A tongue in cheek look at retro

[one_bad_mofo]

Here's a little piece I wrote for MPORA - http://mpora.com/articles/10-mountain-b ... -idea-time

Before the haters start hating me I lived through this time and speak form first hand experience. I thoguht I was so f*cking cool then and now I can look back and laugh about it.

 

[Rod_Saetan]

Amusing article, however I can't help but feel it may have taken only a few more minutes work to illustrate the weight-weeniness and bar-cutting examples with something more relevant to the article (ie a vintage weight-weenie bike, and someone cutting a vintage handlebar rather than a carbon steerer).

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re:

It fun and clicks the right boxes for modern riders, but alloy bolts and anodising is still used today. Alloy nipples are still used and no bolt has ever snapped on me.

Bars are wider now but son has the whole front end, you still chop them down to the correct length, there are even marks on them.

Hite-rites, compared to getting off the bike then back on and trying to align and seat. It was a world ahead at the time.


U brakes, only failed over here due to mud, rest of the word where it warm and dry they where perfectly fine. Not their fault if you tried to ride a Californian design bike ont' moors. Oh and disc where out, both types before the vbrake arrived.

No hate, just facts are not quite well facts.


Flex stems worked unless you where expecting modern suspension standard, remember fork then where £350+ and rare by today's bikes.

Very surprised you missed the opertunity to take a dig a 1.95" amber wall tyre over today tubeless 2.6" black baloons

 

[Bobspoons]

I enjoyed the read

Made me think of all the old foam tube pads I still have some cosmic-trail and local-motion ones. Made mtb a little bmx-ish

 

[raidan73]

Re:

I saw a similar piece a few months ago and while I agree with some of the points i.e. snowflake wheels and disc drives, things like threaded headsets are just simple evolutionary progression rather than failed innovations.

Disc Drives are still cool though

 

[rider]

Re: Re:

Very surprised you missed the opertunity to take a dig a 1.95" amber wall tyre over today tubeless 2.6" black baloons

Well not quite 2.6" and tubeless, but 2.5" tyres was around some 20 years ago. Maybe they were aware of that fact...

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re: Re:

Very surprised you missed the opportunity to take a dig a 1.95" amber wall tyre over today tubeless 2.6" black balloons

Well not quite 2.6" and tubeless, but 2.5" tyres was around some 20 years ago. Maybe they were aware of that fact...

But not used by the weenie brigade he is talking about. Even Smoke were way too heavy for anyone sensible, let alone Magnums











;-)

 

[Titiritero]

Re: Re:

things like threaded headsets are just simple evolutionary progression rather than failed innovations.

Not quite agree to that. Proof to it is that there are still plenty of new bikes in the market, specially in the touring/expedition/urban fields, that still have threaded heatsets.

Ahead system is in principle "better" because of its ease of adjustment, as the linked article mentions. However, due to "fashion" and the belief from manufacturers and shop dealers that all bikes are meant to be racing-like, the head-steerer is cut way too short without even asking the customer, and then you need horrible stems like this:

http://www.humpert.com/en/bikeparts/mar ... 453&bild=1

or dreadful accessories like this:

http://www.humpert.com/en/bikeparts/mar ... 116&bild=1

...in order to get a comfortable position. While, on a threaded headset with quill stem, a simple hex key is enough to put the handlebar at your desired height in about 10 seconds.

So ahead headset, good idea by all means, but usually terribly implemented. All bikes should come with an uncut steering tube, and then let the user, after trial and error with the spacers, cut it to its desired length (exactly the same as it's done with handlebars, they usually come way too wide, but there is always time to make them shorter if desired).

 

[raidan73]

Re:

Exactly my point; not a failed innovation. In terms of MTBs just progression though, and I'm still a fan of threaded headsets

 

[JSO]

Re:

Well done!