What is next? In recent years we have seen big advances in suspension, arguable this has now plateaued. The same could be said for frame materials, wheel sizes and disk brakes.

It is hard to see where the big shift are going to be next, perhaps hub gears becoming more mainstream.

What else will we see big movements on?

Gearboxes and e-bikes.

I think we’ll see a bit more electronics too. Electronic droppers, gears and adjustable suspension.

Maybe a new wheel size or hub standard too 🙂

e-bikes defo. Motors and batteries will get cheaper, smaller and better.

electronics.

suspension control, gears, geomtetry(?).

will all filter down and become integrated (dropping your post? it’ll stop your suspension being locked out, slacken the geometry.).

146.5mm rear hubs. It’ll be a game changer.

Electronics to control stuff like suspension / gears. But gearboxes don’t provide answers to problems we have.

People are not complaining about rear mechs not working or gears not being available. So adding weight and complexity to a solution that currently works pretty well is unlikely to be the next big thing.

Still not got the weight down but moved it.
As long as electric isn’t allowed in racing it will continue in the sidelines. Electronic control probably, saw DI2 in action and I was impressed. the next step will be ditching the wires.

New materials? I’m not sure what’s on the horizon though I know there’s some research into the use of graphene.

3D printing for a custom fit?

Electronic gears are definitely coming. I’d like XT level shifters so I could mount an extra button on my bar-ends.

Retro resurgence!

I suspect Retro will become a genre for new sales. Perhaps a return of Klunkers.

Otherwise, all the bells an whistles. Electronic gears, posts. Self setting suspension. Bikes with computer chips linked to your phone. More integration, i.e. less aftermarket kit. Only bike specific bits. Like cars and motorbikes.

People do complain about rear mechs – how many threads to we see on here about gear shifting, dropping chaings, chain and sprocket wear, mud clogging things up etc. After tyres and punctures it’s probably #2 in the list of complaints. If they can get the weight out of gearboxes they have to be the future – too many advantages with ditching mechs and cassettes – less unsprung weight and stronger wheels, better optimised frame design etc. If we could get over our obsession with weight then the only problem with gearbox bikes today is availability and cost. I’d love to try one.

It used to be so easy, between 2004 (when I started riding again) and 2010 as I recall it was a case that every other year bike gained 10mm-20mm of travel for that sector, got a bit lighter and a bit slacker, tyres got a bit wider, but went back a bit, not much else ‘stuck’.

Then it all seemed to stick.

I’m still awaiting the arrival of ‘new’ 26ers, not 26+ not just jump bikes, but new 26″ trail bikes, but somehow different to the old ones so there’s no cross-over.

Looking at Gwin’s new signature brakes, I suspect a few more makers will be coming out with finned calipers next year. World cup riders still seem to be able to destroy perfectly set-up brakes in a 3-5 min run, which obviously means we all need cooler brakes for mincing around the woods. Warner mentioned F1 style carbon brakes at the weekend, I know it’s been done in the past, but I don’t think it’s viable for MTB, we suffer from fluid fade, not friction fade.

More electronics maybe, there were ABS brakes at Eurobike and ESP on e-bikes, active suspension maybe – there have been efforts in the past to automate things like ProPedal with hydraulic locks and stuff, none of it worked well because the first time the shock ‘knows’ it need to open it when it hits something – maybe a sensor in the fork to activate the rear – open when it senses an impact on the fork, it it tops out for a quarter of a second or something and is about the land.

I also suspect there will be more Alu specific and Carbon specific models – bike cos are always looking for a way to sell the same thing at 2 price points, but it might be easier to have the Carbon Halo bikes and cheaper Alu bikes with a different name.

If we could get over our obsession with weight then the only problem with gearbox bikes today is availability and cost. I’d love to try one.

