Traditionally, the start of a new year evokes retrospective diatribes that touch fondly on the most memorable moments of the previous one. Journalists, however, are not known for rosy perspectives on past events. With the exception of unfortunate souls who have been frozen in time by a career supernova, an evil boss, the redhead lover who took the dog, or by a conspicuously bad tattoo, most reporters are more than happy to forget the past and to move forward in hopes that the next year will be better – one that sends words flying out of our computers. Counting myself as one of the latter, here are some of my hopes for this year:This year, I’d be happy if the the deciding moment of the next event I cover takes place directly in front of me and not while I am in a portable toilet.
This year, I hope the bicycle expos will sparkle with truly imaginative products, each articulated by informed staff – a sea of well-manufactured items, dancing before my camera, that don’t look like they came from two factories in China
This year, after discovering a newsworthy design flaw, calling it out, and proffering up a solution to the problem in my yet unpublished review, the maker will not insist that I was accidentally sent a pre-production prototype. The maker will not explain that he knew about the issue all along and that production versions have since been changed.
This year, it will rain in wet months when I am reviewing spike tires and in summer, it will be dry when I review fast-rolling rubber.
This year, I will finally learn why only French bicycle companies invite us to product launches in their own country. I will stumble upon a freshman product manager’s notebook which contains the mathematical relationship: PL x Dr = F + E, where PL is product launch, D is the distance between the source company expressed as a radius, and F + E is favorable reviews and editorial.
This year will be the one when contributors from the UK will discover the comma. North American writers will forget there is an exclamation point. Bloggers will reinvent the paragraph. New submissions will not be jumbled with lazy smart-phone abbreviations and Specialized will run out of acronyms.
This year, I vow to keep Fabien Barel in sight down the steeps in Morzine.
Chris Conroy will not begin his description of his latest bike with, “Here at Yeti. We are not concerned with producing the lightest bicycles…” This year, Yeti will actually release one bike that is competitively lightweight.
This will be the year when flat pedals and 26-inch-wheel hardtails return in force - as the weapons of choice for mountain biking’s most popular emerging sport: late-night super-drifter races, staged at indoor Kart tracks.
This year, German bike companies will follow Schwalbe’s lead, loosen up a bit, enjoy the sport, and not take cycling so seriously.
This year, one of us will have the courage to ask, “If the fabled Northwest loam is such a rare and wonderful thing, why is it so damn popular to depict riders shoveling it off the trail in great quantities with their rear wheels?”
This year, Red Bull and the FMB will arrange to clear the lines created by the Rampage competitors and restore the landscape, so the legacy of big-mountain competition won’t look like the first scene in “Where the Trail Ends.”
This year “progression of the sport” will be redefined by the need for photographers to hire uplifts to reach the top of the Fest Series jumps, and by the advent of tow-in freestyle competitions.
Somewhere this year, a girl will look into her mirror and make a pact with her reflection that she will be the first woman to earn a spot on the FMB World Tour.
This year, none of us will be called upon to write about fallen athletes.
This year, Strava will update its app to compare user data with trail profiles and automatically delete any entry that deviates from established courses. Stravidiots won’t be rewarded for cutting trails to pieces.
Somewhere this year, a promoter will decide to stage a series of Heritage trail rides, where mountain bikers will be invited to experience epic routes, crossing some of the world’s most spectacular landscapes, all without the burden of competition or the toxicity of conspicuous corporate sponsorship.
This year, competitors who crash out of pro freestyle competitions will receive monetary compensation in exchange for the drama that they add to the show and for the millions of media impressions that event promoters have been harvesting for free at their expense.
This year, the top ten bike brands will take a long, hard look at the off-road motorcycle industry’s successful model and recognize the foolishness of committing all of their development funds and manpower to develop a handful of superbikes that few can afford, and instead, redirect their efforts in earnest to build superbike performance into a larger number of mountain bikes that many can afford.
This year, USA Cycling will publicly announce that the National Interscholastic Cycling Association has done more to advance the future of mountain bike racing in the United States than USAC has accomplished in the past four decades.
This year, “enduro” will take its place in the language as a six-letter word.
This year, I will try one new stunt. I will learn one new skill. I will teach one rider something new.
This year, the winning wheel size will be the one that has the power to get you off of the computer and onto the nearest trail - and today, the lucky number is 27.5 inches.
Cheers, I’m off for a ride.
amen
Even still mtb can do better, but you can also see where they have. My 2014 remedy 7 gets a lot of flack in reviews for not having a pike or other fat fork, but at the entry level it still gets an air sprung fork with LSC and a thru axle. It also gets deore hydros, a wide bar, wide tubeless ready rims, and a drivetrain that is both reliable and very similar to the higher end spec.
