Your Top 5 Favorite MtB Inventions and Why

Beer.

 

One word with 4 letters. So simple, yet so HUGE.

 

Snakecharmer, I just got one myself and I love it!!

 

its my opinion...so deal with it

 

On what bike do you have a square taper bottom bracket? They haven't been on mt bikes since 1988, have they?

 

Yes...
1) Shocktop(must be ice cold)
2) Blue Moon(requires several)
3) Fat Tire(draft only)
4) 805 (easily moves to #1 spot after a Pinos Ride and a Mikes pizza visit)
5) Pacifico(best thing Casa Lupitas has)
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.
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6) Ibis Ripley OG(this would be #1 if there wasn’t beer)
7) Santa Cruz Hightower(this would be #1 if there wasn’t beer or a Ripley)
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999) Yeti SB 5.5

 

Thems are some mighty easy drinkin beers there...

 

The more the merrier works for me. It’s a proven technique that has shown me miraculous recoveries from injuries just like yours...

 

Top 5 beers (IME)

1) Dead Carp Red: A batch of brew we make for our annual houseboat trips. Flavored after Humboldt Brewing Company's Red Nectar, an amber ale. 22 oz, 8%!
2) Blue Moon: smoooooth...nuff said.
3) Firestone DBA: Undoubtedly the best keg beer on the planet.
4) Shock Top: poor man's Blue Moon (must be cold!).
5) Bud Light: Yep, it's true. Nothing goes down a beer bong hose faster and more smoothly. This is strictly a partying beer. Also great for shotgunning.

 

1) Kern River Brewing Citra DIPA
2) Lenghtwise Brewing Citra
3) 805, I remember when you could only get this stuff in the 805 area code
4) Kona Brewing Wailua Wheat
5) TS Brewing Mt. Whitney XPA

 

Since it's gone off topic and derailed. I'll keep it going....

Top 5 Strains
1. ATF (Alsakan Thunder Fuk)
2. Jack Herrer
3. Blueberry Kush
4. OG Skywalker
5. Bruce Banner

All of them go well with any and everything. Day or night. Sun up to sun down. No harmful side effects. Some may give you euphoric feelings never experienced before.
What you got?

 

Solid list of all-time winners right there !

My list would be

Jack Herer
Durban Poison
Tahoe OG
Amnesia Haze
Blue Dream

Tonight was some Larry OG with a healthy dusting of kief.


For the bike

Front suspension- more fun
Disc brakes-more safe
Dropper Post-most fun
29" wheels- big rolly things
Carbon handlebars- more comfy

Special mention: SPD pedals

 

Thank you for bringing it back around.

 

I have an old GT hardtail and an old steel road bike with one on both.

 

My '97 Proflex still runs a square taper. The others that would have been square taper have been changed to something a bit more modern. I can't tell the difference tbh!

My bike top 5 - in no particular order:
Hydraulic disc brakes - the change from canti to v-brake was a game changer, hydraulic discs today are just astonishing in comparison
1x drivetrains - an industry that prides itself on going bigger and more complicated simplified, I love it.
Clipless pedals - for racing / x-country riding I wouldn't use anything else.
Modern suspension - my first squishy fork had a mighty 1.5 inches of travel and steered with a mind of its own
Hydration backpacks - no more drinking from a water bottle covered in god knows what & I like a clean bike without crap hanging of it everywhere

I can't comment on tubeless tyres, 29ers, dropper posts, handlebars wider than I can spread my arms or any of the other current stuff. Most of my relics won't support them

 

1) Modern geometry – everything else is secondary

Through-axles
Disc brakes
Interchangeable rear dropouts
Oversize head tubes
Modern rim designs
Clutch derailleur/N-W ring
Etc...

 

I agree with the geometry. I have always been after aggressive bikes since I've started riding and bikes have moved more towards what I've always preferred.

