MEATengines 2022...

Another thanks to Andrew for making me bar-curious enough to try new things.

Bought some Protaper 3” (76mm) rise bars for my Doctahawk and they were literally transformative. The bike was exhausting to wheelie before but otherwise felt great to ride. With these admittedly strange looking bars I’m once again in control of where my weight is on the bike and I can say they’re definitely more comfy.

Never would have considered these before. Sometimes new things are good.

Posted by: mrbrett

Another thanks to Andrew for making me bar-curious enough to try new things.

Bought some Protaper 3” (76mm) rise bars for my Doctahawk and they were literally transformative. The bike was exhausting to wheelie before but otherwise felt great to ride. With these admittedly strange looking bars I’m once again in control of where my weight is on the bike and I can say they’re definitely more comfy.

Never would have considered these before. Sometimes new things are good.

Right on. I'm glad you decided to get "high"! Feels good sometimes! I'm running 80mm rise bars on my Bird Forge and really digging it. I've been riding various riser bars for a while now so although that bike has a particularly high front end I'm pretty used to the look now. As with Mudhuggers front and rear, 2.6"+ tires, frame bags, etc... it just looks like a mountain bike to me.

Figured this was worth a re-post here: -->  https://www.pinkbike.com/news/falling-batteries-and-risk-of-fire-leads-to-santa-cruz-recall-of-2022-heckler-emtbs.html

Good that #1 SC is recognizing the fire hazard if the battery casing takes any damage [wear from the spring or a dent if it fall off the bike at an inopportune moment on a rocky trail] and #2 doing something about it proactively. A rider doesn't want to inadvertently activate "Inferno Mode" on their expensive BroPed.

Well, I guess that’s what you get when you go with one of those cheap, fly-by-night operations like Santa Cruz.

Posted by: tashi

Well, I guess that’s what you get when you go with one of those cheap, fly-by-night operations like Santa Cruz.

I emailed SC and asked why their new MEAT bikes were so expensive....like the $18.3K MEGA Tower. They replied that they had to bump up the cost of the whole line up cover warranty replacements of BroPed batteries/motors plus the additional cost of liability insurance due to the fire risk. They figured the market wasn't ready for a $25K BroPed this year so they needed to spread out the pain across other products. ;-)

Is there really an $18k Santa Cruz?!

Posted by: mrbrett

Is there really an $18k Santa Cruz?!

Review here ---> https://nsmb.com/articles/santa-cruz-megatower-v2-review/

It was $18.3K + tax.

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: tashi

Well, I guess that’s what you get when you go with one of those cheap, fly-by-night operations like Santa Cruz.

I emailed SC and asked why their new MEAT bikes were so expensive....like the $18.3K MEGA Tower. They replied that they had to bump up the cost of the whole line up cover warranty replacements of BroPed batteries/motors plus the additional cost of liability insurance due to the fire risk. They figured the market wasn't ready for a $25K BroPed this year so they needed to spread out the pain across other products. ;-)

Presumably all the companies offering a MAMB are using this method. Another reason to shop around the meat only companies? Or are they using a similar tactic to fund the R&D of a battery beast?

Hahaha. No thanks! The bike industry has lost the plot.

This could be pretty impactful - since this tech is pretty new it’s  possible the industry (and more importantly its insurers) are just now finding out what the actual costs of producing these are. 

Had to believe that there’s much market for $25k electric mountain bikes and the mountain bike market isn’t going to like shouldering the cost of them either.  If that tidbit is accurate I’d say Santa Cruz is firmly off my list and I’m a bit of a former fan of theirs.

I had a 5010 before. Great bike. Well sorted out, felt good anywhere. That was 2016. I think Santa Cruz hit peak goodness slightly after that. 

For reasons of value alone I don’t think I would even consider one now.

This article popped up in my FB feed from IMB mag talking about the min max idea. Cannot recall how old it is though.

https://www.imbikemag.com/technique/equipment/the-workmans-tools/

Posted by: mrbrett

Hahaha. No thanks! The bike industry has lost the plot.

For how long have most riders who have been in the game long enough repeated that statement? It just keeps getting sillier and sillier, that is all.

The metric to look at would be the cost to get a solid bike that performs well and then the total cost to own for maintenance/service life. I'm a frame up build rider and in some ways costs have come down for great parts since I can ignore the current crop of latest tech porn and shop from a pretty great set of "obsolete" options that are priced more reasonably. I'm happy with metal frames and those prices haven't gotten particularly crazy.

What goes on with wireless shifting 15 speed carbon wunderbikes with their electronic this and Kashima that really doesn't matter to me other than to grab some popcorn and watch the shitshow that is that end of the MTB market develop.