Eurobike this year seemed to have a lot of bikes with a lot going on. Dropper posts plus electric shock modes via 2 or 3 extra bar levers. Multi-mode suspension front and rear. Electric MTBs with bar consoles. Wires everywhere.. Added features that have added complexity. There were also some technical developments that were about simplification – Pinion’s gearbox was used on a lot of different bikes and SRAM’s brilliant (imo as a concept, having not ridden it) 1×11 system could be a way forward.

I rode a hardtail and a FS today for the first time in a couple of months (usually on rigid) and that plus the annual post-Eurobike headspin had me thinking. I love my rigid SS, but why? I’m not a bad rider at all, but I’m not the most technically skilled either. Does suspension appeal since it adds to my ability and speed / allow room for error, or does my rigid SS challenge me at more maneagable paces and keep the interest levels up by making ‘easy’ trails harder? Both really. But I still prefer the ride of a good rigid ss bike. I think it’s just the constant nature of the ride, the predictable reaction to input and the durability. Maybe it’s an irrational aesthetic appeal and general stubborness to get by with less.

Without any of the usual stuff about skill compensation etc, what do you prefer, less or more in a bike? Do you like adding tech to add to what the bike can do for you, or taking it away in the cause of simplicity, durability etc? Is it related to the terrain you ride or your strengths / weaknesses? Can you pinpoint what it is about riding that you like best and see it reflected in the simplicity / complexity of bike you ride? (for me it’s fairly smooth, rollercoaster singletrack with some drops and transitions, or steep, slo-mo tech, plus I like long XC epics so my rigid bike matches all that pretty well)

I know there’s almost as many opinions on what to ride as there are riders, just interested in the comments really. Post up your bike if it explains your riding or it’s unusual, pics are always good!

My opinion is no-one’s going to read all that.

Variety is the spice of life. My 2 mtbs are polar opposites. One is a 120mm forked steel framed SS, the other is a 160 mm, alu framed, travel adjustable, 3×9, reverb equipped am full suss. Both fun but in different ways.

Interesting question. I went from HT -> FS -> SS HT -> SS Rigid. I don’t ride so much now, but I believe that part of the reason for enjoying riding rigid SS was that it gave me a convenient excuse (I am neither the fastest nor most technically competent rider).

I keep meaning to dust off a mountain bike, and will probably get the Kobe back up and running (1×9 HT).

For me, it it makes things more fun, it’s in.

I love the idea of a stripped down, rigid, gearless bike, but for the riding I like to do (big days out with lots of hills) gears, discs and forks help me to enjoy a longer, safer day out.
Which makes me happy.

Can’t be arsed with rear suspension – don’t really want to go much faster than I already do and besides, rear suspension to me says ‘engineless motorbike’ rather than ‘posh pushbike’.

Dropper posts? No ta.
Ugly, overcomplicated and I’d rather just have a QR.
Tapered headtubes? If I must, but again, it’s a load of unecessary old toss really , just like hydroforming, lock-ons, external BB’s etc.

I’d like a 120mm to 140mm travel full suspension singlespeed with good slack head angle, low bb and steep seat angle. Short stays might be nice too. Something great for 2 to 3 hour woods razzing and singlespeed cos I love the aesthetics.

However, ss ain’t really that practical, so instead I have a Stumpy EVO, a BFe and a newly built up 456 done as a singlespeed. I generally use the hard tails on my own as speeds can be lower for similar thrills and the fs is used when I ride with others. Both geared bikes are 1 x 9 or 10.

Local riding is up and then down, very little along.

For me, it it makes things more fun, it’s in.

I love the idea of a stripped down, rigid, gearless bike, but for the riding I like to do (big days out with lots of hills) gears, discs and forks help me to enjoy a longer, safer day out.
Which makes me happy.

Can’t disagree with that.. I’ll happily gear my rigid SS bike for bigger rides away from home and have a (usually dusty) FS for anything really techy or Alps holidays.

My opinion is no-one’s going to read all that.

concentration spans at an all time low? I blame twitter )

If we view show stuff more as “concept” models rather than trickled down production stuff at sensible price points.
So much of it is all nice but so much of it is like high fashion catwalk.

brant – was there anything happening/on view at Eurobike that made it feel like we were generally in a recession?

Plus it’s Germany, and they love their tech.

Definitely tend to simplicity on the mountainbikes but a rigid fork is not up for consideration. It may simplify the aesthetics but it adds needless, unproductive complication to the riding.

