Today's dual-suspension trail bikes pedal, climb, corner, and descend so well that it is hard to imagine that they can get much better. Hop on any reputable brand's 130 to 160-millimeter-travel trail bike and you can expect all of those things and more. Shimano and SRAM may argue about the nuances of gearing spread or whether one or two chainrings is the future of the derailleur transmission, but both shift every time you push the levers without fail. Same goes for disc brakes, and while there are devout fans from both camps who would scream otherwise, Fox's and RockShox's suspension performance has reached parity. Dave Weagle's anti-squat wizardry has been matched by alternative kinematics to the point where it is a religious, not a scientific discussion and everyone has figured out aluminum and carbon. Until a stronger, lighter and more durable material appears, or a new form of motion control replaces hydraulic damping, it is doubtful that Brand A's design team is going to come up with anything better than Brand B's can. So, today's poll question is:
A) they think they have a perfect product when they don't AND,
B) instead of figuring out how to make it cheaper, they just make up bullsh!t standards while increasing the price!!
Kona, Giant, commencial, and Yt all keep some dialed bikes under the 2k-4k range.
You can't get Eleven-six/Fox and XTR-Di2 in that same range, simply because the cost of the components alone cost's that much! 1.2k+1k+2.3k
Manufacturers have, and will continue with the path of lowest resistance in bringing price down, and that is to sell direct and kit cheap. It is a lot easier then to upgrade kits until you reach a "Top Level" usually in tiers of 2-5 different bikes. (Process, Process DL, Supreme Process) (Jeffsy AL, Jeffsy AL Comp, Jeffsy CF comp, Jeffsy CF pro) (Meta Origin,Meta essential,Meta ride,Meta Race,Meta World cup)
As for Kona, they're just as expensive as Trek in Europe. Even Commencal's bikes are usually slightly expensive, at least compared to YT for example.
I think my next bike (the one replacing the 2015 Reign) is going to cost 5000 € and will be aluminium. Yay...
If you walk in to any of the bike shops here with a YT, canyon or any other mail order brand, with a warranty issue, you'll very politely get quoted a price to fix it, when you then say that it's warranty and should be replaced FOC, you'll then very politely (or not) get told to get in touch with the brand direct and send it back to them..
Then begins the wait for new parts etc as well as the cost of shipping potentially your entire bike back to the manufacturer...
I'm not saying thats bad, but you can't have it all, Mail order brands offer exceptional value with their builds, the down side is when things go wrong,
And direct sales may help with the intitial sting of purchasing a new bike but it will bite you in the ass when shit breaks and none of your friends know how to rebuild a fork. Locally owned bike shops are vital for our culture - without them we are forced to go to Big Box stores with guys that dont know shit about riding, or wait for parts to get shipped to you.
When did this happen?
Did I miss the memo?
Why am I still paying the "Made in USA" prices.
I felt cheated....
The main reason I picked up SC as a brand was cause they were made in USA...
So sorry, I cannot appreciate moaning on prices of high end bicycles, especially since SLX level bikes are incredible these days.
Remember but race is for young guns
Why don't you want 100$ gokarts made by Ferrari so that kids can ride the best if one they they would like to maybe become F1 drivers?
What kind of sick justice are you after?
Thy'Tk,MaManeeyyy! (and gave 30% of it to the immigrants)
That being said, they will (of course) be plus sized. However, were gonna have to wait for another two months for the plus sized versions. Because why create only one standard when you could create two?
SRAM has a MUCH better record of reading the market and making stuff that the public wants. 1X transmission being the latest example.
If that's the case, you've almost definitely set it up wrong. Nobody else is having that problem.
Vote with your wallet.
In the updated version of the user manual they recommend to remove the pedal from the fridge before you insert it into the crank.
I will always be the weak link on my bike at my age and skill level. There isn't a bike out there that I'll ever out ride so I'll try just about anything and keep the bike that's already paid for.
How much more could they actually innovate and not just improve on?? Not much!
From my experience, most trails can be ridden just fine on a 120mm XC bike, you could even argue on a hardtail. Then if you get into the harsher stuff, most 130-160mm won't be specced with the parts that makes sense for such terrain unless you're willing to go for the very best parts, which is unaffordable to most.
I feel there are way too many options that don't really have their place for the few real world scenarios.
There haven't been any major changes in the last decade. Suspension has been refined (both kinematics and damper tech), frames have moved towards increasing use of carbon, brakes and transmission have been refined, and wheel sizes have been tweaked. But those are all really just refinements on developments that happened a long time ago. The last really big thing that is entirely new is dropper posts.
I wonder if the next big thing will be electronic guts for a lot of things. Already exists for shifting. I suspect suspension is next. Wireless is probably right around the corner. The gearbox unicorn might finally materialize in the real world, as we get better at miniaturizing things. And...gulp....ebikes.
