yupstate

@Glory831Guy: Agreed but under 20psi is a lonnngg way from 28psi also and Henry only weighs 77kg/169lbs. I found an article about Nino weighing around 150 and he was running 16-17psi specifically on Aspens. So I think a few things. 1. If Henry was riding like a normal human he could probably run 21-23psi which is alot higher than Nino's 16/17 and it would also handle great compared to 28psi. 2. I'd like to see more of the trails he's riding in the review. I have an uneducated opinion that the Pinkbike reviewers are definitely fast but they are also downhill goons that smash rocks and corners on trails that are not equivalent to a normal UCI XC track. I'd bet a UCI pro XC rider could make it down the hills Henry is riding some % faster than him. Then Henry could jump on that riders bike and immediately destroy a tire going slower.

@henryquinney: Real question I have, no shade, is how are the World Cup pro XC racers getting away with under 20psi on Aspens and the like? Obviously they are faster than any of us posting here and if your single-track truly does represent something similar to what modern XC tracks are made up of..then what gives? I hear the same thing from some folks I ride with that are slower than me for comparison, that they need to run DD tires at 30psi or "the sidewalls roll over". Yet I'm beating them down the hill on my 20psi Rekons? I'm no amazing rider, just trying to understand the logic. Do some people just have a super heavy/aggressive turning style?

@ultimatist: I haven't ridden Aspens personally. I don't have the article link handy but I recall seeing a post where World Cup XC racers listed their setups. I recall many tire pressures below 20psi. Now body weight has alot to do with it, but under 80kg (77 listed for Henry) is still pretty low and 28psi seems super high to me. I actually weigh the identical 77kg and run my Rekons at 20/19 on 28mm rims.

It's Pinkbike, I'm surprised he didn't swap for DH or at least DD casing. But yes, anyone I know in that weight range on Aspens or Ikons, Rekons, etc would be around 20-21psi and it certainly would be less harsh. But again, it's Pinkbike and they shred sidewalls off all their tires for some reason.

I heard mention of other shocks having 50hr service intervals. I'm no pro, but I can put that many hours on a shock in a month. Are normal peeps really servicing anywhere near the actual service intervals?

@mikekazimer: You forgot the golden rule....pick a button setup and be a d!ck about it.

How is it possible in 2023 as the sport is more popular then ever and we are in a technologically advanced era with smart phones, smart TVs, wifi everywhere, drones with wifi, on-board cameras, etc. We can't freakin' watch the actual World Championships of this sport?? In other news the American Cornhole League championships were on ESPN2.

No Kashima?

I've always thought there bikes looked pretty cool and I liked the idea of keeping bikes light even as you get into 130-140mm of travel. Doesn't always have to be 30+lbs. I started following on Instagram to see all the updates, pics, specs, etc. Only concerns are. 1. I don't think there's any US sales!! 2. Never seen one in anything buy greyish or raw carbon color. 3. STA gets slacker, not steeper with the longer travel bikes so I assume they are using mostly the same frame with some tweaks for travel. It probably says that in the article above if I read the whole thing but I'm supposed to be "working" :)

@shredddr: Must be more straight up, straight down testing. I can speak from experience and say that setup is no fun on mellow trails; leads to taint and wrist pain. I could see it on the 160/170 bikes here; but the batch of 130-140 not so much. I know it says they were tested on a variety of trails but the story of every bike needing a steeper STA is getting old.