It’s probably true that you can’t really understand suspension unless you’ve ridden without it. Or make a habit of riding without it even. Taking the crosser out over the rocks once every few months is enough of a reminder of what a rigid bike can do, for me. Always surprises me how simultaneously capable and hopeless it can be.

Right now I’m far more minus than the lot of you. The full-sus (with discs, twin remote lockout etc.) sits unloved in the garage, whilst I spend most of my time riding something totally rigid which doesn’t even have a chain. Wheel, cranks, pedals, frame, saddle – the ultimate in riding simplicity. It’s even steel to keep the luddites happy, though at some point soon I’ll probably upgrade to alu.

I have 2 bikes, both have 2×9, FS has a dropper post HT would if I could find one I want in 27.2. May be better to change the frame on that one.

Both bikes are 150/160mm forked as that is what works for me.

Technology has moved on so that bikes that were once considered DH bikes can now be ridden up hill 🙂 This is a good thing.

All this skill compensator balls reminds me of Monty Python’s yorkshire men – when I wer lad used to ……. mostly war stories and rose tinted glasses.

Over the last 10 years, what I ride and how I ride it has changed.

Good shocks and forks that work have helped.
20mm bolt through means the front of a bike is so much more planted and controllable (yes making things easier but also better).
My Dropper post means I ride longer uninterrupted and never wish I had stopped to change my saddle as I uncomfortably descend something manoeuvring round it (Again people do ride saddle up all the time and they race like that. Doesn’t mean it’s the best way for general riding/having fun)
Going from a Float R to an RP23 transformed my heckler and made it much more pedalable.

However I have seen the most amazing things done on short travel bikes and CX bikes off road. Doesn’t mean we all should/want to.

Some of the biggest evolution in tech is more in reliability. Things that work and are well sealed. You can have the fancy tech and it will keep working (some/most of the time)

Nearly as longwinded as the OP but progress/tech/new things that make riding more fun are a good thing. Dismissing things out of hand as marketing or just trying to rob us of out money by brainwashing is ignoring innovation and progress, without that we would still all be riding road gear bodged onto inappropriate frames.

Have had a rigid SS for a few weeks, it’s great fun to ride (and to have ridden, I always feel good after because I’ve been working hard), and I like how it gets me thinking about familiar trails as if they were new, and how climbs I can normally do easily become challenges again.

I’m lucky enough to also have a 120mm steel HT, which is my go-to bike for normal local conditions, and an old but capable FS for rocky places, that doesn’t get used much.

I don’t want anything more complex (computerised suspension or electric transmission), it’s just mental and maintenance overhead and I don’t need the extra 5% of performance. So I fall in the ‘less is more’ camp.

A lot of the reasons I love my riding are nothing to do with the bikes. Dare I say, ‘it’s not about the bike’.

brant – was there anything happening/on view at Eurobike that made it feel like we were generally in a recession?

Didn’t go. Couldn’t be arsed. Can’t stand the place.

Off to China and Taiwan at end of month for ages so no point.

LOL. The perfect STW response

Rigid or road-CX/~120mm HT/FS – ideal 3 for most of us then, nothing new there. De la Soul were right.

Always surprises me how simultaneously capable and hopeless it can be.

Well put. Bit like the 80s MTBs I loved riding as a teen.

I have an alfine on a full suspension frame

Simple and techy

If the benefit of something justifies or outweighs its cost and maintenance regime then I’ll give it a bash. I guess this probably applies to everyone and their own personal take on bikes though.

I have a rigid singlespeed. I dont really enjoy mountain biking so I bought this to make sure I enjoy it even less.

Realistically a but of tech helps the average rider with and average fitness level ride more and varied trails.

I rode round Innerleithen yesterday on a geared full sus.

I wouldn’t have managed the climb without gears.

I would have been an absolute mess at the end of the decents if I had been on a rigid hardtail.

So a bit ot tech is good

I have a rigid singlespeed. I dont really enjoy mountain biking so I bought this to make sure I enjoy it even less.

: ) If I wasn’t a masochist I’d go fishing instead..

If I was lucky enough to live in the lake district or scotland, I’d sell my rigid bike. Or at least gear it, and probably ride it less.

Bikes need to match terrain, by having a simple bike I find more trails more enjoyable, it widens my options for good rides from the front door. When I’m on a FS on rougher trails, it feels pretty similar in terms of input / involvement, I just go faster most of teh time. Faster doesn’t always give me more kicks, it’s more about feeling that I’m close to my own limits.