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Was sat down earlier pondering (for some reason) what the biggest advances to MTBing in general (and to the way I ride myself) were in the last 10 years. It was about 10 years ago I first found this very forum, and started actually riding "properly" you might say.
First I thought it must be suspension travel. Then I realised back in 2002 I was riding around on a 5" travel Specialized Enduro that wouldn't look out of place now really. And there were many longish travel full sus bikes out there that could still be ridden all day too, and a number of hardtails were already being designed for 5" travel forks too. Whilst shock technology has moved on, I think suspension on the whole had its biggest improvement from about 98-03, since then it's been evolution not revolution IMO.
Next I thought about disc brakes... Well in 2002 I was riding around on Shimano 4 pot XT discs. To this day, a well setup set of 4 pot XT's with decent pads will embarrass many current offerings. Disc brakes may have got lighter, but on the whole again it's minor evolution not revolution.
So what about gears? Well I was on 9spd XT/XTR back in 2001 even, I only switched to 10spd (which again is minor evolution) last year and whilst it's an improvement, it's only very marginal. Having an 11-36 cassette does help for single ring use though.
What about components (bars, seatposts, stems etc.)? Well, bars have got wider (though most people still run sensible width), stems have got a bit shorter on the whole, but even back in 2002 I considered 90mm the longest I'd run even on an XC bike and that's not changed. Are components any lighter/stronger now? Maybe, but again it's marginal.
So what's the biggest advance in the last decade IMO?
Tyres... 10 years ago you either bought light, skinny, flimsy and fairly hard compound XC tyres, or you accepted a weight penalty for the extra grip and fitted chunkier DH tyres. There was no middle ground as such. These days we expect lightweight, soft compound, fast yet grippy tyres in anything from 2.1-2.5" flavours to suit our riding, whereas back in 2002 these tyres simply weren't available (even though many frames already had the clearance for them). Tubeless has helped a lot too, as has the ability to run non UST tyres in a tubeless setup with Stans (et al) solutions and rims. But I think the sheer quantity of bigger, grippier, yet still fast and light tyres has made the biggest difference personally for me, as I always used to suffer the weight and slowness of DH tyres even on an XC bike cos I wanted the grip back then.
Oh, and saddles with a groove, and decent cycling shorts. Though these both already existed back then, I had just yet to discover them!
Fatbikes.
Truely a step-change in true All Terrain Biking.
CX bikes the best invention in the last 10 years imo.
they bridge the gap between road and XC brilliantly, allowing road bikes off road or XC bikes to keep up on the road.
as above - tyres
also a true understanding of geometry and general all round speccing of bike components
CX bikes? 10 years? I'm going with trail centres, like them or loathe them, they have to be the most significant step forward (or possibly backwards) for making mountain biking more accesable.
29ers. No, wait, 650b, no wait....
😉
for me, it would be weight reduction. Technology and materials have advanced so well that we can now make stronger bikes lighter. Etc.
A £59 mud guard
I think you'll find that CX bikes have been round a LOT longer than 10 years !CX bikes the best invention in the last 10 years imo.
no one mentioned gravity droppers yet, or is that like the naughty word on QI?
for me: man-size handlebars.
if i had a time-machine, and i could take 1 thing back 10 years, to give to my younger, thinner self, i'd take a low-rise 760 handlebar.
Uppy downy posts - mine has made the biggest difference to my riding.
Way more than anything else has.
This
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Tubeless tyres.
For you mboy it was sharing a bed with K and a few other lads before being led out into the deep dark woods... 😯 😆
+ 1 Uppy Downy
Uppy downy posts.
And I'm predicting that the next few years will bring us lever adjustable tyre pressure - 40psi to get you up the fire road, back down to 25 for the rooty, slippy bits. It's GENIUS. And patented
Skill courses.
Tyres and tubeless. That and XC race bikes - no longer road bikes with flat bars.
GB
Carbon fibre?
Like it or hate it; it's changed what manufacturers thought they were capable of.
Trail Centres?
Definately made MTBing more accessible to the masses, which is a massive positive.
Suspension design/weight loss?
160mm travel bikes which are as pedal friendly as the 50mm travel bikes of yesteryear.
Aaron Gwinn?
