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Needing to buy an extra shed for tools. Because there is a ridiculously diverse set of tools needed for essentially the same part and sometimes the same part and manufacturer. It’s annoying!
… on the other hand I always use Pesta valves, and I’ve never yet bent one.
It's a design that made sense from 1890 to 1990, but as soon as rims grew wider than 21mm it really should have been ditched.
The trouble with arguing " I’ve never yet bent one" is that when you do, it'll be when you get a puncture miles from anywhere and because you were so sure of your own superiority in not bending them, you probably didn't take a spare.
Rhythm, Performance, Performance Elite and Factory
But you kinda see the point. What part of a fork/ shock used for MTBing conveys "rhythm" to you? Surely you want the opposite of rhythmic suspension - you want "pillow" suspension
This reminded me of a Youtube review of a Furch guitar. (A Furch Yellow G-CR* iirc). The reviewer complained that he couldn't understand Furch's naming convention. The models range, from bottom to top, Violet, Blue, Green, Yellow, Red, Rainbow. Fairly straightforward if you know your rainbow, I'd have thought, and much nicer than Furch 1,2,3, 4** , or Furch Good, Better, Best.
In terms of Fox, how difficult is it remember that factory is Best, Elite, is Almost Best, and then, if you really need to remember this stuff, you have two models to memorise?
*G-CR is Grand Auditorium (the size), Cedar and Rosewood (the woods that it's built out of.) Extremely easy to work out. D-CM would be Dreadnought, Cedar, Mahogany, etc.
** Is 1 the best or worst?
on the other hand I always use Pesta valves, and I’ve never yet bent one.
On the other hand I always use Presta valves and have bent them, snapped them, seized them up, ripped the head off in a pump. My main bike currently has a slightly bent and leaking valve. If I wasn't so lazy I'd replace it, but you know, it takes the occasional pump up and all is fine.
I've broken way more carbon frames than carbon rims... and all four of my current bikes have carbon rims, they are ruddy ace, and direct from Ch they are not even expensive anymore. My previous FS frame to my current carbon one was Alu... the Alu one was lighter for a similar design and much nicer to ride as the carbon one is overbuilt and is so stiff it has the feel of riding a girder.
Convince me I'm wrong.
So many things many already stated
one frame to do everything from short travel to enduro is clearly going to be so compromised to be useless
6mm front axle 5mm rear
pretending to be green. There is nothing green about riding bikes in the woods for fun
why are bikes getting so heavy, do bike companies not employ engineers anymore
SRAM first generation of any product will be bobbins as thy are still test product
The number of bikes that get given to YouTubers that the customer will be f7nding and then anyone expecting us to think they are independent and no5 just part of the marketing strategy
'.. the Alu one was lighter for a similar design and much nicer to ride as the carbon one is overbuilt and is so stiff it has the feel of riding a girder.'
That is the exact opposite of my experience with hardtails. It is not possible to build a compliant Al seatstay so they're a harsh ride and that's that
I'd definitely like to see a move away from Presta valves for tubeless.
Nothing else really bothers me that much as it's easy to avoid anything I don't like.
Proprietary accessories.
Now I don't necessarily mind proprietary stuff but if you are selling a bike that ONLY accepts your design of computer mount, light mount, mudguard, rack etc, have the decency to actually supply these parts with the bike.
Or have them as tickbox add-ons at point of sale but critically, make sure they're in stock!
It's no good selling a bike but then having half the stuff you actually need to ride it properly as not in stock.
You're wrong about Torx bolts. Buy better quality tools and use them correctly. FYI, Park is not a quality tool brand...
i think one of the issues is that it’s easier to use the wrong size tool on a torx. The size down will usually work but wrecking the bolt. And I find it harder to muster the correct sized by eye than hex.
anyway. I’m with Ben. Worst of all is manufacturers who mix the types on the same part
just batteries on everything
maybe its a gripe about consumerism more widely, im not being a velopurist or anything, shifting, droppers, motors! it all just seems so wasteful, phones, great, lights, fine even a gps, but the financial and environmental costs just seem nuts
and breath
Can I go for "stop talking about off-road gravel bike design" even though this is an MTB site? It's a pro-MTB post.
A drop bar bike is not an optimised off-road bike. Stop promising something that can't be done. It's a mixed-terrain bike, CX, whatever. It might go off-road without falling apart but if it's got drop bars and isn't a bad road bike, as a gravel bike should have/be, it's just never going to be a great off-road bike.
All the things that promise better off-road performance make it worse on road, that's just the differences between the 2 opposites of riding terrain/fit/handling. If it has drop bars, flared or not, it should be because drops are for the benefit of road riding (or for smooth, fast gravel tracks).
