Do you have any races you can do without the dropper? I did the math on replacing the same dropper with a light carbon specialized post and you can drop nearly a pound
I’m not an amazing mtb rider and my fit with short cranks really make the dropper helpful, but my next race (technically gravel) I could do without. Just not sure if it’s worth it for likely only one race. Maybe more down the road.
Until I recently switched to Di2 I was running XT mechanical on a Trek Top Fuel (and the same on a Cannondale Scalpel before that - fully external routing). Shifting was fine, no jumping, but I could never get it perfect across all 12 cogs and although it shifted great up, or down, it was never great in both directions.
Thanks for those suggestions. It looks Like Cervelo doesn’t make the ZFS-5 anymore. It’s not on their website and dealers don’t seem to have any. Maybe a new version is in the works?
The Giant Anthem is one I hadn’t considered and I need look at. There’s little info on their website about the frame…no price, no ability to order, no weight. Various articles out there do say it’s light. I’ll check with the local Giant store.
As far as Epics go, I think that’s been covered pretty well in this thread so far. The only 120mm Epic frame on Specialized’s website is the S-Works 9 which, with shock and fork, does beat the BC40 by 90gm. The negatives are it has Flight Attendant, no mech routing, and costs $2k more.
I’m not truly going for a weight weenie build, though I do admit to an admiration for weight-weenieism. It’s just that I saw builds from a number of companies that were under 22 lb, so figure I could shoot for the same, just for fun.
What I like about the top fuel (at least gen 3) is that the housing runs externally after it leaves the main triangle. I think most of the issues I was experiencing came from running the cable internally all the way through to the rear axle.
I suspect you are in the minority, hence why their decision makes sense. It is not just 2 holes it is also cable guides etc.
IMO, it’s multiple sharp bends in the cable that are problematic. A smooth run with a few large radius bends is what works best. It’s just that internal routing tends to create more and sharper bends.
Har! Yeah. We anti-electronic Luddites are def in the minority anymore. I just want my bikes to work without batteries, charging, or electronics so they keep working after the apocalypse EMP. 
Here’s a quick question I might as well ask here. What’s your opinion and experience with remote lockouts? Twist grip vs levers? I’ve never had a bike with one. I do on occasion use the lever on my shock for long climbs or some gnon-gnar sections.
Afaik the prior epic has no guides, just 2 holes.
I don’t think it’s a minority view. It may be a minority among people who are buying a $10k bike. I think decisions like this to make a frame that only supports a very specific technology are lame, non-rider friendly, longstanding bike industry tactics that often get reversed after a few years.
This is going to be unpopular for this thread - but I leave it on all the time, even for Leadville. People over-estimate the impact of weight savings and generally the dropper makes me faster. If you’re just riding a Gravel Race on your MTB, that’d be the time. The AXS dropper, while heavy, makes it super easy to swap to a fixed-post that’s much lighter as there’s no cabling.
As a fellow member of the “Mechanical on MTB” club I don’t think it is as much as we are in the minority as it is what the bike companies can get a slightly better margin.
It was super obvious to me when I took it off and the bike weighed one pound less and the rigid seatpost provided a more stable/efficient pedaling platform. I feel like the second part sounds a little marginal and crazy on a MTB but I really do feel it even though I am relatively lightweight.
And it’s been shown time and time again that “Feel” is a really, really bad indicator. Feels faster, lighter, snappier does not mean that it is, and it’s frequently the inverse of that.
With that said, extra weight makes a bigger difference the lighter you are.
I did many years on 3 way lever remote on my Scott. Switched to twist grip w epic 8 and never cared for it. Switched to flight attendant and that’s much better than both. Between a lever and twist grip, I much prefer the lever.
sounds like the name of some evil Smurf