Singletrack’s New Year Predictions

While many people claim to see the future, we’ve always been dubious of soothsayers. However, since getting a crystal ball for Christmas, everyone in the Singletrack office has been busy staring into the future.

In between getting winning lottery numbers and horse racing results we’ve all found a bit of time to took a look into the murky future to offer up a few predictions for what’s going to happen to mountain biking in 2012. Some are serious, some less so…

Chipps

• Matt will wear a Lycra skinsuit
• Both of Chipps’ wheels will leave the ground at once
• Mark will ride a bike from a non-niche bike brand
• There will be another UK World Champion
• The UCI will offer live coverage of all the World Cups. For a fee.
• The campaign for narrower handlebars will begin
• SPD pedals will start to be regarded as racing-only products
• Downhill tyre rubber will get softer still
• Touring bikes will become the new cyclocross, which was the old fixie
• The Singletrack staff will stop being addicted to coffee – no, that’s too far-fetched

Sim

Matt

• Probably not much riding after the 21st of December.
• Gary Fisher outed as “not being God”
• Drilled 440mm flat bar backlash arrives – along with Girvin Flex Stem.
• Mesh baggies in a Raggamuffin styley and leather jerkins replace gilets.
• Flat pedals made out of mahogany because “vibration damping” helps keep your feet on the pedals.
• Man that does the Buff “I’m a pirate – I’m Mother Teresa – Buffs are great WACKY products” video GETS GUNNED DOWN – and finds out that the non absorbent nature of buffs won’t help stem the flow of blood from his wounds.

Dave

• A new event entry system will be developed that doesn’t favour those who live permanently on the internet.
• More “standards” will be created for the same pieces of equipment.
• Backcountry will be marketed as the new bike industry niche.
• Goretex will become official sponsors of UK summer.
• Riding bikes with mates will remain awesome.
• Aesthetically pleasing 27.2mm dropper posts will finally arrive.
• Fatbikes will be sacrificed on altars to bring back proper winters.

Mark

• There will be fewer mags at the end than the start of the year – that’s mags in general as well as in the bike world.
• Sim will inadvertently run an image from a mobile phone camera as a cover shot.
• People will recognise dropper seatposts for the unreliable, expensive tat that they are… but at the end of the year someone will bring out a cheaper, bombproof version that doesn’t break when you leave it alone on a shelf for a month.
• There will be no significant winter in the UK while I have winter tyres on my car.

Benji

• Big wheels and long travel. Sometimes together.
• The return of rigid.
• The death of short travel.
• A lot of people who would have bought a short travel full suspension bike will realise a hardtail 29er is probably faster, lighter, more fun.
• The return of the 150mm full suspension ‘trail bike’ idea that was sold to us in the early noughties. This time they’re actually ace.
• The continued growing acceptance that there is no ‘best’ suspension system and a greater understanding (and marketing) of the differences.
• A 29er will be raced at a UCI World Cup Downhill event.
• Wider-range 1×10 gearing.
• Longer lasting sticky tyres.
• The death of ‘platform SPDs’. Dinky spuds or full-on flatties from now on.
• Quieter bridleways.
• Busier trail centres and footpaths and roads.
• Touring is the new cyclocross.
• The continued purchasing of Fat Bikes will continue keeping the snow away.
• Someone will make wraparound kneepads so you don’t have to pull them on/off over your mucky shoes.
• There still won’t be an affordable uppy-downy seatpost that works.
• There’ll be an even more unaffordable uppy-downy post that tilts fore-and-aft as well.

Jenn

• The difference between ‘enduro’ (British XC death slog) and ‘enduro’ (Euro style) events will become ever more apparent, whilst 24hr racing will stubbornly continue to refuse to die.
• The Olympics will be a temporary insanity blip in an otherwise great year of riding but they will make BMX the new fixed/cyclocross/black.
• Hardtails probably won’t come back into fashion but will continue to be fun.
• Summer will arrive in March. Please.

Jon

• A World Cup (either one) DH team will debut a 29″ wheeled bike. Probably with drop bars.
• Low front ends will be swapped out for massively high front ends, just because.
• Head angles will continue to get slacker, until the 58° head angle trailbike lands in November.
• Top end kit will continue to go up in price – but cheap kit will be better than ever.
• I will enter more than one race but enjoy none of them – at the time.
• Gravity enduro will become more popular, at the expense of ‘trad’ XC and DH racing.
• Riding/racing categories will continue to expand until noone knows what anyone else is talking about. Most of us will just continue riding with our mates for fun.
• Expect electronic trickery to turn up in suspension units.

Tom dB

• Bright coloured bikes will be sooooo last year.
• Inverse mullet bikes will be all the rage (long (travel) at the front, short at the back.)
• I will replace my creaking bottom bracket.
• David Miller won’t be invited to the Olympics.

Claire

• Someone will finally build my bike for me that’s been sat down here for 2 years! So I can take the kids out in the trailer I bought in Summer (hint hint)

Aly

• I will ride a bike without falling off…maybe.