The retro effect on the bike scene

[Andy R]

Next goofus fad to die a quick quiet death in the back alley of cycle-dom...29ers and 650B crap. :roll: What a joke. You want to roll over an obstacle easily?... get a 2.35 front tire and keep your 26 inch wheels, then you can actually borrow a tube from somebody if you flat!

Or even better, a 2.35" tyre and a 29" wheel
And if you'd ever tried it you'd know that a 26" tube easily fits in a 29" tyre if you want/need it to.

I'm glad to see that Luddite-ism is alive and kicking around these parts anyway. Now, where did I put that Kool-aid ?

 

[tintin40]

[
Name one aspect of V brakes that is superior to disc brakes, because I can't think of a single one.

I wouldn't use V's either as the best brake is the Magura HS33 easy to maintain, and working since the early 90's

 

[ferrit]

Next goofus fad to die a quick quiet death in the back alley of cycle-dom...29ers and 650B crap. :roll: What a joke. You want to roll over an obstacle easily?... get a 2.35 front tire and keep your 26 inch wheels, then you can actually borrow a tube from somebody if you flat!

theres nowt like an open mind :?

29ers have as much akin with cyclocross as they do mountain bikes, so as these have been kicking around for decades the likelehood of dying a "quick" death doesnt seem likely

And as far as the problem of getting flats is concerend I personally subscribe to the Boy Scout motto "Be Prepared". I make sure I carry my own spares so sponging off someone else isnt ever a problem

 

[Andy R]

[
Name one aspect of V brakes that is superior to disc brakes, because I can't think of a single one.

I wouldn't use V's either as the best brake is the Magura HS33 easy to maintain, and working since the early 90's

Powerful - yes, I'll agree with you there. Easy to maintain I'll agree with that too.
But the very thing that makes them easy to maintain (ie they're hydraulic) also applies to disc brakes, and disk brakes are far less affected by mud and water, simply by virtue of the braking surface being further from the ground.

Down a really steep, wet, grass and heather covered hillside, picking your way between and over rocks, a set of something like Magura Martas will out-perform HS-33's any day, even with the Green Frog pads fitted.

 

[Splatter Paint]

Umm Andy R, this is RetroBike, right? If we cared about pure function we'd have slung our old under-performing bikes in the skip years ago. The bottom line is that a modern full-susser is streets ahead of the 80s and 90s mtbs, we all know that. However, old bikes are FUN, this is why my modern, disc-braked lovely is only used for racing and even then on tough courses.

I LIKE v-brakes and the fact that earlier in the year I beat 60 riders in my race class on modern bikes (in the wet too), whilst I was riding an 18 year old retro-bike just shows that most riders can't reach the performance envelope in XC racing anyway.

Why have I specced v-brakes on my modern build? Because they're cheap and work sufficiently for my riding.

SP

 

[Agency_Scum]

I don't go fast, at least I don't go THAT fast and I like building wheels so I use Vs. I have to like building wheels as the load structure is also a braking surface....oops. Nay matter, my hubs and brakes are way lighter than discs which is a nice trade off. Nice....hmmmm. There's the crux of Retrobiking; it's considered by those here the " nicest " way to ride. Modern marketing is obsessed with objectivity and measurable improvements. The subjectivity of retro-biking, beaten hands-down by modern bikes that are faster/lighter/all of the above, is all about niceness, loveliness and lushness. The ubiquity of a thumbshifter ( less gears than trigger shifters...useless ), the graceful curve of a lug ( much heavier than carbon fibre monocoque....hopeless ) or the reassurance of a beautiful XTR V brake ( half the power of discs...waste of money! ) is what it's all about.
" Buy this bike and you'll want to picnic on a mountainside " does not sell...ah well. :roll:

 

[Neil]

Somebody gave me a bike mag a few months ago, which had bikes with fluro paint (Marin?) and shock-horror, one with a splatter paint job!

My latest modern build has v-brakes instead of discs and I'm considering flat bars too. It is definitely influenced by my other retro steeds.

Tubeless was always a stupid idea....

SP

So I suppose that your next modern car will have drum brakes and tubed tyres?

The vast majority of car owners, don't fettle their own cars.

And plenty of modern / current smaller cars still use drums on the rear. There's a couple of brand new cars on the street where I live, and they have rear drum brakes.

Even mine with rear disks, has a drum in the middle for the handbrake.

Flat bars or risers - obviously that's all down to preference (as is everything, of course)

Absolutely. Bad preferences and good preferences.

For example, flat bars - good preference, risers - bad preference ;-)

but the simple fact is that disc brakes work and are consistently reliable. Using rim brakes for period authenticity's sake is one thing but to build up a "modern" bike with less efficient components - well, I just don't get it.
Name one aspect of V brakes that is superior to disc brakes, because I can't think of a single one.

Lighter.

Not as fugly.

Don't require compromises to the hubs.

I'm not suggesting there's no upside to disks - far from it - but you only asked for one upside - I've given you three.

I'm not a big fan of Vs, prefer cantis, but have to say, Vs are easy to setup and service, too.

Quite possibly the most optimal brake for a bike.

 

[Neil]

I'm glad to see that Luddite-ism is alive and kicking around these parts anyway. Now, where did I put that Kool-aid ?

Um, this is Retrobike you know...

 

[legrandefromage]

Retro is popular regardless

Cars are a perfect example - millionth Fiat 500 has already rolled off the production line

Ford GT-40, Mustang

Dodge Charger, PT Cruiser

VW Beetle

Rover 75

Retro is can be found in the kitchen, hifi (valves and records have never really gone away), furniture, its everywhere.

The argument over risers is rather puerile as I've already pointed out on another thread, many early mountain bikes had risers from the beginning.

Shimano had hydraulic disk brakes back in the 70's along with a Magura style canti. Nothing is as new as you think it is.

 

[jonnyboy666]

i have modern and retro bikes, i find that retro works fantastically in my local area as the terrain is mostly flat so super powerful brakes aren't a necessity, also i rode rigid on the HONC and i seem to remember (and gmonster will back this up as we were riding together) overtaking alot of 5 inch trail bike riders with discs and 22t x 32t gears that were walking up the hills and we were overtaking them down the hills!! i found that funny!! i expected to have them on the ups but to be trounced on the downs!! but i was mistaken and i'm happy about that!!

horses for courses i say, i love my bikes, modern or retro, full suss or rigid.

i do think however that people who are new to riding are sometimes brainwashed into buying things they don't need by the brands/mags/sales guy or whatever whether that be excess suspension, excess disc rotor size, excess overbuilt frames, or newer thoughts on wheel dimensions!! :?

you know somewhere there is someone with a 10 inch full suss with 250mm disc rotors with a 650 back wheel and a 29er front wheel that is also single speed (but with a mech hanger just incase coz they can't commit) with and eccentric b/b aswel as iscg mounts (just incase), not to mention a huge amount of hydroforming of the titanium frame with carbon inserts to make it lighter eventhough they want to ride it abusively!! being 10inch travel aswel they'll expect it to climb like a banshee!! they will also be convinced by someone that tomac was right and it needs drop bars . . . . . of course all they will want to is nip to the pub on it!!