New definition of retro

Tried looking for a new fork. Almost everything new is tapered and thru bolt. Then I looked at the frames. The signs are there - 26 is no more which also leads to wheels and other components. Everything is designed around 29 or at least 650b

Seems like my 1 1/8 straight steerer tube, QR 100/135mm, IS disc 26” 26” MTB is already Retro?!

Drat.

Sorry, just outdated.

Or just to make manufacturing easier for carbon frames (compression forces at the bottom)

Its a mess, as usual, different standards that are not always an advantage

Just look at the madness bottom brackets

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-he ... -section-7

We call it retro, which sounds positive, romantic, nostalgic.

The industry calls it OBSOLETE. Which means, buy our latest crap NOW!! (before we change to the next incompatible standard).

No worries, you will find spares. Maybe not the top of the range stuff, but you will find what you need. There were A LOT of 26" bikes sold between 1985 and 2012 or thereabouts that are still daily used and maintained. They won't disappear in 2 weeks as the industry would like to.

That is exactly one reason I've stopped looking at new bikes now (and I suspect many are doing the same since sales keep their downward trend). The industry thought changing standards was the way to motivate people to buy new bikes. But now people are afraid of buying new bikes that will become obsolete in 2 years. Better stick to the standards that dominated for 30 years (and not just the last 30 months). That will offer better chances of future spares availability...

Fortunately 26 inch wheels are still being used on touring bikes because of their strength and international availability, so I hope that they stay viable for many years to come.

Tyres will be fine, but forks with a straight 1 1/8 steerer?

oh no i dont think so, put your bike in a line up with real retros and it will look as out of place as a bottle of crisps....

You'll always be able to find a rigid fork, but getting the right length for suspension corrected frames may be an issue. As far as older suspension forks go, it'll be service kits that are the issue. Not a problem for basic coil or elastomer forks, but if you've an older Fox, I think they've already stopped doing air seal kits. Things like foam rings and wiper seals are often interchangeable, so if you keep up on basic maintenance you'll be ok for a while. Eventually the only thing surviving will be old Z1 Bombers.

I believe Mojo only stock 2010- onwards parts for Fox now, which is gonna be a pain when the crown-steerer wears through (again).....

Yeah maybe just to make things easier for carbon frames but it really doesn't matter a great deal what frame material it is, tapered steerers and the associated crown design make for a much stiffer front end.

BBs...well, let's not forget there were a few competing standards in the golden retro era. Square JIS, square ISO, BSA thread, Italian thread, 68, 73 widths, a number of brands with bespoke BBs, and then the pressfit ones. Headsets we had 1-1/8", 1-1/4" threaded and threadless all in use plus a couple of crown race and headset cup variations in 1". Bespoke hub standards in various bikes right through the late 80s into the 2000s.