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This is what's wrong with The Industry™

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
21,943
21,466
Canaderp
At Bromont over the weekend, I'd say 1/3rd of riders, maybe more, were on DH bikes.

For us in Ontario it doesn't really make sense to own one, unless you travel A LOT. We lost out last dh bike park :(
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,660
1,237
Nilbog
I spent time at 5 New England bike parks over the past week. Highland seemed to have quite a few DH bikes, while most of the others like Thunder and Bolton didn't have many. Bikes are expensive, I can see why some only choose to own one. However, I do ride a lot of bike parks and I love having my DH bike for those days.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,750
26,975
media blackout
I spent time at 5 New England bike parks over the past week. Highland seemed to have quite a few DH bikes, while most of the others like Thunder and Bolton didn't have many. Bikes are expensive, I can see why some only choose to own one. However, I do ride a lot of bike parks and I love having my DH bike for those days.
at $8k a bike no wonder people can only afford one.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,750
26,975
media blackout
You can't get a chain through normal channels for 9 months but there's plenty on the internet shipping straight from Asia.
QC rejects? not good enough to met SRAM spec but instead the factory can send them to another company and sell them direct from ASPAC via alibaba or the like.
 

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
QC rejects? not good enough to met SRAM spec but instead the factory can send them to another company and sell them direct from ASPAC via alibaba or the like.
Profit margins are significantly smaller in China/APAC than in any other geography. At this point I think they simply buy as a bike shop and sell over Amazon or eBay as a regular guy because their lower income local audience won't buy XTR chains day after day.

Most of the SRAM parts you can get almost at retail price on eBay will have the serial numbers/models filed/sanded/scratched off, partly so they can't be traced back to a distributor.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,750
26,975
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Profit margins are significantly smaller in China/APAC than in any other geography. At this point I think they simply buy as a bike shop and sell over Amazon or eBay as a regular guy because their lower income local audience won't buy XTR chains day after day.
sell it or scrap it. what do you think they're gonna do?

Most of the SRAM parts you can get almost at retail price on eBay will have the serial numbers/models filed/sanded/scratched off, partly so they can't be traced back to a distributor.
could also be done at the factory for the reasons previously mentioned.
 

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
sell it or scrap it. what do you think they're gonna do?
Believe me, I have seen several SRAM and Shimano so-called B-quality or sketchy components bought off eBay by me and my friends, and they aren't B-grade at all.

With stems/bars/seatposts, that's a different story. They're either counterfeit or production QC rejects.

The S/N scratching was acknowledged by one of the sellers a few years ago, because SRAM would have stopped selling them brakes if they caught them red handed, reselling them outside their designated geography. We're not talking your suburban small bike shop selling their stock for a living, these are either big (by numbers) Asian low-value bike brands or QBP style distributors who have a side business selling some of what they order on eBay, again because they can't just buy all Acera or X7 and below groupsets (Shimano and SRAM usually have a quota of lower/middle/upper components you have to mix in your orders once you go over certain number of components), and selling the upper component lines are tough, or not profitable enough in the short term.

Then, you'll see the same sellers have NOS Manitou or X-Fusion suspension on sale. It's all about making what you and me consider a dime on a sale, but it means a lot for several China and Vietnam based eBay/Aliexpress shops.

In general, for this kind of operations, if a component sits in their storage for over a month, they are losing money. Hence they try to move stock as fast as they can, and catering to a different, component-starved geography, opened a whole new set of possibilities for them.
 
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rideit

Bob the Builder
Aug 24, 2004
24,641
12,456
In the cleavage of the Tetons



 

Toshi

butthole powerwashing evangelist
Oct 23, 2001
39,713
8,731
all things being equal I'd rather have the DH rig...just their use is not frequently enough to make sense for most riders...most riders that prefer downs to ups even.
I'd totally rather not have a DH bike for how many times I make it up there. But rentals are just a shitshow, echoing your point about not being able to tune them adequately. Thus I have a DH bike now.
 

mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,483
4,211
sw ontario canada
That is why I kept the now 9 year old 26" DH bike and stuffed a 27.5 front into it.
Long bought and paid for, does not owe me a thing and is worth more for the insurance policy it provides my perpetual hack ass than it would garner on the open market. Yes it is short in reach by todays standards, but the rest of the numbers are still good and it only takes a run to re-acclimate.

Who cares if it only comes out a couple times a year for a road-trip.
 

mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,483
4,211
sw ontario canada
one bike to rule them all...never had it any other way, never can't keep up at either the local trails or the parks...suck it, industry.

I did that for a lot of years. 165-170mm "All Mountain" with two wheelsets and even two forks. All my buddies riding 140mm trail-bikes and full DH bikes chirping about my single bike. I was tired of being the slowest on the trail rides cause way too much bike, but then the slowest at the park cause not enough bike. So, I finally join the trail / DH club. Ah, back in the hunt. Then the car accidents. So no matter what I'm back to being the slowest. Kind of ironic that I'm on the two bikes and they are all on Enduro bikes.

Kind of a symmetry to that.
 

SylentK

Turbo Monkey
Feb 25, 2004
2,642
1,090
coloRADo
Yeah hmmm...well when there's no DH races anymore. Yet the Enduro races make you ride the same tracks as the DH Races, you kinda learn one bike can rule them all.

