jbuzzinco

@Ridername: YES. Hikers should be banned too! They are a danger to themselves and others.

@scapesandshapes: Correct, because neither entity actually owns the production facility. They are buying on spec, re-labeling and marking up. Unless your Asia sourced bike says Merida or Giant on the downtube, it is just a rebranding op.

@scapesandshapes: Wa Ha Ha Ha. There are 3 or 4 manufacturing sources for PPF and they're not one of them. You're paying for pre-cut chapes which are undeniably convenient. But anyone with basic kindergarten scissor skills can DIY their own from uncut 3M or XPEL material with moderate effort for 1/0th the cost.

None of these companies actually "make" anything. All they have is IP based on tiny cosmetic design and packaging elements. The joke is on you if you spend your money on any of these stickers. You can buy 3M wrap material in bulk rolls and cut it yourself to do the same thing for a fraction of the price.

Clutches require regular maintenance that few riders are willing to do themselves. Shop labor costs make derailleur replacement more economical than servicing a clutch. Shimano is making the derailleur simpler, less expensive and therefore more disposable.

The cost of long term ownership is a critical question that most new riders in this price category typically won't consider. I hope you guys do a follow story exploring how much more $$$ some of these so-called "budget" bikes will really cost as cheap, low spec parts quickly fail. That State hardtail would likely survive a full year of green/blue trail riding with zero issues. You might need brake pads and tires. But those are consumables and if someone wears those out purely due to mileage I'd call it a good thing because they're using the bike. That Walmart FS bike won't survive 6 months of similar use before you'd either need to perform major shop service and/or major parts replacements. I could easily see that bike doubling in cost with within a year purely due to breakage. A sub-$1,000 full sus bike is more trouble than it's worth. You're better off spending the $2000 up front on a much, much better bike because you'd end up spending that much to fix the Ozark anyway.

If millimeter handlebar deflection is effecting your ride quality, what is wrong with your suspension fork? Maybe I'm just not discerning enough. But I don't understand how bar deflection is relevant when you have a hydraulically damped suspension fork between your hands and the ground.

Hosting multiple sponsored events and producing for-profit video content has likely pushed the use of this private land into a commercial use category.

That's not a new bike category. It's a motorcycle. Stop pretending bicycles with motors are anything other than motorcycles.