spotter profile

Typical Moni… er Terrafirma. Lots of trash talk and nothing to back it up.

How can this helmet be considered enduro when the promo vid/pic seem to depict (correct me if I'm wrong) the oh-so-obsolete 26″ wheel??? HM? I need answers.

Paints a nice picture, but in my experience most of those people would be flipping out or at least giving a dirty look when they see a mountain bike anywhere in or around mountains in europe.

Looks interesting, but $550??? Does it fly itself to the destination as well? I think there's a reason why mostly sponsored athletes and journalists use these things.

How long did it take to pack the bike inside? I can do a bike with gear in a bike box in about an hour, depending on what needs to go in. What does the bag itself weigh? Generally the limit is 23kg total, so if the bag weighs substantially more than a box, then you're losing out on some extra carrying capability.

Also, those carts at the airport will typically carry two bike boxes and some luggage, and are available in the parking area.

A couple of questions:
1. I've read elsewhere reviewers saying that in a bikepark situation they experienced what they could only think of as "bushing bind." When really digging in in a rutty berm. Any signs of this?
2. Creaking. We all know over the last who knows how many years certain single crowns have been developing creaks. Any issues as of today?

Honestly, it sounds like there is little advantage. Everything you described in this article was exactly what happened to me the last time I rode my normal mountain bike in some unexpected snow.

Any thoughts on how something like this would perform on a fully, without a clutch derailleur? Do I need to keep my chainguide? This has been going through my mind for a while now… I believe I could survive with a 30 tooth up front.

I just felt like it was more telling a story about the testers first world plight of not his parts not matching. Maybe it's just a different format of review and I'm not used to it, but it just felt empty.
Also clamp size should have been listed.

This is a review???

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: Brocklanders

I barely spun the pedals, the thing jumped out of its skin. This whole pedal assist thing is such a load of crap. It's like just spin your legs a little, the motor will do the rest of the work. Prob 99% of the work at 30km per hr.

Shocking really, I wanted to be open minded about them but forget it. They are electric dirt bikes.

I'm sure no one would use that boost mode on a climb.... yeah right.

I gotta admit that's a bit disappointing to hear. To try and remain objective tho I can see the boost mode being great for long service/fire road types of climbs. in terms of climbing trails that are technical and/or single track, I wonder if the boost mode is actually practical? I'm guessing from your description that the bikes computer is designed to just take it straight to top speed no matter how much pedaling effort the user puts in. In this case I don't think the boost mode would work as it would be too fast for the trail. Either way, I feel same rules I stated above apply. IF riders are following/using that protocol, I don't see any reason for conflict on the trails. I agree though that it does create a situation that is more prone to abuse.

When a climb is 700m or less, then I can't see a need for pedal assist unless you want to bang out a huge number of laps. That being said when you want to ride more than one trail in a day, and the climbs average 1000m+, where 99% of people are going to get shuttled anyway, they make sense (cue battery production emissions vs. automobile emissions argument). Trail centres and places like Burke or the Woodlot, they're widely unnecessary, unless you're particularly out of shape (like me, although I don't own an E-bike) or have some physical problems. But who am I to talk... I'm likely going to sell my bikes because this sport has become too homogenized and boring.

What pedals do you have? I have oddly the exact opposite problem, my feet are always hanging off the sides of the pedals (because too narrow). Maybe as already suggested wider pedals might help? I am really impressed what a difference a few mm makes. I've got crankbros Stamps.

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?

From what I remember, and can look up on google, essentially what happens when you weld metal together, because of the intense heat and therefore expansion and following contraction of the material, there's more tension in the material close to the weld. And if I remember correctly the crystal structure changes as a result of the high temperature (edit: not sure about this). Essentially you warm the metal to relax the structure and make it less susceptible to breakage.

So I guess the answer is: no, but you lose a fair amount of the materials strength and resiliency near the weld area. But also yes, because you don't want your frame to crack.

As far as strength is concerned, 7075 is (on paper) close to steel, but still off by (done in my head) about 20%, depending on the alloy. So depending on how thin you would have to make the tubing, the benefits could be negligible in the end.

But I'm just spitballing... I'm no material science guy (and my teacher was terrible).

Posted by: Kenny

snip

Hope 35W wheels? Don't suppose there's a chance you could do me a small favour and measure those 2.8's lug to lug and the highest point of the tire measured from the rear axle for me? ;)

Asking a lot, I know, but can anyone running 27.5x2.8's give me a measurement in mm of chainstay/seatstay clearance? I bought my Marino frame about a year ago, before I had a job, with the intention of running it with plus tires and I'm curious if the clearance I have will be enough. Here it is with all the parts from my 26" wheeled Trek Scratch...

The now few month old custom steel funthing still using most of the parts from my old Trek..

So I finally decided that for my (now) local trails a hardtail with slightly more modern geo would be better suited than my 170mm travel old beast. Not to mention I wanted something that I could ride in the winter and not beat on the pivots of the fully, with a bit of bikepacking & trailer towing (maybe, because kid) thrown in. I decided, after seeing all the options on this side of the Atlantic, that I would give Marino Bikes out of Peru a chance. Initial impression... wow, it's been a long time since I had a hardtail. Climbs like a rocket and with new school geometry descends shockingly well. Really happy so far...

Posted by: grambo

Thanks ReductiMat for the tip on the fork. I had my bike at the mechanics (cuz I suck at stuff) and he cracked the Pike and it was "very dry", so he topped up oil and soaked foam rings. Definitely worth the $35. No idea why manufacturers do this on new forks, planned obsolescence/premature wear for servicing?

Had a quick rip on her last night and am very impressed. Snappy and responsive on climbs, especially with fork/shock in trail setting, and really fun/poppy on the descents. I need to play with the suspension a bit but I am in the ballpark. The bike feels stiff and tight and it's nice to have a water bottle even if it's only 500ml. The bike weighs 29.5lbs with Race Face Atlas flats. Mods are XT 8000 mech/shifter, SunRace 11-46 cassette, XT brakes + RT86 rotors, tubeless and a Race Face Atlas 35mm stem to shorten the bike a bit (large frame, I am 5'10").

I'm currently still on a Trek Scratch Air 9 from 2011 and this exact bike is on my short list. I'm just a hair shy of 6' so I would assume large would suit me as well... I had a couple questions for you;

Is this your "one bike?" Do you plan on riding park at all with it? I'm from Vancouver and live in Germany and would be visiting bikeparks from time to time (riding everything from jump lines and flow trails to DH tracks, excluding big gaps/drops)

More importantly how is the chainring clearance? A lot of the riding over here has done a number on my bashplate due to some exposed stone and undroppable root lines and the lack of ISCG mounts for a bashguard concerns me.

I'm leaning more toward a Capra but the Alpine climbs (steep and unrelenting) really make the weight of the Jeffsy attractive.

Edit: Ah, and how is the Turbine dropper so far? I've heard some not-so-good stuff...

If I remember correctly from back in the day, I always had to run a touch more air pressure than recommended.
But… it sounds to me like the Motion Control is blown. Was a common problem and unfortunately, the entire damper would typically need to be replaced as swapping out whichever o-rings that needed to be replaced was next to impossible due to the design of the cartridge. IIRC seeing if the cartridge was dead was also not really possible.

My daily driver in winter mode, with snow tires. Roundabout 11 or 12000 km on her now… Commute isn't far, about 5 km at the moment, but I use the bike for everything.