LED lights. Before, all we had were halogens or HIDs with huge batteries, I think people take the advances in lighting for granted. Luckily I sold my Lupine Edison 5 about six years ago on eBay for close to £400 just before the LED revolution started, that highlights how much LED tech has moved on. My Edison was complicated and tempremental, and prone to giving you a 'bit of a tingle' if you touched the head unit with wet hands. New bulbs might be needed at any time, were £120 and took a fortnight to be fitted and returned.
Proper, reliable LEDs made batteries and lights so much smaller and lighter, and night rides so much less faff. Anything that makes it easier to ride at any hour has to be a good thing.
MTB cool? Time for a new thread!
All the above are wrong.The biggest advance in the last decade is the change in social acceptance, the whole 'mountain biking is the new golf' thing. It has had a far greater influence on MTBing than anything else. As MTBing has become more 'middle class', so more money has become available in the 'sport', allowing manufacturers to produce new models, or to revamp old stuff, or to flog you different colours or different sized wheels or different niches.
It's become a business, that's the difference.
middle aged??
Biggest advance? Dunno, but the biggest regression has to be proliferation of standards. From basically 1 standard BB standard (well 3 but all with identical frame spec) to an array of incomprehensible standards that even wikipedia can't answer
completely agree here once the shitheads stop bringing out a new standard every fortnight you will see a big advance in MTBs
Tapered Headsets.I can't believe how we managed before.
Really? 😕
Or are you being ironic?
Cos I'm still (gratefully) free of the tapered headset nonsense myself...
LED lights have been a big improvement for the small minority of us that do want to ride at night, but as an overall, most people who ride MTB's don't do so at night, ever.
powerful lights with relatively small batteries and decent run times.
I'd agree lights, but 10 yrs? That's 2002 we had lights back then, I'm fairly sure I've had my Mi-newts since 2002, trying to think when I first started Night riding, I had a Whyte Prest1 I recall how long ago did they come out?
Edit found my ebay pics, I sold that in 2005 and I'd had it three or four years maybe more, so lights don't qualify for ten years, I don't reckon.
So it's defo uppy downy, we had internet in 2002 and there were bike forums...
Uppy Downy wins.
End of thread
Triathlons and road riding are the new golf. There is nothing less cool than those two pastimes.
Lights are for the minority.
What about Clothing, decent design and materials.
Can't honestly see the improvement in clothing from mid 90's shoes and lycra. Sure, baggies look better, but in use?
I can see the argument for dropper posts, but I don't believe it's the killer app as it were. If I was speccing a bike on a modest budget it wouldnt be in the build eating up money. Also, I think it's only with advances in other technologies - bikes, geo, air cans, componentry, wheels and tires etc...leading to very versatile trail and AM bikes that have created a market and a use for them. Right?
The standard and availability of MTB footage has really affected what we perceive is possible/normal on a bike. Much like skating and BMX have exploded over the past decade, DH, DJ and the other burly factions of MTB are very watchable and inspiring. Backflip tailwhip tweaky jump thingies you see in vids frequently are becoming commonplace online.
Add another decade and you've got DH hardtails on single crown forks!
When did disc brakes really get good, common and cheap? I've bought bikes in 91, 93, 98, 07 and 12, so the noughties are a bit of a buying black hole for me. But certainly putting a front disc on the 98 Stumpy was a revelation.
Totally disagree with dropper posts. If that is the shining light of 10 years mtb evolution, a seatpost that goes up and down 3 inches at great expense and breaks a lot, then it would surely be a bit of a shame.
Can you imagine explaining to an alien the highlight of the last ten years of mtb development, and showing him a seatpost sliding down a few inches and coming back up, imagine the look on his little alien face.
I think you are under rating improvements in suspension design around 2004-2006 when pro pedal and vpp came in. Suddenly 5-6" bikes could be peddled uphill. The Spesh Enduro was billed (by Spesh and MBR) as that but surely a much more cumbersome beast than all the light (25-27 pound) 5-6" bikes about now.
