Jotegir profile

It's really not a Norco thing. Just within my riding group we've had North Shore racks play badly with YT's and some Rocky Mountains as well as my Aurum HSP. Add this to Evils the other commenter mentioned and we're starting to compile quite a list! 

It was one of the main reasons I swapped my NSR out for a Hangover this past spring. NSR's been behind the times for years at this point.

Amen!

Just debate another year or so and you wont need either.

Rocky always skimps out on wheelsets (along with brake rotors and shifters) unless you're getting a 99 level bike. Adding a proper wheelset to many of their bikes takes them from high end to ultra premium. At least in BC that seems to still work, with many people accepting Rocky's place in the Canadian scene. I thought a lot of the 2020 bikes were getting a bit eye-wateringly expensive even before these changes.

But what do I know? 100% of these are pretty much sold already. If you want an Altitude for 2021 you can either pre-order a 2022 or start phoning around and see who still has one. And yeah, it's still 2020.

This year I finally had to say goodbye to my Stache because I realized I'm never going to solve my heel clearance issues with that bike. It's never going to be rideable comfortable at mach chicken on fast stuff because of my heel/ankle slamming in to the bike over stuff. I have huge feet which is why my ankles end up coming in contact with bike back there sometimes. The problem was compounded with an injury which made me adjust my foot position slightly this spring, and I fought it all year, but even before it was never awesome.

Certain bikes I jump on due to chainstay shape, it's always going to be a problem. Now, the main problem with the Stache was the elevated chainstay and the part where it clears 29x3 tires, but it's happened on other rides too. 

I can only think more boost is going to make things worse on bikes. When my cranks are level, my back foot is always going to make it way closer to the back of the bike than most riders.

This is an interesting article and I know exactly what you're talking about even though I don't test bikes. When I got my Aurum HSP, it was fresh, it was hype, and people asked me questions about it all the time.

But I've also owned a one of a kind steel 160mm or so 29er with fairly modern geo since 2017. No one gives a shit about it. I almost never get asked what I'm riding, what that is, etc. I've spent days at bike parks, long pedals in busy areas, and nothing. When I take it to the shop, I certainly get some questions there (and a suitable amount of ribbing from my colleagues), but in the field? Almost nothing.

For whatever reason, this past Thanksgiving set a new record of people asking me about the bike in a single day. We were pedaling the Whistler valley because bike park lines have been way too long these days. Not one, but two people asked me about it! Both asked if it was a Starling though so maybe I should just applaud that UK company for gaining some North American notoriety (for the record - my bike is a Daambuilt Horst like bike, not single pivot).

I suppose it all comes down to what matters to most riders. It takes a serious bike nerd to even look at what someone else is riding, let alone recognize it as something fresh or new. I think a lot of riders go through a phase where they do this for a season or two, but then burn out on all the info and just ride. In the age of all these new DTC companies (many European) that you've never heard of, it isn't weird to see stuff you don't recognize too often. I usually notice, but people who follow all the online bike releases, read reviews when they aren't shopping, and generally keep up with this stuff are I suspect a tiny minority of the overall population of riders. Especially in the Sea to Sky.

PS - the Shore ended up way cooler looking than I originally thought it would be. It's been in the back of my head as something I want since the release date. I know it's not though (as something else coming is way more up my alley) but damn does it look like a nifty bike.

I hear that about the lenses. My favorite lens they make is the rose cromapop with no mirror at all which seems to only come on the full goggle these days. I'll ride it in almost any condition, including darker full forest days. It's too bad because while my friends are all wearing these, on the serious days I end up looking a but "full enduro".

Boourns for featuring the least obnoxious wildcat lens. I feel like anyone in wildcats or similar has a duty to get the brightest mirror lens that they can and maybe even try to get the sun to shine in other people's eyes. 

Many of my riding friends love wildcats or similar. That might explain the previous comment.

And huh. I've never thought of listening to a podcast while riding. That WOULD really improve some of the 1 hour plus climbs. I'm totally going to do that. Not sure I'll pick up the vistas right out of the gate, but thanks for the tip, Pete.

When the shop has been in the same location for over 30 years, you can still find some 5 bolt bash rings fresh in their packages down in the basement. 

COVID bike revival meant I actually "sold" one of these things to a kid on a freeride bike that was older than he was.

Interesting that a company would have a pretty different alloy and carbon model. I can't recall the last time I saw a different suspension design and substantially longer chainstays on a bike in the same model year. I can think of several examples within the same lineup, but they get different names. 

I do think this looks like a really sweet, possibly quite light trail bike. Too bad it doesn't have quiiite as much adjustability as the new Evo but I also understand there's lots of folks out there who don't care for that. 

Edit: Wow, an actual stumpjumper for sub-3k CAD. Not bad

I got 2 pairs of TREES shorts last season - neither lasted the whole season. Quite low quality stuff.