Seems like the world of Mountain Bikes is finally beyond me.

I feel its mostly marketing boolocks that people like to buy into.

“We’ve increased/decreased the stays by 3.2mm so you can now ride like a pro” Ahh pish.

TBH a bikes just like any other consumer item, you could still be happy watching an old tube tv with vhs cassettes.

I ride mine till they aren’t financially viable, ie paying a premium for old inefficient parts, then buy one with the popular standards and look to get x amount of years out of it.

Bike worlds always been a changing in the standards, I don’t see this as anything different otherwise we’d all be riding penny farthings or worse velocipedes.

I had a Thursday and Friday at Dyfi Bike Park and i must admit the older i am getting the more the bike scene irritates me.

Whilst queuing the bravado, plain bullshitting and excuses for casing a jump is off the charts with the riders. It seems no longer adequate that a £4K bike is enough, one needs to have a van conversion and even a compressor to blow ones tyres up to now enjoy riding a bike.

The constant being sold to to by companies for advancements that don’t seem to offer much benefit other than to take money from me is getting silly… that said i do own three bikes, so probably should start to take my own advice! 😉

the older i am getting the more the bike scene irritates me.

Same. I think it’s the money that has came into it. There is nothing grassroots now and people seem to feel they need a £7k bike, VW transporter, a £300 waterproof onesie, a dryrobe, a Muc Off pressure washer and a dog with them in order to ride now. A lot don’t seem to smile either?

Same. I think it’s the money that has came into it. There is nothing grassroots now and people seem to feel they need a £7k bike, VW transporter, a £300 waterproof onesie, a dryrobe, a Muc Off pressure washer and a dog with them in order to ride now. A lot don’t seem to smile either?

whereabouts is this? I’ll make a note to avoid it!

There is nothing grassroots now and people seem to feel they need a £7k bike, VW transporter, a £300 waterproof onesie, a dryrobe, a Muc Off pressure washer and a dog with them in order to ride now. A lot don’t seem to smile either?

There’s plenty of grassroots MTB going on. I know dozens of people that ride, a very small handful will have a £7k bike, maybe a couple have a VW (so what if they like that lifestyle image?). I have none of the other things you list but do have a drysuit, but I do smile a lot. All the rides I go on, there is a broad spectrum of how invested the riders are in the scene.

Don’t judge the whole MTB scene on what you see at a trail centre (that will always attract some prize tools) and likewise don’t judge those that choose to embrace the whole ‘lifestyle’, whether you find it cringe or not, it smacks a little of jealousy.

I’ve been toying with the idea of getting one of my bikes out, bleeding the brakes, and probably spending a small fortune on new tyres, (it seems that tubeless tyres have gone up a bit since I last spent around 30 quid on a tyre), I plan on getting an adapter kit to turn my S/S into a belt drive, for reasons of simplicity, quiet and almost zero maintenance.

I will never subscribe to the idea of riding a mullet bike, I can’t imagine why anyone thinks that having to cough up for different size rims and tyres is a great plan, in all honesty.

I will never subscribe to the idea of riding a mullet bike, I can’t imagine why anyone thinks that having to cough up for different size rims and tyres is a great plan, in all honesty.

Are matching rims and tyres cheaper?

I will never subscribe to the idea of riding a mullet bike, I can’t imagine why anyone thinks that having to cough up for different size rims and tyres is a great plan, in all honesty.

They offend me aesthetically! Lol

I can’t help it, it’s not based upon logic, they just do. 🙂

Are matching rims and tyres cheaper?

Compatibility between all my bikes, well road and MTB, is great, and can be cheaper, although i do it for ease of part swapping in emergencies. Compatibility within the same bike should be taken for granted!

When have you ever swapped something from front to rear (or vice versa) on the same bike and not needed to buy a replacement immediately?

if you’re gonna be borrowing stuff from other bikes, you’re going to need to replace that soon enough too, so what odds does it make what size it is, why not use the other full bike if it’s an emergency?

I run a mullet, Specialized Status 160, however i’m not convinced it’s any better/worse as full 29. But as said above, a tyre is a tyre, if it needs a new one, they’re £50-60, be that a 29 or a 27.5, it’s still got a cost.  I think you’ve got to be a lot better than i am for the wheels to make a difference.

This may be a stupid question but are UDH hangers universal?

