Looking at new bikes after riding lots on the road over the last few years, and dusting off the mountain bike in the garage which has mainly been used as an offroad tourer recently.

10-15 years ago it seemed that a your average enthusiast level singletrack rider tended to be equipped with a steel hardtail (On-One Inbred, Cotic Soul etc.) a 100-130mm air fork. You used to be able to knock something decent together for about £1000 and complete hardtails rarely sold second hand for more than a grand.

A decade later times seem to have changed. Most of the chaps I used to ride with now ride longer travel FS bikes. Maybe we’ve gone soft, got richer, but i also feel that bouncy bikes improved to the point where a 150mm FS bike is now the equivalent to the 130mm hardtail of the 2010 period. It seems the market for the do it all hardtail has reduced – there are still lots of aggressive, slack and longer travel hardtails but these seem less targeted at your Peak District 40km Sunday looper (…Unless i’m mistaken). There also seems to be a far greater range of bike brands being ridden.

What do you think is the new mr.average, just one bike in the garage ride on your trail and what is the cost of their bike? Has the sport become more expensive on average?

160mm full susp.

All the koolaid kids are on gravel bikes now.

A road bike

A gravel bike that never leaves tarmac?

Average STWer, some 5-10 year old hardtail, with more zip ties than gears. The 1% have a Starling or Geometron.

Average of the ST journos – £5k+, you can change gears and order craft beer from a pub in Hebden Bridge via it’s built in bluetooth. Occasionally they’ll have to do a review of entry level £3k hardtails and spend most of it telling you how much cheaper they are than their other bikes and how that impacts their performance, but doesn’t impact their performance.

Very occasionally they will review a rigid single speed, it will still cost £3k.

haha….DaveyBoyWonder to be honest that’s the way i went mainly because i moved to London. Less faff, less endless damage, less maintenance, less driving.

Technology has improved and been refined making it more accessible, usable and affordable in when it comes to “average”.

Look at smartphones and computers. A typical newer phone can do far more than one of 10-15 years ago.

A longer travel full suss used to be more expensive, more specialist, less reliable, heavier, etc than they are now.

The average has moved.

Main difference from 10-15 years ago is all my wheels are about the same size.
Gone are the 26er 5.75″ travel (replaced by a very similar priced 5″ travel 29er) and the steel 26er hardtail, replaced by a higher specced, but 2nd hand 29er alu hardtail. Gone is the road bike, replaced by a very high spec Ti gravel bike, well before they were called gravel bikes though, cos I is ahead of the curve me.
Average STW bike doesn’t exist does it?

Speaking more generally than just STW in MTB terms, it tends be around the £2-3K full suspension bikes with 120-160mm travel, though the surge in e-bikes I’ve seen around here in North Wales is insane recently. I’ve had rides where regular pedal powered bikes have been vastly out numbered by the number of e-bikes. Most blast past on the climbs and then wobble their way down the descents at a snails pace…

All the koolaid kids are on gravel bikes now.

They’ve realized that gravel bikes are the best tool for the majority of UK trails.

Louise

Yeti Arc 35th anniversary obvs

£2-3K new or used price?

3yr old generic alloy hardtail from Marin

I’m just going to leave this before I go on holiday 🚵‍♂️

E bike 150mm travel 650b+ or 29er

Probably a Turbo Levo

Around 5K

In 5 years time some one will look at this thread, lets see who was in the right ball park 😉

Speaking more generally than just STW in MTB terms, it tends be around the £2-3K full suspension bikes with 120-160mm travel,

Nah thats nonsense. Go to glentress or similar on a nice saturday.

Low to mid level hardtails of varying ages reign supreme. As the should because no bike offers more bang for your buck than a budget bike thats gets lots of people out there.

For me, gravel / road / SS CX / fat bike plus a couple of 26’s I don’t really use and an Eroica bike

They’ve realized that hardtails are the most fun for the majority of UK trails

FTFY.

Average bike (singular)?!😂 If I averaged my bikes it would probably be some sort of short travel soft-tail with 29” wheels – 50% ti, 25% CF and a bit of alloy and steel. 150mm 29FS, 130mm HT, rigid 29er, road bike and commuter. That’s ignoring the various ancient 26” frames etc that are kicking around. Many more miles done on the road than off-road these days unfortunately.

