"it doesn't take away from all around ride-to-the-store use"
This needs to be said more often, and maybe extended to just plain "all around use".
A common argument against slacker head angles is that it slows down the steering which makes it less than ideal for tight XC racing (this itself is arguable, but we'll give it to them for now), but those arguments also ignore that many/most buyers of these kind of bikes usually aren't immediately going out and trying to make a paycheck in XC racing.
Budget bikes should be about fun, value, and flexibility (which is really a form of value). Steep fronted XCO-race-oriented hardtails are great fun for many \[experienced\] riders, but for new riders (generally where the budget bikes are aimed), the flexibility of a less racy geo is so much more valuable.
I can definitely see this little project, when it is done, really showing the validity of "geometry is free".
April 4, 2022, 10:31 a.m. - Justin White
"it doesn't take away from all around ride-to-the-store use" This needs to be said more often, and maybe extended to just plain "all around use". A common argument against slacker head angles is that it slows down the steering which makes it less than ideal for tight XC racing (this itself is arguable, but we'll give it to them for now), but those arguments also ignore that many/most buyers of these kind of bikes usually aren't immediately going out and trying to make a paycheck in XC racing. Budget bikes should be about fun, value, and flexibility (which is really a form of value). Steep fronted XCO-race-oriented hardtails are great fun for many \[experienced\] riders, but for new riders (generally where the budget bikes are aimed), the flexibility of a less racy geo is so much more valuable. I can definitely see this little project, when it is done, really showing the validity of "geometry is free".