My mate was dubious about ordering his for the same reason they were assured CRC won’t be doing it again but we both have our doubts. That said hold off until the end of the season and you’ll get a bargain!

Haha, the same empire that repeatedly assured the dealer network they would never put Lapierre on CRC, then did a below margin ‘private sale’ to the public whilst most of the network was still carrying stock…

I don’t know why anyone would buy a Nukeproof at anything close to retail, when it’s a given in 6 months it will be half price. Same goes for retailers stocking the brand.

Have they messed with the dh track?

Nope, same old boring carp it’s been for the last god knows how long.

That’s a rarity though, and they still dump into CRC, because their audience is massive compared to Commencal.

It was hard to stock brands that CRC don’t sell at one point, but as more people are moving away from them there is more opportunity for independents to work with brands & distributors.

I don’t really have any sympathy for shops that moan about CRC & it’s companies, then jump into bed with a number of the brands they bring in. They never learn though.

Yep, a few guys in the office are here, me included, all AM rims.

Most of us (including me) have roasted a rim at some point. Weird as a lot of guys went from Haven Carbon rims, which had a far lower failure rate (although the early ones had a few hub issues).

There is a lot of b*llocks spouted about massive levels of stiffness compared to anything else & far better performance, which amongst us hasn’t really been noticed. You can notice a small difference, mainly on off camber rough sections, but it doesn’t really translate into any more speed anywhere.

I wouldn’t pay for them out of my own money. Maybe if you stepped up from a Hope Hoop you might notice more of a difference, but a decent high end wheel build, it’s not worth it.

Officially is full face and elbows and that’s all from memory.

The last 4 years I’ve just used a full face and knee pads,it’s never been checked.

Hence why I said slim chance…

Slim to none, that’s why there is a warranty. If it happens again, you may be in a better position to.

Sock Guy.

We use them for our own branded stuff, because they are great.

I have noticed a lot of threads about reverb problems and not as much with the ks, I think the ks lev might be the better choice with no bleeding issues.

That’s because the numbers KS produce compared to RS is chump change. With OE sales RS are selling multiples of hundreds to the odd one KS post.

It’s only an issue bleeding them if you are a bit special.

I posted this last time this question was asked:

Whilst I work for a manufacturer (that doesn’t supply CRC), I have friends who work for distributors. Slowly but surely they are pulling brands out because they don’t want to deal with them any more.

This is also happening with other prominent outlets, so not just CRC specific. Some of these outlets have new buyers in place that have realised the grey/OE market is a great way to make a fast buck but not a great way to build a long term relationship with the distributors & manufacturers.

It would help if some bike manufacturers could get more of a handle on proper forecasting so there isn’t such a massive oversupply of components flooding the market in the first place.

What’s most staggering- according to Santa Cruz anyway- is that it’s entirely driven by people who’ve never ridden a 650B bike but have decided they want it based entirely on fluff. We get the bike industry we deserve apparently.

Yup, exactly that.

I’ve ridden various 650b proto and production bikes and the difference is inconsequential to anyone other than maybe a professional. Even then, Nico suggested its what amounts to fractions of a percent different.

You (we) do get what we deserve, all I read on here is we don’t want it, pointless etc, yet literally all the research, numbers and trends prove the polar opposite.

I keep saying it, but 26″ sales at the higher end of the market are in free fall at the moment. For bike companies, we either embrace the change, or we don’t sell any bikes. It’s that simple.

I guess they can afford too. They have no mass produced low end 26er bikes for the masses and the availability of components for 650b is becoming more widespread it kind of makes sense.

Still, a brave move by SC. I’m still unsure why it’s become such a ‘buzz’ movement and with the Heckler moving this way I can’t help but feel a little part of me has died.

Right now, it’s not a brave move, they are currently leading the charge & everyone else at that end of the market has been caught with their pants down.

I have a friend who runs a high end shop that does SC as well as other comparable high end brands, the amount of enquiries and sales of Bronson’s is staggering. What’s also interesting is almost overnight 26″ enquiries and sales have almost come to a complete standstill on the high end stuff.

the only off putting thing really is the rim width, everything else is favourable to the ST’s

Apart from the price, spares, questionable Mavic hub reliability, etc.

Far better to get an off the shelf built wheel where you can get all the bits anywhere, that will be comparably as light too.

I’d build a set of Arch EX onto a set of DT 240S’s.

Use a sensible spoke to increase stiffness, then it will be as light as a set of ST’s with a wider rim & far superior hubs, with no issues of getting spares.

