You can't be a serious Road Nazi and not appreciate MTB technology
 

Mountain bikes have contributed so much to bicycle technology over the past 20+ years that it's hard to over estimate their influence on all of cycling. The whole sloping top tube geometry that is predominate in road bikes today came from MTBs. The stresses that bicycle components have to withstand on the trail has undoubtedly led to lighter/tougher components in general. You can't be a bike weenie and not be utterly fascinated with MTB technology. The fact that state of the art hard tail MTBs now routinely weigh 20-21 lbs, and full suspension rigs 23-25lbs is remarkable when you consider their capabilities. My new hard tail with the disc brakes and SID fork is similar in weight to bikes that were winning the Tour de France in 1970. That's too cool.

I recall when I first rode V brakes, they were amazing. Now it's disc brakes. The gear just keeps getting better. Very, very cool indeed. Whatever you think about mountain biking, it's a fascinating gear-fest that road cycling can't really match. Like some bizarro cross between cycling and off road motorcycles.

I agree, though object to the term 'Road Nazi" on principle.

And because you're more likely to break parts on your mountain bike, the justification to buy new things for it is sooooo much easier. "Dang, broke that rear derailleur...might as well upgrade the cables and front dr at the same time."

Stay away from the Road Cycling Forum lest your sensibilities be violated further.

Correctamundo!

Looks like Pcad's "Inventory" may surpass 2manybikes some day. I know where there is a trike for sale that will hold a 75 lbs. dog!

It's easy for a gadget freak like myself to get nutzoid over it. I love to fiddle with crap and fine-tune it. If I had the fundage, I'd have a garage full of bikes. Full sussers, hardtails, rigids, SS, maybe even a roadie.:twitchy:


I hear ya on the weight thing too. I just got this '78 Schwinn roadie that was basically Top Notch in '78. It's 26.5lbs w/o pedals!! It's a 1/2lb heavier than my burly XC Trail bike!!

Gotta love people who break crap though...those are the people who advance the industry, hahaha.

4 bicycles for Pcad, one for Mrs. Pcad, one for Pcadette. I can open a bike shop called Pcad's HTFU Velo Warehouse.

But that's really the ultimate Velo R&D Truth.

This is why I won't buy a proper road bike until they come equipped with discs or are at the very least, disc ready. I still haven't found a cross bike I like...

1 good squeeze on a decent set of disc brakes with a limited-spoked road wheel and it's off to the wheel builder for a new one, haha.

Rim brakes are a joke. I can only hope that the weight weenie world of roadies finds room for disc brakes some day.

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/8...ibikesiwq3.jpg

It wasn't top notch. I have a '74ish maserati that isn't top notch and its about 21lbs with pedals.

This makes you a pre-Fred at best. Please make a note of it, you guys are light on the stereotypes and labels here.

Don't call her fat...she's already old:lol:

I take offense. I am fully versed in the art of Fred :thumb:

And to chelboed - I'm not sure where your comment comes from. Many cyclo bikes are equipped with discs. I don't want a weight-weenie 15 lb road bike, I want something durable, but with the geometry of a road bike, maybe 20 lbs. I hear Mike over at BD has a new Moto Fantom Cross in the works that is disc-ready?

Well if THAT'S the excuse, you could always take your carbon fiber road bike on a trail. "Dang, my bike just snapped in half...guess I have to buy a new bike!"

You have a refreshing way of looking at it all; and I have to agree. The advances are what rekindled my interest in bicycles - - they started to more and more resemble my trusty IT175 :D

And the future's even better. Mark my words, the gearboxes are coming. Somehow, some way, super-light, ultra-reliable, put-in-anything-without-a-weight-penalty gearboxes, including CVTs and IVTs are coming . . . .

Belt drives and (affordable) internally geared hubs!

Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox! Gearbox!