I rarely am ever wrong and pride myself on always being right. However a few things slipped through the cracks this month. With that being said, here are the only 5 things I was wrong about in the bike industry for the month of May…
SRAM Flight Attendant might not be the end of the world. This is one I am surprised I am even typing. Those who know me know that I detest the automation direction that the world seems to be heading in. Apple vision goggles and self driving cars make me want to puke and so did the thought of suspension that does the thinking work for you. However, after a few weeks of testing, I might be wrong about this one. I am working on a long term review so stay tuned, but I don’t think my Flight Attendant test suspension is going to take over the world anytime soon.
XC is not dumb. I used to think you need at least 140mm of travel to ride a majority of trails out there and anything less than that just would not be fun as a do it all bike. Currently we are working on a huge project and I have spent a significant amount of time on many different XC bikes and I have to say, I don’t think I have ever been more wrong. Modern XC bikes have become what trail bikes were a few years ago, only faster. If anything, these last few weeks have made me realize how little travel you actually need to ride our trails.
Seat Angles don’t have to be 77.5 degrees. This one is going to take a bit of time for me to fully admit I was wrong because I screamed so loud from the rooftops that more bikes needed steep seat angles. After a lot of testing I had become so convinced that 77.5 degrees was the sweet spot and almost started to rule out bikes that were not close to that. Well after many weeks on bikes with seat angles in the 75 degree range, I guess you should not judge a book by its cover. Frame designers rejoice, I am giving you my blessing to go slacker than 77.5 for now…
Shimano makes good pedals. If you have been following me you know I have had an interesting relationship with Shimano. After spending about 5 months in Japan I grew to appreciate the brand's Japanese heritage after a few years of not really vibing with the brands elitist North America vibes. Well after testing out the Shimano XTR pedals I have to say, they might be some of the best pedals on the market. They just work everytime you go to clip in and the audible engagement makes things so much easier to know when you are good to go. I still think brands like SRAM bring much more to the table in terms of the overall forward development of the bike industry, but you have to give it to Shimano, they make great bike parts.
I could ride Red Bull Hardline. There is not enough money you could pay me to hit that canyon gap or enough money to pay for coaching lessons for me to be able to hit that canyon gap...
There you guys go, 5 things I was wrong about for the month of May 2024 and the only things I will ever be wrong about!
See you next month…
-Mo Awesome
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