He's ginger and he's fast as f*** 😀
Fatbikes.
Have had a quick go, intriguing... Would like to have a longer go, but that would probably involve having to buy one! Sadly...
CX bikes the best invention in the last 10 years imo.
Errr... Pretty sure CX has been around a whole lot longer than 10 years! 😕
also a true understanding of geometry and general all round speccing of bike components
I'm almost certain there's as many bike manufacturers cocking up geometry and componentry now as there was back then. Every time I go into a bike shop and look at new bikes, there's always some glaring errors on pre-built bikes IMO in either or both geometry and specification.
I'm going with trail centres
They have made a difference yes. Good/bad/indifferent, but they have had an impact. Though I was more on about the bikes themselves than where we ride.
29ers. No, wait, 650b, no wait....
29ers were on the market 10 years ago, and it has taken almost 10 years to get any kind of market share. I'm not saying they're bad, I owned one, I liked it. But I think for most people, most of the time, 26" wheels still make the most sense on a mountain bike.
no one mentioned gravity droppers yet, or is that like the naughty word on QI?
They've been around a long time now, and there's still not a remotely reliable offering on the market! And they're still ridiculously expensive. How can it be the likes of Fox and Rockshox can make a suspension fork go up and down all day long and not fail, yet a glorified office chair lasts about a week before it fails! And yes, I bought one, a KS i900. Worked for about 6 rides, then it failed... The only one that seems to remotely work is the RS Reverb, but then it is £300 and it still has its faults.
+1 for tyres, or at least a mainstream acceptance of the 2.35 High roller as being a trail tyres, not a light DH tyre, as strictly speeking it was probably arround 10 years ago.
Gravity droppers are probably the only 'new' part in the last 10 years, and have taken about 10 years of development (remember those horrible heavy titec double posts?).
CFRP frames? Been arround 20 years now, but only in the last few years they've been affordable as an option against aluminium.
29ers? Not revolutionary, but the only 'big' development (i.e. they made your old 26" kit redundant) whereas everything else was a re-hash of an existing thing.
Carbon Fibre frames - they are now common place now..
For you mboy it was sharing a bed with K and a few other lads before being led out into the deep dark woods...
Ironically psling, you could be right! Until that point I'd not really done much proper riding. You showing us some proper trails in the UK really got me into it, then next year I rode everywhere and even went to the Alps!
Another +1 for uppy downy seatposts
They've been around a long time now, and there's still not a remotely reliable offering on the market! And they're still ridiculously expensive. How can it be the likes of Fox and Rockshox can make a suspension fork go up and down all day long and not fail, yet a glorified office chair lasts about a week before it fails! And yes, I bought one, a KS i900. Worked for about 6 rides, then it failed... The only one that seems to remotely work is the RS Reverb, but then it is £300 and it still has its faults.
Hate to pee on your chips but, you bought something imported by superstar and it broke. I bought my reverb for £180 new off CRC, it still works. If anyones paying £300 for a reverb they're a fool, theyre £200 on CRC.
Carbon Fibre frames - they are now common place now..
Not really. They're readily available, but you still don't see that many out on the trails IMO. They were readily available 10 years ago too if you had the money, which some people I know did...
Well clearly, it's the new "waisted" headstem on the Orange 5.
I sold my reverb.
Hopefully and excitedly pressing the remote only to be met with crushing disappointment when EFF ALL HAPPENED!!! AGAIN!!!
+1 Reverb uppy downy.
Nothing else has so enhanced the riding experience, oh and the now defunct Trail guru replaced by Strava App, they're a fun accessory, oh and finding this place, at times it can provide lots of useful hints and tips, but it can be a bit Muller Rice..
mboy - MemberThey've been around a long time now, and there's still not a remotely reliable offering on the market! And they're still ridiculously expensive. How can it be the likes of Fox and Rockshox can make a suspension fork go up and down all day long and not fail, yet a glorified office chair lasts about a week before it fails! And yes, I bought one, a KS i900. Worked for about 6 rides, then it failed... The only one that seems to remotely work is the RS Reverb, but then it is £300 and it still has its faults.
My i900 has been flawless, apart from me replacing the cable after about a year and a half becasue it got a bit gritty.
