- Trends, mountain biking is full of them.
From the neon clothing from the early days
to the motocross kit for downhillers in the late '90s,
some have been great, others have been less so.
- Yeah and for every couple of hits,
perhaps, there's been one or two misses.
We're lucky enough here at GMBN
to have a whole community that's grown around our shows
and we often hear some really interesting
thoughts and feelings in the comments.
So we're here to explore some of those ideas,
some of the trends that perhaps
shouldn't be sticking around.
(logo thumping)
(upbeat music)
- Bikes that look the same.
Now, what do you think to this one Henry?
I mean, I'm not sure I completely agree with this one,
but you do hear all the time,
"It looks like a Trek Session,"
we've probably seen that in the Pinkbike comments.
- Well, it's a funny one isn't it?
Because I think you can't have it both ways.
Either you say
all bikes look the same and you stick with that.
But then when somebody does something different,
a la Polygon for instance, as have, and Marin,
that's a very different-looking bike, and people also
(banging on the desk)
- Kill it with fire.
And I think it's unfair.
Either we say, "Well it's really cool
"that people are exploring new ideas."
Or we, we can't deride them for both.
- It's difficult, you look, I mean it's a different thing,
but if you look to motocross bikes
they all look the same, they've all got a linkage
underneath the - Never thought about that,
they do all look the same, they do.
- It's just got different colors.
- Yes totally.
I mean I an understand, perhaps the frustration
when things are modified for, perhaps quite
arbitrary things
- Yeah.
- You know, basically to just sleek it out.
And there isn't any real development there.
That, I think, is a reasonable complaint.
But, for saying all bikes look like a Session,
when actually a bike doesn't look like a Session,
everyone complains it doesn't look like a Session.
I mean, it goes round and round.
- I quite like the way you look at the range of,
let's say Scotts, they all make sense.
I mean, maybe it's so simplistic.
We look at the Downhill bike, you look at the Spark,
they're the same sort of shape.
And you go "ah, that's that, that's that"
they all work for different reasons,
but they can look the same.
- Yeah, what do you guys think?
What is a bike that doesn't look like a Session,
but looks bloody fantastic?
Let us know in the comments.
(upbeat music)
- Super long bikes?
(rolling tongue)
Question mark, is this one that sucks?
- Well, I think I've probably, like many people,
got to eat some humble pie.
- Yes.
- I was skeptical.
- Me too.
- I was like, actually you know, this certain.
I had my numbers in my head which I thought
were about right.
However, I think I'm changing, I'm changing as a person.
You know?
- I've definitely, mountain bikers can be guilty of that.
Jumped to conclusions, say
"Nope, you've changed it. I don't like it"
Super long bikes is one of those.
And they look different, they definitely
people go quite far with this.
Like Pole bikes, they are super long.
I definitely think I've matured and said
"oh no, actually I quite like it".
Whereas a couple of years ago I said
"no way, this is a trend that sucks".
- It sounds like it's been quite a personal journey.
You really sound like a better man now.
- But probably a common one from our commentators,
from people you read online say super long bikes,
they like 'em.
- But I think the good thing, I think in a way,
sometimes the conversation about really long reach numbers,
which are the measurement from your back axle
to your head tube.
And people always say "that's a really long reach!"
and I think sometimes it has been engineered, sort of,
the way you think about it cause it enables
how a really steep seat tube, without loosing all the length
in the top tube, which means that suddenly changes
how a bike rides.
Just in terms of up hills.
Now I can personally attest to me being really skeptical
about this, but it has made my body feel so much
more comfortable going uphill, and my body doesn't hurt,
and that's a good thing.
The biggest bike I own and have ever ridden
is my Nukeproof Dissent.
- Ooh yes.
- 465 mm reach, on a large size.
So to me it looks massive.
Jumped on it, I think "why's it got a 63 degree head angle?
The front wheel's over there".
But it's balanced, by the rear wheel,
along the chainstay as well.
So it feels perfect.
Compare that to my old Downhill bike, my Specialized Kenevo,
reach of 440, it's much longer bike.
- Yeah, I mean it's sticking with
the Specialized, for instance.
Their last generation of their demo
and just off the top of my head I think the large
was a 440, and the XL was a 460.
- Yeah.
- So to think, it would have been crazy if a couple
of years ago you'd gone for an XL Demo.
