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Feedback from the German message boards seems to indicate that the rims are amazing but the hubs are very light weight and not quite as reliable as Hope or DT.

Good thing is that the rims are also sold separately.

These look decent but decidedly average. The pricing is way off, though.

@Jerry Willows I don't think they are the same. These here are a lot lighter, with good engagement and mid-range DT spokes, while OE Traverse on the EVO are heavy and a lot more primitive.

Very valid point. Which makes interpreting bike reviews even harder, because it means that the same frame can have different riding characteristics in different sizes. Just hope that the reviewer is on the same size frame as yourself.

Great article! I noticed that tyres can suffer even more from the cold than suspension. The softer compounds from Maxxis in particular don't like the cold at all, getting hard and brittle. That led to some "very interesting" situations on snowy roots and rocks. The Conti stuff seems better in that regard.

It is always problematic if safety improving technology is patented and restricted by licencing (see Volvo and the seatbelt).

Thankfully, in this case, it might not be necessary for other companies to licence exactly this tech. The goal of including a softer, laterally flexible layer can be achieved by many  different approaches, so any company can build something similar (see Kali LDL or Leatt).

Reading that, it sounds like sizes should only go from L (for midgets ) to XXXXL (to leave something for those in the 200cm range) .

Which leaves me even more annoyed that nobody is doing something truly extreme to test out the upper ends of the reach craze. Just make a bike with 1000mm reach, 45 degrees HTA and 95° STA! If only to give to all those who say their XXL Geometron "could have just a little more reach". ;-)

PS: the photos in this article are particularly amazing.

While true, it doesn't make the situation any less bad.

I get the willingness to pay a premium for a boutique bike like a Yeti or Unno.

But that kind of money for bread and butter brands like Specialized, Kona, Norco or Scott strikes me as silly.

Since they are a company and not a public entity, the answer is very obvious. ;-)

Andrew, I appreciate your recommendations. Didn't know that there are already spacer kits for 148 to 157mm available.

Luckily there is also no shortage of good mid-range wheelsets. (Currently running the excellent Newmen rims on DT 350s with ratchet upgrade,).

Which doesn't mean that i haven't lusted after Gucci wheels occasionally. The trouble with bling wheelsets is that i want the hubs to last a decade or so, and that seems unrealistic. While rear hub widths might only fluctuate between 148 and 157 for the next couple of years, i don't trust the peace at the front end. With all the recent talk about forks lacking in stiffness, i don't expect the 15mm front axle to last much longer. Who knows, 20mm might even be making a comeback. But knowing the industry, the new standard will be 18.9mm x 105mm. ;)

There are so many awesome high end hubs available with these P321, Kings, Tune, the True Precision ones, I9, DT and eventually the new XTRs.....

But I just can't bring myself to spend major coin on a wheelset, knowing that it will be obsolete and basically landfill within a few years due to ever-changing hub and wheelsizes.

Given her size, I would never consider a long travel 29er without her trying one in steep terrain first.

There is a reason why a lot of companies don't make that kind of bike in smaller sizes.

[Edit:] Wouldn't a Nomad be a better comparison to the MT? Or a Hightower to the Bronson? And i just remembered that Tim Coleman in his review spoke highly of the Mondraker Foxy as a very good climber with surefooted handling on the descents.

I feel that brake performance depends heavily on the user. Therefore i'm quite hesitant with blanket statements like "brake A is good, brake B is bad". I vividly remember a very long, steep alpine descent: Me running Avid Juicy brakes, the guy in front of me (heavier than me, but not massively so) on Magura Gustav M (strongest brake ever built for bicycles).  At the bottom we notice the burning smell of overheated brakes and i immediatly assume that my tiny Juicys have overheated. Turns out it was the rear Gustav which had overheated and even started to fade.

Keep in mind that glasses are super personal and anyones recommendations might not fit you equally well. I don't have the comparison with Oakley, but i have been using the Addidas Evil Eye with light orange prescription lenses for about 8 years. Best thing i ever bought for biking, skiing and general outdoor stuff. Tough, very resistant to fogging and the light orange works equally well from bright sunlight to dark woods. Can recommend if the shape fits your head.

Posted by: craw

It would be cool to see a more efficient way to build a bike out of 7075 rather than Pole's way, which seems like a lot of added effort. Does 7075 need to be heat treated after this new process? Can someone with some related knowledge comment on that - just because 7075 can be welded can this process realistically be used for making bikes?

