j-t-g

Aumaury Pierron has really reached the next level of bikeation. You know, if this DH thing doesn't work, he always has his rap career to fall back on.

Note: Levy died on the way back to his home planet.

@blowmyfuse: because without inserts they meet or exceed my durability expectations, they're stiff, light enough, and Trek has been exceedingly easy to deal with regarding their 2 year no questions asked crash replacement/lifetime warranty on carbon rims.

@bedell99: 220 lbs geared, with inserts not less than 27 psi front 29 rear, without 30 front 33-35 rear. I am hard on equipment but for many years leading up to the insert/rim fiasco above, I have not broken too much stuff. I used to brake a ton of stuff prior to 2018 but between good maintenance habits and generally getting much faster/better on the bike I stopped breaking things for the most part. That is partially why the insert issue is such a standout!

I've been doing some thinking, and I got some ideas to improve the site. I got it right here. Uh, one: Levy needs to be louder, angrier and have access to a time machine. Two: Whenever Levy's not on a podcast, all the commenters should be asking "Where's Levy?" Three--

@bedell99: I've probably owned over a dozen Bonty carbon wheels at this point. I think I got my first set in 2017 or so (working at a shop so there was lots of opportunity to get wheels on bikes or a la carte). Without inserts, I broke one Kovee Pro and one Line 30 Elite. The Kovee was the result of a delamination, and the Line developed a hairline crack. Neither were dramatic and I likely rode them both for quite some time before noticing the issue on either one. I really, really like them - without inserts. I started trying out inserts in 2021. I've tried both Tannus and Cushcore. In 2021, with a Tannus front and back, I got hairline cracks on a pair of Line 30 Elites with DD tires in a single weekend on a 21' Norco Range. The rims were still rideable. I kept experimenting in 2022. I broke 5 more rims, all Elites, 4 rear 1 front. 1 rear Cushcore, rest Tannus. 2 were hairline cracks, 3 were dramatic rimplosions. Not a single one was in a large impact, crash or bottom out. I recall 3 specifically, the dramatic ones. They were all on fast, techy double black trails, but not in big sections, moreso in repeated hit chatter. Somewhere the tire/rim/insert/suspension combo gets overloaded from the chatter and boom, bye rim. Bikes were Rocky Instict, Norco Range, and Norco Aurum HSP. Anyway, I now only run inserts on my Line Pro 40 29+ setup, which has been bombproof since I purchased them in 2018. I don't run inserts otherwise, it's now just back to Tire+Rim only. I might build up an insert wheelset on a sturdy alloy wheelset for the right day, not sure. Credit where it's due though, Trek has been fantastic with rim warranties. I now have a very healthy collection of spare Bontrager hubs and spokes should I need them.

Doesn't help that Bontrager's carbon wheels shatter at a light sneeze if they have an insert in them. No insert and you can slam them into rocks all day.

Marketing effort then Less marketing effort now

@mattwragg: Good lord, some of those bikes look haggard AF by today's standards! Look at the size of the xfusion shock on Lopes' ripley! PS I wonder where all those dudes in the comments saying they'll never ride a 29er or even a 27.5 bike are today...

Graves and others were known to run XTR levers on Saint calipers. Not sure if it was at this race yet, of course. So perhaps not as bad as you think. Also, look at some of the sketchy rear tires on some of these bikes!