Anti-Hope- Rant.

[legrandefromage]

There was never any 'technology' in a Vauxhall Nova!

 

[brocklanders023]

Well look at how that went. Started for us with 3x, which apparently lasted the MTB as a riding sport up hill and down dale without problems for the last 40+ years. more recently they went 2x, with some bumpf about gear inches and ratios etc etc. I think that was about 7 or 8 years back, now much more recently and over the past few years its gone to 1x. In use,and as required to go down, you first must go up, they find that 1x10 is not enough so it's 1x11, then 1x12, all requiring different derailleurs and usually the shifter too. Where is that going to end ? other than snapping the flimsier chain. They cant innovate a single gear any further, its already too light for the pounding they're supposed to be designed to receive.

As much as I am a huge fan of modern bikes generally I must admit if 1x had never come along I wouldn't have missed it. Can't really see what it adds and certainly couldn't argue that it's merits outweigh the downsides.

As for discs on road bikes I just got a proper roadie for the first time in my life and decided against them as they make every thing heavy and that's the last thing I wanted. Can't really see why you would need them except maybe on a gravel bike?

 

[legrandefromage]

You should see the rants on other forums about discs on road bikes.

But, whos gonna diss their £5k bike as being crap? Whos gonna say their purchase isnt as good as an outgoing model?

Di2 is now non backwards compatible, you are not supposed to be able to mix 11spd with 10spd, you might get the blue screen of death or 'would you like to restart?'

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

Irony. My MTB was 1x9, by choice, in the late 90s.

I'm now rocking 1x10 and was saying to others at mayhem how much I loved it. Brakes are infinitely better than 90s, and I can count at least 5 different brake mounting standards in the early 90s. There were 3 headset sizes then, plus quill vs. ahead.

Most of the weird shit we love from the 90's is more outlandish and awkward than a lot of todays stuff.


Not saying it doesn't annoy me, just sayin.

 

[legrandefromage]

I do smile a bit when I see a very new MTB on the road puffing away on the single 'granny' ring and smallest cog on the cassette - just like the kids do with the triples of old - they're spinning away with their super slack forks and metre wide bars, crunching away at the gears.

Its not for me, not yet, I'm too happy bouncing around on old bits of tat.

I likes tat.

 

[james1985]

Well look at how that went. Started for us with 3x, which apparently lasted the MTB as a riding sport up hill and down dale without problems for the last 40+ years. more recently they went 2x, with some bumpf about gear inches and ratios etc etc. I think that was about 7 or 8 years back, now much more recently and over the past few years its gone to 1x. In use,and as required to go down, you first must go up, they find that 1x10 is not enough so it's 1x11, then 1x12, all requiring different derailleurs and usually the shifter too. Where is that going to end ? other than snapping the flimsier chain. They cant innovate a single gear any further, its already too light for the pounding they're supposed to be designed to receive.

As much as I am a huge fan of modern bikes generally I must admit if 1x had never come along I wouldn't have missed it. Can't really see what it adds and certainly couldn't argue that it's merits outweigh the downsides.

As for discs on road bikes I just got a proper roadie for the first time in my life and decided against them as they make every thing heavy and that's the last thing I wanted. Can't really see why you would need them except maybe on a gravel bike?

I have recently switched to 1x on my mtb, and then done the same again when I built my gravel bike.
Less parts to go wrong and less weight, simpler bike to ride, one less thing to collect mud. You would generally work out where the rider is in terms of fitness and intended use, and then tailor the bike to the rider, 3x is more about having every gear for every rider in any situation, and in all honesty, even people that have been riding years still use 3x incorrectly.
My XC race bike is low geared for road use, but its not a road bike, when used for what I actually built it for its spot on, 20 inch bottom gear so I generally speaking will run out of grip rather than gears when climbing. I can spin it up to 26 mph on the flat, but the straight bits are not that long when doing regular club racing.
My gravel bike (XT) has a 38t chainring, with an 11-46 cassette, I could get everywhere I wanted too in the Peak District, and I can pedal it up to 30+mph.
Chains are lasting very well, in fact, snapped chains are quite a rarity, as you are not pulling a worn chain against a front mech trying to shift and catching the outer plates.

Anecdote, my mate (bloody fast xc racer, inc nationals) takes his modern full sus mtbs on road club rides, 1x with a 38t and 11-46, still on knobbly tyres, and fairs vary well in cat C, will average 22mph on a 100 mile ride. Its actually painful watching him climb hills.

 

[greencat]

Irony. My MTB was 1x9, by choice, in the late 90s.

