Thinking of a new MTB but just can't get excited about current bikes....

[Grant Fondo]

This is kind of a 'What bike?' post, but specifically for MTB so posting in this section seems appropriate.

I ride a 1996 hardtail MTB and find it serves me quite well, certainly doesn't hold me back when riding with buddies where I am often quickest up the trail and without fail fastest down the other side!
A few times over recent years my mates have made comments along the lines of 'Jeez Skolly, heaven help us if you ever get a decent modern bike'! This usually prompts me to look at the current availability before dismissing the idea because nothing takes my fancy and besides, I'm plenty quick enough with my old 26" dinosaur

However, the niggle that maybe I am missing something won't go away. Could a modern bike' actually be better handling and give more enjoyment?

Trouble is, having just looked again, there is still nothing to excite me.

1x drivetrains are not good for me as I like to pedal downhill between the bends.

27.5" wheels would be my natural choice but all the high end bikes tend to be 29"

Aesthetically I want a frame that doesn't look like a full suss but with a rigid rear end.

My son has a 2016 GT Zaskar carbon expert which would be my ideal bike if I could find one the next size up from his and throw on a double chainset.

Why do I feel so left out by modern bikes, or am I missing something?

I was having a think about one of these the other week on the basis of modern/front suss improvement over my old Canny. Got a Ghost road bike and quality is up there with the big names.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com...sf-essential-hardtail-bike-2021/rp-prod201649

 

[I like Skol]

I think I am going to spend 6 months watching eBay for that 2016 carbon Zaskar in size L. Just had the tape out on Jnr's M and no matter how I hold it the bike is just plain too small for me..... Lovely bike though.

 

[dan_bo]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/28486111...qniw3gJSJq&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[nickb]

Do you know if a V-brake upgrade is doable?

I don't know if the brake bosses will be in the correct place or even if they'd be suitable if they are.

 

[Grant Fondo]

I don't know if the brake bosses will be in the correct place or even if they'd be suitable if they are.

Yeah thought that might be an issue. Will look into disc conversion again, shame original Sun Metal rims can't be reused though, both are still perfectly true after 27 years!

 

[marzjennings]

If the bike you have already have makes you happy then there's no reason to change, but I feel you are missing out on a lot of improvements.

'One by' drive trains are great and if you stick a 34 on the front your not going to run out of gears going downhill. On my full sus 29er with 1x I can keep pedaling and pushing hard over 25mph downhill on the road. But I'm a spinner not a masher so might not work for.

Modern disk brakes are night and day from what they were years ago, my Hope Tech 4s compared to my old old mini's are a vast improvement. And all the old rims brakes are terrible in anything other than the driest conditions.

Modern suspension forks have better seals, bushings, less play, longer life and are a whole bunch lighter.

Friggin carbons wheels are a god send for a large rider like me who used to kill alloy rims on a yearly basis.

The lowest end shifters and mechs work as well if not better than the old high end XTR's and XX's. I will be upgrading to electric shifting on my next bike.

Oh, almost forget the dropper post, an absolute must on any mountain bike I own or plan to own in the future. Something I definitely wish I had back in the 90's.

Something like a Specialized Epic is a rocket on the trails.

For me my full sus 29er 1x Stumpy allows me to pedal and pedal hard all the time, but our local trails are quite rooty and rough. I've feel my older bikes used to clatter across the dirt, whereas now the new bike seems to flow so much smoother and quicker.

 

[figbat]

Yeah thought that might be an issue. Will look into disc conversion again, shame original Sun Metal rims can't be reused though, both are still perfectly true after 27 years!

I converted my Trek from cantis to discs. The front is easy, although if you are on a threaded headset it is much easier if you convert to threadless (as I did) as this opens up many more fork options. The rear you can either leave as canti (since the rear carries less braking duty), or you can get disc caliper mounts brazed on or you can use a frame adaptor (as I did).

 

[Grant Fondo]

I converted my Trek from cantis to discs. The front is easy, although if you are on a threaded headset it is much easier if you convert to threadless (as I did) as this opens up many more fork options. The rear you can either leave as canti (since the rear carries less braking duty), or you can get disc caliper mounts brazed on or you can use a frame adaptor (as I did).

That's helpful thanks.
Just had a quick look ... angled dropouts, are yours the same? Adapter blurb says 'vertical only'?

