Incredible image from NASA astronaut captures ‘star trails in space’ on board the International Space Station
A NASA astronaut captured a stunning picture of ‘star trails’ while on a mission aboard the International Space Station
Curved trails of distant stars and Earth being illuminated by city lights and lightning strikes can be seen in the viral photograph
The image was posted to Reddit on September 11 and received over 68,000 likes and hundreds of comments from users
By Christopher Carbone U.S. Science And Technology Editor For Dailymail.Com
Published: | Updated:
A NASA astronaut captured star trails from space in a stunning image taken onboard the International Space Station.
Donald Pettit, an active American astronaut who has traveled to the ISS three separate times, was able to use his free time during missions to snap images of space from inside the station’s glass dome – known as the cupola – that provides epic views of the cosmos.
He set up his Nikon D3s camera and left it to take a 15-minute exposure shot.
At the top of the image, white lines show the trails of distant stars, which are curved due to the rotation of the space station as it orbits Earth.
A NASA astronaut captured star trails from space (at the top of the image above) from onboard the International Space Station
Earth itself is seen in the bottom half of the image, with orange streaks of city lights and countless blue dots—each representing a lightning strike from a storm below.
The image contains a green glow, known as airglow, that separates Earth from space. It’s similar in color to auroras in the night sky, which most people know as the Northern and Southern Lights.
‘Auroras are excited by electrons, and other solar particles coming down Earth’s magnetic fields, which is why you see them in the polar regions,’ Pettit told Newsweek. ‘Air glow is everywhere around on Earth and, and the molecules in the upper atmosphere get excited from solar activity.’
The image was posted to Reddit on September 11 and received over 68,000 likes and hundreds of comments from users.
Donald Pettit (above), who has traveled to the ISS three separate times, was able to use his free time during missions to snap images of space from inside the station’s glass dome – known as the cupola – that provides epic views of the cosmos
Pettit also explained how astronauts are able to find time to capture images of the cosmos.
‘We work 12- to 14-hour days six days a week on station, and outside of that you are off duty,’ he told Newsweek.
‘Outside of your normal working hours, you can do whatever you want to, which includes sleeping and eating and staying in touch with your family. And then you can spend that time doing photography. If I could do a couple hours’ of photography a day, that would be a real treat.’
Pettit posted the image to Reddit on September 11 and it received over 68,000 likes and hundreds of comments from users
For Santa Cruz, the previous generation of the Tallboy was a bike that became something of a cult classic. It seemed to resonate with nearly everyone that rode it, inspiring all sorts of unique custom builds, some of them focused on eking out as much downhill performance as possible, and others on making into an XC machine with more comfort than a purebred race bike.
Released in 2019, the Tallboy 4 hit the sweet spot when it came to versatility, boasting geometry numbers that allowed it to handle trickier, technical terrain without feeling dull and lethargic on mellower trail. It’s a trail bike through and through, with 29” wheels, 120mm of rear travel, and a 130mm fork.
Tallboy 5 Details
• Wheel size: 29″ • Travel: 120 mm, 130 mm fork • C & CC carbon frame options • 65.5º or 65.7º head angle • 76.6º seat tube angle (size L, low) • 438mm chainstays (size L, low) • Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL • Weight: 28.75 lbs / 13.04 kg (size L, X01 AXS RSV build) • Price: $5,299 – $10,399 USD • santacruzbicycles.com
Santa Cruz didn’t want to mess with a good thing, so the 2023 Tallboy doesn’t deviate that far from the previous model. The geometry has been adjusted slightly, and the same goes for the kinematics, but it’s more of a fine tuning rather than a complete overhaul.
Gloss Ultra Blue and Matte Taupe are the two color options for the fifth generation of the Tallboy.
Frame Details
The most obvious change to the Tallboy’s frame is the addition of downtube storage, a feature that’s now found on nearly every trail and enduro bike in Santa Cruz’s lineup, except for the Bronson (at least for now). A small latch next to the water bottle cage allows access to the compartment, and two pouches are included for stashing a tube, tools, and any other snacks and accessories that’ll fit.
Other than the new snack stash, the Tallboy’s frame details haven’t changed all that much. There’s fully guided internal cable routing, a threaded bottom bracket, room for a 2.5” rear tire, and mounts for a chain guide. There’s also a universal derailleur hanger, and a flip chip on the rear shock mount that allows for very subtle geometry changes.
Geometry & Suspension Layout
The Tallboy’s shock flip chip remains, but the ability to alter the chainstay length by 10mm has been removed, replaced by size-specific lengths for each size. Chainstay lengths range from 431mm on a size small up to 444mm on an XXL.
The Tallboy’s seat tube angles are also size-specific, getting steeper with each larger size. That helps ensure that taller riders won’t end up too far over the back of the bike when climbing.
The new Tallboy isn’t any slacker than before, but it did get a little bit longer, with reach numbers that match up with the rest of Santa Cruz’s lineup. The reach for a size large is now 473mm in the low setting, an increase of 5mm. The slightly steepened seat tube angles balance out that increase, creating a top tube length that’s relatively unchanged, which means the seated climbing position will feel nearly the same as before.
