The thing I think it's important to remember is that every year for the last few years geometry has changed less than the year before. HTA, Reach, STA, and even the relationship between Reach and Stack is closer and closer to being settled at a lot of brands.
I do think that rear-centers are going to grow and we may see the average HTA get a little bit steeper as a result but the fact is five years from now, strictly talking about bikes you power yourself, if the bike you bought this year was a solid choice it will be able to go toe-to-toe with a new bike - suspension, geometry, tires, etc.
It's anecdotal, and could also be a matter of age and priorities, and 'rona supply issues, but I see a lot of folks who used to flip bikes yearly hanging on to them longer.
I'm hoping bike companies adapt to this by offering more options - like different rear-centers, linkages, etc - as hop-ups but at least for now I think this trend is clearly reflected in how much energy companies are putting into BroPeds which is a rapidly evolving segment where clearly a rig in five years is going to be faster, lighter, and much better looking than what is for sale today.
Sept. 5, 2022, 9:18 a.m. - Andrew Major
The thing I think it's important to remember is that every year for the last few years geometry has changed less than the year before. HTA, Reach, STA, and even the relationship between Reach and Stack is closer and closer to being settled at a lot of brands. I do think that rear-centers are going to grow and we may see the average HTA get a little bit steeper as a result but the fact is five years from now, strictly talking about bikes you power yourself, if the bike you bought this year was a solid choice it will be able to go toe-to-toe with a new bike - suspension, geometry, tires, etc. It's anecdotal, and could also be a matter of age and priorities, and 'rona supply issues, but I see a lot of folks who used to flip bikes yearly hanging on to them longer. I'm hoping bike companies adapt to this by offering more options - like different rear-centers, linkages, etc - as hop-ups but at least for now I think this trend is clearly reflected in how much energy companies are putting into BroPeds which is a rapidly evolving segment where clearly a rig in five years is going to be faster, lighter, and much better looking than what is for sale today.