Times have changed though, and I suppose what you
said there really does speak truth.
It is not only about how roomy it feels,
but the leverage being actuated upon the bike.
- So we're kickin' this one out.
This is not a trend that sucks, we both like this one.
- Yeah, viva la long top tubes.
(upbeat music)
- Henry, what about oil slick?
- [Henry] This is going to be a short, cut and shut.
Nu-uh, not on my watch, cowboy.
Not in this town.
What do you reckon?
- Well, I mean I got on board with old Sram drive trains.
- That I can do, like it like that.
- It's kind of petrol colored, oil slick as they call it.
I can go with that.
Where does it stop, Harry?
- The saturation point is very low (chuckling)
as soon as you see it once, you're close to breaching it.
And it, I don't know, do you know what annoys me?
It's not the way it looks, it's the like, it kind of
quite a big point, but as a consumer it's kind of
a bit patronizing someone going like
"ah, you'll like it cause it's got oil slick"
"have you changed anything?"
"no, but it's new for this year because it's got oil slick"
and everyone at Eurobike.
- Yeah, this is a very
UK based reference there, but Max Power
is a car tuning magazine for 90's.
A lot of people back in the 90's
would like spray their cars.
It was like this weird purplely green that would change
color when you walked around it.
And a VW Passat driving around Bath, it was terrible.
- Well, do you know what I think oil slick,
the way it's going to be looked back in a few years,
speaking of VW's, you remember that Polo
where every panel was a different color?
- Oh yeah.
- I think it's more like that.
Under the bus! (laughing)
(upbeat music)
Now I get a bit of heat for this cause I will, jokingly,
say that all bikes are in fact gravel bikes.
Which there an element of truth to it.
- I mean, this one is easy to sort of pick on the
roadies a little bit.
Like gravel riding, that's what we've been doing
on cross country bikes for years.
That's silly, what you did, you've invented this new thing.
But actually, I'm sort of in the market for
a new gravel bike because I don't ride a road
bike very much.
Actually, I kind of feel like I could take it off
on the green lanes, on the gravel, bit of road.
I'd ride that.
- Yeah, I think it's one of those things.
I think the thing that perhaps irritates people
is the fact that, you know, say big company comes out
with new gravel bike and the silhouette isn't totally
dissimilar to that of an original
mountain bike from 1990.
- [Henry] True.
- Do you know what I mean?
It's a bit Tomac-esque.
- I can kind of get on board with the idea of this
trend sucks, cause I don't really like the thing
being marked as something.
But the actual thing, I don't think does suck.
- No, I agree, and that's the crux of it there, exactly.
(upbeat music)
- Now here's a funny one and it's kind of
changing with time, endurofying your bike.
I remember a couple of years ago people were literally
strapping bananas to their top tubes.
- I remember seeing squashed bananas on top tubes.
- (laughing) It was out of control!
Seems to have simmered down though a bit.
- Well, now you can buy a strap to strap your bananas,
probably a tube or
- I think we're in dangerous territory of an innuendo, here.
(laughing)
- I do it liberally, mainly on my cross country bike
where I don't wear a massive backpack.
I actually put my pump, my tube, my tool, it's quite a lot.
- To be honest I've gone quite far in the past,
stopping short of only strapping a whole spare bike
(laughing) frame for frame to the top tube.
But, I really like, and I also like.
I used to like use electrical tape
- Yeah. - And things like that
- Around your seat, even it out, on cross country bikes.
A tube stuffed in your rails, then you don't feel the tape.
- But I guess, we use normally like, sounds stupid,
it was only a small amount of waste.
And I'm sure I'm guilty in a lot more heinous ways
of creating unnecessary waste, but having a reusable
strap feels kind of
- Yeah. - Good to me.
Even though they're easy to poke fun at at the trail head,
I think actually it's a trend that is, I thinks okay.
- Well, I think it's different levels.
You know, you see some of your bikers that have gone through
the catalog and they've picked out every single accessory
that can go on a bike.
And there's like four mud guards, there's a saddle bag,
I mean it depends on how far you go with this.
There is certainly a level of
- Yes.
- Practicality versus pig ugly what are you doing
to your bike, there?
- Yes, and also I've been, mud guard politics,
we could do a whole different show on that.
- Yeah.