Santa Cruz lowered the Tallboy’s leverage ratio to give it a slightly less progressive shock curve, a change that’s also accompanied by a lower amount of anti-squat in the beginning of the travel, and a less aggressive drop off later in the stroke. Those changes were done to increase the bike’s small bump compliance, and to give it a more predictable suspension feel at all points in the travel.
Build Kits
There are 6 models in the lineup, with prices starting at $5,299 USD for the Tallboy C R, which has SRAM NX drivetrain, Guide T brakes, a RockShox Pike Base fork and a Fox Performance DPS shock.
At the top of the line sits the $10,399 Tallboy CC X01 AXS RSV. That’s a whole lot of initials to designate that it has Santa Cruz’s highest end carbon frame construction, SRAM’s AXS wireless electronic drivetrain, and Reserve 30 SL carbon wheels. Suspension duties on that pricey model are handled by a Fox Float Factory DPS shock and a RockShox Pike Ultimate fork.
Ride Impressions
The Tallboy isn’t a downcountry bike, and it’s not trying to be. Instead, it’s a do-everything machine that has a ‘just right’ air to its handling. There’s no sketchiness or unpredictability to be found – it’s the rider that’ll be bringing those traits to the table, not the bike.
Honestly, I could probably just drop the link to Mike Levy’s review of the Tallboy 4 in here and call it good. There are more similarities than differences between the two versions, and the overall ride characteristics are nearly identical. It’s been a little bit since I last rode a Tallboy, but going off my somewhat fuzzy memories I’d say that the suspension does feel better than before – it’s a little softer overall, which makes the bike more comfortable on choppy sections of trail. There’s still plenty of support, though, and even when I used all of the travel there wasn’t any harshness at the end of the stroke.
The Tallboy’s strength is its versatility – it feels solid, free of any unwanted twitchiness, even on rougher, high-speed trails. The Maxxis Dissector / Rekon tire combo worked well for the dry, dusty conditions that have prevailed lately, although I’d likely put something a little meatier on for wet conditions or to really try to wring out the most downhill performance possible. I’d also probably swap out the G2 brakes for some Codes if I was going that route, since there’s only a small weight penalty and a noticeable performance difference. Still, for general duty the G2 brakes work all right, and a rotor upgrade to the new HS2 versions would be an easier way to bump up the stopping power a little further.
The Tallboy’s handling is very calm and predictable, and the same goes for the pedaling performance – it strikes a nice balance between efficiency and traction. That said, the weight combined with the more muted suspension feel does make it feel closer to a short travel Hightower rather than a longer travel Blur.
That’s not to say that it feels heavy or lethargic – far from it – it’s just there is a noticeable difference between how it feels compared to something like the newest Trek Top Fuel, or even a Transition Spur for that matter. All of those bikes have 120mm of rear travel, but the Trek and Transition sit more on the aggressive XC side of the spectrum, and have more of an appetite for sprinting uphill than the Tallboy.
Those lighter and livelier options are great for riders trying to scratch that downcountry itch, but when gravity takes over it’s the Tallboy that pulls ahead, with a more planted feel that delivers the confidence required to hit higher speeds and more challenging trail features.
As the saying goes, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and that’s exactly what Santa Cruz have done with the Tallboy. It’s a refined trail bike, with easy-to-live-with handling and all of the frame features (and corresponding price tag) that Santa Cruz has become known for.
Former president Donald Trump’s fundraising slowed in the first half of 2022, falling below $50 million in a six-month period for the first time since he left the White House 18 months ago.
A fundraising committee that directs money to his various political groups raised $17 million in the second quarter of this year, according to a new federal filing. That brings the committee’s haul to at least $36 million so far this year.
The tally does not include new direct contributions to Trump’s Save America PAC, which won’t be disclosed until late this month and have in recent months totaled up to $20,000. The PAC received $23,409 this quarter through WinRed, which processes online transactions for Republican candidates and committees.
The former president’s yields are falling as his time in the White House recedes further into the past. In the same six-month period last year, Trump collected more than $56 million in online donations, and then raised about $51 million from July through December of 2021.
The latest filing puts Trump’s haul behind that of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a possible contender for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. DeSantis, who delighted conservatives nationally with his hands-off approach to the coronavirus pandemic, raised about $45 million in the first six months of the year, according to state filings.
Small-dollar online donations have dipped across the GOP, said people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party data, blaming the trend on donors having less disposable income because of inflation and on their fatigue with the relentless fundraising appeals. Numerous Democratic incumbents in close Senate races reported record hauls in the second quarter, including Georgia Sen. Raphael G. Warnock, who brought in $17 million compared to GOP challenger Herschel Walker’s $3.6 million, and Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who raised $7.5 million compared to GOP challenger Adam Laxalt’s $2.8 million.
The new figures offer fresh evidence of the financial muscle Trump could put behind a third run for the presidency, as he sounds out allies about a possible announcement. That dynamic could influence the timing of any possible campaign announcement, as Republicans weigh whether he would clear the field and how his designs on 2024 might reshape this year’s midterms.
Trump and DeSantis are the dominant fundraisers in their party, with Trump maintaining a reservoir of support from small-dollar donors and DeSantis having won the backing of some of the GOP’s most generous megadonors, foremost among them hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, who recently said he would move his company, Citadel, from Chicago to Miami. Next week, DeSantis is holding a trio of fundraisers in Utah. He is asking for $25,000 from couples attending a reception in Salt Lake City hosted by, among others, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and property developer Scott C. Keller, according to invitations obtained by The Washington Post.
