Bikes profile

"NSMB is about as real is it gets. No board, no shareholders, no venture capital on the back end."

I'm a bike nerd, and I read all the other publications.  They can be great.  But I agree with the above. Hard to explain it, but NSMB seems more honest.  More relatable.

Prior to the ability to have the choice to have/want more, its probably that choice was removed or even the idea a complete impossibility.  I guess you don't miss what you don't have.?.  I have not idea if people 5,000 or 20,000 years ago where as sad or as happy as me.  Never will.

Hard to separate out human condition from capitalist condition.  They are one in the same, we just now have the resources and tech to achieve more.  Greed isn't inherent to capitalism or any other monetary structure.  Its a human condition.

I'd say its the only human system, with all variations including the one western/modern man knows regulated to some degree via currency requirements or outright regulation/taxation.

Second paragraph, true cost pricing seems a valid scheme, but its hard to set for the topic at hand.  There is no "true cost" to certain environmental impacts, CO2 especially.  They are currently estimated based on very different assumptions as we have no idea what the financial impact will actually be.  If you want to regulate CO2, just tax it (or cap and trade, but that sets up issue by itself).  Everyone along the consumer chain will pay it, and the end product will be priced accordingly.

I'm confused by names.

RS has 6 shock models not including coil/air versions.  Is a Vivid higher/better than a Monarch?  How would anyone know that?  The only two names that tell me remotely what they are in comparison is Delux and Super Deluxe.  I am assuming super is better?  Maybe?

FOx.  DH, Float, X2, DPS, DPX2...DH.  Is that downhill?  DP?  Down piste? pogo? perfect?Is "S" better then X2?  Why?

I do know that shock size has little effect on actual damping and more to do with thermal control to keep damping consistent (assuming you can get the desired damper physically in there).  On air shocks, the larger bodies would make them less progressive and theoretically more tunable for progression, so there is that.  But non of the names tell me which shock is which.

New poster here.  Love the site, and I'm looking forward to this series.

One thing, long CS move static weight bias forward, not rearward as the second paragraph states (in your defense you clean it up later with regards to weight distribution).  I like long CS's.  Current bike has 462mm and never had an issue with it.  Really looking at getting a Titan as it seems like Sultan with much better front end geometry.