theLowrizza

@BarryWalstead: thanks for the reply. Do you think the whole system would shrink and "change gears" as you back pedal and are applying 0 torque, then it'll expand again as you pedal? Just wondering how "ratchet moves" we do on MTBs would work with this design. Thanks again for engaging.

Can you back-pedal? Seems like with one-way bearings all through the system that's a "no". I guess that's not a total deal breaker, but inconvenient, kinda like riding a coaster-brake. Why not just add/have a torque sensor tell the Di2 or AXS derailleur when to shift?

For most people bikes are toys and when there's less money in the pocket they spend less on toys. Until gas/food/rent prices retreat or at least stabilize toy sales will continue to decline. Even a demographic that's getting younger won't help if everyone's poor. I'm hoping things bottom out in '24 and start improving in '25. We pulled so much bike demand forward in time during the lockdowns. Most people don't buy a new bike every 2 years. During lockdowns inventory was king but now cash is king and it's going to be a long slow winter in the bike biz in N.A.

just sell me some decent shorts and skip "The Message" please.

believe it or not we were riding mtbs w/stems = bar grip width, when you factored in the from bar-ends. you had to hover you butt over the rear wheel to go down anything bigger than a curb on your 35psi skinwall smoke/dart combo on cut down MA-40 mavic rims.

He died doing what he loved"...we're all going to die of something, I'm sorry it was too early, but if you never risk your life, you never really live.

Question for the old duffers: Imagine where we'd today be skill-wise, if we started MTBing with modern geo, instead of on a Raleigh Technium or a C-dale Headshox bike? Related question: could the components of 20+ years ago work with modern hardtail geometry, if some builder had envisioned it?

I can totally relate to the "I did it to myself" and that makes it a little easier to deal with. I feel the same way. I've got all sorts of metal and donated tissues in me from several bad wrecks...but I feel lucky, very lucky...because everything bad (physically) that happed to me was my own fault and I did it having fun. So many people thru no fault of their own get crushed or mangled at random and probably spend a long time asking "why me?". I don't, I just look in the mirror. Get well (as you can) soon. I can't shred like I used to, but I can still go fast enough to have a good time. You will too, Alicia.

@dualsuspensiondave: I believe it's so low due to people taking on a 2nd jobs. One of the tactics companies take during a downturn is cutting employee hours, but not outright layoffs. I believe that's feeding into the rise in numbers of people with 2 or more jobs.

Prices drop in a depression, too bad so does employment