If Gorrick can’t get a race there for the foreseeable future (they can’t) then Enduro1 have no hope whatsoever.

CE were pissed off enough about the last one they did.

Well, I suppose that depends upon whether or not you have a Saturday job in Santa Cruz’s warehouse.

I think with his obsessive love in for all things 29 & Specialized, he has a job polishing the underside of my CEO’s desk with his head ;)

It’s funny reading the microcosum UK perspective. Have a look at the Oregon Enduro results from the weekend. You had to go down to 7th to find a 26″ rider. What you see at the last Gorrick race isn’t the real world. The industry has killed 26″ for 100% marketing reasons. The guys who missed the 29″ train were pissed with low 26″ sales and something had to be done and 650b was the solution and your nice 26″ lost 25% it’s resale overnight. Still think new top end stuff will be made for 26″ or a while? I doubt it. Fox alone are not making any 26″ SC forks after 2014. I heard that 26″ Enduro S-Works are going for near half in California yet the dealers could sell 5x the 29″ version if they could get stock. The times they are a changin.

Whilst the race results are pretty irrelevant, as the quick riders are quick regardless of wheelsize, the rest is pretty much spot on.

Specialized in the US is a little different to the ROW and their obsession with 29’s for everything, but as I said in another thread, 26″ is done now. Once this new product lag is over, a lot of you are going to be very upset.

Fox are not alone in not making any 26″ forks after 2014.

A little insider told me with SC since the Bronson came out, 27.5″ & 29″ wheeled bikes account for over 90% of their sales now. They had seen a steady decline in 26″ sales for the past 12 months.

If you go into a shop that is at the Santa Cruz end of the market & have a chat with them you will have an eye opener.

Enquiries for 26″ wheeled bikes have literally fallen off a cliff over the last few months. The demographic of these shops is very different to the people on here.

Again, the article that Chipps posted on here is on the money. People (of any note) arn’t designing, or developing any 26″ bikes any more. Bikes that had been signed off for 2014 production that were 26″ have been pulled & redesigned for 27.5″.

It’s already happened. Quite frankly, it’s amazing, considering how f*cking useless the bike industry is at doing anything with any haste.

And yes, the difference is mininal. I have a 26″ Specialized Butcher Control 2.3 on front of me inflated to 30psi. It’s diameter at the highest point is 27.1″. I also have a 27.5″ Schwalbe Hans Dampf 2.35″ on the same rim (obviously a 27.5″ version) also inflated to 30psi. The diameter of that is 27.6″ at the highest point.

No-one makes short travel bikes for 26″ wheels any more, because it’s a dead market now – except Transition, Banshee, Pivot, Specialized, to name a few….

3 of whom manufacture less bikes in total than Specialized do of one line of a sub model. What do Specialized do with less travel than an SJ in 26″?

People are buying & selling bikes that were designed & spec’d 18/24 months ago. Once this lot are gone that’s it. There was an article on the home page about wave of changing wheel size which is very close to the truth.

I’ve said before on here I work for a large manufacturer. We arn’t designing ANY 26″ wheeled bikes now. Right or wrong, everyone is in the same boat.

For the record, I love my 26 bike!

You can’t blame Orange for not making a short travel 26″ bike. Does anybody make a short travel bike with small wheels any more?

Not really, because it’s a dead market now.

Niche manufacturers like Cotic can get away with it, because their production runs would be minute, even compared to smaller manufacturers like Orange.

They simply would’t sell in a volume high enough to make it an economically viable option.

Depending on what you want to achieve (survive, qualify for a mass start race, qualify for the main race or go for a great result) you will literally never be fit enough.

I went with work, and murdered myself solid for 12 months before to get fit. I just scraped into the top 75 on the main race, 10 minutes behind the winner. I redlined from the start for 50 minutes solid, and averaged over 190bpm wearing a Garmin heart rate monitor.

Your fork will be fine, you will be the weak link. One of my colleagues managed a top 50 with a Float 32 on the front.

Safety equipment

I’m surprised that Easton-Bell allowed them to release a statement like that.

I can’t imagine Madison give a f*ck what EBG think…

In this case I think the shop is trying to avoid a loss.

Most people are clearing Giro out because everyone is about to start discounting it heavily.

Don’t be surprised if they do….

Although its more to do with protecting their distribution network (quite rightly)

Not quite the truth, not sure if the announcement about Giro distribution has been made yet

It has, a while ago. Giro, Bell & Easton sales are about to take a tumble in the UK. I’m not sure the ‘actual’ truth will come out though.