I'm now rocking 1x10 and was saying to others at mayhem how much I loved it. Brakes are infinitely better than 90s, and I can count at least 5 different brake mounting standards in the early 90s. There were 3 headset sizes then, plus quill vs. ahead.

Most of the weird shit we love from the 90's is more outlandish and awkward than a lot of todays stuff.


Not saying it doesn't annoy me, just sayin.

Yes, I was doing 2x7 or 2x6 for most of the 90s. I never used the outer ring so would often remove it to give better bottom bracket clearance. Even now one of my retros has no front mech as I simply run it on the middle ring all of the time.

I do occasionally dream of pairing the old 22 inner chain rings of old with a modern 40t cassette and riding up currently unrideable hills.

 

[legrandefromage]

Well look at how that went. Started for us with 3x, which apparently lasted the MTB as a riding sport up hill and down dale without problems for the last 40+ years. more recently they went 2x, with some bumpf about gear inches and ratios etc etc. I think that was about 7 or 8 years back, now much more recently and over the past few years its gone to 1x. In use,and as required to go down, you first must go up, they find that 1x10 is not enough so it's 1x11, then 1x12, all requiring different derailleurs and usually the shifter too. Where is that going to end ? other than snapping the flimsier chain. They cant innovate a single gear any further, its already too light for the pounding they're supposed to be designed to receive.

As much as I am a huge fan of modern bikes generally I must admit if 1x had never come along I wouldn't have missed it. Can't really see what it adds and certainly couldn't argue that it's merits outweigh the downsides.

As for discs on road bikes I just got a proper roadie for the first time in my life and decided against them as they make every thing heavy and that's the last thing I wanted. Can't really see why you would need them except maybe on a gravel bike?

I have recently switched to 1x on my mtb, and then done the same again when I built my gravel bike.
Less parts to go wrong and less weight, simpler bike to ride, one less thing to collect mud. You would generally work out where the rider is in terms of fitness and intended use, and then tailor the bike to the rider, 3x is more about having every gear for every rider in any situation, and in all honesty, even people that have been riding years still use 3x incorrectly.
My XC race bike is low geared for road use, but its not a road bike, when used for what I actually built it for its spot on, 20 inch bottom gear so I generally speaking will run out of grip rather than gears when climbing. I can spin it up to 26 mph on the flat, but the straight bits are not that long when doing regular club racing.
My gravel bike (XT) has a 38t chainring, with an 11-46 cassette, I could get everywhere I wanted too in the Peak District, and I can pedal it up to 30+mph.
Chains are lasting very well, in fact, snapped chains are quite a rarity, as you are not pulling a worn chain against a front mech trying to shift and catching the outer plates.

Anecdote, my mate (bloody fast xc racer, inc nationals) takes his modern full sus mtbs on road club rides, 1x with a 38t and 11-46, still on knobbly tyres, and fairs vary well in cat C, will average 22mph on a 100 mile ride. Its actually painful watching him climb hills.

Well then he's a very silly billy and should use a road bicycle

 

[james1985]

As for discs on road bikes I just got a proper roadie for the first time in my life and decided against them as they make every thing heavy and that's the last thing I wanted. Can't really see why you would need them except maybe on a gravel bike?[/quote]

I have recently switched to 1x on my mtb, and then done the same again when I built my gravel bike.
Less parts to go wrong and less weight, simpler bike to ride, one less thing to collect mud. You would generally work out where the rider is in terms of fitness and intended use, and then tailor the bike to the rider, 3x is more about having every gear for every rider in any situation, and in all honesty, even people that have been riding years still use 3x incorrectly.
My XC race bike is low geared for road use, but its not a road bike, when used for what I actually built it for its spot on, 20 inch bottom gear so I generally speaking will run out of grip rather than gears when climbing. I can spin it up to 26 mph on the flat, but the straight bits are not that long when doing regular club racing.
My gravel bike (XT) has a 38t chainring, with an 11-46 cassette, I could get everywhere I wanted too in the Peak District, and I can pedal it up to 30+mph.
Chains are lasting very well, in fact, snapped chains are quite a rarity, as you are not pulling a worn chain against a front mech trying to shift and catching the outer plates.

Anecdote, my mate (bloody fast xc racer, inc nationals) takes his modern full sus mtbs on road club rides, 1x with a 38t and 11-46, still on knobbly tyres, and fairs vary well in cat C, will average 22mph on a 100 mile ride. Its actually painful watching him climb hills.[/quote]

Well then he's a very silly billy and should use a road bicycle

[/quote]

Yep, he did have one, but he just likes to have one bike that does all. Also, I would never, ever stand a chance of keeping him in sight on a road bike. If I use my road bike and binoculars, I can keep him in sight.