nostyle

@matyk: 😅 yes, but you can still mount two bottles, if this is important for you, right? Plus it´s easy to reach. I´m very much fan of mini-link suspension, especially for short-travel bikes. That´s why the Pivot Mach 4 SL was one of my dream bikes. Just went with the BMC Fourstroke, because I could buy it with a huge discount. Both offer all I want in a bike in this category.

@matyk: That’s definitely a valid point. Same with in-frame storage - once you have it there´s no turning backwards, I guess ... But my BMC Fourstroke LT, or the new Pivot Mach 4 SL, as examples, can do this without these overly curved downtubes. It looks like Trek offers mounting one bottle on the seattube and another on the downtube. Therefor this kinked downtube. But I´m just talking visual appearance, not (technical) funktion. :-)

Personal preference, but judging just by looks/design - the flex-stay Top Fuel version Evie Richards raced last season looks so much better. With being average 180 cm tall those 32 inchers are not for me. But let´s see if this wheelsize is going to take over. At least several hundredthousand mountainbikers - if not millions - around the world have asked for this, isn´t it?

Great to read that Anne Terpstra is back to racing!

Same here. As far as I remember the original Bottlerocket was more like a shorttravel-freeride bike, with max. 140 mm rear travel. But was ready to overfork it with 180 mm forks like 180 mm Totems or the like. Wasn´t it? I rode the silbing from Banshee, the Wildcard, with 127 mm back and 140-160 mm fork. Those bikes were so much fun back in the days.

I´m sure that 32" or 36" wheels are great for very tall riders. But those bikes seem to be on the very short side when it comes to reach, toptube-length and wheelbase, don´t they?

This is not a matter of "showing age", I think?!? For me it´s about keeping a bicycle´s origine moving forward by muscle-power only and therefor being independent from resources others than "eating + drinking" to keep your body going. Plus keeping maintainance low and easy to fix while using hydraulics and mechanics. I´m absolutely not against innovation and advancing technology, but my personal interest in buying new parts stops when electronics come into play. The exceptions are lighting and navigation. The only useful innovation for me in the future might be cable-actuated dropperposts were the saddle ran be both raised and lowered through shifting.

@edspratt: https://enduro-mtb.com/en/bad-news-yt-shuts-its-doors/

I´ver heard/read that Linda Indergand is retiring from racing mtb, too. Any Info about her, because this seems to fly under the radar because of Nino ... ?!

Thumbs up for a so called Downcountry or shorttravel shootout! I received a BMC Fourstroke LT One this week, the 120mm brother of the Fourstroke XC Racebike - and it rides amazing. Personally I think full-suspension bikes in the 100/120mm to maximum 130 mm travelrange are the most versatile for long days on trails, covering everything from techy up/downhills, are fun when you put on the gas on more flatter terrain because of their lower weight, fast acceleration and overall nimble handling. XC Bikes have become so good in the last years and there are great options to choose, ranging from 100/120mm XC race, like the BMC Fourstroke and it´s competitiors, to 120/130mm shorttravel trail like the Pivot Trailcat SL and others. Those bikes would suit a wide number of riders/terrain - and I´m assuming those are the majority out there I think ... ?!?