We Predict The Future: What will 2019 hold for mountain biking?

Close your eyes. Breathe in, and out, and relax. Let your mind drift. Drift like smoke on the air. Picture yourself in a darkened space, floating, floating with the smoke. Now, follow that smoke as it drifts. It is your spirit guide, leading you onwards. Follow it, see where it takes you…what do you see? Team Singletrack has been finding their inner selves, following their spirit guides, and consulting the oracle in an effort to…

Close your eyes. Breathe in, and out, and relax. Let your mind drift. Drift like smoke on the air. Picture yourself in a darkened space, floating, floating with the smoke. Now, follow that smoke as it drifts. It is your spirit guide, leading you onwards. Follow it, see where it takes you...what do you see? Team Singletrack has been finding their inner selves, following their spirit guides, and consulting the oracle in an effort to predict what the future holds. Here we go...let's see what their shamanic experiences have brought us...

Amanda - Art Director

Components for cameras

My first prediction for 2019 is components that incorporate action camera mounts, with consideration taken for weight and aerodynamic-ness. So much research is put into developing components to make them as light as possible, with minimal drag, only for us all to plonk a bulky GoPro mount on wherever we can find room. I'm not suggesting that this is essential, but at a competitive level I can really see an interest for it. I'm picturing bars with GoPro mounts that are flush, seatposts that still fit neatly into the seat tube whilst housing a camera, maybe even helmets being formed in such a way that the mounting points aren't just a case of finding a gap between vents, but they are in a specific place that won't create too much drag.

Fully automated droppers

Dropper posts that work in both directions, so you don't have to sit on it to get it down. I've found myself with a very unreliable dropper post recently (it doesn't like cold weather) and from the moment I fell into a 'farm puddle' (poo... the puddle was 90% poo) I have been resentful of having to do a full body force slam into my saddle to get it out of the way. I've also noticed that I need to get my saddle down much faster than I used to because I'm riding faster, and there have been times I've set off on a descent still sat down.

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