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Electrickery of the rear mech:
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/sram-wireless-electronic-drivetrain-stellenbosch-world-cup.html
There's internal routing, and then there's internal routing.

Angle of dangle.

Tyre inserts for those 'dash for the pits' moments.

We might be seeing the first 12spd Shimano at this round of the WC. More to come. Maybe.
For now, though, dropper posts are getting more common in XC these days.

Nino wins , wireless and dropper.

What are those Maxxis tyres on ninos bike?
Ardent Race on the front, same rear I think
Rear doesn't look like an ardent race, and certainly isn't an ikon or Aspen, new prototype tyre?
Yeah just read this morning it’s an unnamed prototype
https://marathonmtb.com/2018/05/22/bike-check-nino-schurters-scott-scale/
Looks like they've taken some pointers from Schwalbe's rocket ron u spaced te centre knobs more
Fugly shifter is fugly.

Don’t care, still want.
Ive waited for mtb etap but that shifter is nasty , I’m guessing use a blip box in the stem maybe and just a button by the grips.
But will have to wait and see that sram release
I thought the point of electronics on bikes were to make things discrete and out the way.....
Small discreet buttons are great at Bespoked.
I imagine when breathing through every orifice whilst being shaken to bits in an XC race you just want great big impossible to miss paddles.
Dropper Posts!
Letting the lycra louts fly:

😉
He wants to be careful, if someone sees that picture, they might assume that their XC race whippet is suitable for jumps on simple XC graded trails. And we’ve all seen what can happen there...
Yes I'm sure HE is worried about that. 🙄
Didn't see too many in the pics, just big balls and talent.
Surprised someone hasn't built a carbon dropper yet, its not like suspension where friction and heat build up, and sliding carbon stanchions have been done. It'd be expensive, but I imagine there'd be enough people that would pay a premium for it (or go back to a lighter and simpler gravity dropper style post).
Surprised someone hasn’t built a carbon dropper ye
KS Lev Ci...
Earwigs? Oh, and as ever, kudos to PinkBike for their excellent photo coverage of top flight XC.
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/photo-report-elite-men-and-women-xc-world-cup-nove-mesto.html


similar to the mtb Di2 - i don't get why they try and replicate a standard cable shifter, when they could do anything
Probably because in their minds they've perfected the ergonomics of the shifter, so why change it and make something people aren't used to?
A pro
XC
Tweak

maxtorque pic is actually a she as in Jolanda Neff.
New newness!
Sparkles!

Negative.

Good Christ that handlebar is Gopping!
It's that time of year again, folks!
Holy Stem Angle, Batman!

Soft tail? Also, anyone else think the prototype 'camo' paint jobs often look better than the finished product?

Nino drinking the Kool Aid/Snake oil?

BlipDrop

Sauces - https://www.pinkbike.com/news/randoms-albstadt-world-cup-xc-2019.html
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/five-bikes-and-a-few-randoms-albstadt-world-cup-xc-2019.html
Great minds, Qwerty! My long winded post made at the same time as yours! Love the retro look of that Dale.
The Cannondales are available to buy in red or blue as frame and fork for £3500
the red Cannondale is a beaut
vibration nonsense on Ninos bike
stem made me laugh, must make seeing the Garmin a bitch
lots of hardtails, is that just because they suit Albstadt?
lots of hardtails, is that just because they suit Albstadt?
Looked pretty non-gnar in the previews over on PB.
That wet woodwork on bald XC race tyres was fricking lethal though! Anne Tauber took an absolute slammer on it, ouch!
Whoever thought that woodwork covered in chicken mesh in those conditions was a good idea needs their head looking at. You could hear Anne’s scream from here!
That particular corner which claimed a few riders was a 90 degree bend falling camber over an 8 inch step down onto more wood. A recipe for disaster in the wet.
Sorry for the double post (i've also put this in the XCO round thread), but here is a pro tweak: hands free bi-lateral snot rocket in arduous race conditions:

Just look at that stare... in da zone!
Fantastic coverage of the cutting edge kit on PB. Every time I see these XC bikes I want one, then I remember I hate hard tails and feel sad.
Hmmm. Now a rigid fork...
Every time I see these XC bikes I want one, then I remember I hate hard tails and feel sad.
Don't be daft, they're bloody ace and way more capable, even under a normal rider that you'd first think.
Every time I see these XC bikes I want one, then I remember I hate hard tails and feel sad.
Welcome to my world 🙂
Don’t be daft, they’re bloody ace and way more capable, even under a normal rider that you’d first think.
Oh, I know that. I just find hardtails unbalanced in my world. Rigid - yes, squidgy at both ends - great. Squidgy at one end - no.
Just me, not a reflection on the bikes.
(i’ve also put this in the XCO round thread)
That one for the actual racing, this one for the kit and shiny photos?
Damn, that’s pretty.
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/first-look-mondraker-f-podium-xc-racing-bike.html
Damn, that’s pretty.
said no one about a Mondraker ever
Foxy XR was the prettiest bike ever.