The comparison is imperfect. DeSantis is raising money for a committee that can accept unlimited contributions, while donors can only give $10,000 per year to Trump’s joint fundraising vehicle. DeSantis also has an ongoing race for which he’s raising funds — he’s up for reelection this fall. So, too, is Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), another possible contender for his party’s 2024 presidential nomination. He raised $29 million in the first six months of the year, his campaign said.
But Trump is hardly choosing to “hang up his hat and sail into the sunset,” as the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, this week advised him to do. Instead, he’s traveling the country stumping for endorsed candidates, repeating his debunked claims of election fraud and hinting at a third bid for president. He recently told supporters in Las Vegas that he “ran twice and won twice, and may have to do it a third time.”
“He is not only raising money at an unparalleled pace, but he is investing in America First candidates and continuing to grow the MAGA movement into 2022 and beyond,” said Taylor Budowich, a Trump spokesman, in response to the new filings on Friday.
The latest fundraising numbers show that his online solicitations continue to resonate with his base, even as House investigators probing the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol accuse him of deceiving his supporters with promises of a nonexistent fund devoted to contesting election fraud.
“Having campaigned and fundraised for President Trump since 2015, there has been no stronger support and interest for him than there is today,” said Ed McMullen, Trump’s ambassador to Switzerland who also served as his South Carolina state director during the 2016 presidential campaign. “President Trump’s popularity and fundraising continues to grow and thrive at every level.”
Trump’s name and image dominate fundraising appeals for other GOP candidates and party committees, a sign of his enduring pull with the party’s base. Trump has recently moved to rein in other entities’ attempts to fundraise off his coattails, and the tension would only intensify if and when Trump officially announces his candidacy.
“The entire fundraising apparatus in the Republican Party revolves around President Trump,” said Caroline Wren, a Trump-aligned GOP fundraiser who helped organize the rally on Jan. 6, 2021. “Candidates and party committees rely on President Trump’s name for their low-dollar fundraising efforts, and when it comes to high-dollar fundraising, President Trump has selflessly spent the past two years raising millions of dollars for America First candidates and organizations, including headlining fundraising events for every major Republican Committee.”
Trump had been largely stockpiling his PAC contributions, but a person familiar with the group who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe its financial details said its spending jumped in June. The increase stemmed from legal bills arising from the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, more transfers to support other candidates and committees, and higher costs to raise money online, the person said. The Save America PAC finished June with $112 million on hand, the person said, which would be a net gain of about $11 million from the prior month.
The Save America PAC’s June report to the FEC is due on July 20. Earlier filings show the group dispersed about $6 million in recent months to boost Trump’s preferred candidates in Pennsylvania’s Senate primary and Georgia’s gubernatorial primary. He prevailed in Pennsylvania, successfully elevating celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz above a crowded field, but failed to topple incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp in Georgia.
The committee directed $75,000 in May to the law firm of an attorney representing Cleta Mitchell, a pro-Trump lawyer who advised him on efforts to overturn the results of the election. The attorney, John P. Rowley, did not respond to a request for comment.
Trump’s PAC also continued to spend money at his properties, directing about $30,000 in recent months to the Trump Hotel Collection.
There are no explicit restrictions on the personal use of funds raised by leadership PACs. Such committees, in addition to boosting like-minded candidates, can be used to pay advisers, cover travel expenses and defray legal bills, among other costs.
One limitation, said experts in campaign finance law, is that people behind such PACs can’t use the money to further their own future campaigns. Travel and other expenses advancing a candidate’s political activities are subject to contribution limits once the candidate has declared for a certain office, these experts said.
Even transferring those funds to a super PAC making independent expenditures boosting the candidate would likely provoke complaints if the money “established the super PAC or is the majority of the money financing the super PAC,” said Charles Spies, a Republican election lawyer.
Trump’s committee reported its dividends as its fundraising practices are under scrutiny by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Amanda Wick, a committee investigator, highlighted in a hearing last month how Trump and his allies raised $250 million in the weeks after the election by barraging his supporters with fundraising emails promoting an “Official Election Defense Fund,” even though no such fund existed.
“Not only was there the big lie,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.). “There was the big rip-off.”
A Trump spokesman did not respond to a request for comment about those allegations.
Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor focused on securities and commodities fraud, said the Justice Department is unlikely to bring charges related to the fundraising practices highlighted by the committee. Prosecutors would face a host of challenges, he said, including proving that authors of the solicitations had an intent to defraud and countering a possible defense that donors would have chipped in regardless of the substance of the appeal.
Such appeals continue. Four emails sent in May from Trump’s PAC, for example, asked donors to contribute to a “Protect our Elections Fund.”
One subject line: “Future Election Fraud Alert.”
It implored supporters: Please contribute at least $45 or more IMMEDIATELY to the Protect our Elections Fund.”
Josh Dawsey, Dylan Freedman, Anu Narayanswamy and Chris Zubak-Skees contributed to this report.
