The Future of MTB

[freeridejedi]

So guys, where do you think the Mountain Bike world will be in 5 years time? biggest hucks, most suspension travel? What do you think? In my opinion, freeriding will expand and everything will become more "extreme" in the public eye.

[naz]

IMO your avatar explains all :)

or in 5 years, suspension will be so smart it reads up coming terrain, and sets the suspension accordingly, and Vpp will be perfected and a cross country bike with 100% pedal induced bob free and still soaks up bumps..

only time will tell
or maybe we have brought armageddon upon ourselves and america will blow the earth to fucking hell :wink:

or maybe shimano will wake the fuck up and start making quality!!! components, rofl like thats ever gonna happen

[creepyjoe]

What? You mean after the nuclear holocaust of 2007? When the limited survivers will live their shortened lives by salvageing the remnants of non-electronic machinery and turning them into war machines used to defend themselves and to hunt other surviving animals (human or otherwise) to feed upon?

Well, the only place mountain bikes will still be in use, will be with the survivers who lived through the nuclear blasts by retreating deep within mountain caves of the likes that are in the great divideing range. Mountain bikes will become a nimble form of quickly descending from these caves on hunting runs, hunters will carry various hooked and bladed weapons with which they will snatch their prey or delimb / decapitate their enemies whilst smashing through terrain makeing the track up as they go.

These war machine mountain bikes will have a number of savage modifications and accompaniments crudely rigged up by the more industrious of the survivors, wooden spiked tyres, spiked armour protecting both the rider and the bike, and tree grabbing claws for violent changes of direction, and the collection of small prey.

I myself will belong to a clan of road bikeing survivors whos fearsome gangs of savage roadbike equipped hunters are the scourge of the post-holocaust world. We will rule the roads.

[luckyphil]

bahahahahaha!!!
thats cool. 8)

[naz]

I myself will belong to a clan of road bikeing survivors whos fearsome gangs of savage roadbike equipped hunters are the scourge of the post-holocaust world. We will rule the roads.

a pack of thumbtacks should sought you out quick

[RCOH]

There will be no mountain biking in the future, because of mankind's endless quest to make life as easy as possible for himself, we will eliminate all hills & mountains, leaving only long straight roads to nowhere

probably

[Avanti_Racing]

i reacon it will all be virtual and we willl all be flying round in our little spacecars n shit....yeah thatd suck, time moves to quick and technology goes with it

[LTR]

There will be no mountain biking in the future, because of mankind's endless quest to make life as easy as possible for himself, we will eliminate all hills & mountains, leaving only long straight roads to nowhere

remember that this is only 5 years.

I think that GBox will be in, and will be cheap enough for the average person to buy.
Duallies will all be able to pedal, including DH bikes so we can go up hills too.
Hardtails will hardly be needed for use.
Bikes will all be 20% lighter.
Super Monster T's will be phased out, because everyone knows we dont need em.
The large bike companies will have taken over 99% of the market, thus eliminating small companies in it for the profit.
I will be this massive bike whore with like 80k worth of bikes, all wanky and pimped out to the max.
I will be a major part of the bike industry (i dont know how yet).
MTB will be 30% larger, and the adverage person will be able to afford a good quality bike.
Forks will be computerised for the pro's, like the old cannondale forks and forks will generally be smarter (lockout coming upto stuff etc).
Oz-Freerider will become pro. :P
There will be indestructable wheelsets.
More Ti frames around.
Carbon wont be wanky anymore.
Mangenese will be 'the shit'
Pro riders will get paid over 1million a year.
4X will get massive.
DH will be better and more accessable.
There will be special shuttle cars that are automated.
More MTB parks in the world.

I will think of more later. :twisted:

[Simo]

2 words.
more beer

[Emmett]

It is unlike me to get invovlved in speculative threads like this but here goes.... I hope that a seat post that has multi-adjustable height with a control at the handle bars is made so i can ride my XC rig more comfortabley and faster down technical DH sections.

[manny24]

top idea about the seatpost!!!


i think that ol' GWBush has his way, there will be no more MTB's, only 'mars bikes' :lol: :wink:

[junior]

There will be no mountain biking in the future, because of mankind's endless quest to make life as easy as possible for himself, we will eliminate all hills & mountains, leaving only long straight roads to nowhere

remember that this is only 5 years.