 

[potsy]

If it was me I'd be sticking with the bike you already have and love, cannot imagine a new shiny one giving you much more, I reckon performance is 90% rider and 10% gear...and as much as I hate to say it you aren't too shabby in that department
Once your legs go you'll need an electric one anyway, may as well save your pennies for that day

 

[Hacienda71]

Slacker angles but more upright seating for climbing, more travel suspension without compromising handling, dropper posts, do all make a difference. My 2020 Bossnut climbs far better than my 2004 Stumpjumper and is more planted going downhill and that is a budget modern fs versus a pretty prcey in it's day fs xc bike . Putting wide bars shorter stem and more travel forks on an old bike is a compromise. It is not designed for that. I suspect @I like Skol knows this from his foray into 160 mm forks on a bike designed for 80 to 100....

 

[figbat]

That's helpful thanks.
Just had a quick look ... angled dropouts, are yours the same? Adapter blurb says 'vertical only'?
View attachment 650295

Yeah, it says for alloy frames with flat dropouts but I fitted it to a steel frame with contoured dropouts - I did a bit of fettling with a Dremel and so far so good (approx 1,500 miles). The seat stay hasn't collapsed as naysayers would have it and the brakes work well enough to have stopped my every time I needed them.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

You are quickest up the hill and fastest down. A modern mtn bike will just mean more waiting around on the terrain you ride, assuming it’s gnarly enough. Gravel bikes were pretty much invented as mtn bikes moved so far beyond the trails we ride, they lost the engaged feeling you have on older designs. Part of the joy of mtn biking is the engagement with the trails you ride. Modern mtn bikes can remove that engagement as they just make everything too easy. You are just a passenger not an active pilot.

If you truly want to see what a modern mtn bike feels like. Go to a trail centre where you can hire, and see what you think.

 

[Grant Fondo]

Yeah, it says for alloy frames with flat dropouts but I fitted it to a steel frame with contoured dropouts - I did a bit of fettling with a Dremel and so far so good (approx 1,500 miles). The seat stay hasn't collapsed as naysayers would have it and the brakes work well enough to have stopped my every time I needed them.

View attachment 650300

View attachment 650301

View attachment 650302

Nifty looking bit of kit! Seen SLX set for £150 so may be worth a punt, just wheels then.
Cheers

 

[IanSmithCSE]

Good morning,

I think that I get it, having been brought up on steel road bikes, hydroformed aluminium and carbon fibre bikes still look wrong to me, although less wrong now than say 10 years ago.

I am currently commuting on both a CF road bike with Di2 and a Halfords Carrera Virtuoso with pre Claris 2000 series, not at the same time. :-)

The really big difference is Di2, yet this is probably the most more money than sense upgrade that you could buy according to most people.

The commute is on country lanes where one minute it is flat, then it is a 5% gradient, then 20% for 20 yards and then flat again. Because of this I swap between the two chainrings a lot, I can not put into words why pressing a button rather than a lever makes the ride so, so different but it does, for me at least.

It may be that you have to accept that new bikes are different, accept them for what they are rather than try a make a new old style bike, ride them for a few thousand miles and then decide, Wow that is wonderful or Yup, I was right, my old bike was better.

The problem with short rides can be that you simply find that the bike is different and automatically prefer what you know. It took me a couple of thousand miles to "get" Di2, initially I was using it like a cable shifter and it works fine that way, but after a while I found that I was making gear changes that I wouldn't with a cable shifter.

It's really fun to ride along a down hill road, get to a short hill, swap chainrings and hammer it up that hill, all 40 yards of it and then change rings again.

What's worrying is that carbon fibre bikes no longer look ridiculous to me, and I actually look at steel road frames and feel, come on, you're just taking the mick, £1,100 for a 725 frame that weighs 2,300g. If you can find one, that is what a full 501 tubed frame weighed in the mid 1980s and they were sold to non enthusiasts.

Sometimes it is easy to become too cynical, not every new invention is about making you buy a new version of what you already have. Okay, often it is, but not always.

Bye

Ian

 

[I like Skol]

Been out for a ride with @dan_bo tonight and discussed the new bike thing. As it happens I felt so engaged with my old bike that even when questioned about the new bikes progress I couldn't imagine swapping to a new machine!

Maybe I am too stuck in my ways?