What would it be?
Hypothetically we are all given a circa 1992 kona fully ridged bike and had to race down your standard enduro descent. You were allowed to change one component, to its modern equivalent. Ignoring compatability issues, what would you change?
Add a suspension fork? Fit a dropper post? Modern tyres? (for the purpose of this exercise you can change both)
For me it would be disk brakes . Obviously I'm ignoring the fact that I could not fit them to a rim brake frame!
The bloke sitting on top.
Suspension forks. Allow extra speed and control with the same component.
The cantilevers on the Kona would be ok in the dry, you could still drop your saddle at the top of the descent, gears would be ok too.
fully ridged bike
Doubt I'd race a ridged bike tbh, even hypothetically.
Tyres I reckon. Everything else is doable.
Tyres. Super-tackys FTW!
Ti bolts
Garmin for Strava notifications
Modern tyres.
Handlebars
Doesn't matter. I can walk just as fast down an enduro track pushing an old bike as I can with my modern gnarpoon.
Id go with a top tube pad of the period, to mitigate the inevitable testicle top tube interface and aid the carry thereafter
Can i replace the original decals with some of those modern Axxios anti-vibration stickers? 😉
29er wheels 😜
Oooh, interesting. I've said in the past that if I had to give up 'luxuries' on my bike it would be discs that went last, but that's assuming I'd still be allowed to use decent tyres (incidentally, second place was a dropper if was staying in the north downs but suspension fork if I were to move to somewhere with bigger hills and more rocks). For one run I'd probably take tyres. Surprised no one has said the frame i.e. geometry, would that outweigh the tyres?
But also this
I can walk just as fast down an enduro track pushing an old bike as I can with my modern gnarpoon.
Dropper post for sure, assuming the stock one is set high, a la old school.
1. Suspension forks
2. Disk brakes
3. Dropper post
Rear suspension would be #3, but it's not something you can really retrofit to a frame.
Fully rigid, shudder! Not done that for a while. It's fine until you hit proper trails filled with rocks, then it's like a bag of tools chucked down a lift shaft, accompanied by vicious arm pump, not being able to see due to vibration enough to blast your feet of the pedals and shake teeth loose, the good old days eh. **** that you can hit rocky trails twice as fast!
Yeah modern suspension that actually works, closely followed by disc brakes what workie in da wetness.
A few years ago I’d say discs, nowadays I’d say a motor 😉
Two finger braking with hydraulic discs. Otherwise it's basically my bike already, steel rigid and 33mm cross tyres at the moment.
Can we ditch the gears to SS it as well please?
Bars, can’t belive I happily ran 21” bars with bar ends bitd.
I'd change back to the younger more foolhardy version of myself that used to do that sort of thing on even less suitable bikes like that.
Generally it's not the bike, it's the rider that makes the difference.
Anyone got a pill for that?
I have ridden solely rigid bikes for over 10 years but am happy to admit that is going down an enduro course I would option for a suspension fork as my change.
It's between brakes and tyres for sure, but that is a tough call...
What epicyclo said up there ^^^^
Tyres for me, please.
As someone who bought just such a Kona circa 1992 and is still riding it 🙂
Forks without doubt, even an upgrade to some archaic Judys would make a massive difference.
If I had to, it would be tyres. Yeah I'd hate the brakes, get smashed to bits without suspension, be terrified of going over the narrow bars, but as long as I could stay wheels on the ground I could probably do it with decent tyres, vry slowly, crying and yes walking would make up part of it.
Forks or bars, hard call. Probably forks. Especially if I can't change the stem at the same time as the bars.
Canti brakes can be set up to work pretty well if you know what you're doing.
Interesting question though, I'd love to see someone try it for real.
The rider minus 26 years: because I would inevitably crash, and I used to heal up far quicker when I was fourteen.
My 2018 legs for the ones I had back in 1992. That aside I'd fit a suspension fork, it was the single biggest improvement in mtbing for me.
Stem or brakes for me.
I'm messing around with a 1990 Raleigh at the moment, complete with 135 mm stem. That's not silly long either there are lots of 150 mm stems of that era. Handling is miles away from my modern MTB.
I'm quite happy rigid. 😉
Ti bolts
bspoked wins the internet today
Torn between dropper post and tyres but I'd go dropper. Not because it's necessarily the best performance upgrade but because it'd make riding it more fun.
Tyres, no question at all. Tyres used to be really terrible, some modern, tacky tyres make much more of a difference than anything else IMO.
Suspension 2nd, though if it was wet then disc brakes would take that spot.
No need for a dropper as if it's a ride downhill I can drop the saddle with a hex bolt or the QR at the top before I set off.
Chainring bolts. I'd put some red ones on. Back in the 90s we all knew red chainring bolts = faster.