I’m convinced the 650b wheels do give an advantage of grip and speed for enduro style riding.

Believe da hype!

The normal Deville will take 650 wheel so you shouldn’t have to buy a new fork.

Madison are about to dump a lot of Giro stock after the fallout, Easton Bell own Giro. Shops generally wouldn’t make that kind of margin on P&A. Obviously there are exceptions to that in some instances

It would be brave, there are plenty of big brands who should work, but don’t in the UK. I would suggest it would be bloody hard to get the bikes out into shops in the first place.

Shops don’t really take a ‘punt’ on a brand over something they know they can shift numbers of.

Most people learn the hard way, you know what you want to sell, but the reality is you go with the volume.

The Zee is an SLX with a short cage on it.

It used to be Silverfish.
I looked at an RM Element a couple of years ago, but the dealer warned me off them saying ‘Cove are Silverfish’s favourite brand, and they don’t really care about the others.’ I mentioned this in a post on here ages ago and the man from Silverfish came on to deny that this was the case and say they treat all equally.
I then bought a Yeti instead of the RM, when Evolution were still the importers. Had excellent warranty support from then, but then Silverfish took over Yeti and I have fallen out with them over another warranty issue.
Looks like the dealer was right all along!

My memory is shocking, but arn’t you the guy that fell off your bike, broke it & tried to claim it was warranty?

I’m not sure (m)any manufacturers cover ‘crash damage’ under warranty. I know we don’t & we’re a whole lot bigger than Yeti.

Oh, and FWIW, Evans did bring in RM after Silverfish dropped them, but they also have subsequently dropped them. Someone else is doing instead, but i’m not sure who as I haven’t been paying attention in class.

There are better tyres out there.

I’d rather run a Rubber Queen out front and a Mountain King 2 out back, but only in BC.

It will work fine. Throw the awful BB in the bin and buy a decent one instead (not SRAM).

The Whyte is good on a budget, somewhat over zealous opinions of their descending abilities on here. The alloy ones are a bit like Transition, in that they ‘look’ cheap. But then it’s £2k, it’s a mid class bike, so it’s never going to compete with the high end stuff.

One bike to rule them all is a big ask. Off the shelf the S-Works Enduro is a tough one to look past.

Custom build – I reckon I could get something into 5 figures trying to achieve the perfect spec (for me).

Perhaps some of the manufacturers/distributors are less than happy with their pricing policies so won’t supply them?

This.

Whilst I work for a manufacturer (that doesn’t supply CRC), I have friends who work for distributors. Slowly but surely they are pulling brands out because they don’t want to deal with them any more.

here’s an honest question..

I was told that most LBS make their bread and butter fitting £12 BBs and servicing uncared for bikes owned by people who wouldn’t even be able to contemplate the concept of a £70 BB..

boutique higher end stuff is still a very niche market..

Is that right or bolleaux..?

Pretty much.

Unless they are targeting the super high end build market, which is quite different.

Even then the daily thoroughfare into the workshop of cheap bikes (if they are the only shop in town) keeps things ticking over.

Very few shops manage to target that area effectively though.

Same reason you haven’t got a single sram one

Probably because they are out of stock at Fishers….

Boom!

I see the RaceFace ones are available now in 30-38t. £50 if that’s your thing.

Provided they are set up as in the video on the Hope site, they can’t be beaten.

Don’t be silly.

There are plenty of brakes out there that are lighter, or more powerful, or lighter and more powerful, and just as reliable.

Is this the same place that made you work X months before you can buy anything at trade?

I’d tell them to do one. It’s bike shop.

I’d also heard mention that Shimano had no intentions of making a 1×11 setup, which seems daft to me, as it’s clearly the future.
32:36 is as low as I’d ever need to go – 32:42 seems pretty outrageous, but a massive cassette means you can get away with a bigger chainring for less spinning out on really fast stuff.

You contradict yourself nicely there. Although your second point was the stance Shimano originally took. Obviously running a 1 x setup requires a certain level of fitness, that not everyone can cope with.

However They have made it pretty clear to manufacturers they are testing a larger range rear cassette than their current offering, but won’t consider lower than an 11t on the back because of the need to run specific drivers to make it work.

So unfit fatties can rejoice, they too can still look rad with a 1 x setup whilst maybe standing a small chance of riding up some hills.

The other advantage is it will work with existing mid & long cage mechs (on the whole, obviously there may be some exceptions).

At last check, Shimano had no intention of following SRAM into this market.

That may have since changed, but it won’t be any time soon.