I think modern geometry is a big advance. I hated those steep head angles when I started in 2000.
As OP says, tyres have improved a lot, but arguably thats by evolution as well.
Wheels are loads better - there was nothing like Stans Crests and Alpines then was there?
In 2000 hydraulic discs were pretty rare and now almost mandatory.
What has changed in leaps and bounds is the price - so many new bikes now cost £4,000 plus. Low end bikes are better value than ever but top end?? I'm not sure, lots of frames are £2,000 plus today that would have bought you a full, top quartile bike ten years ago.
I think you are under rating improvements in suspension design around 2004-2006 when pro pedal and vpp came in. Suddenly 5-6" bikes could be peddled uphill. The Spesh Enduro was billed (by Spesh and MBR) as that but surely a much more cumbersome beast than all the light (25-27 pound) 5-6" bikes about now.
Disagree. Look out on the trail cetnres now, you will find the most common suspension designs by a long way are the Single Pivot, and the 4 bar Horst Link. These were both already around in spades in 2002. Pro-Pedal shocks have helped allow poorer designs to be pedalled better uphill, but they do not completely eradicate the foibles of a poorly designed suspension system. And all these 25-27lb 6" travel bikes you talk of now? Only if you've got many thousands of pounds spare, or VERY optimistic bathroom scales. I don't think weight has come down much, if at all in 10 years, other than on componenets like wheels and tyres much.
I think modern geometry is a big advance. I hated those steep head angles when I started in 2000.
A lot of that is quite personal. Modern understanding of geometry in general is a lot better, but I don't see that everything being uber slack all the time is the answer. Just raking a bikes head angle out by 3 degrees doesn't instantly make it a whole lot better. One of, if not the nicest full sus bikes I've ridden ever is a 2001 Cannondale Jekyll, with 115mm of rear travel and 100mm up front, quite a steep head angle and a long(ish) stem. Yet it felt so perfect, you could confidently throw it down anything...
In 2000 hydraulic discs were pretty rare and now almost mandatory.
In 2000 yes, but I'd argue by 2002 they were getting a lot more commonplace. I was one of the last people I regularly rode with to switch over, and that was in 2001.
What has changed in leaps and bounds is the price - so many new bikes now cost £4,000 plus. Low end bikes are better value than ever but top end?? I'm not sure, lots of frames are £2,000 plus today that would have bought you a full, top quartile bike ten years ago.
Prices have gone stratospheric, but even back in the day, you could still spend silly money if you wanted to. It was just a bit more boutique and hard to find back then, and would require you to build your own bike from very specialist components, not simply hand over £7k for the latest Cannondale or Trek.
Wheels are loads better - there was nothing like Stans Crests and Alpines then was there?
They're certainly lighter and wider. We've come to expect a lot more from wheels these days than we used to, and now weight, rim width and tubeless compatibility are all very important.
very obviously the biggest advance is the internet forum.. it enables people to be 100% obsessed with cycling for 24 hours per day..
extraordinary
Not so...
uk.rec.cycling
Internet forums (not as badly moderated) were in place ten years ago, as were
Suspension systems
Lights
Half decent tyres
Wheels & Rims (even fat ones)
Carbon, Titanium, Hydroformed Alloy
Five Grand Bikes
Portable air and puncture resistant stuff
Wide(ish) bars (Including carbon)
Three things have happened of significance in the past ten years.
The Forums have been taken over and are now moderated by wimmen, politically correct ones at that so are more or less fun/useful depending on your pov.
The iPhone or similar device has given us better, cheaper, easier to use GPS style apps
Uppy downey means you don't have to stop and can thus achieve better trail speeds on your app.
Tell that to your Alien friend, and you can also tell him i aint scared of him lurking in the bushes when I'm night riding.. No really I aint..