I think that GBox will be in, and will be cheap enough for the average person to buy.
Duallies will all be able to pedal, including DH bikes so we can go up hills too.
Hardtails will hardly be needed for use.
Bikes will all be 20% lighter.
Super Monster T's will be phased out, because everyone knows we dont need em.
The large bike companies will have taken over 99% of the market, thus eliminating small companies in it for the profit.
I will be this massive bike whore with like 80k worth of bikes, all wanky and pimped out to the max.
I will be a major part of the bike industry (i dont know how yet).
MTB will be 30% larger, and the adverage person will be able to afford a good quality bike.
Forks will be computerised for the pro's, like the old cannondale forks and forks will generally be smarter (lockout coming upto stuff etc).
Oz-Freerider will become pro. :P
There will be indestructable wheelsets.
More Ti frames around.
Carbon wont be wanky anymore.
Mangenese will be 'the shit'
Pro riders will get paid over 1million a year.
4X will get massive.
DH will be better and more accessable.
There will be special shuttle cars that are automated.
More MTB parks in the world.

I will think of more later. :twisted:

i like your thinking espically these ones

[S.]

A few newcomers will revolutionise the market. A lot of the current high-end bike producers will struggle to survive against people who bring high-tech stuff from much bigger industries, into mtb design and manufacture. More standards will be updated (larger BB shells, wide hubs will become the norm, etc), and undoubtedly new ones introduced.

A few of said newcomers/unknowns will bring gearboxes into the mass market. SPV shocks will be tuned to the point where they offer the advantages of a standard damper system as well as better pedalling. Any bikes that don't pedal damn well will be forced out of the market as people begin to look down on them (this is already happening, a number of big brands should take note). In general, the industry will refine and compact itself. People who make stuff that isn't better or cheaper than anything else, will be forced out of the market. More advanced construction techniques will be undertaken (you can see this beginning to happen now), leading to larger factories being required to allow such manufacture at reasonable cost. In this sense, I believe that the MTB industry will become much more like the automotive industry, in that only the companies with the money will REALLY be able to produce the high end stuff.

Street riding will become a much bigger component of mtbing (especially in Aus, where it's miniscule), freeriders will sit in their wheelchairs all day, and Mad Max will be remade by George Lucas.

[junior]

A few newcomers will revolutionise the market. A lot of the current high-end bike producers will struggle to survive against people who bring high-tech stuff from much bigger industries, into mtb design and manufacture. More standards will be updated (larger BB shells, wide hubs will become the norm, etc), and undoubtedly new ones introduced.

A few of said newcomers/unknowns will bring gearboxes into the mass market. SPV shocks will be tuned to the point where they offer the advantages of a standard damper system as well as better pedalling. Any bikes that don't pedal damn well will be forced out of the market as people begin to look down on them (this is already happening, a number of big brands should take note). In general, the industry will refine and compact itself. People who make stuff that isn't better or cheaper than anything else, will be forced out of the market. More advanced construction techniques will be undertaken (you can see this beginning to happen now), leading to larger factories being required to allow such manufacture at reasonable cost. In this sense, I believe that the MTB industry will become much more like the automotive industry, in that only the companies with the money will REALLY be able to produce the high end stuff.

Street riding will become a much bigger component of mtbing (especially in Aus, where it's miniscule), freeriders will sit in their wheelchairs all day, and Mad Max will be remade by George Lucas.

LOL that is so true

i think MTB will take off in aus and we will have sum of the best tracks in the world, i also think north shore riding will die soon. dont know why.

[floody]

Cynically.....
I think it will become the hip new thing, and when every dumbarse teenager has some sort of "hardcore hardtail" or/and freeride dually, the forests are filled with treated pine, and all the municipal objects/skateparks covered in muddy treadmarks, the rest of the sport will implode, like freestyle's explosion and destruction helping in a big way to shut down BMX in the late 80's/early 90's....

Sad but true, because all this extreme bullshit is good for oohs and ahhs, and dragging in a few wankers, but it scares away people looking for a good wholesome sport.

MX is going the same way, btw, Supercross and FMX are going to shit it for everyone... When you say "I'm a MX rider" people automatically think "oh a dickhead who launches himself of ramps with gymnastic gyrations/some tool who races round and round an oversized BMX track in a stadium", as opposed to something where real bike handling comes in, like GP-style grasstrack MX...... (lets not get into this one).

