2013 gear rumours

Personally I'd love it if companies just specced lowered 36 Floats on their aggressive trail bikes, but whatever, I'm sure 34s will be a big improvement over the 32s on some bikes.

As for the whole "OMG THEY'RE JUST TRYING TO MAKE MONEY" sentiments:
a) yes, they're a business, don't get mad at them for trying to succeed, just don't buy shit you don't need.
b) it makes sense for them to have a 32mm XC platform, a 34mm trail/enduro platform, and a 36mm freeride platform.

Stop whining.

Personally I'd love it if companies just specced lowered 36 Floats on their aggressive trail bikes, but whatever, I'm sure 34s will be a big improvement over the 32s on some bikes.

As for the whole "OMG THEY'RE JUST TRYING TO MAKE MONEY" sentiments:
a) yes, they're a business, don't get mad at them for trying to succeed, just don't buy shit you don't need.
b) it makes sense for them to have a 32mm XC platform, a 34mm trail/enduro platform, and a 36mm freeride platform.

Stop whining.

yeah shut your face you're just the consumer

I'ma just going to start making my own bikes…out of wood…and rocks.

I'm sure 34s will be a big improvement over the 32s on some bikes.

from the pic gallery posted it looks like they're headed the other way? keep the sub-160mm fork stanchions at 32mm, give the 160mm forks 34mm stanchions to save some weightomg

a) yes, they're a business, don't get mad at them for trying to succeed

uh, most folks here are getting mad at the bike industry for trying to fail (see above)

yeah shut your face you're just the consumer

shimano tried that approach to product development years ago with xtr: dual control and rapid rise and you'll like it goddammit! that generation of xtr never seemed to take off… next gen was "all about choice!"

Specialized told me flat out that they are not working on a 650b mode

They said the same thing about 29ers. Any wagers on us seeing a 650b Enduro or Stumpjumper?

Otherwise, meh, new shiny stuff still isn't as fun as my beat up old single speed.

yeah shut your face you're just the consumer

No. Just don't buy what you don't need or don't think is good; don't insinuate some evil plot when companies make more specialized products to better serve what they identify as potential markets. It's called capitalism and if they're wrong they lose money.

from the pic gallery posted it looks like they're headed the other way? keep the sub-160mm fork stanchions at 32mm, give the 160mm forks 34mm stanchions to save some weightomg

Hmmm, interesting. I guess we'll see!

shimano tried that approach to product development years ago with xtr: dual control and rapid rise and you'll like it goddammit! that generation of xtr never seemed to take off… next gen was "all about choice!"

…yet nobody in this thread is saying consumers shouldn't have choice.

I like my 2011 Revelation with 20mm axle. :nerd:

from the pic gallery posted it looks like they're headed the other way? keep the sub-160mm fork stanchions at 32mm, give the 160mm forks 34mm stanchions to save some weightomg

According to the link I posted originally there should be 150 [HTML_REMOVED] 160mm options for the 34 chassis. The original 80, 100 [HTML_REMOVED] 120mm options for the 32 chassis will still exist. I think L. Ron Hubbard is right, they're offering XC as 32, Trail/AM as 34 and Freeride as 36. Makes sense to me!

They said the same thing about 29ers. Any wagers on us seeing a 650b Enduro or Stumpjumper?

I was thinking the exact same thing. From all that I've read 650b seems to offer almost all of the pros of both platforms with almost none of the cons of either…

I guess having 35mm stanchions makes me 'Enduro DH'. I'm not sure what stanchions Cannondale's 'Over Mountain' range have…..maybe ribbed 35/37?

To be honest, I actually wish Fox would just make all their forks with 40mm stanchions. Think of the streamlined manufacturing! One casting for the lowers, one crown/steerer assembly for single crowns, cut to fit 80mm to 180mm, and the double crown for the DH crowd. How sick would an 80mm XC 40 look?

To be honest, I actually wish Fox would just make all their forks with 40mm stanchions. Think of the streamlined manufacturing! One casting for the lowers, one crown/steerer assembly for single crowns, cut to fit 80mm to 180mm, and the double crown for the DH crowd. How sick would an 80mm XC 40 look?

Ha yeah! I was wondering when I looked at the Flickr pics, as to whether the price of forks could come down significantly if the range of forks was reduced. As a grumpy old Brit I'm used to going into a sandwich bar and having the choice of around 10 sandwiches and no options and to be honest I'm fine with that. Over here there's seemingly hundreds of options, plus relishes, mayo blah blah blah. Just fucking give me a cheese sandwich!

as a society we have exchanged quality of life for consumer choice

Its also about the consumer that wants streamlined service parts. Kinda tough on local shops too. I would imagine it would be harder to stock stuff when the number of options keeps going up. If they resort to ordering everything in then they lose one of their advantages over online shopping.

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To be honest, I actually wish Fox would just make all their forks with 40mm stanchions. Think of the streamlined manufacturing! One casting for the lowers, one crown/steerer assembly for single crowns, cut to fit 80mm to 180mm, and the double crown for the DH crowd. How sick would an 80mm XC 40 look?

Yeah, all that surface area totally wouldn't cause noticeable stiction on an 80mm fork bolted to an 18 lb bike under a 120 lb rider.