Right now, I think advancements are stagnant. Its all about subtle refinements. I wonder if the change to electronic stuff will lead to huge changes going forward.
Motorcycles are quite a bit different in regards to the drivetrain and the weight of the bike, is that a fair comparison?
Here is a scary proposition: Ebike evolution could get to the point where they look identical to regular bikes.
But its quite possible that stable civilization could peak before mountain bike technology does and that will be the end of it all.
With short stays and long legs which can put your ass quite far rearward, when the bike starts to drift it can be a hell of a ride as the bulk of your mass is pushing that rear tyre around. I've currently got 430mm stays and I have to keep my ass further forward than I'd prefer to keep the weight distribution good for cornering/riding fast.
I'm riding this solid nukeproof mega 26 till either:
I can't get bits for it anymore
It breaks
I run out of all my spares
It gets nicked
Then I will move on to whatever the new fashion is then ... 28.75??"
Even though I'm not in their pants 24/7, I feel most people are overbiked these days. I don't ride a hardtail because I like to travel and hit everything from XC to DH with the same bike but honestly, with a 27.5+ HT I'm pretty sure I could ride 80% of what I currently ride just fine.
Why my car's tubeless tires don't need to be filled with god damned white snot.
Also f*ck you tubes.
The rest is quite sorted, but really rubber guys, is this 1890?
And one that can drop on its own too, the awkward bum -drop move is annoying sometimes
and skip carbon, should I be afraid to ride near sharp rocks on the mountain?
and increase environmental responsibility on production, take care of recycling of old components etc.
I include tyres in that, knobbles that expand under an electron charge etc. Slicks to dh at the push of a switch..ai controlled obviously. Lots of options, all held back by greedy companies making little little adjustments as slowly as possible.
The Bicycle Industry needs a Tesla to come in and mess shit up with some market disruption and new innovative product done on a scale no-one else thought possible.
But I agree we'll probably see some awful products before it's widely accepted. Electronic shifting is taking long enough to gain any popularity...
Electronics would be capable of evaluating more variables (speed, power, incline, saddle position (up or down)) and could use this information to quickly decide what do to with the suspension. I'm not arguing for or against electronic suspension. Just trying to explain how this is different from BRAIN.
Am I turning into @Protour?!?!?
-Crank-based drivetrain ratchet system for shifts without pedaling and reduction of rear unsprung weight. Should be easy now with everyone 1x (been done, needs R&D).
-Bushed chain that does not requiring lubing (tech exists, needs a lightweight version).
-Forks that keep the stanchions lubed without having to flip the bike upside down (inverted?...eh. Better use of capillarity?).
Mr Duell in 1899 "everthing that can be invented.. has been invented" .. only fools think that. bike tech will never truly plateau.. because it doesnt exist in a vacuum. All technology is constantly evolving and the bike industry just borrows from other product developments. Marketing is the other driving factor.. the company has to make money to survive.. so once we reach a state of near perfection at a reasonable price they will try and sell us regression.. steel will be real again. Ss hardtails etc. And the world goes round..
Remember, where you put your dollar is where you put your vote.
You need specific ones ...
I want everything electronically controlled: shifter, shocks, dropper, and geometry too.
I want a dropper that lowers without having to sit on it.
I want light-weight tires that are pliable at low speed, stiff at high speed, and are as durable as current DH tires.
Design the bikes to run with 40mm stems, so increase the reach by 1-2cm
Design the bikes to run 2.5 inch 29er tyres please, So drop that bb further
With all this boost and 1x drivetrains, how come almost no one has beaten the enduro's 430mm chain stay yet?
I still think bikes got as good as they need to be about 5 years ago, now it's change for changes sake.
I'll be racing xc on a 26" steel hardtail in an hour or two and tomorrow I'll be racing enduro on a 26", 135mm qr nomad.
I've not noticed all the latest greatests getting faster.
* wider range 1x15 with a chain that won't break despite being that thin
* dropper posts that don't suck donkey d!ck
* even more powerful and better modulating brakes
* integrated storage inside frame
* tires/rim combos that don't pinch flat, ever
* lighter
* electronic shifting
* electronic automatic reactive shock tuning and lockout
* automated geometry changes as you climb or descend
* maybe gear boxes, maybe
* bearings that don't get crunchy in less than a season
* cheaper
* better shaped dropper levers or buttons
* gps tracked anti-theft built in
* integrated lighting
Then, of course, a dropper post that goes down with out the rider needing to sit on the saddle would be AWESOME!
Also a type/tube/tubeless system which allows low tyre pressures without risk of burping nor flatting like the Procore system.
And for plus tyres to be both light as some are now but with sidewalls that won't tear easily (some sort of kevlar sidewall protection maybe).
Those are my thoughts anyway.
You're all Bike Nazis!
Godwin's.
IB4TL. Moderator, you can shut this thread down now.
At the very least theres guys going down on enduros faster then you or I ever would a dh rig.