10 Pro Bikes From the NZ Enduro

 That red paint job though...
But seriously, I've got a Luftkappe in my Yari and it's about the best suspension upgrade you can get in terms of money to performance ratio I reckon (well, if you install it yourself).

 basically put anything into an older fork and it'll be more tuned for you and ride better than anything new from the factory. Have an AVY set up in my 36 right now and its the most incredible Ive ever felt a fork

 @Blue76: Does the debonair air shaft upgrade do the same as a luftkappe? I’ve done my Lyriks with the upgraded shaft and it’s very cheap and easy.

 @StevieJB: Yes, it does.

 @StevieJB: look in to the diaz runt. i did the air shaft upgrade first. the runt seems to help with the shit mid stroke support from the lyrik. as in stops them diving.

 @StevieJB: no it does not

 Wonder if Ultimate goes to IFP.

 @rmt: Closer a to a Luftkappe, but not quite the same. Luftkappe has a way bigger negative volume than Debonair.

 Yep, I agree. The Luftkappe was the best upgrade I have used in a long time. Installed it on my Pike a couple months ago. Still haven't fully tested it and set it up because of the winter but just on a few rides I can tell it is much plusher. Better small bump compliance and still has good top end support.

 @Mntneer: I ask because from the photos of the luftkappe I’ve seen and swapping the shaft out of my Lyrik they do look quite different, what also surprised me is how similar the debonair shaft is to the regular one. Side by side the debonair is simpler, less parts after the seal head but I can’t see that those parts take up much volume.

 You can get a DebilAir™ shaft for under 50€ which doesn't increase the pos volume, meaning it's not overly progressive. As for the Ultimate, that means a better damper, probably like the Grip damper. More neg volume is possible, but it's not the main focus.

 @Pavel-Repak: The main difference to Solo Air is that Debonair uses the inside of the shaft to increase negative volume. Basically a just a hole at the top of the shaft. Also updated seals to decrease friction. Luftkappe steals some volume from the positive side to negative.

 I mean. She’s wearing thongs. But ok.

 @tibbman101: Nah, I could argue flip flops, but it's NZ. Definitely jandals. One thing we can all agree on, them ain't sandals.

 @tibbman101: yeh na..

 I finally learnt the other day the origin of that odd name.

Something to do with a tour by a Japanese swim team many moons ago and someone locally was super impressed with the 'Japanese Sandals' the team wore at the pool. Copied the design and 'Japanese Sandals' became 'Jandals'.

Please explain 'trundle cart' (shopping trolley) and 'chilly bin' (esky / cooler).

Thanks

Australia.

 @darkmuncan:

Trundle Cart!? Literally never heard that phrase before; think some dirty dingo's pulling ya' leg there, mate!

Chilly Bin: A bin which keeps things (beer or fresh fish only) nice and chilly in the extreme heat of NZ (24-26 degrees Celsius). Esky's just a brand name isn't it?

 @kit-nz: Eskimo, isn't it?

 it's "chully bun" anyway, like "fush and chups".

 My bad! I buy you that, next weeks I'm wearing jandals

 @darkmuncan: If you mix "trundle cart" with "shopping trolley" you end up with "shopping cart" (also what it's actually called).

 @kabelleira: look, it's a sensitive time for jandals in NZ as Autumn rolls toward winter and the social contract dictates I no longer wear the most comfortable footwear in history in public spaces...

 @kit-nz: Talking about Crocs.... obviously.

 They’re not rotating in different directions, so what difference do you imagine it would make?! By that same logic, running different rotors or tires front/rear would “mess with cornering.” Motorcycles run different front/diameters and widths with no issue. I don’t mean to come at you, but come on. Think it through. @lognar:

 *front/rear diameters...

 @lognar: Interested to hear an elaboration about "different centrifugal forces" messing with cornering.

 @JasperNZ: the basics are that if you hold a spinning 29" wheel vertical and flip it side to side like during quick cornering and do the same with a smaller wheel, the smaller wheel is going to change directions much quicker. I would imagine the front of the bike transitioning more slowly than the rear. I could imagine this could make the bike not behave consistently through different types of turns. I could be completely off base on this.

on VitalMTB sspomer had mentioned that trek had scrapped its mixed wheels projects because of inconsistencies in handling. Hard to say if this was result of older bikes with incorrect geo to be setup with mismatched wheels.

I was more posing a rhetorical question to prompt a discussion of physics, not garner the angry mobs of downvoters. but oh well.

Time will tell if teams start showing up to WCDH with mixed wheel types.

 @plan4: pick wheel size(s), and be a dick about it. strong work.

 I used to run my Mondraker Crafty like this and honestly I couldn't tell that I had different wheel sizes.

In theory different wheel sizes help you accelerate better but also maintain the rollover of 29ers plus they are supposed to make the bike corner better due to different wheel paths. Personally I did it in order to slacken the head angle but it worked really well overall.

Do I think that this is the future? Not really since I prefer a full 29er better.