If freeride keeps taking over marketing and publicity in MTB, when you say I ride mtb, people will think "oh, one of those nutbags who leaps off cliffs on his pushbike...".

Why do I say this? 10 or so years ago I had to explain in detail to people what DH was, and in fact most people struggled to grasp how it worked. Now people sort of know what it is, but worryingly equate it to the red bull ride sort of stuff...

HOPEFULLY, I'm wrong and it will just continue to grow in all directions. Oh and with any luck my battered old (by then) body will still be able to chuck a bike down the few trails still open and surprise some of the kids...

One other thing, Terrain Parks, I bet they will take off....But some people will need to take the risk NOW before insurance/land use laws stop them from even doing it on private land.

[ruthlessgirl]

I'd like them to have running super planes so that i could travel to other places to ride in less time for less money! :D

[toodles]

It is unlike me to get invovlved in speculative threads like this but here goes.... I hope that a seat post that has multi-adjustable height with a control at the handle bars is made so i can ride my XC rig more comfortabley and faster down technical DH sections.

That's an old idea dude. They made those a few years back, a parallelogram (excuse the spelling - need coffee) cable actuated seatpost that you could adjust for XC or DH. It weighed heaps and broke easy so no-body used them.

[Shaun]

If freeride keeps taking over marketing and publicity in MTB, when you say I ride mtb, people will think "oh, one of those nutbags who leaps off cliffs on his pushbike...".

Why do I say this? 10 or so years ago I had to explain in detail to people what DH was, and in fact most people struggled to grasp how it worked. Now people sort of know what it is, but worryingly equate it to the red bull ride sort of stuff...

.
i still need to explain to people wat downhill is, and no one knows that the two mens world champions are aussie. hopefull our sport will have much more publicity by then.

[Cave Dweller]

hopefully our sport will have much more publicity by then.

I hope the sport doesn't get anymore publicity, the last thing we need is 100's of people riding the trails, it's a sure way to get it closed down for the lot of us.

I hope the g-box thing goes ahead. I reckon alot of bike manufacture will move to tiawan and china into big factories with high tech machines, more use of monooque frames etc.

I reckon the ultimate future of DH is a virtual game like DH domination because it will be 50 degrees outside (due to global warning) and too hot to ride.

[Sparkman]

Cheaper: $2-3k DH rigs (I remember when most DH bikes were $10k, so the trend is already there)

More versatile: This is already happening. Bikes like the Foes Fly, SC VP-free, Cannondale Gemini, are heading there ... Switchable and smart suspension, SPV... Put it all together to get bikes that are light enough to pedal up a hill but have a decent geometry and work well enough for riding down fast.

GBox: We all want this.

[Jimmy Mac]

i think that suspension technology will b so good that we will b able to by a bike in the new- "dh/fr/dj/xc/enduro" category- where your bike will be able to fly down hills on 9 inch travel and lock out completely automatically when you go up hills or on demand- for jumping. the bike will weigh next to nothing. it will b completely adjustable for riding position and the suspension can b linked to ur computer/mob phone/palm pilot so you can adjust it without touching it, choosing from pre-defined settings for different terrain or ur own cutom settup.

[CHEWY]

MX is going the same way, btw, Supercross and FMX are going to shit it for everyone... When you say "I'm a MX rider" people automatically think "oh a dickhead who launches himself of ramps with gymnastic gyrations/some tool who races round and round an oversized BMX track in a stadium", as opposed to something where real bike handling comes in, like GP-style grasstrack MX...... (lets not get into this one).
.

Amen to that.

[Chieftain]

It is unlike me to get invovlved in speculative threads like this but here goes.... I hope that a seat post that has multi-adjustable height with a control at the handle bars is made so i can ride my XC rig more comfortabley and faster down technical DH sections.

That's an old idea dude. They made those a few years back, a parallelogram (excuse the spelling - need coffee) cable actuated seatpost that you could adjust for XC or DH. It weighed heaps and broke easy so no-body used them.

