Nothing new to add, but a dropper – I was very anti-dropper, the very first clunky heavy ones seemed pointless, when they started to get good I discounted them as pointless and ‘anti-social’ because prior to droppers we used to stop every time the trail went up or down to move the seats and chat would happen.
When the first of our number got them I REALLY hated them, they do what they’re supposed to do, make it possible to ride the whole trail without stopping to move your seat, which if you haven’t got one and everyone else has… you’re going to get left behind – short climb in the middle of a downhill section, you’re going to blown away.
In the end I was forced into getting one, love it – I means you ride a trail, not an uphill bit, then a downhill bit, then a sort of flat bit, then another downhill bit then a uphill bit – I thought it would make it easier and the exorcize element of riding would be lessoned – if anything it makes it harder now without the little breaks.
Most other things I either knew I’d want the second I saw them (Hydraulic discs) or went along with knowing they wouldn’t be game changers and they’re not for me. (1x drive trains and or narrow wide, carbon, Strava, wide bars.
The one ‘new thing’ I thought I would like, and hated is tubeless – I rarely get punctures, have no desire to run my tyres at 10psi and turn the simple task of changing tyres into a MASSIVE faf.
