All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

Key word...
The MTB crowd is funny. So resistant to new tech, always a grumbly 'ol man in every mountain biker. Every modern tech we now love was ridiculed, hated, and most swore they don't need it or want it.
That goes for stuff like front and rear suspension, 1X, anymore more than 9 speeds, bigger wheels (27.5 & 29), climb switches, disc brakes, etc. All of them were called lazy, cheating, and ruining the experience (sound familiar?). There's still hold outs, for almost any of those...
Personally, it's a bike. It's supposed to be fun, and anything that makes it be more fun is good in my book. Ride what makes you happy.
Well, maybe not everything. Lycra makes my stomach curdle
**Depends who's wearing it

 

I really don't get the electric shifter hate. It mostly functions the same as a regular derailleur, but without cables. That sounds cool to me. It sounds like there are some other minor benefits as well.

Sure, it's expensive and unnecessary but at some point full squish, dropper posts, 1x drivetrains, tubeless tires, hydraulic brakes, disc brakes etc. were all expensive and unnecessary. Not all of these things end up in the main stream, but if they're really good then eventually they won't be expensive and all of us will be using them.

 

hahaha, kinda different way of saying what I just put up!

 

Well said. It's just part of a bigger problem for me - consumerism. Too many people on this rock. That's where I'll leave it

 

That awesome. Hadn't seen that one. And yes video and picture from the same shoot.

 

"He can't even walk down the stuff she rides down..."
"When you decide to freeride..."
"she seems unimpressed"

side note...that's a real funky photoshop job...

 

Great minds...

Man, preaching to the choir. I justify my consumeristic activities in a couple of ways. One, I keep things for a while. Usually to the end of their useful life. Second, if I don't, I sell whatever I'm upgrading to someone that was going to buy that stuff new anyway. I guess that helps?

Either way, it just feels so crowded in this world now. Places I used to frequent that were empty, and I mean really empty, like in S. Utah/Co are now busy. Even the Rockies, Alps, and Carpathians are a freakin' Disney Land. Lines on ridges to hike 14'ers in CO are not uncommon. And a lot of those people are such asses, leaving trash everywhere, making a shit load of noise, acting like the outdoors are supposed to be a catered experience.
Well, there's the grumbly 'ol man in me...

 

You know how many fads and new technology in biking have short life spans? Tons and tons and tons.
At the end of the day the power you put to the pedals is what makes the wheels go round and round. To me
the best advancement I ever felt under my bike seat was a titanium frame and seat post. Man did my body
feel so much better after a race. Other than titanium not much has made me get super pumped for bike things.
I guess todays bike industry is kinda like the golf industry. Every golf brand name says their clubs will help you
hit the ball higher and longer and stop on the greens like a dime. But 99% of golfers still suck ass at golf. Nowadays
cyclists will pay $5000 dollar for bikes the pros ride thinking they will go fast but 99% of them will never be as fast as the
pro's who get those $5000 dollar bikes for free.

 

My thoughts exactly on dirt jumps.

 

^ this reminds me of my TSS and radar cruise control! I love my radar cruise control.....others not so much.

 

I know exactly what you mean, but if it wasn't for those guys buying overpriced bikes then there wouldn't be funding for giving those pros the overpriced bikes for free.

I want some titanium EEwings, but no way I'd ever buy them.... new that is. I've heard from others they're great, but it's a bling factor for sure.

 

Exactly this! I remember biopace when it first came out, then it comes out again as rotor. If anything the bicycle industry has done an amazing job of selling the exact same old technology as "new" every few years. Watching the cycle for, damnit, 35 years now... (thats a big number) and seeing so many amazing new technologies come and go, i'm a little dubious.

As far as wireless shifting. Of course it's awesome, but there are other things that are more interesting to me.

As far as SRAM/Shimano. The only reason I'm on SRAM is for Eagle 1X tech. (F*** Front Deraileurs!!) Now that Shimano is finally getting on board, when my cassette/rear-mech is done, I'll replace it with Shimano, probably XT level kit. Shimano is just so damn reliable.

 

I’m a Shimano guy myself. My Shimano clips have to be 25 years old and I still use them. When SRAM came out I would twist all the grip shifts just to mess with peeps. Hilarious to see them take off and see the chain crunching through the gears.

 

I loved my Mallet E pedals. They were the only thing like it at the time. But I was rebuilding them twice a summer. Now that Shimano finally came out with those Saint M820s. Good lord! it's so nice to be back on Shimano. And they are so much easier to service! Just unthread the spindle, fill the pedal with grease, thread the spindle back in and it automagically repacks the cup/cone bearings. What a brilliant design! Takes more time to remove the pedal from the crank that it does to service the entire thing.

 

I started the talk about the clips a few pages back.. I just ordered the Shimano M820 and Shimano AM7. I am optimistic that I will like clips

 

Give yourself time. Practice getting in and out.... a lot. Now I'm faster on clips than I am on flats, just rotating your heel if faster than having to pick up your foot, but it takes time to build that muscle memory.

 

Humor break:

 

Will do. I will be riding a lot when I get back to the USA. This idea was inspired by all the brazilians riding past me like its nothing, the video on youtube of someone doing crazy tech climbs, and tacomaworld. Thanks guy. You all help me spend my money on tacomas AND bikes.

 

Clips have its place in cycling just like flat pedals do. Coming from a BMX background I was a little hesitant of clips in the beginning. Started with a lot of float but that didn’t last long. I tightened those clips up and away I went. Shit once you learn to spin correctly you’ll never push down on pedals again while clipped in.