my 2008 meta 55 was a bit of a pig uphill & decent downhill. My 2017 transition smuggler is a faster up & more capable down. Both weigh pretty much the same, both 140 mm pike fork.

Bigger wheels these days. 29ers were just about mainstream by 2007. 650 was still a little way off.

& dropper posts – game changer for tech riding IMO.

My hardtail is 2010 and it still rides brilliant – i could update it to more modern geometry and i’m sure i’d notice an improvement.

you don’t need the best bike just a decent one – 10 years doesn’t make it rubbish.

The difference between 2007 and 2017? All of the parts on a bike from 2007 bike would likely fit on my GT Backwoods from 1997. Very little on a 2017 bike will fit on a 2007 era frame because of the straight steerer, 26″ wheels and slimmer hub spacing.

I think you’re about two years too early. When Trek rebranded Gary Fisher as “Trek by Gary Fisher” is when I’d place it mainstream. That was around 2010? I had a 2011 Trek 29er that was branded Gary Fisher the year before.

The trails previously were dead, now they are now alive.

My 2007 SJ FSR Elite was a dog. My 2017 Boardman FS Pro is a hooligan by comparison. Don’t think it’s necessarily due to changing standards, just geometry is so much more user-friendly nowadays.

Yeah a bit,

2007 I was riding a 150mm travel Spesh Enduro, it was over-kill really, but it was a fun bike to ride, you might get some funny looks but worked well as an ‘does everything bike’.

These days I ride a 160mm Tracer 275. Climbs better, descends better is just a better bike but 10 years of incremental advancements it should, some people still think it’s over-kill, but it’s still fun to ride and does everything.

One of my mates has just started riding, he’s got the same sort of Enduro I used to have, it’s wearing wider bars, shorter stem and slightly longer forks (160 v 150) and it can still run with the pack, it’s nothing like as out paced as might think.