So far, I'm not entirely convinced that Poles way of making bikes has actual performance benefits over bog standard welded 6061 tubing. They have a unique look and allow for more creative shapes. But those frames are far from light. Given that welded frames of similar weight are pretty strong already, is the whole CNC+7075 affair actually necessary?

Posted by: syncro

It's an existential question, but is there a point for most riders where the bike becomes too good and is actually a step backwards in the fun quotient?

I have been in a situation like that. But I consider it more of a question of choosing the right bike for the kind of riding you do.

After living in BC and riding a burly trailbike around the north shore, I moved to the Black Forest, taking the bike with me. It turned out that this bike was just far too capable for most of the trails there. The only way not to fall asleep on the downhill was to go dangerously fast, create conflicts with hikers and still not have any sense of technical challenge.

So I bought a light XC hardtail which was a hoot to ride and just the perfect bike for the terrain. Plus, no need to wear a full face helmet or armour.

Is it possible that bikes have become so good that they are too capable even for parts of the north shore?

Also keep in mind that some frames will have clearance issues with the chain on the smallest cog when using small chainrings. Might want to check that beforehand.

Posted by: XXX_er

It strikes me that everyone is looking for a tire that is as good as the maxxis

Current trail tires are so close in performance that I couldn't declare any of them as the "best". It comes down to tiny details. Personally I don't use maxxis because their 3c rubber doesn't deal well with temperatures close to freezing.

Posted by: tungsten

Me too.

I bought a MM Addix orange awhile back and was so disappoint when it inflated smaller than my old Trailstar MM. It's too draggy to put on rear w/E13trs on front.

So digging around in tire stash looking for 26" 1.50 road tires and the Presta valve tubes that match them to set up wifes bike on wind trainer, I found a lightly used Butcher/Purgatory combo. Thinking Purg surely better for wet/cold than Pacestar, eh?

If I remember correctly, the old Spec trail rubber was 60a, so a bit more grippy than pacestar but a lot slower as well.

Posted by: RAHrider

I hate to disagree but I do. The Slayer has a 2cm shorter top tube and it has a slight slacker seat tube. As far as I can tell, it is a four bar linkage, which is fairly efficient but certainly not something that will make 165mm of travel climb like a goat. The reason I was suggesting the evil is because it climbs as well as most other 150mm travel bikes do but is known to descend like a bigger bike. I'm not saying the evil is the answer to his needs but I have been very happy with mine and thought I'd offer it as a suggestion.

It seems like we are on a similar page here. I'm under no illusion that a bike like the Slayer will be a fast climbing machine, just that it climbs better than most bikes with 165mm of travel.  If the Evil climbs just like other bikes with 150mm of travel, then both of them should be quite close in climbing performance. Staying in that kind of long-travel, decend-biased 27" bike category, there are tons of awesome bikes which might all be great for the OP, but he has set his sight on the Slayer and i can't fault him for that.

But seeing that he loves his E29 and just wants a bit more confidence in the steeps, i stand by my recommendation of trying out an angleset and long dropper. If that still doesn't work out there will always be a Slayer (or similar) waiting in clearance sales at the end of the season.

Posted by: RAHrider

The reason I mention this one is that it sounds like you want something you can pedal but more capable than your current rig. The slayer has a lot of travel and I'm sure is a blast to descend on but probably won't get up a rooty climb where as this one will.

From all the reviews i could find it sounds like the Slayer pedals exceptionally well for a bike of its class, more efficient under power that a lot of bikes with less travel. Conversely, there are tons of good things to be said about Evils, but pedaling efficiency doesn't seem to be among those things.

Which is also why i strongly disagree with the idea of converting the E29 to a "XC" bike next to the Slayer. There would be far too much overlap between those bikes. The E29 would still have tons of very squishy suspension and pedal no better than the Slayer.

Could you install an angleset in the E29? From Superstar or Works components.

With a 2 degree slacker HTA and a longer dropper post the E29 should be quite a lot more capable in the steeps. For seatposts, Bikeyoke comes to mind for low build height and short insertion depth.

The S-works E29 is actually a very light frame for it's travel. You will be hard pressed to find anything substantially lighter in current lineups. Maybe swap some components for lighter ones (e.g. wheelset or cranks).