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All I can say as I'm a man of few words is, I ride bikes that make me feel something.
Otherwise what's the point ?
Otherwise what's the point ?
Anyone else gone to the dark side? Confession: I’ve just bought a 29er..
- Thread starter sparkybhp
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I think there's a huge dollop of psychology in what we choose to ride and its really non linear.
As i said above I built a gravel bike, then expected it to be someting someting revolutionary.....why? Its basically a Raleigh equipe with better tyres and brakes. So I was rather underwhelmed.
However had I employed my own logic above, I would have enjoyed it for what it was...not what i was expecting and enjoyed the challenges it put up!
Maybe thats where we all go wrong? Are we expecting too much? Is that why we keep pushing for newer ad better in some misplaced gain race......is it really just physiological sticking plasters for our own inadequacies or the emperor'snew clothes?
I don't know and I kinda hope i never do, as the world would become quite dull.!
Just ride it, stop worrying about it! Is great advice.....
"Medic heal thyself"
As i said above I built a gravel bike, then expected it to be someting someting revolutionary.....why? Its basically a Raleigh equipe with better tyres and brakes. So I was rather underwhelmed.
However had I employed my own logic above, I would have enjoyed it for what it was...not what i was expecting and enjoyed the challenges it put up!
Maybe thats where we all go wrong? Are we expecting too much? Is that why we keep pushing for newer ad better in some misplaced gain race......is it really just physiological sticking plasters for our own inadequacies or the emperor'snew clothes?
I don't know and I kinda hope i never do, as the world would become quite dull.!
Just ride it, stop worrying about it! Is great advice.....
"Medic heal thyself"
Last edited:
synchronicity
Senior Retro Guru
Well a lot of the reason I am not into modern bikes has nothing to do with performance. It's cost.
It's unobtainable for me to buy a complete bike off the shelf.
Besides, I already have too much invested (literally) in my older bikes.
I have put a modern fork and shock on one. Don't need more than that really.
Compared to the forks that first came out, they are leaps and bounds better, true.
But with the plethora of BB standards that were released (and axles) it is just getting silly.
Especially with this new 20mm x 110mm boost standard. We already had a 20mm x 110mm axle standard, but you cannot put the new boost 20mm x 110mm wheels on the old non-boost 20mm x 110mm forks.
Apart from that,
I used to own and operate tenerife-training.net, a rental bike company.
I knew things were getting silly with the invention of the integrated seatposts.
How are you meant to rent one of those out I wonder? When the seatpost can't go up and down!
And so I think the 'new' 27.5" and 29" mtb wheel sizes were the nail in the coffin so to speak, the final straw for me.
For one thing they made sizing a nightmare. The size of the wheels is supposed to be proportional to the size of the rider.
Not fitting everyone onto 29er bikes!
How companies like Juliana manage to sell a 29-inched mtb to smaller 5'0" female riders is beyond my comprehension.
Anyway, when customers [okay admittedly only a few, but even that was enough] started turning their noses up at $2000+ 26"-wheeled dual-suspension rental bikes, I knew it was time to get out...
I can remember I showed up one time with at least 4 grand worth of kit, here's me thinking it was all good, totally rideable, and yet it still wasn't good enough for some of these people (somehow). WTF?
I think people these days are getting too spoilt. some of my best most memorable rides (overseas for example) have been on very cheapy bikes.
I'm glad I did get out now honestly. I can just see it. People would be requesting 29ers, or 27.5ers. Or now mullets is going to be the new in thing in mountainbiking for 2023 apparently. Or carbon duallies because all of a sudden alloy frames are not good enough any longer. Or dropper posts that everyone keeps harping on about! Road bikes with disc brakes, e-bikes, electronic shifting, et cetera. Or whatever else is new!
Basically forgetting what it means to be a cyclist.
I must have spent well over €100,000 on bike kit over the years. At the end of the day it was my own personal money that I had to invest in bikes.
And so I'm practically over it.
These days I just buy the odd component (that still fits my now 15-year old frames) or the odd accessory here and there.
I'm happy with what I have, don't need more.