If i buy any manufacturers UDH will it fit

Nearly. Udh is supposed to be a single universal hanger but in standard fashion no sooner was it designed Trek changed it. so there’s a trek version, and an everyone else version. Assuming it’s not labelled / sold as the trek specific version it’s fair to assume you’re getting the right one. Unless you have a trek of course.

but do have a drysuit

I had to look that one up…  I have a dry suit too but it has seals on the cuffs and collar.  I had no idea there was a dry suit for bike riding.  Do they work or are they hot and uncomfy?  I struggle with waterproof shorts let alone a complete suit.

it seems that tubeless tyres have gone up a bit since I last spent around 30 quid on a tyre

Spesh and Bontrager are both easily available in the £30-£40 range.

So much to digest in this thread. Here’s my take. Stop worrying about what everyone else is doing and just ride you b****y bike. If you’re getting wound up about what other people are doing, that says more about you than them.

so there’s a trek version, and an everyone else version

Not Trek’s fault though, is it. They have bearings in the ABP to protect.

Letting SRAM put design requirements on frame designers, only to then stop other component brands using that fitting for their own rear mechs, was an industry level cock up. A genuinely open universal interface is needed, but that would take the big bike brands to work together and take the lead.

Oh, and all that’s to be ignored. Ride your bike. In any way you want. Many of us grew up “mountain biking” riding the kind of stuff people now call “gravel” on very simple bikes. Get out there. Enjoy riding. No need to make it hard for yourself unless you fancy it. No need to have new anything.

I think it’s just another life lesson in getting old, things move on & always have done. Embrace the new stuff that offers something to you, learn to swallow new stuff you don’t really want but is forced upon you & keep a shelf full of VHS if that floats your boat (next to your WiFi router for Netflix).

Do they work or are they hot and uncomfy?

Works amazingly well on the ebike where I can regulate my body temperature more easily. Not sure I’d want to wear it on the normal bike unless it was very cold and wet. But when it is very wet, I generally take the ebike anyway. I’ve now got some waterproof dungarees too, which I’ll try on the normal bike

Letting SRAM put design requirements on frame designers, only to then stop other component brands using that fitting for their own rear mechs, was an industry level cock up.

Hear hear. Tail wagging the dog.

But more this –

Oh, and all that’s to be ignored. Ride your bike. In any way you want.

it seems that tubeless tyres have gone up a bit since I last spent around 30 quid on a tyre

last tyres I bought (earlier this year) were £17. Soft compound, super gravity schwalbe.

650b though, so having an unfashionable wheelsize does have its benefits.

leave the UDH in place and run any other meh

My thoughts entirely.

Kit talk frankly has always been beyond me. I engage when I must, no more than essential, and then pay the shop. The end. All that’s changed for me is bikes have got better and riding has got more fun.

UDH good, especially when manufactures offer UDH retrofit bits  to replace their proprietary systems. Here from Raaw their UDH retrofit option.

Looks like Specialized are going to offer retrofit on Enduro same as the new 2025 one. Unless I want to go T type then I cant see the point as all the bikes in our family, 10+, have the same hanger.

All ours were standardised and then the latest Turbo Levo was mullet, just means that when we are away taking an extra spare rear wheel and tyre

Does the OP also ‘struggle’ with other areas of ‘modern’ life?

The only certainty of life is change.

No, there is another certainty.

Letting SRAM put design requirements on frame designers, only to then stop other component brands using that fitting for their own rear mechs, was an industry level cock up.

Nah, mechs and mech hangers have been around for decades. More than enough time to sort the problem out if it was going to happen. The fact that SRAM had an alternate motive to doing it was just a secondary benefit available to them only; doesn’t diminish the primary value. Everyone else can carry on doing what they’re doing with the new UDH. Its not like Shimano hadn’t tried direct attaching mechs and failed already.

a secondary benefit available to them only

Well, there’s the rub… only to them… SRAM could have made it an open standards interface… and the big bike brands should have insisted that it did so before allowing them to set the rules of use. Crazy for all the bike brands to accommodate SRAMs needs so that they can sell their new mechs and cassettes… and not have worked together to avoid being locked into SRAM only supply. They’ve been naive in a way that will play out in the next few years.

No, there is another certainty.

Technically that one is a change too.

UDH is brilliant.

Yes, it may be a SRAM design but it’s a good design. Last time I did cut gate I was going at a reasonable pace when I clipped a rock which directly impacted my mech. It wasn’t a small rock so to even get kicked up took some energy. The UDH rotated around the axle which allowed the whole mech to move much further rearwards rather than hit a certain point and break.

