BLISTER Symposium: The Tech That’s Changed Mountain Biking

Marshal: Tires. It’s not hard. Make treads that don’t suck, make tires that don’t cut, make rubber than doesn’t rip off knobs in 10 rides. And preferably deliver the above in a weight less than 1200g.

Noah: Yup, tires. Drivetrains are pretty archaic as well. SRAM’s XX1 is a great idea, but the basics of the drivetrain have remained pretty much unchanged for the last 100 years or so.

Especially with full suspension bikes, it seems like there’s a lot of room for improvement. Sooner or later, some of the more “creative” designs (i.e. idler pulleys, gear boxes, etc.), are going to reach a point where they’re a viable alternative for normal trail bikes.

C’mon! Derailleurs are more like 80 years old…

Noah: Depends on where in the evolutionary ladder you consider derailleurs to have been “invented.”

Kevin: Tires. Not because all the current offerings are bad, but because so many companies are making the same mistakes they made 10-15 years ago.

There’s very little learning and true evolution going on in tread design. There are a few exceptions, but this stuff should have been sorted out a decade ago.

Tom: I’m going to say air suspension. It often performs poorly in comparison to coil suspension and is frequently less reliable.

The weight reduction is relatively meaningless too, in my opinion. It lets bike manufacturers list really low weights on spec sheets (which are all that seem to matter these days), but in practice, the weight difference is hard to notice. Lose 100g of tire or rim weight and it’s very noticeable. Lose 400g in a rear shock and it’s hard to tell the difference.

I’d also put clipless pedals on the list. They only give you a modest increase in efficiency and can be a crutch for people who can’t bunnyhop…I think they can scare beginners and intermediate riders away, and increase injury rates.

In my opinion, learning on flat pedals results in better technique and it’s just more fun. If you’re racing, definetly use clipless pedals. They’ll help you gain a few critical seconds.

But many people forget that they don’t race and that seconds aren’t critical on a Saturday afternoon ride with friends. A few shops and members of the biking community tend to push clipless on riders by making them feel that they aren’t “real” riders without the pedals. That sucks.

Finally, where’s the next big change going to happen? 

Marshal: If it’s anything but tires, I am literally going to quit riding bikes.

Noah: I’m holding out for pneumatic shifting—it’s more environmentally conscious. Bonus points if the air can is integrated into the downtube…

Tom: Definitely electric bikes. 650b electric bikes. 650b Electric bikes with electric shifting. Really though, I’d anticipate incremental improvements on suspension, and more folks moving to 1X drivetrains.

We’ll leave it at that for now, and see whether or not our readers agree with you as they weigh in below.