TQ HPR50 Motor: You know Trek and TQ are onto something special when you watch someone with high standards and low expectations jump on this bike and come back in awe of just how damn quiet the motor is. Hats off to the two teams who built this bike. It’s a well-oiled machine and hasn’t missed a beat, even in torrential downpours and plenty of bike washing with no precautions taken. You know exactly what to expect when you stand on the pedals or let off for that matter. That tiny harmonic pin ring drive unit is the golden goose of e-bike motors.
Bontrager SE5 Team Issue Tires: Holding back the stellar singletrack mind of the Fuel EX-e are the Bontrager SE5 tires though. They work decently in dry dirt, but through the rain-soaked summer we’ve had in Squamish they quickly spun out on polished roots and glistening rock. Their round profile on the Line 30mm wide rims meant that leaning on the side lugs commitment and time to reach. I swapped them early on for something with more tackiness to unlock what the bike was really capable of.
Bontrager Raceshop SLR bars: I dig the unibrow look of the one-piece bar and stem – thankfully there are no integrated cables. The 6 and 7-degree up and backsweep might not be the most common, but I got along well with the straighter backwards bend. Although, I did notice a little more pressure on my palms than normal. Most bars tend to have a 5-degree upsweep and can be rolled in the stem clamping surface to your liking. Initially, I chalked up the hand fatigue to the low front end, but it might be worth thinking about slip-on grips if you start to feel discomfort here. I also trimmed the width down from a whopping 820mm to 770 and never felt like they were too stiff.
RockShox Super Deluxe: This shock in combination with the suspension kinematics is phenomenal. There’s plenty of range to twist the dials and it’s not overly complicated. No matter the size of the impact, the shock ate it all with forgiveness and support when needed, only ever using the perfect amount of travel. I’d go far enough to say that, aside from the motor, it’s the standout component on the bike.
How Does It Compare?
To be fair, there aren’t a lot of other bikes in this lightweight e-MTB category, at least from mainstream brands. The two main players before the Fuel EX-e arrived on the scene were the Orbea Rise and the Specialized Turbo Levo SL. The Rise uses Shimano’s full-size EP8 motor, but it has been de-tuned in terms of power and runs off of a smaller battery, while the Levo SL uses a different motor than its full-powered e-MTB siblings from the big “S”. All three competitors come in carbon-framed offerings and hover around the 18-19 kilogram mark.
Where they are drastically different are the power delivery, output, and noise levels. The Shimano motor in the Rise has plenty of jam, but it is the least refined and the gears rattle considerably on the descents. The Rise frame geometry also has a more conservative feel with a steeper 65.5-degree head angle. On the other hand, the Levo SL doesn’t have extreme geometry and the minimal motor output emits a higher pitch whine than the Rise. Its power delivery is smoother than the Rise, although all three bikes can be tuned via apps.
Then there’s also the cost factor. Yes, this top-spec Fuel EX-e 9.9 XX1 AXS has all of the bells and carbon whistles, but compared to the equivalent Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo SL, it comes in under the $14K mark. They are both well-finished bikes that are very sleek, but the extra power and minimal noise of the Fuel EX-e wins out by a mile. Looking back at the Orbea, the price is reasonable, but the motor trades a boost in power for a less polished experience.
Simply put, nothing comes close to the Fuel EX-e when you paint the picture of the mountain bike experience as a whole. Up and down the hill, the TQ motor rides along under the yellow carbon carpet in such a hush manner that you’d barely know it’s there. You also have to factor in the torque density and packaging. Look at it – it’s tiny and powerful.
The only way I could see it improving would be to revert the AXS derailleur back its own battery pack and use a similar size remote on the motor assist controller for zero wires. I know that goes against the grain of tying all those servos to a central power bank, but I’d prefer to eliminate those tiny wires before they get eliminated on the trail.
NEWTOWN, Pennsylvania (WPVI) — The night’s most closely watched race in Pennsylvania’s GOP Senate contest is still too close to call.
Election Results: Live updates on Pennsylvania primary races
Celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund executive Dave McCormick are neck and neck. Political commentator Kathy Barnette trails behind by more than 76,000 votes.
As of 11 p.m. with 99% of the estimated vote counted, McCormick led by 337,797 votes while Oz held 335,314 votes. Barnette had 261,299 total votes.
The auto recount trigger in Pennsylvania for a statewide race is a margin of
The winner will face Democratic challenger John Fetterman who won his party’s nomination days after suffering a stroke.
“We’re not gonna have a result tonight,” Oz said shortly before midnight, before vowing to Trump, “I will make you proud.”
Oz had been locked in an expensive battle with McCormick. But Barnette, who has drawn the support of Trump backers suspicious of Oz’s ideological shifts, stunned the political world with a late surge that upended the race in the final weeks as she tries to become the first Black Republican woman elected to the Senate.
Barnette, who voted in Huntingdon Valley on Tuesday morning, has repeated false claims the 2020 election was stolen.
In recent days, pictures have emerged of Barnette apparently marching near members of the Proud Boys on January 6, 2021. ABC News has verified the images that were first shared by an independent researcher.
She denied any connection to the Proud Boys to another network.
McKINNEY, Texas — Sebastian Munoz will be the “other” local guy in the final pairing of the final round of the Byron Nelson.
It’s cool by the Colombian who now calls the Dallas area home and has at least shared the lead after all three rounds.
Munoz shot a 6-under 66 at TPC Craig Ranch on Saturday and was 21 under, a stroke ahead of hometown favorite Jordan Spieth, who shot a 64.
