Great topic. I remember that someone on a MTBR posted a pic of a guy from a World Cup XC race (Nove Mesto, if i am not mistaking) racing a chinese frame branded by some european manufacturer.

Lars Forster won the U23 race in Nove Mesto on a Wheeler:



Looks like an 041 except without the cracked seat tube. 

However, I am just around 220 pounds(6.3" and in good shape) even I'm 53 - I will give an update if they break

6'3" and 220lb and chasing a handful of grams... 

Hard to go wrong with the CS-057.

Agreed. Based on my experience with a newer frame and experience of several friends with the 057, that frame is very well sorted and strong - plus as it's an older design, it's less expensive. It's about the only thing I'd consider at this point.

So, update on my Absolute Black. As I'm riding more this year and getting stronger, I'm tending towards riding bigger gears. My fitness and my preferred cadence have always been inversely related. When I'm weak, I spin like a top. When I'm strong, it's all big gear bashing. Dunno.

Either way, the 30t on the Epic has been a bit short lately. Did a ride on local trails where we averaged about 120 feet per mile of climbing over a 13 mile ride and realized that most of the time I was on the high end of the cassette. Have a bunch of chainrings in bigger sizes, but they're all 4x104 or Race Face Cinch spiderless. No use to me since I've got the 4x94 BCD on the SRAM cranks. So, I decided I'd bust out the 32t AB oval ring as it's a little bit larger. Plus, it'd be good to revisit the oval and see what I thought.

Commuted home the other day, and had the Epic waiting, so before I got changed, switched from the road bike to the Epic with the AB oval ring. Holy crap, that was weird. Switching from a 34t round ring on the road bike where I had been spinning along merrily on my easy cruise home, the oval felt REALLY strange. Like, lumpy. Interesting if inadvertent back to back comparison. The feeling went away quickly, though, and I imagine if I switched back after my quick cruise on the Epic, the road bike would feel strange the same way.

Did a proper ride with the oval again, and honestly, I still can't say as I notice the ring.So for me, it's really neither good nor bad. It's something different that you notice at first and then adjust to and it disappears.

Quote from: cmh on June 29, 2016, 04:44:09 PM

I think building with bladed spokes makes the first build easier.

Definitely, bladed spokes make it obvious when they twist.
Although the aero is not that significant for MTB, it appears they make stiffer wheels for accelerating/braking and as strong if not stronger as round spokes.
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/product-news/seven-essential-features-new-wheels-must-232168

"Aero spokes are also used in mountain biking (where aerodynamic are not a factor) because they are just as strong if not stronger than standard round spokes, while they are also stiffer under acceleration and braking."

Wrong. The blade forming process improved the fatigue life through cold working. It does not change the stiffness in any way, shape, or form. The stiffness of the metal doesn't change, and the cross section remains the same. A bladed spoke will lend the same stiffness to a wheel as the source round spoke. This is along the same lines as the "radial lacing is stiffer" fallacy.

Yer killin' me! I see a SAAB sticker. Had a 1971 96 with the V-4. Loved that car.

... I don't believe for a second it's a fad, ...

Easy --- I'm defining "fad" as "the hot thing that everyone needs to have right now". Singlespeeding was a fad. 1x drivetrains were a fad. 29ers were a fad. Fat bikes were a fad. Gravel grinder road bikes are a fad.

Being a fad doesn't make it bad, and doesn't mean it won't stick. It does mean that there are folks decreeing that it is the future for everyone, even if it isn't.