While walking the dog this morning I started wondering about the following and was interested what the STW community thought…

When I got seriously into riding mountain bikes as my main kind of cycling (20 years ago) we all rode rigid steel bikes with narrow bars, bar ends and cantilever brakes (remember them?). We bounced and pin-balled our way over big rocks and generally tried to loosen our fillings/brains. We didn't go as fast as we do now but I don't remember having less fun.

Leaving aside the gravity/freeride oriented side of the sport where the equipment advances have allowed stuff you could never do on an "old-school" bike are we having more fun or are we just going faster?

Discuss…

For the record I'm not an anti-technologist (in fact quite the opposite) and own a HT and 5"FS both of which have gears.

"I still feel that variable gears are only for people over forty-five. Isn't it better to triumph by the strength of your muscles than by the artifice of a derailer? We are getting soft… As for me, give me a fixed gear!" – Henri Desgrange

Applies to suspension too.

Isnt faster more fun?

More distance covered in less time and the ability to take on stuff you might not normally do?

– Isnt faster more fun?

You see I'm not convinced it is in itself. Is the fun not in the edginess, the hairy moments and the like?

I fully accept some stuff is hard if not impossible to ride without suspension (hence my gravity related comment) but I'm thinking your day on the trails / non-extreme riding – which is a different kettle of fish altogether.

I also like my suspension and gears! I'm just worried that I'm going soft as I head for middle age!

I was alot more robust in the 90's and I still have the bike I raced on, It is a steel rigid S/works and it is a thing of real beauty

It climbs realy well those bar ends just work

But It shakes the crap out of me and the cantis just do not work when you have the death grip on the bars.

Sorry but they are bikes of the past( still love it though) and at 47 I appreciate my front suspension and discs as for gears well just to contredict things I love riding my s/s simple

You see I'm not convinced it is in itself. Is the fun not in the edginess, the hairy moments and the like?

I think that's part of it, but the edginess, hairy moments etc… are definitely made more exciting when doing them faster! – just more danger I guess so more adrenalin or something?

But fast is relative 🙂 30 mph on a MTB gives the same thrill as 100 mph on a motorbike,

Certainly I used to have the same fun on a ( by modern standards) useless rigid bike as I do now – but with less air and at lower speeds.

The fun comes in thrashing it – on a modern MTB that means a higher speed than a old one.

There has also been IMO a bit of a war / escalation with trail centre obstacles. As the bikes get better you need bigger / harder tests for the same thrill.

Being able to ride further as you get kicked about less is certainly true.
The better the bike is the faster you need to be going to get the same thrill.

Sorry but they are bikes of the past( still love it though) and at 47 I appreciate my front suspension and discs

47? See Henri's quote 😉

I think that's part of it, but the edginess, hairy moments etc… are definitely made more exciting when doing them faster! – just more danger I guess so more adrenalin or something?

Thank Fxxx for that – you're starting to convince me that I don't need to sell the FS, get a beard, some sandals and one gear after all… 😕

If you compare bikes from 10 years ago, alot of the gains are giving the masses trail bikes with the riding abilities of older dh bikes or better. Instead of it being £4k for a good handling bike, you can achieve something close and all day'able for less than half that. Obviously the modern dh bikes have improved but not as much as trail bikes IMHO.

The problem is being suckered into buying something overkill.

Even fully rigid bikes are very different from 10 years ago: my rigid Inbred is much easier to ride fast than my rigid Kona Hahanna from 1995. Higher, wider bars make a big difference.

I remember my rigid V brake mountain bike. Compared to what I ride now it was utter crap. Folks want to ride old school/rigid/SS/whatever? Then fine, go for it. It's all about personal choice. I know what I prefer and I'll be sticking with it.

pah

(20 years ago) we all rode rigid steel bikes with narrow bars, bar ends and cantilever brakes

pure luxury, when I were a lad all I 'ad were a 5 speed road bike with drop bars and a caliper brake.

Ok simple answer YES 😥

There has also been IMO a bit of a war / escalation with trail centre obstacles.

not just trail centres there are lines in my local woods that I have only been confident in riding since I finally joined the disc brake revolution last year. Being able to stop in the wet and with dirty rims has made the biggest difference to my riding.

The major difference between a trail centre trail and a trail in my local woods, is the ammount of traffic they can carry in British weather without being destroyed.

Trail centre trail builders have a choice to either armour the trails with dead fast hardpack or with pointy rocks, one type of armouring suits your old-fashioned rigid bike the other doesn't.

the first mountain bike i had was back in 1988 (a dawes ascent).and through the years,have owned various bikes.list as follows:- marin eldridge grade(matt black front/gloss orange rear) specialized stumpjumper m2 (purple front/green rear)fully rigid marin mount vision xt (the original one)only had it for 2 weeks cannondale f800 (matt black)lefty fork awesome bike!!! 2006 specialized stumpjumper fsr comp and my current steed.i p/x'd the frame for a 2008 s works carbon hardtail.still have the original components from the fsr comp. and from what i've learned through riding all the bikes,is that i love the advancement in technology.i certainly wouldn't like to go back to my dawes,even though i will always have a soft spot for it!!! oh and not forgetting my mongoose fireball,as my runaround lacky bike 😀

p.s i tried to leave gaps in my comment,but it has just scrunched it up again!!!

On my full suss, I have the confidence to attempt to tackle lines that I would never go near on my hard tail. Sometimes like tonight to my detriment, but mostly to my increased enjoyment.

I now have a 6" FS with dual crown forks, big tyres, 28 gears, big wide risers, lock-ons and mahoosive brakes that weighs considerably less than my first rigid bike.

It's faster everywhere, I can ride it all day, I can ride more challenging terrain, I can visit more interesting and beautiful places in more comfort, cleaning more sections and faster than my old rigid Scott.

There is no argument whatsoever against utilisation of advances in technology.