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are MTB's getting too complicated?

gazzab1955 · 2022-07-13T11:56:13Z

Once upon a time in the dim and distant past (the 80's) on a planet not unlike ours I used to fix and service my own cars and was quite happy to do so. I used a Haynes manual to guide me as the internet only existed on Star Trek, Star wars, etc. Nowadays open the bonnet on even the most basic family saloon and it's likely to be covered in a large plastic cover which might as well say "DANGER DO NOT GO BEYOND THIS POINT". Cars are packed with so many computers, electronics and other clever stuff that it is way beyond most people to fix even simple faults. It once took me an hour to change a light bulb on my VW Passat as I had to remove all the air intake bits first to get at it! I am generalising here, so bear with me. This week on STW I read the latest Shimano releases about automatic electronic gear changes and ABS brakes and began to think "are bicycles getting too complicated?". I guess I am really talking about e-bikes now, but they have probably overtaken muscle powered bikes in the "new bike" sales market. Are these changes, automatic gears, ABS, 4 pot brakes, etc, really only needed on e-bikes? I haven't felt the need for any of them on my carbon Stumpjumper. So are the days of the casual home bike mechanic numbered? In 10 years time will people be taking their bikes to a service centre to be plugged into a laptop (yes I know this already happens for a lot of e-bikes) to read the plethora of sensors which will monitor all aspects of the bike and tell the e-mechanic which bits to replace? And another fing .... Who ever wrote the Shimano press release definitely graduated from the school of Business BS & Bollox! If Shimano and the rest of the manufactures are so clever why have we still got feckin' derailleurs hanging off of the bike in the most vulnerable place possible!

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easily

Posts: 2298

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I think they got too complicated about the time elastomers stopped featuring in suspension forks

I think they got too complicated about the time they started having suspension forks 🙂

My favourite bike at the moment is my Whippet. Of course it has benefited from some of the advances of the last few decades: carbon frame, disc brakes, huge cassette - but it has no dropper, no suspension, and a single chainring. I love the simplicity, and it feels really light, stiff, and solid - no rattles anywhere.

I know what the OP means about motor vehicle maintenance. I used to do all the work on my old Vespas myself, but I cannot even change the lightbulbs on a modern version. On the other hand the old Vespas always needed fettling (and carburettor cleaning), whereas the new models don't seem to need anything.

Posted : 14/07/2022 12:44 am

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