Not sure “retrogrouch” is the right label for what I am, but hey everything has to have a label these days right?
I have been through just about every fad of mountain bike disciplines in my 31 years of riding, and at the age 43 I am content with riding the XC single track areas adjacent to my house and in the general vicinity. I no longer “travel” to ride, don’t take bike vacations to Moab, and quite frankly it’s not the only thing I “do” anymore like it was for a long time. So the 2-3 times a week I do get out to ride I want the most bang for my buck, and when I’m not riding I don’t want to spend all my time maintaining the suspension and gears, or obsessing over what the latest winner of wherever-the-fck EWS race was using and convincing myself I need it. I can afford all that stuff, but bottom line is it doesn’t make me any happier than riding my rigid single speed.
What the bike industry has been able to do in the past 5 years is truly amazing ~ they have upsold the majority of riders to carbon, changed standards for drivetrains and interfaces a couple of times, all while turning “Enduro” into this discipline everyone thinks they are a part of and something to aspire to. In reality, these people aren’t any closer to racing Enduro™️ than I am, they are just bouncing along on relatively smooth XC single track on poorly set up bikes that have too much travel for the conditions. All the while stopping every half mile or so to catch their breath with the bros and talk about the long low and slack geometry and how rad it would be if their stem was 30mm instead of 40. And after finishing their big 5 mile ride, race back to the parking lot to spend 2x as long drinking IPAs while leaning on the Dakine truck pad planning their next outing. I know, because I’ve been that guy. /rant
Hey, technology is good! I love tubeless tires and carbon seatposts, as well as Ergon saddles that make my ride more
comfortable. I also really don’t need disc brakes where I ride, so some Paul Motolites get the job done for me. If I rode somewhere that the conditions dictated I need discs, I’d run them. I’m also not tall! 26” wheels work just fine for me, realistically the difference to me when riding is imperceptible to 27.5 wheels. I don’t like 29” wheels, had several different bikes and just not for me (off road).
So to recap and attempt to pull this back on course, I like my ti rigid SS because it’s simple. I don’t have to think about anything but how hard I need to pedal to get up that next hill or how much momentum I need to carry into the next climb. It’s relatively quiet (except for the WI freewheel clicking along), it’s light, fits me and is comfortable. I also don’t have to spend a lot of time doing anything to keep it rolling smoothly other than wipe off the chain and top off the tires occasionally.
I hesitate to say it’s “pure” because that implies it’s somehow better than what other people choose to ride, and it’s not. It’s just my preferred way.
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