And as soon as you do something like Zerode up there with no hanger etc people will moan about forcing them to throw out their 8sp XTR mech from 93… The main problem is it’s not something you can strap on to your current bike. I’m sure once there is some mainstream choice (Spec/Giant/Trek) we will be off

I always think that we get teeny tiny micro-improvements in MTB with hardly any leaps.

Biggest change recently is long/low/slack with short stems, but this was more customer-driven than industry-driven with perhaps the exception of Mondraker.

Gearboxes are at least interesting even if they aren’t going to actually change much.

Even though it’s easy to take the piss, I actually think that the fat and plus tyres are about as innovative as we’ve seen. It took a reasonable shift in thinking to achieve.

Maybe a Kers style regenerative braking system, if you could build a generator into the rear hub that kicked in during braking to recharge the batteries, you could in theory have a smaller battery, it would also go some way to winning over the more hardcore of us – it becomes ‘fairer’ you create the power on the fast bits, to deploy between the corners.

Things have really plateaued in recent years, hence the introduction of largely pointless new standards.

I can’t see gearboxes taking off- too expensive and mechs work brilliantly if you think of what they have to deal with. Unlike Wobbliscott I can’t remember the last thread I saw re mech problems

Electronic interaction with existing kit will be the main developments I reckon, e-shifting will percolate down to slx, fork, shock and droppers might be linked together somehow, maybe with a gyroscopic control.

Practically I think AL versions of carbon bikes will be the best development, as not everyone wants to spend £2.7k on a carbon frame that’s 400g lighter than the £1.7k AL version.

Dynamo based motor assist could also be good, as it means batteries wouldn’t need to be so heavy.

The biggest change is like to see is top end lightweight trail suspension using coil springs instead of air. But then I’m a bit odd!

it’s the way forward……….

more “boutique” bike repair places / specialists without sales supporting local scenes (as internet sales kill off the LBS)

Im expecting everything to go electric. Gears, droppers and socks. this will eventually evolve into a 3 speed shifter (like ctd) but will control everything at once.

id like to see someone put some proper thought into bearing housing design for mud conditions. Not seen a single bike where its any good (ie why dont they shield them?)

People leaving the sport/hobby as they can’t afford. Mag sales dropping as people tighten their belt/bawlk at £5+ pricing for slim, ad-ladened magazines as editors claim it’s ‘all online and not their fault’. I’ve stopped buying mags and no I don’t look online. I just don’t bother anymore. The content isn’t worth a fart.

I see it dying abit. Big £££ will hurt the mass appeal which will lead to sales dropping eventually. Does a 5k+ bike really make it better than a 2k one? Hub sizes is already taking the love out of it for me. Im 100kg and don’t see issues with my rear hub/wheel flex. Yet the industry (including my favourite bike manufacturer) deems that’s the next change.

Fully autonomous MTBs that will go out and do the riding for you, so we can spend more time just arguing on STW…….

I’d love to see on the fly tyre pressure adjustment. On the road it auto inflates to your pre set ideal level, then off road back to your pre set, softer pressures. I have no idea how it could possibly work but it would be pretty cool.

@hora….. +1

My bird aeris felt like quite a leap from my 2010 stumpy but I think that was geometry rather than much else although the fork was a massive improvement ,pike over a fox .
I just don’t like the idea of electrics on a mountain bike , right now there is not much I can’t fix in my garage with pretty basic tools and a you tube video ,once you add electronics it gets a bit more complicated .
Will be interesting to see if these big 29er enduro bikes catch on .
The gearbox thing is interesting but I don’t have a massive problem with rear mechs but if something is going to catch on it might be this

I have a massive problem with rear mechs as I seem to destroy a couple a year and am looking at the Zerode with interest.
If they could find a way to standardize the gear mechanism (similar to BB standards) so that they could be interchangeable, this and more electronic control would be my guess for the immediate future.

Gearboxes

I think for the last 10-15 years or so, every time the future of mountain biking is discussed, gearboxes or internal hub gears are always presented as the way forward. You would have thought by now if they were the way forward more development or effort would be put into them. But that’s not happening.

saw DI2 in action and I was impressed. the next step will be ditching the wires.

