Excellent article, Cam. I consider myself fortunate enough to witness the MTB evolution right from the start. And just like you (and many others, I suppose), this blessing is also connected to curses. While I'm being guilty of most of the mistakes you described so precisely (shoes, pedals, stems, 3" Nokia tires, etc), I also added a few of my own. FOr example, buying the first Formula hydraulic disc brakes (on my Rocky Mountain 2XS), and making breaking with the rear, due to constant brake fluid on my disc obsolete, thinking a White Bros. DC110 double crown fork make me invincible, buying a Proflex (the girvin fork was cool, though), and of course, the absurd idea that you dress on the bike the same way you would go surfing (what was I thinking?). But, hey, as qduffy mentioned so correctly, without us being ready and willing to test any absurdity the industry thought up, these young kids wouldn't get all these bikes that won't break for a price that won't break the bank, either. We were crash test dummies and pioneers alike. Think about it, when I was the first to put 'moto style' riserbars on my bikes, everyone thought I was insane. My Gravity dropper post was the talk of Finale Ligure for an entire summer, lol. Evolution certainly is great, isn't it? But so is having the luxury to look back and living a part of our history. Happy trails.
Feb. 2, 2018, 8:46 a.m. - Eurosquirrel
Excellent article, Cam. I consider myself fortunate enough to witness the MTB evolution right from the start. And just like you (and many others, I suppose), this blessing is also connected to curses. While I'm being guilty of most of the mistakes you described so precisely (shoes, pedals, stems, 3" Nokia tires, etc), I also added a few of my own. FOr example, buying the first Formula hydraulic disc brakes (on my Rocky Mountain 2XS), and making breaking with the rear, due to constant brake fluid on my disc obsolete, thinking a White Bros. DC110 double crown fork make me invincible, buying a Proflex (the girvin fork was cool, though), and of course, the absurd idea that you dress on the bike the same way you would go surfing (what was I thinking?). But, hey, as qduffy mentioned so correctly, without us being ready and willing to test any absurdity the industry thought up, these young kids wouldn't get all these bikes that won't break for a price that won't break the bank, either. We were crash test dummies and pioneers alike. Think about it, when I was the first to put 'moto style' riserbars on my bikes, everyone thought I was insane. My Gravity dropper post was the talk of Finale Ligure for an entire summer, lol. Evolution certainly is great, isn't it? But so is having the luxury to look back and living a part of our history. Happy trails.