Originally Posted by
dgodave
None of those engineering innovations are essential to the function of the bike.
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What really matters are the design innovations: wheel and tire size, and frame geometry. This bike could have been built in 1982 with the technology available at the time, and function pretty much the same.
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Anyway, I love the bike. I ride a lot of tight singletrack, maybe 30% technical and the rest pretty fast. Some steep climbs here and there, for which the factory spec gearing was inadequate.
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Similarly sure, but I think you are under appreciating what outboard bearings, stiffer cranks, stiffer oversized tubes and modern metal extrusion do for the ride of the bike. The tires and rims are of such a higher quality than could have been made in 1982. Sure it could have been imagined to some degree in 1982 but I am not sure someone could have actually built it. In the late 1980s they were lacing two rims to one hub and running side by side tires in the iditabike. I am sure the performance of that system was far inferior to todays' fat bike tires.
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1 Super Record bike, 1 Nuovo Record bike, 1 Pista, 1 Road, 1 Cyclocross/Allrounder, 1 MTB, 1 Touring, 1 Fixed gear