theconorcons

@jsnfschr: Absolutely. I have a 2020 megatower with various upgraded parts, and anything newer just seems like a very marginal gain for a huge cost.

@heissescheisse: I went through an extended ski bum phase where I was on skis 100+ days a year, working (ski patrol) and some apprentice guiding. Ski patrolling particular absolutely shit kicks gear (jackets are providid, but all the other gear is your own). Here's my breakdown: Northface: insanely good warranty and quality. I warrantied a 8 year old jacket that started delaminating, got a gift card equivalent to replacement cost. Patagonia: I took a pair of goretex pants that were absolutely destroyed from work. I was hoping for a repair, but they offered to warranty. I legit felt dishonest, so just got a free repair. I also loved those pants and wasn't a fan of the offered replacement. Arc'teryx: Equivalent quality to northface. Repaired a tear free of charge; never had to fully warranty anything but never worn anything out. 7mesh: Ordered a pair of bike shorts, size was too big. They would not exchange, even though I had never used. I had to leave an angry review, at which point they offered me a replacement at cost in a disgustingly ugly color. My other 7mesh pants have had blown zippers and broken zipper toggles. Across the board poorer quality than the previous 3 companies (I also have a fantastic pair of patagonia bike shorts), with worse warranty support. Overall North Face and Patagonia are my favorite. North Face however has really inconsistent inventory, particularly with high end goretex products. Patagonia is probably edges them out because of that.

I’ve been on a megatower for three years, weighs about 37lbs with a 38, heavy tires, big brakes, etc. Its heavy, but man can it take an absolute shit kicking compared to any other enduro bike I’ve had. It’s had long days at whistler bike park, and some heinous crashes. All the newer components add weight, but they are so much more robust it’s well worth it.

I personally think XTR two piston brakes should be more than enough for most riders in most terrain. I am 190lbs and ride in the PNW on a blur with XTRs, and they are excellent. The problem is they need to have metal pads and good quality rotors, which this build does not appear to have. Also, those Aspens provided very minimal grip, which needs to be considered in evaluating braking power. XTRs should be providing way more braking power than those tires are capable of transferring to the trail.

Such a gripe of mine. Good two piston brakes are excellent, far better than lower quality 4 piston brakes. But good 2 piston brakes are expensive, so manufacturers spec them with dog-shit rotors that warp super quickly. Drives me nuts.

I love the way Neff rides and races. She goes for the win in every race, and if she comes 2nd or dead last its the same to her as she didn't win. At Tokyo she rode with no bike computer, because she knew shit like heart rate, power, or time didn't matter; she just had to be faster than everyone else and all that mattered was being faster. Similar to Greg Lemonde's epic time trial TDF win, where he said he didn't want time splits, because he knew he just had to give it his absolute all, no other strategy required.

That ghost breakdown was so frickin sick!!!

Both those crashes seemed pretty avoidable. The first is aggressive pass attempt in the pack, he tries to force some space where there isn’t any and no one lets him in. Rightfully so, gotta defend your space in those races. 2nd (the worse one) just seems like a stupid screw up. MVDP is a beast, but he has to figure now that he can’t just show up to these races and expect to win based on fitness. Pidcock has shown that you can win with excellent fitness and skill, even when he has bad starts and has to fight through the pack.

7mesh makes great stuff: well made, durable, supports the local riding community, and is Canadian. Love that they’re moving to PFAC and PFS free gear. It’s expensive, but most nice stuff is. FWIW I have a pair of cargo bibs from them that I wear once a week and they’re still good as new, 3 years going. So worth it in the long run vs buying cheap shit that falls apart after a year.

That low visor position is still so high! I don’t really see how that does anything. And the high position is actually comically high.