2024 XC Bike & Equipment Thread

For those of us in Europe / the UK, are we better off going with LB in the absence of Nextie rims?

Being in the UK/Europe wont change the availability duration, warranty or customer support you get from Nextie. You can order anything directly from them or go other ordering routes some have mentioned.

If you like Light Bicycle products, they have great offerings too! If you like Nextie or want to try Nextie, its not really a challenge logistically speaking!

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I stumbled on this today - I am a fan of the Raceface Next SL crankset (what I run) but honestly this offering from Garbaruk looks awesome to me. Its weight is great also and the price IMO is super reasonable. I figured I would share it as I have not come across it yet and Garbaruk does beautiful work with aluminum things.

but no crank powermeter and we all know quarq are the best aroundā€¦ why do they need to come up with a new crank arm / chainring interface instead of doing 8-bolt?

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Thatā€™s xx1 / rotor kapric money in Europe / the UK, with easier spares, more BB options and no issues with proprietary rings or power meters.

It is pretty like.

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I think that crankset is beautiful and has so many color options.

But yes depending on what youā€™re looking to accomplish there are other options or better/more efficient ways to spend your money.

I personally run power pedals so the PM debate does not apply to me. They do offer a dub spindle (29mm) but Iā€™m not sure about the chainring pattern or why they went that route.

Probably a patent money saving issue. No way SRAM wouldnā€™t have demanded royalties for 8 bolt etc

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ZFS-5 can take a rear cable. Cervelo sells mechanical builds (my wife has a GX Eagle).

There are a ton of third party cranks and power meters that use 8-bolt. I doubt that theyā€™re all paying SRAM royalties. But that might just be them taking a chance. Not the greatest example of ethics but AliExpress is littered with 8-bolt crank options. Raketa, Croder.

What are peopleā€™s thoughts on ā€œoff the shelfā€ race wheelsets available in the EU. Insurance company is unlikely to be bothered to cover a custom build or berd spokes.

1zero HiTops? (slightly heavier, inbuilt tyrewiz and apparently very compliant, albeit potential hub dramas) (1350gish)
Bontragerā€™s new RSLā€™s? (the lightest steel spoke option)? (1199)
Roval SLsā€™s? (a little heavier but perhaps more reliable longterm) (1240)
Newman Phase VONOA 30ā€™s? (carbon spokes - perhaps not ideal for a 120 bike thatā€™s going to be smashed about the place even just from the perspective of rock strikes) (1176)
XRC 1200s? (1350gish)

Similarly, warranty on the rim probably valuable. The Bontragers have a lifetime, the rovals only 2 years?

Are we going to see a new Cervelo, or have they dropped the MTB??

I recently went through the same debate after breaking a handful of boutique wheels. Ended up with the zipps and Iā€™m really happy so far. Iā€™ve run the tyrewiz for a few rides, but Iā€™m going to take them out because I donā€™t think theyā€™re terribly accurate or all that helpful. The ride is fantastic on them and the warranty is solid. I had the same concern about the hubs but figured Iā€™d gamble it and see.

One thing to note is they come with torque cap and cap so if you have a fox fork youā€™ll need to plan accordingly and get the normal end caps

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Not 100% sure but I think I read something that they are not continuing the MTB line.

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Thatā€™s a shame, seeing as the first one got great reviews

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Yeahā€¦. it was basically a cheaper, lighter Blur. Hopefully that will trickle down to the next gen Blur that comes out!

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Curious if anyone has heard rumors about an updated Blur? Iā€™d like to swap my Mach 4 frame for something a bit more stable this year, Epic 8 frame is high currently the prime candidate, but would really like to support my local shop who only does Trek and SC. Trek doesnā€™t really have a viable 120 option IMO so thinking an updated Blur might fit the bill but they werenā€™t sure of anything coming down the pipeline, but itā€™s definitely due.

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Curious what you would you like to see updated?

Personally Iā€™d like to see it shed some weight (itā€™s about 1 Kg heavier then the same spec Epic 8). Regarding other stuff I think most XC bikes are dialed in. Maybe a few tweaks but here and there but probably nothing game changing.

Buy a zfs?

Lighter than the epic 8, no internal storage I guess but I wouldnā€™t even use that for racing if i had it.

Geo is the big thing, Iā€™m fully onboard with the longer slacker trend that the Epic and most bikes have taken. The Blur, along with a lot of other bikes were sort of optimized around 100 mm forks with the ability to run 120s when everyone is running 120 up front these days, at least that I ride/race with.

Blockquote Buy a zfs?

Iā€™d like to support my local shop, which is a SC dealer, not a Cervelo. The ZFS looks rad but Iā€™m sort of on the far end of a size large and the XL is definitely too big, similar problem with previous Blurs but in general seems like SC is moving more towards a bit longer/bigger in size L. And yes Iā€™m very picky about geo haha.

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I went from an XL Hightower (v1 I guess, 2017) to an Epic 8 L. The Epic fits much better, the SC always felt a bit too big and heavy. Iā€™m also almost always between L and XL and glad I didnā€™t listen to my Spesh dealer and went with the L because of that experience with the SC. Take that for what itā€™s worthā€¦ everyone is shaped differently.