big guy here ~200lbs, and I ride in santa cruz daily on my epic, which from my understanding is sort of similar to the north shore. I have really, really, enjoyed the new FOX 36SL GripX 130mm fork for this area of riding.
The 36mm stanchions are a welcome addition to my size and riding conditions, along with the new compliant air spring has been honestly incredible for suppleness and feel.
Maybe take a look at this fork versus a standard 34?
I am not from MO - but I have a lot of friends/teammates that have been telling me for years how great of a race it is!
Are you from MO or just located there for some time for work etc?
Itās a great race, itās tough though. Very old singletrack originally built for hiking. Lots of loose chunky rock, roots, etcā¦ The whole weekend vibe is great as well. Used to live in MO and did the race 5-6 times. In Colorado now but get back to MO to visit family once or twice a year
Is a well kept and specd SB100 a viable bike these days?
It will work great. People overstate how much courses have changed.
I set my base model epic 8 evo up with flight attendant. use Pike ultimate FA fork and 130mm air shaft kit. Pike can be set up 120, 130, but ships as 140 travel when buying new fork. Build came in at 27.5 lbs. XO transmission with power meter, zipp hi-top wheels, fast track control tires, 170 axs dropper, carbon bars.
Gunna need pics and first ride review! 
is this the epic 8 flight attendant build thread?
any other XC bikes people are lusting over lately? I have my eye on the 2025 salsa spearfish - steeper STA, 3 bottle cages on medium and up, split pivot suspension design and no proprietary parts has me excited.
currently on an over stroked '22 epic evo (130 front, 124 rear). I just never can get the rear suspension in a happy place. Flex stays seems to be my biggest gripeā¦
Rename the thread ā2025 S-dorks threadā
I really would love to see a new SC Blur with internal frame storage and a lightweight frame, maybe SC and Cervelo guys should get together on the same roomā¦
I love my supercaliber gen1, but I would like to try a Blur or BC40 since they show up regularly at my races. If they have found a way to get a little more travel without losing responsiveness, that would be interesting.
Some have said the Blur maybe receiving an update this year. Basically itās an excellent bike, but a few freaks go a long way. Problem is the biggest SC market is USA. Until the tariff BS gets ironed out, who knows the motivation of the manufacturers.
They show up, but are they out in front of you or behind you?
TREK Factory looks to be going all in on the Top Fuel
Trek does a lot of odd things with their bikes, but they really screwed up its last remake removing the Top Fuel from a pure race XC oriented bike. Itās due for another overhaul because the Supercal is a great moderate XC bike, but not enough bike for certain rowdy courses.
I was just about to post about this. Supercal gen 1 rider here and been looking at new bikes for this year or next. Trek seem to have removed themselves from the conversations about top xc bikes.
Do we expect an all new 120 travel frame is in development or will they maybe just try and get the weight down on the top fuel and offer a top xc build?
They have the platform now, apparently when you spec uber parts, you can at least get it competitive.
Hopefully their riders are steering them in the direction of a light weight 120 option.
I was in the market right before the old Top Fuel got heavy.
Then I went to another brand.
Ha! We are all in the mix! Credit goes to the rider on the BC40 that finished a minute ahead of me. At my level itās really about the legs, not the bike. SuperCals are popular as well. I was passed by a guy on a nearly identical SuperCal, so I havenāt maxed out its potential.
I really love the SupCal responsiveness under hard pedalingāaccelerating out of corners, up short punchy climbs, winding it up on a flat stretch. I find it a great fit for short hard rides and races around here. But I notice that Top Fuel with FA is under some of the Trek pros now. It seems that with FA managing the suspension, the tradeoffs of more travel are reduced. I could see riding something that smooths the rock gardens out a little more, but not at the expense of responsiveness.
I have been on a Gen1 Supercal since very close to whe it launched, but ths year got an Epic 8 with FA built up.
Iām only 3 rides in on the Epic 8, but all longish 3 hour plus efforts, and Iām really appreciating the ability of the Epic 8 to soak up the rocks, roots. and drops. It feels super planted and stable, but also very comfortable. FA is magical in what it does constantly adjusting and climbing feels super efficient.
I did hit one section of gravel today connecting between two trails, and here i thought the Epic 8 didnt feel as good as my SC. I think its a combo of the slacker front end, but also a related to my handlebar position not yet fully dialed on the Epic 8. The SC always felt like a magic carpet on gravel.