Spieth, who has three majors as part of his 13 career wins, is still seeking his first victory in the Nelson, where he contended in the final round as a 16-year-old high schooler in 2010 and has never finished higher than ninth.
“So having a chance to win this event, this will be kind of the best chance I’ve maybe ever had going into Sunday,” Spieth said. “Done a good job not putting too much pressure on myself. I just wanted to get into contention and obviously see what needs to be sharpened for next week.
“But there’s no better prep for a major than winning the week before.”
The PGA Championship is next week at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Joaquin Niemann will be the third player in Sunday’s final group. He’s alone in third another shot back after a 65.
James Hahn shot a 61 to jump 34 spots and is tied for fourth with Justin Thomas (64).
Munoz, who played in college nearby at North Texas, is 2½ years removed from his lone PGA Tour win.
“Besides winning in Bogota, Colombia, I’ve never been the favorite of any other place,” Munoz said. “So it’s a familiar spot. Jordan is, of course, the golden boy here, so everyone’s favorite. I’m good friends with him, so it’s going to be a lot of fun tomorrow.”
Munoz made a 39-foot birdie putt on the par-4 second hole and holed a long bunker shot on the short par-4 sixth.
A West Texas native and Dallas-area resident seeking his first individual victory since 2010, Ryan Palmer shot a 70 and was 17 under with defending champion K.H. Lee (67) and 2011 Masters winner Charl Schwartzel (68).
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, who overcame a triple bogey early in the second round for an outside shot to make a Sunday run, recorded birdies in bunches in a 65 — including four of the last five holes — that left him at 16 under.
“I haven’t really seen the ball go in very much, which is frustrating because you got to make putts out here to shoot low scores,” said Scheffler, another Dallas resident. “I fought my way kind of back into the tournament, but I need a hot putter tomorrow if I want to make some noise.”
Remember that one time we reviewed a $9,000 trail bike and it really disappointed us? Yeah, me neither. It turns out that when you throw a bunch of fancy parts at a fancy frame, the finished product is also fancy and probably doesn’t suck, which sometimes leaves us with not much to say beyond stale platitudes and trivial criticisms about cable routing or chainstay protection.
But dial that number down to less than $3,500 for a full-suspension bike, or hardtails that come in under $2,100 USD, and things get a lot more interesting. This time around the crew headed south to Tucson, Arizona, for our annual Value Bike Field Test that saw nine reasonably-priced machines face off against each other on the rough, rocky desert trails. Two weeks of riding later and we can (almost) agree about which bike is the most impressive, which one scared us the most, and how much horchata the human body can consume before needing serious medical attention.
Let’s be honest with ourselves: hardtails can be a lot of fun, but I suspect that most of us would prefer to be riding a full-suspension bike most of the time. The holdup for some is that while they certainly can give you more comfort, traction, and speed compared to only having front suspension, the extra moving bits also mean more money, weight, and complexity. Those are less of a concern if you’re okay spending big bucks, but it’s a different story if your budget tops out at $3,500 USD or less as ours did with our five full-suspension trail bikes. Plenty to talk about in our upcoming reviews, then.
Want to get a mountain bike but don’t have a ton of money to spend? While full-suspension rigs made nearly entirely out of carbon fiber get most of the headlines, hardtails offer a simpler, and therefore less expensive, way to get into riding. And because you’re not paying for the extra engineering, material, and all those pivots, they often sport an impressive spec sheet that a similarly priced dual-suspension bike can’t even get close to.
But they’re not just for budget bikers, either, as those who can’t get through a season of riding without cracking yet another set of chainstays, destroying another set of bearings, or blowing yet another shock might have better luck – and less time off the bike – by choosing a hardtail.
How Do We Choose the Bikes?
By “choose,” what I really mean to say is, “Please, just send us any bike that you have in stock.” If you’ve tried to buy yourself a new ride anytime over the last few years, or even just parts of a bike, you already know that you’re more likely to stumble onto the Ark of the Covenant than the 12-speed chain and derailleur you were actually looking for. Even so, Kazimer somehow sweet-talked his way into getting five full-suspension bikes that retail for $3,500 USD or well under, and four hardtails that come in at $2,100 USD or less.
Yes, a couple more bikes would have been good. Yes, some of the prices have gone up after the fact. And yeah, Kazimer can be downright enchanting when he wants to be, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tell him how disappointed you are that he wasn’t able to get the exact bike you wanted – needed – to see reviewed at this Field Test.
This is our tenth Field Test, and that’s not even including all the trips Kazimer and I did over the years before we had a name for them, so we’ve got the testing process on lock by this point. It’s not complicated: head out for a short test lap and then do another. Then do another, and another, and then a bunch more. After we’ve done that, we head out for some test laps before heading out for some test laps after we get back from doing test laps. Then, after we’ve returned, we go for a few more la… Okay, you get the point; nothing beats short, repeatable laps on a course that suits whatever kind of bikes we’re riding.
That back-to-back testing is key because it lets us compare, er, comparable bikes far better than if we were riding them in isolation, and it highlights standout differences in geometry, suspension performance, and the bikes’ specs. Just don’t call it a shootout, alright?
