I'm just over here being incredibly smug about still having a pair of Rocky Mountain Instincts from 2014 - they check virtually all of those boxes really easily, and are still performing great.
If I long-shock and mullet these things (still old shock standards no less), I end up with fully modern geometry, and proper 160/150mm travel figures from the setup - or I can keep them at 150/130mm 29er like I have been then keep partying with those until it's a decade-old setup that STILL outperforms most of the latest stuff.
They're geometry outliers because they're still usably slack and exist in long enough form (I'm lucky enough to be long of leg to where the XXL fits in with a 150mm dropper), but still...
I never expected to be a retrogrouch when it comes to this stuff, but there aren't any new standards that I've actually been fundamentally impressed by outside of the XD hub (and only because cheaper options exist, such as the e.13 that fully makes use of that)... it's just that a properly set up bike can still outperform handily. What does that tell you about how big a task exists before the marketing people, if word gets out that servicing suspension/joints, fresh tires, fresh pads, and keeping contact points happy is an order of magnitude cheaper than a new bike?
Aug. 27, 2021, 2:46 p.m. - Tehllama42
I'm just over here being incredibly smug about still having a pair of Rocky Mountain Instincts from 2014 - they check virtually all of those boxes really easily, and are still performing great. If I long-shock and mullet these things (still old shock standards no less), I end up with fully modern geometry, and proper 160/150mm travel figures from the setup - or I can keep them at 150/130mm 29er like I have been then keep partying with those until it's a decade-old setup that STILL outperforms most of the latest stuff. They're geometry outliers because they're still usably slack and exist in long enough form (I'm lucky enough to be long of leg to where the XXL fits in with a 150mm dropper), but still... I never expected to be a retrogrouch when it comes to this stuff, but there aren't any new standards that I've actually been fundamentally impressed by outside of the XD hub (and only because cheaper options exist, such as the e.13 that fully makes use of that)... it's just that a properly set up bike can still outperform handily. What does that tell you about how big a task exists before the marketing people, if word gets out that servicing suspension/joints, fresh tires, fresh pads, and keeping contact points happy is an order of magnitude cheaper than a new bike?