Toys R Us Kids Workshop Review What People Are Saying Comments
Innovation is a tricky business. Many of the technologies that have made mountain biking as practiced as it is today (suspension, dropper posts, disc brakes...) were in one case considered unnecessary and over-complicated by some. But on the other hand, if you look back at a magazine from a few years agone you'll encounter no shortage of "game-changing" innovations that never amounted to much.
To name a few, how about linkage forks, one-slice wheels, pull shocks, multiple shocks, or the Specialized's WU dropper posts that adapted the saddle tilt every bit it dropped... Some of these were adept ideas in many ways, but the fact they failed to take off suggests they weren't every bit much of a gamechanger every bit their inventors hoped, or perhaps were too complicated to be worth the endeavor.
Looking back in time, it seems easy to sort the revolutionary innovations from the duds. But hindsight is 20/20. Spotting what'south going to move the sport along in hereafter (and what's not) is much trickier.
And then which of the current crop of tech trends are worth having? I'one thousand going to play the office of the bad guy in Gladiator and sort those that deserve to live from those we could probably alive without.
Acquit in listen, this is just my current stance and I'1000 both willing and likely to alter my listen near some of these ideas. It isn't meant to pelting on anyone's parade and I certainly don't want to discourage innovation; it'south only a finger-in-the-wind take on which ideas I think we're likely to see more of in futurity. Who knows? Looking back on this list in 10 years' time I might take got it all incorrect.
Half dozen-bar interruption
To recap, a 4-bar linkage is one where the rear axle is mounted on a frame fellow member which is not directly continued to the mainframe, but moves on two other links - these could exist a pair of short links (similar VPP) or a rocker link and a chainstay (Horst-link). That makes four frame members: the mainframe, lower link/chainstay, rear triangle/seatstay, and upper link.
A six-bar linkage adds two more frame members and three or four more pivot points. This adds weight and price, along with more than parts to service. I haven't seen a satisfyingly specific justification from whatever six-bar proponents, only the claimed advantage normally has to exercise with fine-tuning the axle path and therefore the anti-squat curve in a way that isn't possible with a iv-bar design. But whether that makes the wheel ride appreciably better is highly questionable. After all, at that place's niggling understanding on what any of these curves should ideally look like anyway.
What's more, according to Pinkbike's kinematics expert, Dan Roberts, some of these designs are extremely sensitive to pin placement, to the bespeak where manufacturing tolerances could (potentially) create a meaningful change in those highly-refined kinematics.
Long-travel droppers
Like many people, there was a time when I had just about convinced myself a 125mm dropper was all you needed. Sure, the saddle got in the way sometimes (actually quite oft) but that probably but meant I wasn't hanging far plenty off the back of the bike, correct? Then every fourth dimension I tried a longer mail - first 150mm, then 175mm, and then 200mm and more than - it felt great to have a bit more room to motion around and permit the cycle to come up towards me when pumping. When I returned to a shorter seatpost, the saddle always seemed to exist in the way more often than I noticed before.
Some people blame steep seat tubes for the demand for more drop, but I think the motion to longer front-centre lengths is a better caption because you can't hang your weight behind an over-extended saddle if you want the front wheel to grip. Really though, long-travel droppers were ever a smashing idea - judging past the wearable marks on the concluding fixed seatpost I ever owned, I was dropping information technology by well-nigh 200 mm past preference. It only took time to brand a reliable dropper that long.
Through-stalk cablevision routing
When information technology comes to regular internal cable routing, most manufacturers have managed to eliminate the rattle and make information technology relatively easy to alter a cablevision. Only recently Magura launched a concept for a brake with cables running through the handlebar, then Focus launched several new bikes with cables running through the headset, spacers and the stem.
I hardly demand to tell you lot the drawbacks of this. Swapping a cable means taking the stem apart and changing stem length involves taking the brake apart and re-bleeding it. Fifty-fifty dropping the bar height requires a different (round) spacer above the stalk, which means dissimilar parts and a less-than-clean look, which sort of destroys the point. Having a few cables crossing in front of the frame is fine.
Tire inserts
Inserts aren't for everyone. Regular tires offer enough protection for nigh people and if yous're worried most compression punctures or rim impairment you lot could merely increase pressures slightly. But if y'all're after the best possible grip, they have real benefits. Not only exercise they add some protection for your tires and rims, allowing lower pressures, they also increase the damping of the tire, making information technology less bouncy, more stuck to the footing.
You lot could achieve much of this with a thicker-casing tire, and doing so might have a similar weight penalty to adding an insert. Only here's the matter: thicker tire casings dramatically increase rolling resistance, which has a much bigger effect on rolling or climbing speed than the actress weight does. But with an insert, you can accept the protection and damping benefits without the slower rolling speeds.
