dan profile

Hey Cam - solid write up here. I dig the way the Decoy hides its motor. Overall, it's a looker. 

I think what has me most curious isn’t the “easier” aspect of climbing with an eMTB but the... and I hate to say this... the time savings. I’m 43, a new dad, one saddled with greater professional responsibilities than ever before... and time is an even more precious resource than I could have expected. Fortunately I live a few short minutes from the trails here in Bellingham, and while there are not many eMTB accessible trails at the moment, this will undoubtedly change soon enough. I’m supposing I’d be ready to enter the market right around the time the trails become open to e-power.  

Having not yet ridden an eMTB, I don’t have a sense of true sense of scale, so I got to thinking: would it be useful to others if these reviews included a comparison of ride times for a given lap - e-powered and meat-powered?

Agreed. 

Fwiw frame wraps are lost on me. It’s simply more plastic that will inevitably wind up in a landfill, or worse, the ocean.

I lost one half of that click-together tool years ago but i refuse to bin the remaining half. Useful design on that one. Had that locking mechanism that sorta made up for how short the allens were.

At 6’5”, I’m a little anxious about the STA too. Eager for demo programs to come back full swing. 

The inconsistent SRAM spec prompted me to review the details of the XT bike. Happy to see that’s truly XT through and through. That’d have to be my pick from these models: while $6K isn’t exactly pocket change, this build is a far better value than the $5500 USD MSRP 9.7 model from 2018 that I own. Why? NX 11sp gruppo, 125mm Bonti post, Yari fork, and butter-soft 28H Line 30 alloy wheels shod with XC grade SE4 tires. (I’ve since replaced each of those components).

Serious question: would you not run DT protection on an alloy bike?

Good call out. I set my '18 in low from the outset but later upped my Yari from 160- to 170mm (plus Charger 2 and Debonair spring). You comment gets my thinking I'll set it to high and see if there are any noticeable differences.

My '18 Slash has slowly wept oil like that since I first bought it. What makes it look 'bad' IMO is that the oil collects dirt so the volume looks greater than it is. I get the shock serviced every season and it keeps on (monster) truckin'.

That one gets the ol' chef's kiss

I dunno about this one. Too many quick cuts and unnecessary zoomy things happening. Too bad, as Brandon is sylish as hell. Don't need the Fast and Furious jump cuts to enjoy his riding.

Good observation! There was a recent post on Jalopnik where the journo took a stock Jeep Rubicon from the Hertz rental lot out to Windrock ORV and had a blast. Can't imagine doing that 20 years ago. Lotta good bikes these days, and a lot of capable factory-built offroaders, too.

If you're ever on the Washington side of the border, Greg Mackenzie is the man. I think he's wrapping up a brick and mortar but you can reach him on Instagram @ButterSuspension. (His new shop space is TBD.)