product. I guess there is a tool to remove it, like a giant chain whip?

 He is riding a KTM bike

 Haha just noticed that as well maybe it just does not work on this track

 I wouldn't be surprised these guys can stamp on the pedals so hard it moves the brain out of lock position.

 @ice29: He ran a manual lockout on the fork too. Maybe it just doesnt work. Ever...

 The SID 35 doesn't have Brain, only the SID 32, so he's probably using the SID 35 like many other racers... Lots of riders also using the Fox 34 instead of the Fox 32.

 Also: check the results

 @pmhobson: Did the results change the aesthetic of the Ibis? what wild new technology are they using?

 Letting their Ibis do the work?

 The "flex" is all in the bottom 3 inches where it tapers to the BB. There really isn't much flex to begin with and I am not sure why Trek sticks with it as it adds weight.

 @Snowytrail: because it's noticeable when riding and comfy

 Why wouldn't it work with a dropper? It smooths out the ride and i don't think it adds that much weigh and Trek isn't really known for light frames.

 @laupe: because the dropper prevents flex. But like snowy said, if all the flex comes from the bottom it doesn't matter

 @hamncheez: Understandable, have a great day!

 Agreed, would be intresting to see, but i guess no athlete want to share their secret sauce

 "Plant supplements " ha ha

 Rockshox used carbon crowns on their sid´s a couple years ago. They ditched the ide and are now on alu crowns and are somehow even lighter

 dude. we get it. you want to know where you can get the weed. we arent telling you.

 @IsaacMagers: They are working on adding access to the hollow downtubes for XC as well. Why? Because you put your weed in it.

 more weed more speed

 29er rear, 26 front! The True Mullet!

 Would you please tell Jenny she's on the wrong bike? She seems to not have gotten the memo

 Many of the men (MVDP) run 34s nowadays and Nino and some of the women even run the SID 35…

 @SonofBovril: I haven't seen mvdp on a MTB since the Olympics. They should make him ride a DH bike with a fox 40 next time so he doesn't fall.

 true