SRAM have already done it with eTap. It just needs an mtb version.

Droppers on XC bikes in the shops and at lower price points.

A shake down of standards would be good, to get them a bit more settled but doubt it will happen.

Wireless Electronics, gearboxes and ebikes

Interesting. I dont see the sport contracting because of the £5k “super bikes” far from it. They are aspiration for many people and push technology forward. In fact if anything i think they are a good thing. Higher priced “Boutique” brands have helped the development of bikes brands like Bird, Canyon, YT etc. By creating a demand at a lower price point…. all of which I see more of than Santa Cruz, Yeti etc. So the rising cost of top end bikes seems to equal a gaping hole in the market for better value brands. At the end of the day we should be grateful that the sport is so attainable. You can buy a good new bike for under £1500 a descent helmet for £50 and be away. For me the growth and development in the sport will be more places to ride easily. I love my off piste stuff, but its a dark art to newbies. Trail centers offer people starting out a way of progression as they work through the trail “Colours” One thing I love about the sport is the development. Changes you can make at home to your bike to make it better for you. However one thing that drives me crackers is changing standards. I’m all for it with some fairly commonsense rationale. Just get a little deluded bu some of the BS. One nit of kit I hope moves forward soon is dropper posts…Fed up with them to be honest.

2WD

I am particularly looking forward to the electric socks, I get really cold feet!

The thing is, the MTB riders on here (the whole internet) are a tiny % of bike riders world wide. So rear mechs do work, for the vast majority of users. I also think that less people will do MTB (in all its forms) as time goes on, so a smaller market for new fancy stuff.
A gearbox that costs the same as a current rear/front mech may end up on most bikes, but I don’t think it will work for what ‘we’ need it to do.

Anti-lock disc braking.

Tyres that change width and tread according to the terrain/tarmac you are cycling on.

I’d say you don’t even need to spend £1,500. Those for whom it is actually a “sport” have my sympathy. If you can’t compete well with just fitness and skill and need to have the latest technology to do so then you are truly caught in an expensive race. For the rest of us there’s no need to be contemplating £5k bikes.

It’ll be “interesting” to see if the manufacturers can come up with anything wheel size related… we’ve had big wheels, followed by not so big wheels. We’ve had proper fat tyres, followed by not so fat tyres. I’m struggling to think where they could go next in that respect!

A gearbox that costs the same as a current rear/front mech may end up on most bikes, but I don’t think it will work for what ‘we’ need it to do.

You mean it doesn’t do what you need or its a perception?

Zerode is gripshift only. The horror the horror !

Lo0ads of eBikes for sale and in use in France this summer, fat and wrinklies seem to love them

13spd
Shorter crank lengths
Bars with more sweep
Different fork rakes
More carbon

Not sure about the £5k bike arguments. When I was a student drooling over bikes in the mid-90s £3k seemed to be top whack. So that would be £5k now with inflation.

The next big invention will be a cost of living or inflation calculator that mountain bikers can understand…

I’d say you don’t even need to spend £1,500. Those for whom it is actually a “sport” have my sympathy. If you can’t compete well with just fitness and skill and need to have the latest technology to do so then you are truly caught in an expensive race. For the rest of us there’s no need to be contemplating £5k bikes.

I did say under £1500. I say “sport” because I see it as a sport and its very rare that I race. I guess it depends on your definition or sport, pastime, hobby etc. I absolutely agree with your point about fitness and skill vs. new tech. A bike is only a small part of what makes someone “quick” in my experience. I guess we all have experiences of overtaking other riders on carbon weapons. As well as being overtaken on our super light XC whippets by middle age blokes on old orange patriots up our usual big climbs. I always use my firends lighter bike as an excuse as to why he is quicker than me. But in reality I no that if I droped even more $$$$ on a new bike he would still kick my arse. Sure the gap may be closer but he is a quicker rider than me.