If you want a good off-road bike and you're going to be on varying off-road terrian most of the time - get an MTB/ATB.
PS I love gravel bikes, don't get me wrong. I just think the bike industry and some brands sell people a false promise.
any damaging of mine has been through not identifying them as Torx and mangling them with a hex.
I suggest those stick on +2 magnifying things for the bottom half of your riding glasses so you can see what you're doing when making repairs out on the trail. 🙂
Similar to Gowerboy, cutting the steerer short on display bikes in shops. Just leave the thing uncut till someone buys it.
Trying to sell me bikes with SRAM on, I won't buy it unless it's discounted enough to replace the group with Shimano when the SRAM gets put in the bin at a year old. On a similar theme: why can't they agree on a cassette body standard like they did for everything up to 11s? And would wheel manufacturers kindly make both types of cassette body available after market for more than a few months.
But on the whole I agree with Kramer, current bikes are ace, theough the ones with cables/hoses sprouting from the stem a little less so..
Quoting bike weights without pedals. It would more useful to quote bike weight without tyres. They have much more influence on all up weight.
…is there any point in quoting bike weights at all now!? Most of them weigh more than a Honda 90 Stepthrough anyway! 🤣
It was different when we were all trying to get to 20lbs or under!
Making bikes with too low stack.
It's very easy to raise the bars. The opposite is basically impossible without a long stem.
Making bikes with too low stack.
It's very easy to raise the bars. The opposite is basically impossible without a long stem.
It’s easy up to a point, but there are limits to it. As I get older, my bars are getting higher and I write off may potential drop bar bikes due to low stack. I also see a load of people riding around with bars that are probably lower than ideal for them.
Thru-headset anything
I'm afraid to say I bought a bike with hoses through. Hate it but buying an SL eBike, tradeoffs had to be made and I chose that so I could have other things I cared more about.
Torx bolts
Manufacturers using poor quality bolts? (material and tolerances)
Disc mounts on chainstays
Mondraker Neat has this. With the standard brakes on some spec levels, you can't undo the brake pad retention bolt without removing the caliper.
Silicone grippers
Worst blister I ever had - crack developed in Sealskinz socks with Hydrostop, rubbed the back of my calf on a ride, only realised when I took them off.
Worst blister I ever had - crack developed in Sealskinz socks with Hydrostop, rubbed the back of my calf on a ride, only realised when I took them off.
Yeah, my skin reacts badly to certain grippers. At various times I've had the words Endura, MT500 and Gore written into my thighs.
Torx bolts on seatpost heads are bloody annoying, as you can't spin them up to low torque with a ball end, so it takes ages.
The other issue with torx, is that generally three size tools fit on bolt! So many times I've thought 'pretty sure that is the right size but I'll try the next size up to be sure', and yes it's the next size up. Might explain the rounding off issues that some people have.
That pasta eating stem is one of the dumbest looking things I've seen on a bike, and I would immediately strike whatever brand that is (Focus?) off any future purchase list as a result!
Trying to sell me bikes with SRAM on, I won't buy it unless it's discounted enough to replace the group with Shimano when the SRAM gets put in the bin at a year old.The few i've had i just swap while the SRAM kit is still "new take off" and can be sold for more than an equivalent shimano set up.
Why can you never buy a bike with Rockshox suspension but shimano drive train? Infect why do most bikes come with sram drive trains whatever the suspension. Presumably sram sell it dir5 cheap to oem knowing it will fall apart and the can fleece the customer on replacements
Stop giving influencers free stuff. You never get an honest review, and nobody wears a helmet to the coffee shop, cafe, toilet, shower. Take the bloody thing off you disrespectful idiot. Yes that free £15k bike must be nice but you didn't pay for it, nor are you doing the fixing or replacing the worn bits.
The few i've had i just swap while the SRAM kit is still "new take off" and can be sold for more than an equivalent shimano set up.
This is the way.
Bike industry: stop up-speccing the rear mech on new bikes. Yes I know it's the obvious bit that folk will be drawn to look at, but I'd much rather that money was spent on a higher spec shifter than the rear mech. Touch points matter more than a blingier rear mech.
Torx bolts on seatpost heads are bloody annoying, as you can't spin them up to low torque with a ball end, so it takes ages.
You can, as I said above, torx is designed to wiggle like a ball end. The sloppy fit is in fact a deliberate feature, not a bug!
There's also a "Torx plus" which is similar but the points are rounded off (and therefore wider) and has a 0deg drive angle (no wobble). You can use a torx bit in torx-plus fasteners, but not vice versa. It's not been universally taken up because while it tends to cam out less often and tools wear out slower, the original torx is designed to engage while moving, so if you're screwing together a hundred Dyson hoovers an hour in a far eastern factory you don't need to be so accurate with when you press the button on your electric screwdriver.
