I often hear people refer to the rock lobster as old school geometry

why?

whats so different with brand new HT frame designs?

Steeper head angle. Blue Pig is 67.5 for example.

and longer chain stays.

shorter top tubes, steeper head angles – meant for shorter fork and longer stem.

in the late 80s we all wanted short chain stays

they are longer now are they not?

It means whatever you want it to mean. In that case I’d imagine it means you’re getting an XC bike that weighs a bit more than a ‘modern’ design, or a trail bike that only takes 100mm forks and a longer stem.

On a side note it depends on which ‘old school’ it comes from. Take the new transition covert everyones queing up to spaff one over. It’s the same tall BB, slack head angle geometry the canadians have been building since the wheels were chizzeld form stone. Specialized have always built bikes with low BB’s, short chainstays and long wheelbases, trek have always built bikes with no real supprises in the geometry.

The ‘new skool, super slack/low/RAD’ frame design isn’t as widespread or as new as the marketing men would have you believeing.

uhh maybe, I don’t study these things, but I thought they had got shorter, it could just as easily be the other way round.. 😳

I think that Blue Pig head angle is a sagged figure as well, they’re something like 64 degree unsagged.

But yes, as above, steep head angle, shorter top tube, longer stays. Closer to what we know as an XC race bike than a freeride/downhill bike.

been looking at other 100mm xc frames and they are almost all exactly the same. looked at a scott scale, whippet, giant etc

apart from the head tube length (that varies 10mm or so) and the top tubes (again max vary 1″) everything’s the same.

cant see why the Rocklobster SL (3.5lb frame) wouldn’t be as good as a whippet or scale in xc races. obviously carbon vs ali is an argument for another day.

again max vary 1″

That’s a lot on the TT.

That’s a lot on the TT.

If only there was a way to adjust it arround 1″ either way, like they made them in different sizes or something.