All those laps wouldn’t count for much if the trails were more pumptrack than singletrack. But on the same hand, as much as we like to look like we know what we’re doing in photos of us riding sketchy terrain, none of these reasonably priced bikes were made for do-or-die lines. In reality, they need to be ridden on singletrack that matches their intentions, which I’d argue is light to medium duty trail riding with some rough stuff thrown in for good measure.
And that’s exactly what Tucson served up for us; undulating trails with a mix of tricky, low-speed climbs and fast, rough descents, all of which were paved in pointy rocks and either all the traction or none of the traction to keep us on our toes. It was mostly smooth sailing, although there were a few crashes over our two weeks of riding, as you might expect, and we also had some mechanical concerns that we’ll talk about in the upcoming review videos. Oh, and that time Palmer had to hand-sew his Maxxis rear tire in order to get out of the desert before dark, but we’ll get to those behind-the-scenes stories in a future podcast.
Our Value Bike Field Tests are a little different from the normal group reviews in that we’re less concerned about using control tires to equalize traction and efficiency, and we put far less emphasis on timing our laps. Why? Well, we suspect that if you’re looking for a bike in this price bracket, you probably want to know more about how it performs as-is rather than how it works after we’ve installed $250 in rubber that’s way better than whatever tires came stock on the bike.
In other words, if you’re spending all your hard-earned fun tokens on a bike that costs $3,500 or less, the spec definitely matters and we didn’t want to gloss over such an important factor.
Speaking of glossing over things, timing our laps will always be a thing at these get-togethers as it gives us another metric to compare and talk about, but we also know that a couple-second gap between two value-priced bikes certainly doesn’t mean that one is better than the other. After all, maybe our legs felt better in the morning, or perhaps it was all the horchata that had me going so fast and dropping Kazimer?
That said, given that our nine test bikes vary so much in geometry, suspension performance, and spec, don’t be surprised to see some notable differences on the timing sheet. How much stock you put in those numbers is up to you, though.
Impossible Climb, (No) Efficiency Test, & Huck to Flat
While the stopwatch doesn’t lie, it’s really the Impossible Climb and Huck to Flat that we’re all basing our buying decisions on, right? I mean, it wouldn’t be a Field Test without some senseless climbing before bottoming out on a pancake-flat landing, so you can expect the series to wrap up with Matt Beer riding all nine of these bikes up something steep and then off of something silly.
What we’re not doing this time around is the Efficiency Test. I know, I know, you’re probably as bummed about that as I am, but hear me out; with the value bikes having different tires, and four of them being hardtails, we thought our time could be better spent doing something else, which is why the extra climbing has been replaced with a video breaking down each of the components across all the bikes that impressed us the most. In it, we’ll talk about which budget forks, drivetrains, brakes, dropper post, and other parts worked the best, along with a few things that definitely didn’t.
Mike Kazimer, Alicia Leggett, myself, and Beta’s Ryan Palmer spent two weeks in Tucson, Arizona, evaluating and comparing our nine test bikes while eating Mexican food for every meal of every day, including pre-lunch lunch, second dinner, and warm midnight churros.
As usual, testing duties were split between multiple riders to give us a few perspectives on how each of the bikes performed; we agree on most things but not on everything, and that lets us calmly discuss our differing opinions like well-adjusted adults. Yeah, that’s how it went…
Matt Beer Height: 5’10” / 178 cm Weight: 170 lb / 77 kg Notes: Tech editor, allergic to everything
Mike Kazimer Height: 5’11” / 180cm Weight: 160 lbs / 72.6 kg Notes: Managing tech editor, noted alien skeptic
Alicia Leggett Height: 5’10” / 178 cm Weight: 148 lb / 67 kg Notes: News editor moonlighting as a tech editor
Mike Levy Height: 5’10” / 178 cm Weight: 155 lb / 70 kg Notes: Tech editor, unsure whether it’s aliens or lizard people
Ryan Palmer Height: 6′ / 183cm Weight: 200 lb / 90 kg Notes: Senior Tech Editor at Beta, way too poor to be this snobby
While it’s Ryan, Kazimer, Matt, Alicia, and I that’s in front of the camera for these Field Test projects, the five of us don’t even know which way to pull the focus or where to install the film. We’d be completely lost without our overworked video and photo crew – Max Baron, Tom Richards, and Lear Miller – who not only make sure we’re mostly in focus but also manage to make us look far better than we actually are. And then, after we film for two weeks, we lock them away inside the Pinkbike editing cave and only feed them Timbits through a small hole in the wall until they come out the other side pale, fat, and with a finished video series.
Speaking of finished videos, which bike review are you most looking forward to? Which bike looks the least promising?
Intense have never done things by the book or followed the status quo. Marching to the beat of their own drum, Intense invited me to ride Chris Kovarik’s personal Tracer 279 for a First Ride, well before it was ready to launch. Based on the First Ride impressions, the Tracer 279 was up to the tasks of pedalling the walls of Whistler and rallying the bike park too.
Since July, the geometry and kinematics have changed slightly for the official launch, but the Tracer 279 maintains its 170mm of travel via the JS Tuned suspension and runs on mixed wheels only. Intense have also tweaked the carbon layup throughout the extensive prototyping process. This bike has been a long time coming. If you’re a mixed wheel fan, the Tracer leaves little to be desired; in-frame storage, water bottle mounts, low mounted coil shock – the list is long.
