I've been doing a bunch of playing around with bike geometry for a series of pieces I'm going to do and if you really look at it bikes haven't changed that much in the last, at least, 8-years. Certainly not like they did in the decade before that and the decade before that. There will always be new materials and etc. but like Moto the equipment is certainly maturing.
How much shorter/longer chainstays get, or slacker head tube angles get, or even if Reaches decrease a bit going forward it won't change the fact that if you bought a Process 153 from 2014 and refreshed the bike (as non-Boost as it is) you could go ride with any of your friends on their current 6" rig and the faster rider would be the faster rider.
From a shop perspective, folks are absolutely keeping non-e-bikes longer and longer than they did previously. Look at the SB150 from Yeti. Plenty of people riding that bike who bought it in the year it was released who have tried other rigs and still will tell you it's the best bike for them.
Same for components. If you put a 2015 Fox 36 RC2 (air system/damper) up against the current 2022 model - both fully fresh obviously - that 7-year-old fork is still excellent.
Sure, riders will wear stuff out or lust for the new colourway but once there's not a discernible performance advantage of upgrading over maintaining your own bike I think it's safe to save we're in a mature market.
Feb. 25, 2022, 10:22 a.m. - Andrew Major
I've been doing a bunch of playing around with bike geometry for a series of pieces I'm going to do and if you really look at it bikes haven't changed that much in the last, at least, 8-years. Certainly not like they did in the decade before that and the decade before that. There will always be new materials and etc. but like Moto the equipment is certainly maturing. How much shorter/longer chainstays get, or slacker head tube angles get, or even if Reaches decrease a bit going forward it won't change the fact that if you bought a Process 153 from 2014 and refreshed the bike (as non-Boost as it is) you could go ride with any of your friends on their current 6" rig and the faster rider would be the faster rider. From a shop perspective, folks are absolutely keeping non-e-bikes longer and longer than they did previously. Look at the SB150 from Yeti. Plenty of people riding that bike who bought it in the year it was released who have tried other rigs and still will tell you it's the best bike for them. Same for components. If you put a 2015 Fox 36 RC2 (air system/damper) up against the current 2022 model - both fully fresh obviously - that 7-year-old fork is still excellent. Sure, riders will wear stuff out or lust for the new colourway but once there's not a discernible performance advantage of upgrading over maintaining your own bike I think it's safe to save we're in a mature market.