I'd say its the iDave diet. Mountain bikers all used to be over weight, unathletic types without a care in the world. Now they are all ripped athletes with body fat as low as 12%. They are faster and fitter than just about anyone in the street, a new breed of super humans. A better type of human being.
CX bikes the best invention in the last 10 years imo.
No matter how many times I read that I can't decide if you're trying to be smart or just really really stupid.
this is cool:
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and this is not?
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cool?
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not?
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wait..
Last 10 years ummmm.. shocks (platform and damping)? thin pedals? How about oversizing all the things?
By the way virtually every point offered up in this thread has then been denied at some point by one person or another, I'd say the easiest way to answer the question would simply be "Not much."
Nearly everything we have today we had, albeit in a more basic/less refined form, in 2002. The last 10 years have been a developing, tweaking and finetuning period, but there's not a lot new under the sun.
Switchable clutch type rear mechs! Just when we all thought that dropper posts had removed the neeed to stop/start at the bottom/top of every hill whilst somebody just had to fanny with their bike otherwise they couldn't possibly ride it, along comes this little marvel.
Coatesy - the main reason the clutch has a switch on it is to make it easier to get the wheel in and out not something to switch on and off at the top and bottom of every up and down!
Yeah, and I keep telling my mate that. Doesn't stop him from adjusting it several times a ride 🙄
You can take a FLOATilla of Fatbikes into
the center of the sun if you don't mind.
relliott6879 - MemberBy the way virtually every point offered up in this thread has then been denied at some point by one person or another, I'd say the easiest way to answer the question would simply be "Not much."
this man is wise.
(but i'm still keeping my 760 handlebars)
stupid double post.
why does it do that?
For me the growth in skills courses so I can learn proper technique and improve my skills. Im sure that this has made more difference to my riding and enjoyment of a trail than any single component or 'development'
has anyone mentioned clothing yet?
the advances in waterproof and windproof fabrics over the past 10yrs has been pretty extreme. you can now ride throughout the year without getting hypothermia or overheating.
fast forward another 10yrs and i reckon we will be seeing that new material which stiffens up on impact allowing am and dh clothing to be barely more bulky than xc kit.
fast forward another 10yrs and i reckon we will be seeing that new material which stiffens up on impact
You mean like D3O and Sas-Tec?
Skinny Duster for returning it to square one and reminding me why I started riding bikes in the first place.
I would go for ebay making 2nd hand stuff more available and cheap. I can't afford to buy new kit, but I have an 2010 Genesis i0 with an alfine which I got for £450. This years model is £1300! I know ebay has been about since 1995 but since kit has got better in the last 10 years buying second hand has become a much more sensible choice, and ebay has opened up this market.
By the way virtually every point offered up in this thread has then been denied at some point by one person or another, I'd say the easiest way to answer the question would simply be "Not much."
Which was why I thought long and hard before posting the original topic, and my own answer.
And I'm sticking with tyres... Even though everything has been evolution, not revolution, I think decent "non race specific" tyres for Mr Average trail rider has made the biggest difference to me and most people I know.
Clothing hasn't moved on that much, there's just more choice of it now.
Suspension definitely hasn't moved on that much, my main bike is a full sus frame and fork that were designed around 2000/2001 and to this day is still IMO the best all round suspension platform for general XC/trail riding. It's also very easy to user service.
I would go for ebay making 2nd hand stuff more available and cheap. I can't afford to buy new kit, but I have an 2010 Genesis i0 with an alfine which I got for £450. This years model is £1300! I know ebay has been about since 1995 but since kit has got better in the last 10 years buying second hand has become a much more sensible choice, and ebay has opened up this market.
Good point, well made, and one I'd not considered.
Since I buy probably 75% of my cycling related purchases, I'd have to agree somewhat. Though these days it's hard to get an eBay bargain, but the classifieds on here can often throw up some gems.
For my local rides nothing has changed for me. 2002 was Useing a rigid steel bike and still do its still 24 speed and still works.