Tracer 279 Details
• Intended use: Enduro • Wheel Size: 29″ front / 27.5″ rear • Travel: 170mm front and rear • CHAD downtube storage compartment • Full carbon frame and upper link w/Ti hardware • Flip-chip adjustment in lower link • Hidden quick-release axle lever • Head angle: 64 – 64.5º • Seat tube angle: 77.4 – 77.9º • Sizes: S, M, L, XL • Warranty: 5 years • Price: $5,499 – 7,199 ($3,299 frame only) • intensecycles.com
Frame Details
Intense’s latest enduro creation is a vast departure from the last Tracer in terms of looks, aside from the classic seat tube brace and collar. The new carbon frame uses two counter-rotating links, where the lower one pivots around the bottom bracket to drive the trunnion mounted shock through the split seat tube tunnel. Titanium hardware is used throughout the bike with rubber plugs that add to the attention to detail, and even the upper link is made from carbon fiber.
Under the shock and inside the downtube, Intense has created its own storage solution, adding to the number of manufacturers incorporating an on board tool cabinet. They’ve dubbed the compartment the CHAD In-frame storage system in memory of their friend Chad Peterson.
Protecting that area is a large rubber downtube pad that nearly runs to the head tube, similar to the material found on the chainstay to keep the noise levels to a minimum. Mainstays like fully guided housing, Boost hub spacing, ISCG tabs, and a threaded bottom bracket take the worry out of maintenance or mechanic work. There’s also a sleek fender to keep debris out of the lower linkage and a hidden lever in the rear axle for tool-free wheel removal.
Geometry and Sizing
On the geometry front, there are no numbers that jump off of the page on the Tracer 279. At the time of the First Ride, Intense was hesitant to reveal the exact numbers of the “prototype,” even though the carbon molds were unlikely to change shape. The charts don’t stray too far from my initial guesses, but the chainstays have been trimmed down to 437mm from the 445 that I originally measured.
All four sizes from S through to XL use the same seat tube angle and chainstay length, which has no adjustment. Those sizes place the reach numbers at 420, 450, 475, and 500mm with moderately high stack measurements of 622, 631, 640, 649mm.
Angles like a 64 at the head tube and 77.4-degree seat tube in the low flip-chip position are fairly standard these days and suit the nature of Intense’s enduro bike well. Placing the chip in the high setting will tip those angles upright by 0.5-degrees and gain 5mm of reach.
Pricing and Availability
Intense have kept the options straightforward with two build kits, a moderate and a high end option, that will be ready to roll out in the middle of May. There’s also a frame-only option for $3,299 with an Ohlins TTX22M coil shock and either package, frame or full bike, comes in two color choices.
Starting at $5,499, the Expert build receives a SRAM NX drivetrain and Code R brakes, Fox Performance suspension, Maxxis Minion DHF/DHR II tire combo, e*thirteen LG1 wheels and Base 35 bar/stem controls, along with an Intense branded dropper post. At $7,199, you’ll step up to the Tracer S with an Ohlins RXF 38 air sprung fork and TTX22M coil shock, Magura MT7 brakes, a mix of mid-range SRAM components, and e*thirteen’s Race SL hubs, noting that Intense adds DH casing Maxxis tires to the premium build.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Sam Ryder brought down the house with a hole-in-one on the stadium 16th hole Saturday in the WM Phoenix Open, where newcomer Sahith Theegala topped a leaderboard as crowded as the course.
Ryder’s wedge shot on the 124-yard hole landed just right and short, bounced a couple of times, spun left and tumbled in. The rowdy fans on the 17,000-seat hole threw drinks in the air in celebration and littered the turf with bottles, cans and cups, leading to about a 15-minute delay.
“I don’t know how I could pick a hole over this one,” said Ryder, eight strokes behind Theegala after an even-par 71. “I don’t think there’s any hole that has the electricity that this one has.”
Ryder’s first tour ace was the 10th at No. 16 since the tournament moved to the course in 1997 and first since Francesco Molinari in the third round in 2015. Tiger Woods did it in 1997 before grandstands ringed the hole.
Rick Gehman and Jonathan Coachman discuss Saturday’s 3rd round action at the WM Phoenix Open. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
“It just ended up being a perfect 54-degree wedge,” Ryder said. “Everything always plays a little shorter in there, adrenaline or whatever it is.”
With around 200,000 fans packing firm and fast TPC Scottsdale on another sunny, 80-degree day in the Valley of the Sun, Theegala overcame a double bogey on the par-4 second to shoot a 69.
“What a day,” Theegala said. “So many ups and downs. I mean, it was wild.”
Making his event debut on a sponsor exemption, Theegala had a 14-under 199 total for a one-stroke lead over defending champion Brooks Koepka. FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler and Talor Gooch were another stroke back.
“I’m really exhausted right now,” Theegala said. “Probably, I hit it in the desert five times. I got my ball stepped on twice, got my ball picked up twice. Very draining, for sure.”
Theegala is trying to become the first player to win on a sponsor exemption since Martin Laird in the 2020 Shriners Children’s Open. The 24-year-old Indian-American grew up in Chino Hills, California, and starred at Pepperdine. In 2020, he swept the three major college player of the year awards.
He’s playing for the fifth straight week, with his parents and some family members attending the last four in California and Arizona.