Those forks that go up and down all day cost four or five times the price of a seatpost (which isn't £300 quid either, unless you're pissing money away).
Maxle and its variants?
Hate to pee on your chips but, you bought something imported by superstar and it broke.
Slightly abrupt point, but I suppose well made... I did get a little carried away as at the time (2008) the i900 was reported as being the best uppy-downy post out there, and I had cash in my pocket, and it was at Mountain Mayhem.
Maxle and its variants?
I was using a 20mm axled fork 10 years ago anyway cos I'd already discovered the benefits, but yeah the Maxle has made things a lot quicker and easier for sure. 20mm stifness, QR ease of use.
The only one that seems to remotely work is the RS Reverb,
apart from the gravity dropper!
I'd have to disagree about fatbikes, too much of a niche thing to really appeal to most riders. Although I am fat curious.
I think possibly platform damping in rear shocks has come a long way in the last 10 years and is pretty common on most full sussers now. It certainly improved my 2004 Enduro's climbing ability without compromising its downhill performance.
Got to be lighting. (lights and batteries)
10 years ago lights were either weedy little things for riding home on the road, or the few decent output units had batteries the size of Belgium.
If I commuted back then I had to run my Cateye ABS lights on the low wattage setting for most of the ride to make sure I had enough for the commute in and back home. definately needed charging every night
Today, my LED lights give me plenty of light and would (at a push) run 3-4 days worth of commuting without a charge
Fat blokes. Never used to see any fat blokes cycling fifteen years ago but now I see them everywhere 🙂
I'll go with good lights at sensible prices. I wouldn't have been night riding 10 years ago, let alone night racing, simple as that.
Also a fan of gravity droppers but they're an enhancer rather than a game changer. But on that subject...
mboy - MemberThey've been around a long time now, and there's still not a remotely reliable offering on the market!
Ironically, there is and it's the original one. Very nearly 10 years since the original Gravity Dropper came out, and it's only lately that any of the copyists have even come close- but people still buy them because they're not ugly then complain that they don't work. KS are pretty good once they've been fixed once. Reverb might be as good now that all those folks have paid their £200 to be beta testers...
My gravity dropper's been more reliable than a standard seatpost 😉
Gotta be the DFender. Any mudguard which costs £60 has [i]got[/i] to be revolutionary. I've heard it actually clears your tyres as they spin AND prevent all punctures.
Whilst I think they have come on I used tubeless in 2002 and there were the beginnings of nobbly Lightweight MTB tyres, Conti Explorer Supersonics and what not.
Still think its probably one the bigger areas of improvements, but the technology was there 10 years ago.
OK, how about GPS, and smart 'phone GPS at that. Never get lost, and if you're in a new area, just download a .gpx and it's like having a local to show you the trails.
APF
No solely restricted to bikes but has made a big impact - hydroforming.
GPS is a good one. gravity droppers seem nice but I don't think they'd be as useful as a GPS for riding new trails without a local guide.
no one mentioned gravity droppers yet, or is that like the naughty word on QI?
Uppy downy posts - mine has made the biggest difference to my riding.
Way more than anything else has.
+ 1 Uppy Downy
Uppy downy posts.
Another +1 for uppy downy seatposts
+1 Reverb uppy downy.Nothing else has so enhanced the riding experience,
Really? Outside of trail centres my rides tend to go along for a while, up for a while, or down for a while. In various orders, but rarely have I felt the need to adjust my seat height every 10 seconds.
They're useful, yes, and easier than using a qr, but surely to say they've revolutionised riding is a bit steep.
Tyres, imo- Tyres that work in specific circumstances, tyres that work in all situations, light tyres, heavy duty tyres, tubeless, fat, we've got them all now.
Don't forget the fat bike thing is totally driven by tyres.
If you could magically transport a bike and rider from 10 years ago to join in a forum ride today, most of the things mentioned so far wouldn't make all that much difference, they'd still keep up and ride the same stuff.
Apart from all the puncture stops and not being able to see where they're going at night.
Tubeless and modern LED lights and batteries are the biggest advances.
MTG - you're looking at it the wrong way round.
You can take a FLOATilla of Fatbikes into places a 10-year old bike would never reach. That's a true advance.