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things that don't suck

FlipSide

FlipSide

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2001
1,384
818
- General bike wrenching/repair and parts installation don't require a hammer or a bench grinder anymore.
- Geometry-related non-sense inherited from road bikes have pretty much been wiped-off on new bikes these days.
- Reliability of the derailleur. I still keep a replacement derailleur in my car in case I brake it, but I've not needed it in the last 5 years. Cracking/destroying derailleurs from regular riding just don't happen anymore.
 
jackalope

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,605
5,914
in a single wide, cooking meth...
* Michy Wildrock'r 2
* The fact that I can still get a lot tires in 26"
* mtg and Guerrilla Gravity
* WC racing (even on "boring" tracks, I still love it)
* 5.10 shoes (I know some people have had bad experiences, but all of my pairs have been great)
* Trail work by myself
* TRP brakes (so far!)
* Chromag saddles
* Moar rippin steel hardtail options
* PUSH Eleven Six
* Looking forward to hitting this (the step down, not my riding buddy)
 
'size

'size

Turbo Monkey
May 30, 2007
2,000
338
AZ
FlipSide said:
- General bike wrenching/repair and parts installation don't require a hammer or a bench grinder anymore.
Click to expand...
they still make things more fun though.

FlipSide said:
- Reliability of the derailleur. I still keep a replacement derailleur in my car in case I brake it, but I've not needed it in the last 5 years. Cracking/destroying derailleurs from regular riding just don't happen anymore.
Click to expand...
curious on this. derailleurs haven't really changed at all. it seems to me current ones aren't lasting any longer than older ones (general reliability/pivot wear, not damage related) and the same rocks that would break a derailleur now would have broken a derailleur 5-10-20 years ago as well.
 
djjohnr

djjohnr

Turbo Monkey
Apr 21, 2002
3,012
1,704
Northern California
How good trail bikes have gotten. Being able to take my trail bike out on an all day ride, find a sick drop/feature and be able to hit it at speed right then and there; not go "man I need to come back here with my DH bike and hit that".
 
FlipSide

FlipSide

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2001
1,384
818
'size said:
they still make things more fun though.


curious on this. derailleurs haven't really changed at all. it seems to me current ones aren't lasting any longer than older ones (general reliability/pivot wear, not damage related) and the same rocks that would break a derailleur now would have broken a derailleur 5-10-20 years ago as well.
Click to expand...
Agreed on the fun! :)

Regarding the derailleur. It is obviously difficult to compare since a real objective comparison would be between the same level products over a long period.

My experience is that I was breaking/cracking at least one rear derailleur per season (several XT, X.9, 105, etc) in the 2002-2010 years. I then used X.O 10sp that were much more sturdy and reliable...but my current 2013 XX1 is downright amazing. It has been hit on rocks so many times, we can't even read the letters "SRAM" on it anymore...but it is still straight, stiff and it shift perfectly well.

Again, it's only my experience, but I find the derailleurs went from fragile consumable you should expect to break relatively often...to reliable parts you don't really need to worry about. I guess YMMV depending on how much you pay. Deore may still be super fragile and unreliable, but I wouldn't know.
 
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William42

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,915
651
As much as we shit on the industry, you can find a a really good bike in any catagory from DH to XC across all the major mfgs, and the direct to order online such as YT are doing a phenomenal job keeping options open via price availability. Not so long ago there were 3-4 bikes that had great designs and geo in each discipline - now it seems uncommon to find a dud. The difference between a 13.5" bb and a 64 degree HA and a 13.6bb and a 63.5HA is a lot smaller than when it was a 14.5" bb with a 66HA.

Top end suspension and shocks and forks are across the board better - lighter and better performing.

Mike Levy is still writing articles for pinkbike
 
jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,859
24,451
media blackout
William42 said:
As much as we shit on the industry, you can find a a really good bike in any catagory from DH to XC across all the major mfgs, and the direct to order online such as YT are doing a phenomenal job keeping options open via price availability. Not so long ago there were 3-4 bikes that had great designs and geo in each discipline - now it seems uncommon to find a dud. The difference between a 13.5" bb and a 64 degree HA and a 13.6bb and a 63.5HA is a lot smaller than when it was a 14.5" bb with a 66HA.
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agree with this completely. there's a lot of great bikes out there. thankfully the days where bike companies would release something that's a total turd seem to be behind us.
 
canadmos

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,437
19,446
Canaderp
Quebec doesn't suck.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/orbea-seeks-adventure-in-quebec.html

http://ridemonkey.bikemag.com/threads/eastern-canada-trip.276897/

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/the-mountain-bike-tourist-the-eastern-townships-quebec.html

https://www.pinkbike.com/u/MartinLortz/blog/the-mountain-bike-tourist-quebec-road-trip-part-two-mont-sainte-anne.html

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/the-mountain-bike-tourist-quebec-road-trip-part-three-sentiers-du-moulin.html

https://www.pinkbike.com/u/MartinLortz/blog/the-mountain-bike-tourist-quebec-road-trip-part-four-valle-bras-du-nord.html






 
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jonKranked

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,859
24,451
media blackout
canadmos said:
Quebec doesn't suck.

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/orbea-seeks-adventure-in-quebec.html

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/the-mountain-bike-tourist-the-eastern-townships-quebec.html

https://www.pinkbike.com/u/MartinLortz/blog/the-mountain-bike-tourist-quebec-road-trip-part-two-mont-sainte-anne.html

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/the-mountain-bike-tourist-quebec-road-trip-part-three-sentiers-du-moulin.html

https://www.pinkbike.com/u/MartinLortz/blog/the-mountain-bike-tourist-quebec-road-trip-part-four-valle-bras-du-nord.html






Click to expand...

*if you speak french
 
Udi

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
Low to midrange suspension is incredible these days.
It doesn't seem like that long ago when cheap suspension only had a rebound adjuster and the best stuff added a compression adjuster that worked poorly if at all. Now you can have a reasonably dialed setup out of the box even on budget spec bikes.

Many parts have also become a lot lighter over the last decade so we can now choose stronger / better performing parts at reasonable weights, and build a reasonably light bike that isn't a huge compromise in durability or performance. You have to pay for the priviledge, but at least it's an option now.
 
B

Bike078

Monkey
Jan 11, 2018
565
412
Udi said:
Low to midrange suspension is incredible these days.
It doesn't seem like that long ago when cheap suspension only had a rebound adjuster and the best stuff added a compression adjuster that worked poorly if at all. Now you can have a reasonably dialed setup out of the box even on budget spec bikes.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm thankful my 26" Suntour Durolux RC2 hasn't exploded on me yet. It's stiff and the damper isn't plastic.
 
jstuhlman

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
16,676
13,021
Cackalacka du Nord
donuts. bacon. most beer. oh wait, is this for bike stuff? ok...
that my uzzi lasted 8 years. kona wah wahs. thomson stems. that my sixc bars haven’t exploded (yet). the simplicity and durability of xt cranks.
wilson muthafuckin creek
 
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