Posted by: Kieran
Who said I was pulling a million vert feet per year? In my dreams - I have two kids.
Seriously $400 is my max. I service everything myself. Its the only way I can afford to ride.
Now DH 29ers are the be all and end all of its going to effect second hand sales of 27.5. It happened before not just for bikes - wheels, brakes, suspension etc etc.
The million vert feet was aimed at somebody else complaining about the pace of standards and 'progression'. I don't disagree that a good chunk of this progression is aimed at marketing and forcing the consumer to upgrade, forced obsolecence, etc etc. But when I upgraded from 2x9 SLX to 1x10 XT with a clutch and nw ring, my eyes were opened up. The first time I rode a modern Pike-era fork, once again my eyes opened up. My Deore brakes outwork anything top of the line from 5 years ago at 1/4 the cost if that. Any way you swing it, bikes are way better now than they were even say 3 years ago, especially in the mid-level/range. Does it mean we are having way more fun now than 3 years ago, not really. I still had lots of fun this winter riding my 10 year old hardtail with dated geometry and parts
Why not get on the other end of the second hand sales, ride the wave of depressed costs of a 27.5 bike because the newest/latest/coolest 29 model just came out. Instead of constantly worrying about whether your brand new off the floor bike will devalue 50% the moment it rolls out the shop door (it almost does that anyways even without a new model being announced), just ride it and enjoy it -- one of the perks I find of buying used. Let somebody else take the hit of depreciation, and let somebody else do the R&D testing for a first year release model.