Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you're shifting wrong. I can't count the amount of experienced riders I've seen who "know how to shift" make me cringe when I see them shifting on their e-bike. There's no other explanation other than some kind of weird faulty setup in your drivetrain...
The toughness is really more driven by the casing (EXO, EXO+, Double down) than the tread type (DHR, DHF). I agree, the EXO/EXO+ stuff is definitely pretty good these days. But I've found if you're riding really high speed rocky DH stuff the dual ply casings are pretty essential. Just depends...
Nah, it's just different goals. It's not about "absorbing impact". It's about cornering/descending traction v. climbing traction. For whatever reason they wanted to go more for climbing traction and tradeoff on conerning/DH performance. The 2.8 does climb nice for sure. If maxxis made a 2.8...
I've found this as well. Not as quickly as your describing, but definitely faster than any of the 20 or so full suspension bikes I've owned in the past. Luckily my 11-6 shock arrives tomorrow!
As far as I know Shimano, KMC and SRAM 12 speed chains (except for some of the road specific SRAM ones) are supposed to all be compatible. There might have been other issues going on (like the directionality of the SRAM power link?, worn cassettes? etc.)
I've mixed and matched 12 speed chains...
I'm not saying it can't do it. I've done some technical climbing on my Decoy, it's fine (but of course the low BB isn't optimal). I'm just saying that's not what it was designed for. Sure you can take a 100mm travel bike and bomb downhill if you want to, but it's not the right tool for the...
Lower speed chains are not stronger. That’s a common misconception. 12 speed chains are typically stronger, but tensile strength isn’t the issue here anyways (it never is). You can hang a small car from a 12 speed chain. The issue is shifting under load or otherwise unnecessary wear and tear.
It’s important to remember this is a purpose built downhill machine. It’s not some long travel trail bike. If you bought it to do a lot of single track/technical/rocky climbing then you bought the wrong bike to be honest. It’s really meant for expert level DH riders to pedal up fireroads or...