- But when they first came around people were like
"what are you doing with that marsh guard thing,
that defender?"
- Yeah.
- And now, I ride with it 365, baby.
All the time.
(upbeat music)
Speaking of running light, endurifying your rig.
There's one item in particular that really
grinds people's gears.
- Yeah?
- The bum bag.
- [Neil] The fanny pack.
- [Henry] The Fanny Pack!
- [Neil] I'm a massive fan of the fanny pack.
- [Henry] I actually won a sort of like, you know,
I suppose it'd be like a fanny pack light.
It's quite a swell little number, there it sits.
I could be wearing it right now (laughing)
and you wouldn't even know!
- Front or back?
- I mean, can you run it on the front?
I'm not a kangaroo, it's out back.
- I mean we're throwing the "this trend sucks"
out the window, I am, at least, cause I love my bum bag.
- I used to routinely break one at least one phone a year.
And now I don't cause they wrap, they're safe out the way,
they're not in my pocket.
- [Neil] You know how some people
they sell riding shoes?
Shoes that you'd wear to the pub.
would you every wear your bum bag to the pub?
- I mean, a bottle of vodka in it maybe, yeah.
Cheap night by the sounds of it.
No, I think, although I would say this as well.
I was somebody that, you know, been a fannypacker
for a few years now, and that comes with all the bad stuff.
And you know what really cheers me off?
My misses got a bum bag that she wore unironically
and she was held as a style icon.
- Whoa, round the shoulder, over the shoulder?
- No, just around here.
And I thought, you are joking me!
How is that fair?
She's got easy steeze and I've got none of that.
But even so, it's annoying.
But ya, fanny packs.
Bastards.
(laughing)
(upbeat music)
- Doping, in Enduro this is definitely a trend
that sucks, it's a touchy subject.
But this has not been a good year for it.
- No it hasn't.
It all seems to have kind of "hit the fan" so to speak
at the same time.
- Um, yeah, so I mean, there's two different sort of cases
that were talking about here.
There is the Jared Graves and Rickie Rude case,
they both missed races this year,
in fact Jared hasn't raced, mainly due to illness.
And then there's the Martin Maes of him getting caught
for what seems like something that he shouldn't
have gotten banned for, but he didn't have TUE.
Basically he didn't have doctor's note for something he took
because he thought he was getting an infection
on a massive cut.
But, came back to bite him in the ass and he lost lots
of points and lost the chance to win
the Enduro World Series.
- I mean not to be, I've really got a different view
to many people and doping does suck.
But I think, having grown up watching road cycling
and you know, still being a big fan of the sport.
It does make me, it did make me a bit uncomfortable
how many fans like myself, as uneducated as we were,
did the explaining for the athletes.
They didn't do it because this, and it's like
well, we have these rules for a reason.
Sadly, the growing pains of a professional sport
that someone's going to make these mistakes and that
really isn't good.
Now I feel really sorry for them.
- It doesn't feel like we've had the full story
with some of these.
And it's very easy like us, and people to get new out.
To jump to conclusions, which is unfair as well.
But I would definitely put this
on the trends that suck list.
- Trends that suck, big time.
(upbeat music)
- Another trend that we saw a bit over 2019 is
weather affected races.
Actually races and events happened to be canceled
because of freak weather.
- Yeah, so fustrating, but not just for us as people
participating or spectating, but for the event organizers
it must be absolutely heart breaking.
- Uh, yeah, global warming or whatever as we saw.
A lot of crazy weather in the UK.
Big events like Ard Rock and the Marvin's Classic,
a big festival, both basically washed away.
Real shame to see them go.
- There's a real risk of forest fires in New Zealand,
which canceled the Enduro, I believe.
- Yeah, hopefully this isn't a trend that continues.
You want to see all those organizers and participants
get to these races and events next year.
What do you reckon, viewers at home?
I'd love to hear your opinions on what we've said
and what you think sucks
and what you think is a good trend as well.
- Yeah, what do you thinks earned it reputation unfairly
as a trend that sucks, but actually delivering the goods.
Now if you want to stick with trends, trends, trends,
click down here to see a video of Doddie at Eurobike
Oilslick, viewers beware.
Discrection advised.
- And if you want to see me and Blake strap everything
to our bikes, head over there for a bike packing video.
Subscribe, give us thumbs up.