High pivot trail bikes
I'm sure this will be controversial. I become that high pivot bikes have advantages - they're meliorate at arresting large bumps and have better sensitivity while pedalling. If you're looking to go downward a Earth Cup runway as fast as possible, they make a lot of sense. But even then, information technology's not every bit if low-pivot bikes aren't still winning races and when Neko Mullaly tested comparable loftier and low-pivot bikes in a really impressive batch of back-to-back testing, there wasn't much in it. Information technology even sounded like he was leaning towards the low pivot bike.
I'chiliad non maxim high pivot bikes aren't better for descending (for a given corporeality of travel, I recollect they are); I just don't think the benefit is worth it for anything other than a downhill race bike. Manuals and bunnyhops are slightly harder work, the idler adds a measurable amount of drag, it adds weight and complexity, plus you'll usually need a longer-than-stock chain and a lower roller guide to keep the concatenation growth in check.
Are these downsides the end of the world? Absolutely non. Merely the upsides aren't going to change your life either, so I'm not convinced information technology's worth it for a cycle you pedal under your own steam. If you've already got 200mm+ of suspension travel then fair enough, simply otherwise it might exist simpler, more efficient and more effective to merely increase the travel in order to improve big-hitting assimilation.
High-volume air springs
While coil springs accept the same stiffness throughout the travel, traditional air springs are much stiffer at the start of the travel than in the middle, which can make them feel harsh, unpredictable and unstable. But by increasing the volume in the positive and negative air chambers, it'due south possible to reduce this mid-travel dip in stiffness, making them perform more like coil springs, with the associated traction and support.
When companies advertise this "gyre-like feel", people often ask "Why not just use curl springs"? Well, they're heavier, ordinarily aren't progressive at the end of the travel, and virtually of all, changing the leap rate is incremental, expensive and time-consuming. And from a brand's perspective, getting all their customers ready upward with the right spring rates is a logistical headache. That's why air will continue to be the default choice, particularly as air springs keep to improve.
Electronically controlled intermission
Last year saw the release of RockShox Flight Attendant. Though non the first, it's the latest and greatest automated suspension mode selector withal. Information technology improved on Flim-flam Live Valve and Lapierre's ei system by making information technology wireless, pedal sensitive, and offering an intermediate compression damping mode every bit well every bit open and closed.
The idea, of grade, is to let you lot to take a firm and efficient bike when climbing, a supple bike for descending, and something in-between when you're pedalling through rough terrain. And according to Kazimer'due south review, information technology basically does what it sets out to do.
Only fifty-fifty the original Fox Live Valve worked exactly equally intended nearly of the time. My issue with automatic lockouts in general is that, with modern bikes, having the suspension locked out is only a pocket-size benefit unless you're out of the saddle sprinting - less than 1% faster according to this test. And for the longer climbs where that kind of percentage could add together upwards to a few seconds, what'due south incorrect with using the lockout manually?
Don't get me incorrect, the technology is impressive. But given the marginal benefits (especially when compared to a cheap remote lockout), I struggle to see the entreatment unless the cost, weight and charging requirements come down considerably.
Broad range cassettes
I realise the comments department is full of world-class athletes who can ride a singlespeed all day long upwards 25% inclines. Many of yous might think that a 52-tooth bottom gear is totally unnecessary, just science says otherwise.
Let'southward imagine you're a 70 kg rider with a 15 kg bike and you want to ride upwardly a 20% slope (which is steep but not unheard of). Let's say yous can sustain 360 Due west of power, which at that bodyweight is nigh the level of a male person domestic pro cyclist. On a 20% gradient in ideal weather condition, you could sustain a step of 7 kph.
When working hard, virtually cyclists similar to pedal with a cadence of nigh 90 RPM. With a 32-tooth chainring and a 29" cycle, you'd demand at least a 56-tooth sprocket to achieve that cadence at 7 kph.
The indicate is, even very fit cyclists can benefit from large sprockets if the gradients are steep. It'south not that riding hills that steep is incommunicable with a smaller cassette - I used to run an 11-36t cassette and got upwards (most) all the same hills I do now - it'south just that yous'll have to utilize a less efficient cadence which is more tiring and harder on your body. Besides, gears shouldn't exist designed for the fittest riders in optimum conditions, simply to accommodate nigh riders in most conditions. If you call back a 52-tooth sprocket is unnecessary, you're either non riding very steep climbs or you lot're putting up with a less than ideal cadence.
What do you think? Allow us know in the comments.
Source: https://www.pinkbike.com/news/opinion-which-mtb-innovations-do-we-really-need.html
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