:)
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,660
1,237
Nilbog
gimme a shout next time. thats my local park.

where/how'd you crash?
Oh noway! It was my first time, crazy place, the rock in that area is really unique.

So it's a bit of a story but I ended up needing a brake bleed on my Evil in Vermont so I had one of the shop guys do it while I was at Bolton. He did a great job but forgot to put the reverse thread axle cap back in my frame. I noticed and asked him for it, then threw it in my bag because it was the end of the day. FFW to blue, 3rd run down I think on boulevard I rode down some wooden roll in thing and hear a horrendous sound. Next thing I know I am flying through the air, smash into the ground grind myself to a pulp, smash my head and ruined my carbon d3 helmet. My fucking axle backed out and my wheel fell out, worst crash of my life. Totally my fault either I didn't tighten my axle enough or that cap is absolutely critical to prevent back out. Bike is largely ok, tweaked the hanger and snapped my derailure but other than that I am mainly the broken one.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,750
26,975
media blackout
Oh noway! It was my first time, crazy place, the rock in that area is really unique.
yea, its shaley, but not like plattekill shale. beyond that what are your opinions? always curious to hear what non-locals think.

So it's a bit of a story but I ended up needing a brake bleed on my Evil in Vermont so I had one of the shop guys do it while I was at Bolton. He did a great job but forgot to put the reverse thread axle cap back in my frame. I noticed and asked him for it, then threw it in my bag because it was the end of the day. FFW to blue, 3rd run down I think on boulevard I rode down some wooden roll in thing and hear a horrendous sound. Next thing I know I am flying through the air, smash into the ground grind myself to a pulp, smash my head and ruined my carbon d3 helmet. My fucking axle backed out and my wheel fell out, worst crash of my life. Totally my fault either I didn't tighten my axle enough or that cap is absolutely critical to prevent back out. Bike is largely ok, tweaked the hanger and snapped my derailure but other than that I am mainly the broken one.
woof that's rough. heal up quick dude.
 

manhattanprjkt83

Rusty Trombone
Jul 10, 2003
9,660
1,237
Nilbog
yea, its shaley, but not like plattekill shale. beyond that what are your opinions? always curious to hear what non-locals think.



woof that's rough. heal up quick dude.
I think the flow trails suck but the natural trails are great. Also they have a great crab cake sandwich at slopeside. :)
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
88,750
26,975
media blackout
I think the flow trails suck but the natural trails are great. Also they have a great crab cake sandwich at slopeside. :)
yea, even as far as flow trails go they are not well executed. decreasing radius berms and jumps that get too steep too quickly. but yes the natural stuff is good, they need more of it tho.
 

Electric_City

Torture wrench
Apr 14, 2007
2,047
783
This is one of my peeves this summer. Whenever I go to bike parks I'm almost the only one on a DH bike. The current obsession is how little travel you can have on a bike that can handle DH and park riding. Of course these bikes don't weigh any less than mine, have more mechanical issues, and make riding harder for their owners. I don't get the aversion everyone suddenly has for 200mm of travel. On the one hand DH dead. No one is buying DH bikes. On the other, DH riding is thriving. I see plenty of people at the bike parks.
A sure sign that I'm getting old is the world doesn't make sense anymore.
I still have my DH bike and I want to buy a new one soon. But at Creek you see fewer DH and more enduro. I think there's 3 reasons.
-Too expensive to have 2 bikes.
-Most riders stick to the groomed runs.
-For that, the enduro bikes hold up.

I'll ride Tempest, crap chute, Greenhorn(all "groomed" trails) and the jump trails and see plenty of riders. But when I hit the tech trails like BMW, Slayer and Utah (@Creek), I'll stop to fix something or to find a better line and not see or hear anyone for 20 minutes. Everyone rides the groomers but only a handful of people ride the tech.

I also think it depends on the mountain. At Platty, if you saw an enduro you knew they were only doing a trail or two. At Creek? I've seen people on rigid fat bikes.
 
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6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
17,208
14,675
I still have my DH bike and I want to buy a new one soon. But at Creek you see fewer DH and more enduro. I think there's 3 reasons.
-Too expensive to have 2 bikes.
-Most riders stick to the groomed runs.
-For that, the enduro bikes hold up.

I'll ride Tempest, crap chute, Greenhorn(all "groomed" trails) and the jump trails and see plenty of riders. But when I hit the tech trails like BMW, Slayer and Utah (@Creek), I'll stop to fix something or to find a better line and not see or hear anyone for 20 minutes. Every one rides the groomers but only a handful of people ride the tech.

I also think it depends on the mountain. At Platty, if you saw an enduro you knew they were only doing a trail or two. At Creek? I've seen people on rigid fat bikes.
Is Stigmata still rideable? How's Ripper nowadays?
 

Electric_City

Torture wrench
Apr 14, 2007
2,047
783
Is Stigmata still rideable? How's Ripper nowadays?
It's reopened last year I think. Ripper is still the same till about 100' above the creek crossing. There's 2 chutes there now and they're both eroded badly. Other than that, those 2 trails are the same.