I can also get spares anywhere from a host of different manufacturers and (Trek not withstanding) they will fit.

I keep up with all the tech pretty much as it is released but that is because I am a nerd. When I’m riding my bike none of that matters one bit and I just enjoy the ride (whatever it may be)

When have you ever swapped something from front to rear (or vice versa) on the same bike and not needed to buy a replacement immediately?

I’m a 24hr racer. Being able to build a working bike from two broken ones in the pits at 3am is very, very useful! All of my MTB parts are interchangeable, if you accept using a couple of seatpost shims and a boost adapter. Well, apart from the Fattie which is a bit different. But if there are a bunch of us all with different ‘standards’ it can be a right pain in the backside

I may be a bit of a niche case though.

Well, it seems like the world of seems like the world of X is finally beyond me threads is finally beyond me.

Unless you have a trek of course.

I am glad i asked as i do have a trek

Crazy for all the bike brands to accommodate SRAMs needs so that they can sell their new mechs and cassettes… and not have worked together to avoid being locked into SRAM only supply. They’ve been naive in a way that will play out in the next few years.

UDH works with any bolt on mech, past or present. You could fit a 5 speed mech from a BSO to it, if you wanted to. If you run any bolt on mech, you need a hanger, so it might as well be a UDH one. Seriously can’t see what everyone’s issue with these is?

Seriously can’t see what everyone’s issue with these is?

That particular problem is that SRAM have managed to get frame designers to adopt the UDH, but don’t allow component manufacturers to use the direct derailleur mounting aspect of the design and this will give SRAM a competitive advantage over other component manufacturers.

i suppose the question is, we’re SRAM completely transparent when they took the idea of the UDH to bike designers?

the other question is, what will happen to shimano or any potential future competitors in the long term if they are locked out of using the this new direct mount standard?

Yes, it may be a SRAM design but it’s a good design. Last time I did cut gate I was going at a reasonable pace when I clipped a rock which directly impacted my mech. It wasn’t a small rock so to even get kicked up took some energy. The UDH rotated around the axle which allowed the whole mech to move much further rearwards rather than hit a certain point and break.

I’m not convinced by it.

First impact on my UDH bike bent the hanger, but only ever so slightly, so it was really annoying.

Got a new one.

Second impact snapped the goat link on the mech.

I was running an XT 11-speed mech. No idea if it would be any different with SRAM.

the other question is, what will happen to shimano or any potential future competitors in the long term if they are locked out of using the this new direct mount standard?

I guess they’ll just carry on using their current method of mounting their rear mech as it already works for them and is compatible with UDH?

i suppose the question is, we’re SRAM completely transparent when they took the idea of the UDH to bike designers?

the other question is, what will happen to shimano or any potential future competitors in the long term if they are locked out of using the this new direct mount standard?

Yes they were transparent, and Shimano already has a direct mount mech compatible with UDH (in the old style DM which lets be honest wasn’t great) and a patent (appliclation at least) on a mounted both sides mech. UDH is ultimately a hole and a set of dimensions – Ive not looked into the shimano patents but clearly they think they can get around any SRAM has.

clearly they think they can get around any SRAM has

If they do, it’ll probably mean bike manufacturers changing their designs again… more compatibility confusion to come… big bike brands should have insisted on a open system rather than allowing SRAM to lock them in.

But none of this really matters… hang a Deore mech on your bike, and ride towards the sun…

I am glad i asked as i do have a trek

Help and counseling groups are available

My pal asked my opinion on what sus fork to buy to replace his knackered one (bike is a few years old), I responded with the following queries about his bike:

What size of steerer tube?
What type of brake mount?
What type and length of front wheel axle?
What fork offset?
What travel?
What size of stanchions would he like?
What size wheel?
Air or coil?
Does he want a remote lockout?
Budget?
Colour?
He wasn’t aware there was so many options.

It’s your turn to cook dinner this evening, shall we have pasta? Hold up, how many different versions are there – shape, content, price, GF or not. There’s a whole aisle of pasta! Never mind, we’ll have potatoes because there’s only one type of potat…..oh! While we’re at the shops I’ll buy some new jeans. I need 32-34″, regular length, with a fit that’s not skinny but not boot-cut, not too dark, not too light (not black, gray, or any weird bright colour), no holes in them, zip fly. Why can’t I buy the jeans I want?

Why would anyone think that buying a fork for an expensive bike should be simple when nothing else is?