MTB needs some credit for the bottom end. Afterall, look at this $650 bike www.norco.com/bikes/mountain/cross-country/charger/charger-72
A good chunk of what comes on this entry level hardtail is tech that was state of the art 10 years ago. Remember when seat posts had one bolt and the fork had a big greasy coil in it? How bout 3 piece cranks and mechanical or rim brakes. This is so much better.
Especially when you consider this is $4000 usd and the technology is more than 10 years old: www.yamahamotorsports.com/sport/products/modelspecs/414/0/specs.aspx
www.bikepedia.com/quickbike/BikeSpecs.aspx?year=2004&brand=Norco&model=Rampage
Or better yet: new Norco DH $3000 mid level www.norco.com/bikes/mountain/downhill/aurum
old Norco DH top end $4300: www.bikepedia.com/quickbike/BikeSpecs.aspx?year=2004&brand=Norco&model=VPS+Team+DH+Race
We keep getting told that the bike companies make a lot more out of their walmart bikes but when I'm on the santa cruz website and I look at the bike of the year's "From: $8399 MSRP" pricetag, I can't help to have the feeling that some accountant at SC ran the numbers and decided that leaving out the budget builds wouldn't have much impact.
I picked up a 1979 xr500 honda for $175, got it running for a cheap carb kit and the cost of a chain, and you know what, I don't care to get it street legal. The thing is a torque machine that will wheelie in 4 gears. It is good to get on a rough running motorbike once ion a while and just be a little stupid. I personally prefer dirtbikes, but i can appreciate a ninja 250. Not the fastest but I am sure it is fun on a winding back road.
PB (and other media outlets) have a large part in glorifying it.
Hahaha, that was tasty!
smart engineer says its 6% stiffer, or lighter, or more enduro.
The focus needs to become longevity.
Not inevitable fragility.
Everyone I know just wants their bike to fall apart less.
And perhaps this year will be the year when some of the guys (invariably guys...) who have always been too cool for that sort of thing finally realize that they, too, can contribute to that effort. As a result, they'll come out for a trail day. Or take a friend riding (and actually stay with them to help them out). Or won't ride irresponsibly on mixed-use trails, pissing off hikers or horsey people (and leading to ill-will in the wider community). Or won't cut up trails, or put shoddy, ill-conceived features on trails they didn't build.
This may be overly optimistic.
On the other hand, I'm totally down for "RC's heritage trail ride series." I don't think it's something you should leave to someone else.
...Of course, if you'd read my first post, you'd know that.
What I do have is time & ability to do the legwork, which is why I offered to help.
As for our local event, we're going on the third year of holding it, so if you're implying my mouth is writing checks that my ass can't cash, sorry, I'm not that guy.
and if you can point out to me anywhere on this page there is a reference to rc organizing the event other than your last post (and including your first) maybe I'll begin to understand what your intention is. But I doubt it
I like the BBQ/demo idea!
I ride a 26" hardtail with flats for my trail riding days... I like to hop over things and style it up as much as possible even for xc riding... I actually prefer it to riding bigger wheels.
Maybe its because I ride park and dirtjump with 26" wheels that anything bigger feels unnecessary and not as playful/ fun...
Only time I ride clips is to race xc.
canadian will be on every podium smith, semanuk, reeder, logan peat, Batty, kabush, Brown,Pendrel, Gagné, Pichette
but, you want some real true innovation, that works first time OOTB (would be nice) without the big companies invesitng in boundary pushing superbikes... sorry, but keep building superbikes and keep the trickle down of tech from them happening and keep the market there for lesser companies to create great products that can emulate that performance.
How about this year a handful of people will realise they truly do not need state of the art to have fun and kick ass, and a handful will also work out that form, fit & function beat fashion any day.
Where everyone can enjoy, and share the knowledge to each other.
Amen.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAHAHAHHAA. these jokes.
(For the rest of you readers: I am sorry I do not have anything snarky/witty/clever to say. I'll try harder next time.)
Sorry for the lack of commas.
This is pretty important.
Nice wish list for 2015, particularly with respect to affordable, well performing bikes.
However, the one that caught my interest was your “vow to keep Fabien Barel in sight down the steeps in Morzine.”
“Vow” is a strong term. It means to:
• pledge, promise, or undertake solemnly
• dedicate or consecrate to God, a deity, or a saint
• assert or swear emphatically
• declare solemnly
If the unthinkable were to occur (that you could not keep up with the fabulous Fabien except in your dreams) what do you think your penance should be?
Matt
Best one:
"This year, I will try one new stunt. I will learn one new skill. I will teach one rider something new."
Amen.
You better invest in some binoculars RC!