Was also trying to find something on that hideous adjustable post sold in the mid-90s but couldn't find anything... Mountain Bike Action used to carry the ads.. anyone with old copies of MBA or whoever else has that ad, post it up!

the Hite-Rite was probably the most basic one...
http://www.bikepro.com/arch_products/seatposts/ahiter.html

a new 'improved design'
http://www.gravitydropper.com/

Some German dude is trying to re-do it too... but check out the weight .. 1.96kg hahahaa.
http://www.academicchallengeaward.org/ACA_winner_01.htm


Then, there's this, http://www.noteco.com/bikepost.htm which sounds like a good idea..." improving performance for every kind of cyclist" .. until it angles the seat backwards and your butt slides off when you're trying to wheelie ... :P



all these great ideas are pretty impractical. just chuck your post in to a height and angle you're comfortable with and off you go.

[LTR]

Yea! A virtual Riding game would be awesome, where your inside a sphere on a bike with a massive screen infront of you. You pedal, there are different terrains and you are able to backflip and whip etc. You would be able to huck, dh, dj, xc ride etc. And you have to pull up and down levelling the bike for landing.

I have a wack imagination!

[Archi]

like others have said, i think the next big step forward in MTB will be the g-boxx, and other integrated drivetrains, such as rohollf's speed hub.

also, as technology advances, the price of bikes will start to come down, and be more affordable and available.

[floody]

yeah maybe this internal gear stuff will work, but then again...How long has the derailleur been around? best part of a century? same with internal gears, and the derailleur has never really been threatened...

Gbox isn't new, a small USA DH-bike company* built one with a 7 speed nexus guts in a monster travel frame about 7 years back...Then GT copied them...and so on.

I think we will see a lot more refinement, rather than big technological leaps. Main advances will be in manufacturing and materials, and correspondingly lower prices, not design, thats my tip. If you look at the last 10 years, there have been changes that seem big, but really they aren't. Dual suspension has come down in price, Vees supplanted cantis, then discs started taking over, suspension travel has risen from ~60mm to 200mm+....and so on, but most of these improvements have come down to expensive materials and processes becoming less expensive, and forcible implementation of new standards through the OEM market.

Then again, in the 1800s the chairman of the USA patents office said, enigmatically, that "everything there is to be invented has been invented..."


*NOT brooklyn machine works

[LTR]

yeah maybe this internal gear stuff will work, but then again...How long has the derailleur been around? best part of a century? same with internal gears, and the derailleur has never really been threatened...
Ofcourse it works, otherwise why would they create it :lol: . New internal gears are lots of $$$, derailleurs are relitively cheap, from the price i dont see the advantage in chainging to internal. Im with you, why should the humble derailleur be affraid to be taken off the shelf? I believe it will be over 8 years before more than 50% of the market is internal. Go derailleurs, mtb part of the century!

[LTR]

bump.... this is an interesting topic, keep the ball rolling!

[Rexy]

ok heres my contribution
technology will slow down and advances will be fewer and further between
good bikes will become cheaper
dh will become huge and accesible
all mtb will blossom
farkiners will become the coolest of cool and expensive hookers will hang off us as we walk the streets 8)
protective gear will become better and better
no dumbasses will not use helmets
hopefully mtb riders will become an organised bunch of wingers so we dont lose riding spots
we will lose riding spots and mtb parks will pop up everywhere charging money to ride

[withwings]

we all realize that now the resurgence of those independents will arise and the masses will fall. the bike from the garage will come back, and the welders reborn to build creations of one off's. no mass produced creation will survive this, it will all be originality in the sport. we will build and create an even better society for bikers, those with the real passion and root out all of those who cause disturbance in the bike world. it will be the first true revolution in biking.

[S.]

yeah maybe this internal gear stuff will work, but then again...How long has the derailleur been around? best part of a century?

Mine's been around for 4 rides and has broken twice :lol:

same with internal gears, and the derailleur has never really been threatened...

Gbox isn't new, a small USA DH-bike company* built one with a 7 speed nexus guts in a monster travel frame about 7 years back...Then GT copied them...and so on.


Internal gears never threatened derailleurs until the past few years, because road bikes were the only kind of bikes with gears for years and years, and until the mid-late 90s, mountain bikes were so dangerously primitive and underengineered that it's not really surprising that nobody wanted to drop a 5kg gearbox into a bike. Weight is a huge limiting factor, you have to be able to pedal the thing! I predict that gearboxes will become smaller, lighter and more compact; they have to, just to compete with the weight of a derailleur. Look at the extremes people already go to, to cut weight - as if those people are going to turn around and dump another few kilos onto their bike just for the benefit of not having a derailleur.