 I rode a Trek 69er single speed for a few years. While I wasn't doing whips, the biggest issue with handling it had was the 120mm stem. I dropped it to a 40mm with 787 bars and it handled great after that.

 @lognar: I hate to be that nerd, but technically centrifugal force doesn't exist; a more accurate term would be angular momentum, or rotational inertia. But yes the point stands that smaller = more nimble

 @mtbikeaddict: out of curiosity, where are you getting that from?

 @lognar: the amount of force vs the strength and weight of a 100lb+ person is negligible, c'mon. Gibberish.

 What I've heard about motorcycles is that the back tyre is thicker because it has to be in order to put the power down. That's why the tyres are the same size on 125s. It's better for handling if they are the same, I believe

 @stiingya: My physics classes I took. Also can be verified by a quick Google.

 @mtbikeaddict: That's the thing, memory and a quick google search didn't seem to agree with what you said. (and I remember the "left turn"/ "right force" example I was taught) But further searching shows opinions/instruction varies and it's somewhat of a tomayto, tomahto kind of thing depending on how you look at or describe the event. Also apparently because it's not one of the big 4, a lot of ppl just don't like using the term C-force.

It's funny, human knowledge expands and changes so much. But something that basic you just take for granted that it is what it is. Until it isn't anymore!

 @stiingya: Ah. Yeah... physics is... weird. That one in particular is iffy... I was being excessively nerdy/nitpicky... my bad.

 Where is the new SC long travel 29er.....

 @Rabbuit: SC had a new bike in Nelson last week for media.

 @Rabbuit: March 19th is word on the street...

 He needs them to slow down to a reasonable speed

 YESSS

 He hasn´t even bottered to replace the seat clamp with a bold... He might not be fit yet comming from the winter and just come to have fun and to have good riding time.

 @Tmackstab: Judging by his single pot brakes, I don't think ol' Peaty is too worried about slowing down.

 Cuz mud

 Assguy...Have we stopped laughing at this now, coz I still find it a little bit funny.

 They also appear to be two different sizes or compounds judging by the different tire patches

 @Scottybike36: this is why they changed the name, "to celebrate Kiwi support" (which was a silly move since now they get no sales on these in Australia...)

 They work decent in wet/mood. It self clean reasonable well for what it is. IMO is the best tire overall I ever put in a bike,almost a perfect choice for front tire.

 @BWildProductions: casing is the only difference, DH rear, Double Down front.

 I also don't understand why they even exist. Judging from the orange label, these are soft compound Nobby Nics, so basically Hans Dampfs. Which you can already buy. What is actually missing from the lineup is a hard compound super gravity tire.

 Maybe they last too long, compared too the paper thin versions?

 Yes, @schwalbe NOBBY NIC SUPER GRAVITY 2,35!!!

 Since 'dentist' quite common that is not strange, on average people tend to invest a lot into their 'piece of art'

 To be honest I dont enve some of the pro setups, its nice being able to pick an choose.

 They compensate with riser bars. The reason to do this is so you can increase the stack height for super steep stages.

 @dro-cfr:living in the US, take it.. something bad happens you can send it back, and get warranty. hahah. report back to all living abroad..I might replace a Canfield balance with one of those Revels...

 @dro-cfr: given the assumption that revel bikes uses Canfield suspension it is more hit, rather than miss! Also GG looks rad

 You mean you didn't already have him? SMH tsk tsk

 Just scooting the seat forward and rotating the bars was enough for my mix wheel set up.

An angelset would just about get his geo back to normal though?

 @stiingya: It's a typo, it was supposed to say "and possiblly a reduced offset fork..."

 X01 is a bit heavier than XX1, but more durable. Therefore better suited for enduro. XX1 is more XC orientated.

 They are on ENVEs so you get them on however the f*ck you can..

 And it not like they will be on there long before he needs his rims replaced, the tires will most likely out last the rims@denomerdano:

 Free riders run clapped out shitters surprised the tires even on the right direction.

 Mud tires don’t work on roots, And it was very rooty !

 First two days were super wet rather than super muddy. Mud tires and spikes don't do any better at wet roots and wet rocks.

 Same here. Loving the lines on the Bulls frame - Would love to know more about the specs and ride on that one.

 Yes but they are so damn red...

 @Franzzz: I personnally prefer the red of the lyrik over the orange of fox.

 Yeah, I liked that too

 Ive heard damper upgrades but it looks like the same damper in all the photos but not a single photo shows the air top cap, maybe im being hopeful for ramp control

 il shut up as no air top cap change www.pinkbike.com/photo/16947350

 @samstanden: Looks the same to me. Maybe different valving and tune? In any case, I don't think RS will completely change the damper or air spring as it's been out for only a year. And it's been incredibly successful in racing, with consumers, and the press loves it. Why change up a good thing? But what they will do is put new stickers on it and give it a new name to sell more. Because let's face it. There are way too many acronyms. There's the Lyrik RC2, RC, RCT3, and RCT3 Dual Position Air. It can get pretty confusing to be honest. Now Ultimate... That's the one everyone wants!