“It was hard to see them,” Theegala said. “Just engulfed in the sea of people.”
After hitting the lip of a fairway bunker en route to the double bogey on No. 2, Theegala rallied with birdies on Nos, 6, 7 and 8. He dropped a shot on the 11th, birdied the par-5 13th and holed a 15-footer on the par-4 17th.
“Obviously, really bad start and proud of the way I fought back there,” Theegala said. “But still trying to take it all in. There’s just is so much going on there, too. Which is a good thing. I really enjoyed the fans out there.”
Koepka had a 68. The four-time major champion is the last player to win the event in his first appearance, doing it in 2015.
“I’m playing solid, so just go out and go play a good round tomorrow and see what happens,” Koepka said. “Just need to keep putting it the way I did. I feel confident. I like where my game’s at, and we’ll see.”
Scheffler flirted with his second 59 before settling for a 62. Seeking his first tour victory, he began the day nine strokes behind Theegala.
“I think it’s a fun event,” Scheffler said. “I think it would be a little bit draining if it was like this every week, but one week a year is pretty special.”
Scheffler played his first nine in 7-under 27, and added two birdies on his second nine. He was the last player on the tour to shoot 59, doing it in the 2020 Northern Trust. Jim Furyk is the only player to break 60 twice in the PGA Tour, shooting 58 and 59.
The fourth-ranked Cantlay, also making his first start in the event, had a 68. Gooch birdied the last three holes for a 67, making a 40-footer on 18.
Schauffele, the leader at 14 under at the turn, shot 69. He made a double bogey after driving into the water on the par-4 11th.
Hideki Matsuyama (66) was 11 under with Tom Hoge (67), Max Homa (68), Alex Noren (67) and Adam Hadwin (68).
Matsuyama, the Masters champion who won in Scottsdale in 2016 and 2017, is making his first start since winning the Sony Open a month ago in Hawaii. Hoge won at Pebble Beach last week for his first PGA Tour title.
Copyright 2021 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.
Frame Material: HMX Carbon Intended Use: Trail riding Wheelszie: 29″ front and rear Travel: 135mm or 150mm (internal suspension) Head tube angle: 64.2° (adjustable) Seat tube angle: 77.4° Weight: 3499 grams (frame with shock and Day Saver tool kit) Price: Frameset €4,999, builds from €5,999 More info: boldcycles.com
Construction
As you might expect, Bold is continuing to use the internal shock design, however there are some big differences to its application on the new bike. Rather than standing vertically in the seat tube, the shock now lies horizontally above the bottom bracket. This gives Bold a low center of gravity that other brands could only dream of achieving and, it claims, also boosts the stiffness of the overall construction. As before, the shock is protected from the elements but is now accessed from a removable panel in the bottom of the downtube, rather than below the bottom bracket as before. A magnet-equipped travel indicator on the outside means you don’t have to break open the bike to check the sag or know if you’re bottoming out or not. Re-orienting the shock also means the seat tube is clear of any obstructions and a 200mm dropper post can be fitted.
There’s more than a re-alignment going on here though. The previous bike used a tried and tested four-bar system, but a quick look at the swing arm will tell you something different is going on this time around. The Linkin now uses the IST VP, a virtual pivot system constructed inside the frame. The linkage is directly attached to the shock and mounted to an axle inside the frame, which has allowed Bold to create what it believes to be the shortest link of any suspension platform. What does that mean on the trail? Well, Bold claims it improves the suspension feel, gives supple small bump sensitivity support in the mid-stroke and a controlled deep stroke.
A closer look at the new shock orientation and the pair of short links.
That’s not where the suspension changes end. The bike either comes equipped with either a RockShox Deluxe or a Fox Nude shock. The Nude is Scott’s proprietary shock that is used to implement its TwinLoc system or, as it’s called on the Bold, Tracloc. This offers the bike three modes that can be selected using bar-mounted levers – a fully open mode, a full lockout and an intermediate Traction mode, that sits between the two for efficient but still cushioned pedalling. Geometry
The geometry for the Bold Linkin is pretty much identical whether you go for the 135mm or the 150mm model of the bike. This means you either have a fairly progressive trail bike or a generally on-trend enduro bike depending on your choice. The geometry is adjustable thanks to a flip-chip in the seat stay, which offers 6.3mm of BB height adjustment, and cups in the headstube that offer 1° of steepening or slackening.
Builds and Price
Linkin 135 Ultimate
Linkin 150 Ultimate
Linkin 135 Pro
Linkin 150 Pro
The new Linkin comes in 4 different versions and 2 framesets. All of the options come with the Save the Day kit that includes a spare tube, mini pump, tire levers and a spot for chain quick links stored under the downtube cover and a Syncros Matchbox SL-CT Multi-Tool just in front of the bottom bracket. The rear axle also houses a tool that features a T25, T30 and a 6 allen key all in one to adjust all pivot hardware and nearly everything else on the bicycle.
The builds are priced as follows: Linkin 135 Ultimate (8.499 €), Linkin 150 Ultimate (10.999 €), Linkin 135 Pro (5.999 €), Linkin 150 Pro (6.999 €), Linkin frameset in black or white (4.999 €). The 2022 Linkin will be available in 39 international markets by the beginning of 2022. More info, here.