Gearboxes aren't a "new" idea in bikes (I've seen a 3sp internally geared hub that's at least 30 years old, maybe even 50), but the G-boxx standard is.

[dillon]

4X will be where its at, as far as MTB racing as well as the public's pereception of mtb'ing. XC racing is not a spectator sport.
Public interest = participation = sponsors = money = coverage = TV = public interest...
Trail riding will always be done, but the public think we 'smell the roses'

SO, get into 4X or contact your local BMX club and get a few boys together to start an MTB category, as I'm doing.

[dumb 01]

these are all natural progressive advances.
yes better for cheaper
yes better suspension.
yes lighter for stronger
better peddling


possible jumps in design
-about time we had gbox or anything new because derailleurs are past being useful (besides onroad)in fact i hate them,(need something that lasts a lifetime with no hassles!!).
my awsome electric changing gears
-entirely revised crank design to go with gbox
-revised spoke designs
-compisites on pedals for grip, not metal spikes which make u piss
-no cheap plastics only good ones, same with metals.

maybe a fad phase, more parks etc but none of this crazy all computerised, bike does everything perfect stuff, that would be shit anyway.

[Rexy]

gravedug :lol:
i have seen an internal geared hub on a bike my grandma used to ride this things gotta be between 30 and 50 years old
4x will boom but so will dh it has already started to take off
mtb stuff will become cheaper thats a relief
anyone else got anything to add?
anyone?

[Gekigengar]

Oh how the times have changed.:)

3 years later..

the gear boxx is finally beign a production model
hardtails are still here
The seat post design is here
bikes are getting stronger and lighter ( carbon )
suspension is much better.
Monster T's are almost faded out:)

.
Wow times flies by yet it the changes are small yet at the same time thee changes are dramatic.

[mikster]

I think that GBox will be in, and will be cheap enough for the average person to buy.
Duallies will all be able to pedal, including DH bikes so we can go up hills too.
Hardtails will hardly be needed for use.
Bikes will all be 20% lighter.
Super Monster T's will be phased out, because everyone knows we dont need em.
The large bike companies will have taken over 99% of the market, thus eliminating small companies in it for the profit.
I will be this massive bike whore with like 80k worth of bikes, all wanky and pimped out to the max.
I will be a major part of the bike industry (i dont know how yet).
MTB will be 30% larger, and the adverage person will be able to afford a good quality bike.
Forks will be computerised for the pro's, like the old cannondale forks and forks will generally be smarter (lockout coming upto stuff etc).
Oz-Freerider will become pro. :P
There will be indestructable wheelsets.
More Ti frames around.
Carbon wont be wanky anymore.
Mangenese will be 'the shit'
Pro riders will get paid over 1million a year.
4X will get massive.
DH will be better and more accessable.
There will be special shuttle cars that are automated.
More MTB parks in the world.

I will think of more later. :twisted:[/QUOTE]

Spot on!
Love it!
:p

[Disturbed.Rider]

In the otigonal post he askd specificaly about hucks/travel.
When did bender go for the 100 footer?
Also does his bike still have the most travel? When was it made?


Also everyones over hucking.

[Gekigengar]

In the otigonal post he askd specificaly about hucks/travel.
When did bender go for the 100 footer?
Also does his bike still have the most travel? When was it made?


Also everyones over hucking.

i think everyone is more into speed now..

[Christo]

i think everyone is more into speed now..

More ice really...

[bluewonder2]

there is still some improvement in terms of suspension, a prime example is foe's bringing out 2:1 ratio bikes.

will be seeing a lot more gearboxes, probably be able to buy a replica of honda's bike by then.

bikes will definetly be lighter, and at this rate a dual suspension race bike could get as light as 8 kg.

the industry will come up with more standards i.e. tubeless and gearboxes.

with fuel prices soaring, expect more people on bikes. perhaps one day only bikes will be allowed anywhere near CBDs.

Motorised bikes (ones you can still pedals) will also be niche to watch.

And Shimano do make quality components. I've been using the new XTR drivetrain for a month now and there is no equal. OK, the X-O derailleur is an exception. But cranks, cassette, front derailleur and shifters... You just can't touch them.

[Viv92]

The super monsters will have come and gone but a new 20" fork with excellent pedal-ability and no pedal induced bob will be made by fox. It will way 5 grams.