Thinking skills....
I rode a modern bike on holiday a couple of weeks ago for the first time in 5 or 6 years - in comparison to any of my 'inferior' older models, I found it mushy, heavy, dull, overly-comfortable and ultimately an uninvolving, unexciting ride. Good job the scenery more than made up for it...!
For me the auto comparison is with the venerable Lotus 7 (and a host of modern equivalents that are built back to that concept) - you get a direct communication with the terrain, the sense of control and speed, you are always conscious of your machine's limitations and have to continually work with and around them, and the sensation that you are riding and riding hard to exhusation.
As an all encompassing hobby, you also get a real sense of heritage in engaging with the folk roots of early MTBs and a chance to become conscious of the global cottage design process, and the development of a modern sport.
The ebay hunting and the cellar/shed building process serves to enhance the times when we cannot ride - it keeps the motivation fresh and introduces you to another world of closet retro-freaks you never realised existed...!
The new marketing justifications however, are lost on me. Yes I understand that the moderns are 'better' in every respect, but when did I ever want to be able to ride that much longer or crash that much faster (not that progress asks the focus groups those kind of questions...) - I don't have enough time as it is!
Just check the kinds of injuries riders are having these days in comparison to the early 90's - look at the big air, Black Diamond, skateboard/snowboard-made-for-TV trickery that new riders are encouraged to emulate on these high-tech beasties - I don't get it!
I still maintain if you can't ride an old bike fast and safe then you shouldn't be let loose on a modern FS... the day they bring in a rigid class for World Cup downhill I will raise a glass - maybe there's an idea for a Retrobike race series...???!
Neil