In no particular order:

1. Front suspension/through axles. Game changer for bigger/aggressive riders. A little unnerving when you can feel the whole front end moving around under you.
2. Definitely disc brakes. Another night and day change for speed/control/durability/low maintenance. There's literally no drawbacks over other styles. Other nice benefit is being able to almost destroy a wheel and still being able to brake no problem.
3. 1x drivetrains. I always hated 3x, was an early adopter for 2x and tried all kinds of crazy stuff out there like the hammershmidt and whatever else. I absolutely love 1x for the simplicity and my needs.
4. Dropper post. I held out on this forever. When they first started getting more popular, I was on an older Chromag hardtail with a 27.2 post and all the options sucked. When I picked up a newer bike, tried a dropper and just love it.
5. Wide bars/short stems. Another game changer for handling.

 

Well, still technically on my first "mountain bike", so haven't seen much in the way of advancements. However, things that were important in the purchase of my new incoming bike were....

Geometry - I'm looking forward to moving away from my 71 degree head angle, 80mm fork, hardtail.

Fork - which leads me to the fork mentioned above... cheap heavy ass coil spring, at 80mm... not the most confidence inspiring, and tends to kill momentum... I've taken a few trips over the bars by stuffing it on a rock or root... Definitely looking forward to a plusher air fork.

dropper post - honestly... there's only a couple local spots that I feel the need to drop my seat... the last section of upper winter creek... rolling down towards zion... el-p... especially with those quick random ups all through it... maybe the ungodly tight steep clamshell switchbacks... otherwise, i'm just too lazy to bother stopping to adjust the seat often...even with quick release... major flow killer. So, looking forward to having one of these, maybe I'll shave a few seconds off other descents as well....

1x drive train - currently have a 3x9, can't wait to get rid of the front derailleur.. and only have to focus on shifting up and down on one mechanism...

tubeless - ok so technically I already have tubeless.. with the stans rim strips, my current rims actually work really well for coming on a budget bike from 2012. They have saved me from many a goat head. Can't wait to have actual rims designed for tubeless, I'm sure there will definitely be way less cussing coming from the back of my house when trying to mount a tire ...

 

My top 5 mtb inventions:

Enduro FS bikes - it's an enabler that allowed more access to terrain that once caused a lot of anxiety, especially regarding risk of injury and risk of getting stranded by mechanical failure. It allowed me to go the pace I desired, one that I'd describe as being more free and flowing. The dreaded squat when climbing a long travel bike has been nicely addressed as of late (through geo)

Class 1 pedal assist motor (Shimano STEPS) - another enabler that curbed my anxiety towards fitness related confidence. Can I keep up, can I climb that, can I survive that epic? Solved the issue better than weight weenie style upgrade-itis. I no longer feel dread of lost fitness from lack of time spent on bike; I no longer dread showing-up-and-blowing-up. I don't feel a need to make a ride feel like a work-out, esp after recognizing that such leads to crashes (e.g. going hard to burn off energy in a short amount of time). Makes slogs and grinds go by quicker, and raises the minimum speed I go to offset the awful feeling of tire drag and headwind. Allowed me to choose parts for utility and reliability which add up to make the bike more of utility vehicle than a toy. Speaking of utility, it allowed me to haul a lot more stuff including hauling entire bikes to the post office for shipping drop-off, over rough and steep hilly fireroads too

Sealant for tubeless tires - must have! Keeping air in the tires has been a problem that plagued the bicycling experience, and riding on the side of roads to get to the trailhead often results in a bunch of goathead thorns in my tire

Remote dropper post - unlocking the suspension travel in my legs has opened a kind of riding that I'm thoroughly spoiled by. I feel handicapped without the ability to conveniently raise and lower the saddle on-the-fly, finding my riding to be greatly compromised and my knees potentially stressed to their limits in a shorter amount of time if I try to ride with the post partway dropped. Huge utility bonus: I can put my foot down at stops comfortably.

