I think you hit the nail on the head where once you start prioritizing performance and reliability, weight just goes out the window. I still have frustrating conversations with newer riders (or riders on bikes from 1-2 generations back just now looking at upgrading) who obsess over weight without thought of performance. My Megatrail is sitting just under 35 lbs right now. I had a Nomad 3 a few years back with similar build intent that was only 30. Not only has stuff gotten heavier due to getting more reliable, but bikes themselves have gotten larger and therefore heavier. It's basically to the point where if I really wanted a lighter bike, I'd have to replace the frame (with something that probably is less durable).
I'm also sure there's a lot of us who put stuff on for limited use and just never take it off because we're busy. I dropped a chain casing a jump a couple years ago, so promptly put on a chainguide (and will never know whether I really need it). A few weeks ago, I upgraded that chainguide to a bashguide because I was going to ride somewhere really rocky, and probably won't get around to taking it off until this winter. (I did come back from that trip with a nice ding in said bashguide, so I feel somewhat vindicated about that one.) My EDC pump is still strapped to the frame from that same trip (and was also used), and is also unnecessary for my local trails. I have a set of MT7s that are roughly 100g lighter than the Codes I replaced them with, simply because the MT7s have some stubbornly sticky pistons that I got tired of trying to fix. My EXT fork was a splurge/frustration purchase because I was sick of creaky 36s, and weighs a ~250g more than a perfectly functional Lyrik or similar 160mm fork, but no way it's coming off now.
July 29, 2021, 12:54 p.m. - Andeh
I think you hit the nail on the head where once you start prioritizing performance and reliability, weight just goes out the window. I still have frustrating conversations with newer riders (or riders on bikes from 1-2 generations back just now looking at upgrading) who obsess over weight without thought of performance. My Megatrail is sitting just under 35 lbs right now. I had a Nomad 3 a few years back with similar build intent that was only 30. Not only has stuff gotten heavier due to getting more reliable, but bikes themselves have gotten larger and therefore heavier. It's basically to the point where if I really wanted a lighter bike, I'd have to replace the frame (with something that probably is less durable). I'm also sure there's a lot of us who put stuff on for limited use and just never take it off because we're busy. I dropped a chain casing a jump a couple years ago, so promptly put on a chainguide (and will never know whether I really need it). A few weeks ago, I upgraded that chainguide to a bashguide because I was going to ride somewhere really rocky, and probably won't get around to taking it off until this winter. (I did come back from that trip with a nice ding in said bashguide, so I feel somewhat vindicated about that one.) My EDC pump is still strapped to the frame from that same trip (and was also used), and is also unnecessary for my local trails. I have a set of MT7s that are roughly 100g lighter than the Codes I replaced them with, simply because the MT7s have some stubbornly sticky pistons that I got tired of trying to fix. My EXT fork was a splurge/frustration purchase because I was sick of creaky 36s, and weighs a ~250g more than a perfectly functional Lyrik or similar 160mm fork, but no way it's coming off now.