I've only ever seen torx plus on really expensive kit like camera lenses, or where it's just trying to feel expensive (IT components).
Why can you never buy a bike with Rockshox suspension but shimano drive train? Infect why do most bikes come with sram drive trains whatever the suspension. Presumably sram sell it dir5 cheap to oem knowing it will fall apart and the can fleece the customer on replacements
A way back someone posted up the (large scale) OEM price for SRAM brakes, it was something ludicrous like £5. And yes they offered discounts if you bought a SRAM groupset, RS fork, Truvative bars/stem, reverb post etc. Which is why you tend to see Shimano + fox, if they don't spec a SRAM drivetrain then they get a worse price, so the spec ends up looking worse than their competitors.
Bottle cages with hard to reach bolts. I have a bottle cage with a built in multi tool. It is so awkward to get to the bolts that it is impossible to do with the supplied multi tool.
Bike industry: stop up-speccing the rear mech on new bikes. Yes I know it's the obvious bit that folk will be drawn to look at, but I'd much rather that money was spent on a higher spec shifter than the rear mech. Touch points matter more than a blingier rear mech.
in days of yore, higher spec mechs were superior to lower spec and the shifter was pretty much the same unit rebadged, once you got to a certain level anyway. nice mechs lasted longer. however this isn't really true anymore, trickle down tech perhaps, but mechs don't seem to be as fragile as they were. maybe with the advent of more gears (10+) the smaller shifts = smaller movements per shift and less wear, or maybe just better quality for lower cost wear parts.
on that though, there is a difference shifting XTR to SLX, but is there a difference from GX to XO or XX?
re the number of tools/bolts, I remember once replacing a front shimano brake and rotor.
From memory I think that required:
front axle 6mm
brake bolts 5mm
lever to bar 4mm
pad retention bolt 3mm
hose clamp on fork 2.5mm
release clip to take lever off 2mm
rotor bolts T25
House!
I would like the cycling industry to stop peddling both electric Mountainbikes and road bikes.
Electric cargo bikes. Commuter things. Fair enough. They serve a purpose and (hopefully) remove cars from the roads.
Electric mountain bikes and road bikes don't need motors. You've got legs. You managed for years without them. Why do you need them now?
Electric mountain bikes and road bikes don't need motors. You've got legs. You managed for years without them. Why do you need them now?
Because fk people with health issues, amirite?
Indeed. eBike is transformational for all sorts of reasons - and any reason people ride more but need an ebike from health to riding bikes is just fun, is a good enough reason for me......
Can I ask for more focus on ease of maintenance, reparability, durability and all things sustainable?
Because fk people with health issues, amirite?
and the proportion of eBike riders with health issues compared to "easy ups and more downs" issues is?
irrelevant. If e-bikes get more people riding/out and about, that’s better. Speaking as someone what was an MTBer who became unfit/stopped riding much, bought an ebike that got me back riding enough and fit enough to get back on, and race, regular bikes.
Gatekeepers can get in the sea.
Why is there an issue with ‘easy ups & more downs’?
Do you like being miserable?
No issue with it (other than massively increased trail erosion at popular off-piste areas - see Barnhill/Bixlade @ FOD) just found it funny that TH was using whataboutery (won't you think about the disadvantaged) to excuse perfectly able bodied riders buying ebikes. I get they're fun and that you get more fun in the same time but, to me it just feels wrong.
Anyway it's thread derailment and wasn't my argument in the first place.
What else should the bike industry to stop doing now please?
Electric mountain bikes and road bikes don't need motors.
I don't think you could build an electric mountain bike without a motor. You haven't though this through
Why is there an issue with ‘easy ups & more downs’?
Do you like being miserable?
No issue with it (other than massively increased trail erosion at popular off-piste areas - see Barnhill/Bixlade @ FOD) just found it funny that TH was using whataboutery (won't you think about the disadvantaged) to excuse perfectly able bodied riders buying ebikes. I get they're fun and that you get more fun in the same time but, to me it just feels wrong.
Anyway it's thread derailment and wasn't my argument in the first place.
What else should the bike industry to stop doing now please?
Ironically, you picked a prime example of somewhere I live, and have dug / helped dig a number of trails in that spot.
Its general volume of traffic is way more of an issue than e-bikes IMO. And as most of the people who dig in the FoD are ebikers anyway, it would be amusingly hypocritical if we took offence to the type of bikes ridden.
That area is in a bad way in general because of its closeness to the Cycle Centre & it’s very much the first place people stumble across when going searching for trails, as a result it gets a lot of traffic. Now there is little to no building & maintenance because, basically no one can be bothered there now.