But love light weight long travel full sus bikes
A 160 mm enduro I can ride all day perfect
I personally don't think there's been much, but having said that, I still ride on kit at least 10 years old - still going strong to this day! Despite the 'developments' (i.e. more to go wrong) in suspension, you could put my boxxer forks on the front of Al Bond's bike - and he'd still probably win the BDS again!
On various bikes I have..
Patriot LT 2000 (6 inch travel), Hope 4-pot M4s (2002/3 era), Hope M6 (2003), Mavic D521 rims (had them since 2000??), Monster T forks (1999), Boxxer Race (2004), Fox Vanilla RC (2000 - OEM for above frame), Hope Bulb hubs (2003 era).
This is a surprisingly tough one. Like the OP I had an Enduro, which I still own albeit with a PUSHed shock and new Revelations on it although it shares garage space with more modern bikes.
By simply putting wider bars and a shorter stem on it, I've suddenly become to love riding it again. It doesn't feel particularly dated to me, it climbs very well, is excellent on the descents and is usefully stiff. It doesn't give away much to my 2009 Wolf Ridge, which is itself an exellent bike.
The only sensible suggestions I have for advances since the early 2000s would be air shocks, maxles and geometry.
Air shocks are much more reliable and consistent than they ever were before. I had a coil Romic for the Enduro which transformed the ride back in the day but now does not offer much advantage over the heavily modified Float I currently run. The RP3 on my Marin feels great and hasn't required much in the way of attention, it happily eats up the terrain without complaint. Likewise, air forks are much better too these days, they're no longer the sole preserve for weight fetishists.
The Maxle goes without saying...truly an excellent idea.
Then there's geometry. My Enduro has a 69.5/68.5 Head / Seat angle. My Marin is a fair bit slacker at the front and steeper at the back at 67/73, but it could do with a lower standover (like the Enduro) and some more top tube length (like the Enduro).
Dropper posts are still too heavy and not quite reliable enough IMHO.
I would say the biggest advancement has been the refinement improvment and general range and availability of all mountain bike components. Yeah, we had this andthat a few years ago, but now so many companies are competing in the same space there are some great products out there that may not have happened had there only been one company producing them.
So I'd not say one thing but the overall mountain bike market is awesome now. So much selection of so many great products lead by people riding and different styles of riding.
Mboy - just to play you at your own game - I'm sure we had tyres 10 years ago 😉
Tyres and the according geometries. 10 years ago you'd struggle to find a decent tyre under the 1.6kg mark. And you where still getting snake bites a lot. Now if you take for example a big betty or a HR 2.35 Lust, they are very grippy, have decent weight and re-inforced side walls to prevent punctures.
The biggest advance in 10 years has got to be the ability to charge £59 for a mudguard 😀
Mboy - just to play you at your own game - I'm sure we had tyres 10 years ago
Haha, yes, we did... My point being though, that they were either skinny light XC tyres, or they were full on DH race tyres, there was nothing inbetween for the 90% of us that just like riding bikes yet want something still biggish and grippy, but not too heavy or slow.
Ride to work scheme?
Decent energy bars.
Bike test rides, on the hills I ride.
Ride to work scheme?
Nah, that's just resulted in lots of 2 ride old £1k Boardmans littering up ebay!
😉
I guess it's already been said but the net has boosted the way, what and where I ride the most. Watching the pro's do massive whips off cliffs on monster bikes has me popping over roots like a man possessed.
With people like Danny Mc and Chris Akrigg introducing more and more people to what can be done on a bike means more and more money can be made and thrown into the industry.
It was all there 10 years ago but with the world becoming more and more obsessed/dependant on it for its hive mind, it's impact in the last decade is immensely widespread.
Modern bikes individuality seems to have grown also. Fat bikes, 10" DH rigs, 26", 29" 900cc, free-ride lite, burley xc and so on. Even road bikes have started to look cool (ish)