I had to drop into Honda Chiswick earlier today and I was passing the old Olympia there was a commuter furiously pedalling his 1x hardtail and not getting anywhere due to the low gearing and it made me think.
The bicycle industry likes people to pay more for less so we now have the latest 1x transmissions that are so low geared as to be useless everywhere except on steep hills which cost more than a triple. It reminds me of when they introduced light weight 28 spoke wheels which cost more than a 32 or 36 hole for less spokes on the same rims.
It seems to me we are going back to where mountain bikes are extremely specialised and not the do anything bike they were in the 90's and the punters are being charged more for less versatility, what do you think?
The bicycle industry likes people to pay more for less so we now have the latest 1x transmissions that are so low geared as to be useless everywhere except on steep hills which cost more than a triple. It reminds me of when they introduced light weight 28 spoke wheels which cost more than a 32 or 36 hole for less spokes on the same rims.
It seems to me we are going back to where mountain bikes are extremely specialised and not the do anything bike they were in the 90's and the punters are being charged more for less versatility, what do you think?