Aren’t we all on Bird AM9’s now or have I gone wrong?

They’ve realized that gravel bikes are the best tool for the majority of UK trails in the overpopulated, elite owned south.

🙂

though the surge in e-bikes I’ve seen around here in North Wales is insane recently. I’ve had rides where regular pedal powered bikes have been vastly out numbered by the number of e-bikes. Most blast past on the climbs and then wobble their way down the descents at a snails pace…

I suspect that’s probably because they travel at a different pace to a normal bike.

Swinley car park is always at capacity, yet you only see 20 people on the trails, because the other 500 are more than a few hundred meters behind/ahead of you. And you only see the slow people and e-bikes because that’s all you catch up with or get overtaken by.

it tends be around the £2-3K full suspension bikes with 120-160mm travel

I dunno, I think there’s been a huge growth in so called Halo models. I’m not convinced that’s made a huge difference to what actually gets ridden though. If anything I’d guess the average age of bikes seems to be getting older as people keep them longer, and in spite of the hype only a handful have actually changed all that much (just look at the geometry charts for something like a Specialized enduro from 2006. 66HA, low BB, long top tubes and short stems, and it’s 15 years old).

Aren’t we all on Bird AM9’s now or have I gone wrong?

Don’t forget the few on Flare Max’s…

There is an extra dimension to this though
Average STW user had n bikes 10-15 years ago. Now they’ve got n+x bikes, what is x and how are they distributing their riding time between the bikes. Me personally, n=2 x=2

With regard to my MTB I’ve migrated from a Titanium hardtail 26er with 80mm forks to a Carbon softail 29er with 100mm forks, but I’m in the flat&muddy southeastlands.

The average STW bike is not going to be the same as the average mountain bike, that’s for certain.

Average STW bike doesn’t exist does it?

Dez beat me to it. “mountain bike” is such a broad church, there’s no possible single answer to this.

For me, road bikes not being included.
28″ wheels
Carbon, with an Alu top tube
122mm fork, 111mm travel
11.5 gears, half of which are electric, the others cable operated.
166mm dropper
100wh battery and 50w motor.

Averages are fun aren’t they?

A gravel bike that never leaves tarmac?

or

A gravel bike that never leaves a Zwift setup in the shed?

Who wants to be an average STWer anyway 😉

Don’t think there is an ‘average’ bike because

1. N+1
2. All bases covered
3. Who is ‘average‘?

I have a ten year old 26er hardtail as described (more gaffer tape than zip ties tbh), a retro road tourer and a rigid 29er that could be upgraded to 29+

Also a Dutch Utility bike in bits. And a footbike.

In 5 years time some one will look at this thread, lets see who was in the right ball park

Yeah, in 5 years time most of will be too damn old and decrepit to pedal under our own steam.

Whatever the bike type, a saddle angled at the front hub, a colour ‘theme’ and Hope stuff? Always has been hasn’t it? : )

I feel very off-trend these days with my rigid niche SS. It’ll come back into fashion about the same point I get too old to ride SS anymore.

Whatever the bike type, a saddle angled at the front hub, a colour ‘theme’ and Hope stuff? Always has been hasn’t it? : )

I’m not sure when the trend from saddles pointed at the sky to being pointed at the ground flipped, there must have been a biref period where “cool” was to have your saddle level, in the way the manufacutrer designed it.

2015 Bird Aeris here 140/150mm.

Whyte Shoreditch Road hybrid for tarmac commuting duties.

Hardtails have gone through a renaissance. Evo LLS geo with wider rubber has meant they’re rideable on most UK stuff. They’ve become the one bike do it all with minimum faff IMO. Oh, and the best of the new gen look sweet.

29+ rigid and a gravel bike. But I’m a posh southern softy.

If I lived somewhere with decent riding I’d have a 140mm full sus 29er and be happy with that as my only bike I reckon

Marin B17 or Mount Vision

Wot no fives?

Assuming the average rider focus is E E focused – e-bike or enduro

Assuming n+1 I’m going to guess the average collection as:

Full sus geometry du jour – may or may not be E-bike

Full sus circa mid last decade

Millennium hard tail – covers Souls etc

On One Scandal (GX build) and a Kona Bandwagon road SS here.