So, What's New?

[RidingAgain]

The thought has crossed my mind... Buying a newer bike than I have. Why? Mainly because even though back in 2015/16 when I bought it I was looking for an xlrg frame with a long top tube and it was among the frames that met that need and was still in my budget, its always still felt shorter than I'd like it to be. The top tube length of my '07 Cannonade Prophet is at 65cm/25.6" — which isn't short, and a bit longer than average, but I'm 6'4". Additionally, when I was researching bikes and saw that 29 and 27.5 wheel sizes were the way things had gone, all the comments I read on the Prophet related to wheel size pretty much said that although designed to take a 26" wheel, it rode even better on 27.5" wheels, almost like it was designed for them. Any who, I guess what I'm saying is that I was looking and considering a number of the newer standards that were being applied to mtb design when I was considering the Prophet.

But looking at bikes today, and all the changes to design standards... Shoot... It can be confusing.

So I thought I'd just make a list of all the things I'm seeing when I look at bikes from the POV of buying one. And this is by no means a claim of everything out there... Just what I can think of that I've seen and considered.

Here it is...

#1... Frame material... Carbon or Aluminum.

#2... Wheel size... 29", 27.5", Fat Tire, and even now 26" again with larger tires... Which includes 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.8, 3.0 tires

#4... Frame geometry... Head angles (leaning to slacker, but maybe not too slack, whatever too slack is)... Seat tube angles (steeper, but what exactly is steeper)... Reach (some long, others short)... Chain stay length (some longer, others shorter)... Wheel base (some longer, others shorter).

#5... Type of suspension... Honestly, it seems like just too many types to list.

#6... Fork... Brand (each has their own approach to fork build dynamics)... Travel... Stanchion size... Rake/Trail (to a lesser extent).

#3... Rim type... Carbon, Aluminium... Hub type... 148mm Boost, 142..., 135mm... Rim internal width... 25mm, 29mm, 30mm, 32mm, 34mm, 35mm, 40mm.

#7... Drive (including BB type), cockpit set up (stem/handlebar), seat/post, brakes, rim type, tire brand, tubeless (a given these days)... I think are kind of at the lower end of the considerations.

What have I left out?

Weight maybe? Who considers weight these days? Back in the day weight was a big factor.

And of course, all of the above is subject to what type of trail riding the person is considering the bike for... Cross Country, Trail, All-Mountain, Enduro, Downhill... Rocky, loamy, sandy... Wet or dry conditions...

And the riders body type/weight and riding style.

It's really all a confusing situation.

But for me... And I think tall riders in general... It's a bit less confusing, as the choice for those looking for longer in reach frames is limited. And because of this, for me, and my limited budget, the brands I keep coming back to are Kona and Trek. 

Anyway... I'm just musing... And I've been seeing so many people interested in buying bikes, and asking me for my thoughts on it, I thought it might be an interesting topic for this forum.

Edited May 1, 2020 by RidingAgain

[mack_turtle]

26 minutes ago, RidingAgain said:

#1... Frame material... Carbon or Aluminum. steel is also an option, and titanium on some high-end options.
#2... Wheel size... 29", 27.5", Fat Tire, and even now 26" basically everything these days is 29/27.5+. 29+ and true fat bikes are another story. 26+ is a niche at best.

#3 you missed number 3

#4... Frame geometry... this is starting to balance out for sure. the question is: do you want a bike that tends to be stable at speed at the expense of slow-speed maneuverability, or a a nimble chuckable bike? there's a million ways to parse that and compromise in the middle. it's very subtle and hard to describe.

#5... Type of suspension... I have nothing useful to add about rear suspension. front suspension is just: how much do you want?

#6... Fork... Brand unless you have ridden and worked on several different types of forks, it's hard to really discriminate on this topic.

#3... Rim type... Carbon, Aluminium... the general consensus on rims is carbon is best if you can afford a good carbon rim and aluminum rims are still just fine. Hub type... 148mm Boost this is not an option any more. it's boost or nothing, super boost if you have a super aggro bike with giant tires. fat if you have a true fat bike. Rim internal width... 25mm, 29mm, 30mm, 32mm, 34mm, 35mm, 40mm. this seems to be a function of optimizing tires now. no one is going out of their way to use a narrower rim than they ought to, but some people may be using excessively wide rims for their tires.

#7... Drive (including BB type), cockpit set up (stem/handlebar), seat/post, brakes, rim type, tire brand, tubeless (a given these days)... I think are kind of at the lower end of the considerations. 1x drivetrains are a given at this point. BB type depends on what fits in your frame. wide bar and short stem is ubiquitous for all but the most curmudgeonly holdouts, although some people like a bar with weird angles. tubeless is a given.

And of course, all of the above is subject to what type of trail riding the person is considering the bike for... Cross Country, Trail, All-Mountain, Enduro, Downhill... Rocky, loamy, sandy... Wet or dry conditions...

when I sold bicycles, the question to ask was always "where and how do you plan to ride this bike? be specific." the word "trails" means very different things to different people.

But for me... And I think tall riders in general... It's a bit less confusing, as the choice for those looking for longer in reach frames is limited. I think the long reach on some bands these day is getting out of hand, which should be a boon for tall people. 

 

Edited May 1, 2020 by mack_turtle

[RonSurly]

not my bikes..haha  I've been riding the 2, karate monkey and pake cross bike, for over 10 years now, it's kinda weird now with so much history they're like family

[FJsnoozer]

Don’t forget about Bamboo bikes

...and 36ers


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