Has mountain bike development reached a plateau?
Has mountain bike development reached a plateau?
Consider a generic, mid-range, 1996 hardtail for comparison purposes. Compare it with similar bikes 8 years on either side of that, a 2003 hardtail and a 1988 rigid (no shocks in '88). The 1996 model was drastically different from the 1988 model, but the 1996 bike doesn't look very different from the 2003.
Compare the 1988 bike with the 1996 bike:
The 1988 bike had no shock, toe-clip pedals, a threaded steerer tube, cantilever brakes, over the bar thumb shifters, wide rims, Farmer John or Farmer Johns Cousin tires, no bar ends, was most likely a chromoly steel frame, had a 7-speed rear, a loose ball-bearing bottom bracket, tipped the scales at 30 lbs, easy.
The 1996 bike has a compact drive crankset, a shock, bar ends, clipless pedals, a threadless headset, narrow rims, is probably an aluminum frame, has a sealed cartridge bottom bracket, probably has Rapid-fire or Grip-shift shifting, V-brakes, has an 8-speed rear, weighs in around 24-26 lbs.
The 2003 bike still has the compact drive crankset, a shock, bar ends, clipless pedals, a threadless headset, narrow rims, is still probably an aluminum frame, has a sealed cartridge bottom bracket, probably has Rapid-fire or Gripshift shifting, probably has V-brakes (disc brakes are an option though) and has a 9-speed rear, weighs in around 24-26 lbs.
There are of course differences between the 1996 and the 2003, but they could be classified as minor refinements.
The time period from the late '80s to the mid '90s saw some revolutionary changes and innovations to cycling that literally changed the way we ride; Bar ends, can you imagine climbing without them? Clipless pedals, can you imagine racing in toe-clips? Anyone remember messing with cantilever brakes for hours for mediocre performance, and the first time you grabbed V-brakes? Can you imagine going back to rigid bikes, no shocks? Does anyone forsee any similar huge developments coming down the road in the near future? I think we've reached a plateau in bike development and submit that a 2011 hardtail will not be drastically different from a 1996 hardtail.