ocnlogan

Dak! and also BK!

Oh, new bike to look at! Oh, cable tourism. Nevermind.

You're not wrong. Gives me some Motobecane/Bikes Direct vibes from a few years back personally.

A few things weird me out about this bike. First is of course cable tourism. On an XC or gravel race bike there is maybe an argument. But for a park bike? Second… they are doing flex stays on an aluminum seat stay? Isn’t aluminum a metal without a “knee”, meaning, any bending fatigues it some amount? Unlike say steel, which has a “knee” in its fatigue chart, where as long as it doesn’t bend past a certain amount, it will never fatigue? Material properties isn’t my field. But I swear I remember reading about this before.

I have a pair of the old Stamp 1's. The raised center section is a definite problem, and glad they fixed that because they were more slippery. I use them on my trainer now, where its less of a problem. I also have a pair of the Stamp 3's (Aluminum) and I've been happy with them for 4 years now with no complaints. They've got a lot more grip than the Stamp 1's, and have been reliable so far, without any real problems to speak of. They are needing a bearing replacement now, but I don't think thats to unreasonable after 4 years.

18-22psi front (Kryptotal DH/SS). 25-30psi rear (Kryptotal trail/endurance, with tannus insert) Lower range of pressures for local trails in the PNW in the winter (wet rocks/roots). Higher end of pressures for dry conditions/high speeds (bike park in the summer).

I'm a mountain biker who lives in mountains. The riding I do is closer to "winch and plummet" than it is "gravel race", and many consider it "enduro" riding (its just the trails we have here, there is hardly any flat parts. You're either going up, or down). My saddle looks about like the top photo. I quite honestly almost never pedal on flat ground. So I tilt my saddle forward to make my saddle seem "flat" when I'm climbing, at about the same angle as my avg hill grade. It keeps me from feeling like I'm sliding off the back of the bike on the hour+ long climbs, saving some energy. Doesn't seem like a fad to me. My saddle on my trainer is flat. So its not like if you do a nose down saddle for one bike, you have to do it for all of them at least :).

Anyone know if they will be dual crown compatible?

Maybe I'm the only one, but something about watching a video where you know they crash, is somehow worse than not knowing. I was cringing a bit on each blind jump/tricky section. The ability to get back up and sort himself out that quickly, and then crack on, is impressive. I'd have been taking it slow, even if I'd somehow escaped without injury.

Seriously. I used to watch XC races, and it looked like gravel riding/racing for the most part (at least my perception). This looks like normal trail riding, and I love that.