Improved protective gear - stuff that I can wear for an entire ride without feeling I need to take it off to vent when at a rest stop or going really slow, including vented FF helmets and soft d3o knee/shin pads. I've had concussions, sprains (inc hyper extensions), and a few big gashes, but nothing serious yet, and would like to keep it that way

All-in-all these things helped make MTB more of something I can do as a daily habit that's justified by utility, rather than some expensive hobby/exercise for thrill seeking adventurers.

 

Three-piece cranks with the addition of the small ring. This made it easy to climb.
Tires with good traction. For cornering.
The quick link. Easy repair.
Cold vulcanization patches. Easy repair.
Suspension forks and the DW link. Smooth ride.
Ergonomic saddles with a dropper post. Save my ass in more than one circumstance.

 

good to hear from you Varaxis!!

 

Just kidding.

I'd have to go with disc brakes and dropper posts. Riding confidence directly corresponds with riding fun for me.

 

Hey, @Varaxis, what's up?

All kinds of other sports gave MTB a clue about protective gear. I'm not aware of one innovation in armor than has spawned from MTB. It all came from skating, BMX, moto; maybe some others. Ah, maybe MIPS? Is that an invention or a marketing feature?

 

I'll add my Cool Tool to a list of one (index shifting). Mine was a present more than a quarter century ago and still functions perfectly. AFAIK, it was one of the/ the first mulit-tools.

 

I'd have a hard time without a digital shock/fork pump, when every fraction of a PSI matters. Add digital tire gauge too, though I suppose they weren't specifically developed for MTB.

 

Looking back on my MtB history, I just realized I have been resistive to almost every innovation. And mostly I've been wrong. Which worries me immensely.

Disc brakes. I poo-poo-ed disc brakes in the era when we are all trying to ride 20lb hardtails (1990-2000). Why add all of that weight when you have two perfectly good rotors already mounted to your bike in the form of rims? I've never had a problem slowing down when needed and I can lock up my tire instantly - how much more do I need? In 2007 I discovered I was wrong.

Dropper posts. Since my riding is all up, then all down, I didn't get the attraction of a lever-actuated dropper. Why add the weight? Just get off, use the QR seat collar to drop your saddle for the descent, then reverse the process at the bottom. It only takes 20 seconds. I am still right on this IF your riding is indeed all up, then all down, but on trails that change direction rapidly and frequently, the dropper is critical. XC racers are even starting to use them, and they won't add weight for anything!

1 x 11 Drivetrain. My 2 x 10 was awesome, and I had almost zero issues with the front derailleur. Having a giant cassette in the rear and losing some range at the top and bottom made no sense to me. Still not convinced that 1 x 12 is better than my 2 x 10, but it's not worse.

29ers. Big guys need big wheels, right? I tried early full sus 29ers and they were dreadful. Battleships that were hard to climb on and scary to descend. Reluctant to change direction, heavy and joyless. But they rolled fast in a straight line! Well it took 20 years and a lot of experimentation, but looks like they finally got it right. I said back then "as soon as I see 29ers on the top step of the podium in WC DH, then and only then will I consider trying one again." Then came enduro and pushed the development of really capable trailbikes, including 29ers. I am still not convinced my Megatower is better for me than say a Revel Rail.

Adjustable travel forks. As I went into the 160mm travel realm, I was convinced that I need to drop the fork for climbing (think Fox TALAS). Thing is, the bike felt like I threw out an anchor anytime I did drop the fork travel. Plus the system added weight, complexity and diminished plushness. I was wrong here.

Carbon Wheels. I've ridden i9s, Enve, Ibis, Santa Cruz and maybe one or two others. In every case, I felt they were too stiff laterally and vertically and transmitted way too much trail chatter to hands and feet. They were more inclined to bounce laterally than flex a little to absorb forces. I was not alone. Now there are a new breed of "compliant" carbon hoops. We shall see if manufacturers figured it out.

Here are the ones I got right: Modern geometry (longer slacker). 160mm forks with 35 or 36 mm stanchions. Through axles. Maxxis tires. No on plus-size tires.