It's unobtainable for me to buy a complete bike off the shelf.
Besides, I already have too much invested (literally) in my older bikes.
I have put a modern fork and shock on one. Don't need more than that really.
Compared to the forks that first came out, they are leaps and bounds better, true.
But with the plethora of BB standards that were released (and axles) it is just getting silly.
Especially with this new 20mm x 110mm boost standard. We already had a 20mm x 110mm axle standard, but you cannot put the new boost 20mm x 110mm wheels on the old non-boost 20mm x 110mm forks.
Apart from that,
I used to own and operate tenerife-training.net, a rental bike company.
I knew things were getting silly with the invention of the integrated seatposts.
How are you meant to rent one of those out I wonder? When the seatpost can't go up and down!
And so I think the 'new' 27.5" and 29" mtb wheel sizes were the nail in the coffin so to speak, the final straw for me.
For one thing they made sizing a nightmare. The size of the wheels is supposed to be proportional to the size of the rider.
Not fitting everyone onto 29er bikes!
How companies like Juliana manage to sell a 29-inched mtb to smaller 5'0" female riders is beyond my comprehension.
Anyway, when customers [okay admittedly only a few, but even that was enough] started turning their noses up at $2000+ 26"-wheeled dual-suspension rental bikes, I knew it was time to get out...
I can remember I showed up one time with at least 4 grand worth of kit, here's me thinking it was all good, totally rideable, and yet it still wasn't good enough for some of these people (somehow). WTF?
I think people these days are getting too spoilt. some of my best most memorable rides (overseas for example) have been on very cheapy bikes.
I'm glad I did get out now honestly. I can just see it. People would be requesting 29ers, or 27.5ers. Or now mullets is going to be the new in thing in mountainbiking for 2023 apparently. Or carbon duallies because all of a sudden alloy frames are not good enough any longer. Or dropper posts that everyone keeps harping on about! Road bikes with disc brakes, e-bikes, electronic shifting, et cetera. Or whatever else is new!
Basically forgetting what it means to be a cyclist.
I must have spent well over €100,000 on bike kit over the years. At the end of the day it was my own personal money that I had to invest in bikes.
And so I'm practically over it.
These days I just buy the odd component (that still fits my now 15-year old frames) or the odd accessory here and there.
I'm happy with what I have, don't need more.
Especially with this new 20mm x 110mm boost standard. We already had a 20mm x 110mm axle standard, but you cannot put the new boost 20mm x 110mm wheels on the old non-boost 20mm x 110mm forks.
Boost is 15mm x 110, but that’s beside the point. With 20x110 the hub flanges were still the same distance apart as they had been since disk brakes became normal. With the first lot of 29er rims this wasn’t strong enough for aggressive riders, leading to a reputation for being flexy that’s still banded about today. Boost added the extra 10mm in between the flanges increasing spoke triangulation giving stiffer, stronger wheels from the same rims. 15mm was a downgrade IMO but was done to gain acceptance of thru axles from the xc crowd, even though 20mm was lighter.
I don’t think they have zero skills, just a different skill set.
In your automotive analogy, it would be like teaching new drivers about hand cranking an engine, or chokes or double de-clutching. They just don’t apply anymore.
Skills like old school line choice aren’t necessary on new bikes. Instead of picking my way slowly around rocks or roots, I’m looking for objects to help unweight the bike or boost off of to clear the hazards. The lines I’m looking at would be suicidal on older bikes.
Why I think you find newer bikes boring is you are still riding then as you always have. Like I said, it takes time to adapt and understand how to get the best out of them. When you do, you can go faster, takes different more challenging lines. For me that’s why I prefer them. It’s not about making it easier, it’s about being able to push further.
Using your tuned car analogy. Yes, at road speeds all modern advancements make new cars more dull. Get them somewhere with no limits though and you can push harder and faster and get the best out of them.
As for market conspiracies. No one is being forced to buy anything they don’t want.
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Gate.
I take back what I said about 26” wheeled bikes looking proportional - it’s seems there are some exceptions!
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Whereas……
