When did it lose it for you.....

[2manyoranges]

The irritating issue for me is:

1994
I need a new rear wheel …so … choices

26 inch
135 spacing
plain, double, triple or alpine butting, brass nipples
Shimano freehub
rim 28, 32, 36
9mm QR axle
15-19 internal diameter
3 cross

2022
I need a new wheel … so …

26inch 27.5 or 29
135, 142, 148 or 150 spacing
plain or double butting, alloy or brass nipples
Shimano, SRAM or microspline - 9/10 or 11 or 12 spacing
10 mm bolt or QR, 12mm bolt thru
rim 28, 32, 36
28-36 internal diameter
3 cross

That’s a lot more to grapple with…

luckily with Hope Pro series enabling lots of change in options, we don’t have too many orphaned wheels lying around….

(I have ignored fancy lacings since that’s just a personaL choice rather than a thing forced on us by the manufacturers).

 

[Prodigal Son]

Mountain bikes are more performance oriented and less ... stylish? Soul searching icons? Outside the norm cult objects? Contemporary mtbs are expendable/ consummerist/ have fun and throw away in a few years" items. Somehow the opposite of a Yo Eddy built w/ cook bros racing cranks, salsa, syncros, grafton, titanium bars and deore xtII gears. Those Fat Chances btw, are still around, treated w/ awe and respect while a FS from 2010 is garbage these days. Am I wrong?

 

[Tootyred]

a bike on gravel

Don't want to worry you, but somebody seems to have stolen the motor off that Fantic trials bike of yours....

 

[pw_pw_la]

pw pw spot the difference....this is a tough one.....

a gravel bike

View attachment 627171

a bike on gravel

View attachment 627170

Is it a problem that both make me feel sick?

 

[pw_pw_la]

PS. There's actually a lot of modern bikes I like.

But, much like old bikes, they pretty much all come from smaller, independent builders.

Have you seen some of the stuff Mone is doing over here?

Beautiful. Progressive. Clearly influenced by traditions and designs from golden eras passed. Swoon-worthy bikes, I think.

And Hunter I am a BIG fan of. His who ethos resonates with me. Larkin, as well.

Black Mountain I've mentioned before.

Hell, even Crust made that really cool FTW dirt jumper, and the Wombat looks fun enough if you really want a new version of an old rigid MTB, just with bigger wheels.

 

[JaEdBa]

I suppose it was the venn of various aspects of life that did it rather than anything within the industry. When I was 13 a mountain bike represented freedom and the ability to go out for the day with a few quid and a few tools happy in the knowledge I was self sufficient in my exploration, as I progressed I made some good friends, part time jobs and nothing much else to spend cash on meant I was pretty obsessed with the sport at ages 15-17, it allowed me to indulge in my interest in sport, engineering and the outdoors in a unique way, the relative lack of choice and magazines allowed you to copy the pros in terms of kit etc. I think I lost interest when alternatives to spend money on socialising became more numerous, I sold my nearly new proflex 955 to fund a 6 year old ford orion, and things just fizzled out for a few years.

It will always be my passion.

I find it intriguing that my favourite sport was so poorly represented in the media my only way of finding out who won the world championships mid September was to rush to WHSmith in late October to buy mbuk. It’s hard to fathom that nowadays!

 

[Woz]

Is it a problem that both make me feel sick?

Well I for one - just so I got me self educamated like - spent time looking at the Bearclaw and Pole homepages.

All the stuff on Bearclaw got me sweaty - it's all Ti for godsake. The Pole stuff mmmh......,but hat's off to the Finns. There was
some weird ass DH Blairwitch Project thing going on which I didn't get, but not enough to make me produce excessive bile.




Sag or no sag, the saddle is still in front of the BB. At least in this picture, the saddle is not pointy up.

 

[2manyoranges]

PS. There's actually a lot of modern bikes I like.

But, much like old bikes, they pretty much all come from smaller, independent builders.

Have you seen some of the stuff Mone is doing over here?

Beautiful. Progressive. Clearly influenced by traditions and designs from golden eras passed. Swoon-worthy bikes, I think.

And Hunter I am a BIG fan of. His who ethos resonates with me. Larkin, as well.

Black Mountain I've mentioned before.

Hell, even Crust made that really cool FTW dirt jumper, and the Wombat looks fun enough if you really want a new version of an old rigid MTB, just with bigger wheels.

I am familiar with a lot of small fabricators but not the ones you list...

Accessed the MONE website .... interesting... nice stuff.....beautiful naked brazing...
HUNTER ... nicely retro
CRUST ... the Benno I could do without....but you are dead on regarding the jump bike...nice
LARKIN seem to be a US Cotic competitor....

Thanks indeed for the reference to these guys....

 

[2manyoranges]

Well I for one - just so I got me self educamated like - spent time looking at the Bearclaw and Pole homepages.

All the stuff on Bearclaw got me sweaty - it's all Ti for godsake. The Pole stuff mmmh......,but hat's off to the Finns. There was
some weird ass DH Blairwitch Project thing going on which I didn't get, but not enough to make me produce excessive bile.


View attachment 627625

Sag or no sag, the saddle is still in front of the BB. At least in this picture, the saddle is not pointy up.

Hang on....my comment about SAG applies....sit the mad woman on the bike and the sag takes the BB forward...
Those antlers are going to catch on things in single track....

 

[pw_pw_la]

I am familiar with a lot of small fabricators but not the ones you list...

Accessed the MONE website .... interesting... nice stuff.....beautiful naked brazing...
HUNTER ... nicely retro
CRUST ... the Benno I could do without....but you are dead on regarding the jump bike...nice
LARKIN seem to be a US Cotic competitor....

Thanks indeed for the reference to these guys....

Glad to have pointed at least one person in some worthy directions.

For everyone else…

Mone:




Hunter:




Crust Wombat:




Larkin:




Black Mountain:




Just grabbed the first few images Google provided, but all make plenty of great bikes, frames and components worth looking into.