What are the advantages of a modern bike?

My wife and I both have 10-year-old Gary Fisher Tassajara mtn bikes.
They have cromo butted frames made in the US, with cantilever brakes,
twist shifters, and no suspension.

They're been surprisingly durable, handling the trails we ride without
even causing the wheels to go out of true yet. Not that the trails are
all tame; some are pretty technical and I'm always surprised my rims
don't get bent. Worst thing so far has been having to adjust the
threaded headset a few times due to looseness.

A hardtail mtn bike today is so different. Better brakes, aluminum
frames, non-threaded stems, index shifters (though that was available
when I bought my bike), and, of course, the ubiquitous front
suspension.

My bikes still work well but would spending $500 on a new mtn bike
gain me a lot more?

Thanks!
t

Tai wrote:

A hardtail mtn bike today is so different. Better brakes, aluminum
frames, non-threaded stems, index shifters (though that was available
when I bought my bike), and, of course, the ubiquitous front
suspension.

You've named a few already. More gears may be another one.
Lighter weight is another one.


My bikes still work well but would spending $500 on a new mtn bike
gain me a lot more?

Thanks!
t

By the sound of how you still like to ride your bikes, maybe not for
you. However, if you know someone that has a newer bike that fits
you, I'd encourage you to try it on the trails you normally ride.

--
- Zilla
Cary, NC
(Remove XSPAM)

My wife and I both have 10-year-old Gary Fisher Tassajara mtn bikes.
They have cromo butted frames made in the US, with cantilever brakes,
twist shifters, and no suspension.

They're been surprisingly durable, handling the trails we ride without
even causing the wheels to go out of true yet. Not that the trails are
all tame; some are pretty technical and I'm always surprised my rims
don't get bent. Worst thing so far has been having to adjust the
threaded headset a few times due to looseness.

A hardtail mtn bike today is so different. Better brakes, aluminum
frames, non-threaded stems, index shifters (though that was available
when I bought my bike), and, of course, the ubiquitous front
suspension.

My bikes still work well but would spending $500 on a new mtn bike
gain me a lot more?

Thanks!

If you're happy, there's no good reason to buy a new bike.

Well adjusted cantilevers with good pads will stop as well as v-brakes. More
gears isn't necessarily a real help - which cog don't you have that you wish
you did? And suspension will generally let you go faster and be more
comfortable - but whether that translates into more fun is up to you to decide.

If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, by all means go buy a bike.
Buying bikes IS great fun. But do so knowing that it's not really necessary.

Cheers,

-Andrew "convinced that bikes haven't really improved much since the mid
90's" Thorne

My bikes still work well but would spending $500 on a new mtn bike
gain me a lot more?


Bike shops often have "demo days" where you can try their new bikes on real
trails for free. Give them a call and see if one is coming up, then ride
some new ones and see if the difference is worth it. Take your current bike
and try it on the same trails.

I would not be surprised if you ended up keeping your present bike.

RE/
My bikes still work well but would spending $500 on a new mtn bike
gain me a lot more?

I still ride my fully-rigid StumpJumper from the late 80's.

A/B-ing it with my Curtlo hardtail, I find that front sus is a beeeeeg
improvement.... and my bread-and-butter bike is FS.

How old are you guys? My experience has been that my tolerance to jarring has
diminished steadily with age - to the point where riding the rigid offroad isn't
fun anymore and I need a sus post to make the hardtail enjoyable.

One thing: I'd go for a fitkit session before buying a new bike. Did it on my
last one and it really turned me around. Wasn't the last word - I wound up
raising the bars a cm or so, moving them back a good inch, and putting on bar
ends to make up for the inch on the flats....but it was a quantum leap over the
setup on my previous bikes.
--
PeteCresswell

(Tai) wrote in message . com...
My wife and I both have 10-year-old Gary Fisher Tassajara mtn bikes.
They have cromo butted frames made in the US, with cantilever brakes,
twist shifters, and no suspension.

Wow, pre-sellout frames. Keep riding them and they sould last ten
times longer than gf's current crappy offerings made by trek.

They're been surprisingly durable, handling the trails we ride without
even causing the wheels to go out of true yet. Not that the trails are
all tame; some are pretty technical and I'm always surprised my rims
don't get bent. Worst thing so far has been having to adjust the
threaded headset a few times due to looseness.

Define "technical", preferably with photos. Some self-proclaimed
expert goober in Florida's definition of technical is pretty
laughable. There is nothing wrong with riding a rigid bike on
technical trails either. The precision in steering allowed by a rigid
fork is unparalleled.

A hardtail mtn bike today is so different. Better brakes, aluminum
frames, non-threaded stems, index shifters (though that was available
when I bought my bike), and, of course, the ubiquitous front
suspension.

Better, or so the hype the corporate sellout bike companies will have
you believe. Correctly adjusted cantilever brakes work fine.
Aluminium as a frame material is not better in the case of a hardtail,
it's only what they want you to think because it's cheaper for them to
manufacture. Don't let the hype steer you away from what obviously
has worked for ten years for you. If you want to add a threadless
headset and shock, it's not that expensive. Just don't buy a garbage
cheapo fork like rocksux, get a Fox or Marzocchi.

My bikes still work well but would spending $500 on a new mtn bike
gain me a lot more?

A $500 bike of today compared to your current bike would be a major
downgrade.

JD

"Tai" wrote in message
om...
My wife and I both have 10-year-old Gary Fisher Tassajara mtn bikes.
They have cromo butted frames made in the US, with cantilever brakes,
twist shifters, and no suspension.

They're been surprisingly durable, handling the trails we ride without
even causing the wheels to go out of true yet. Not that the trails are
all tame; some are pretty technical and I'm always surprised my rims
don't get bent. Worst thing so far has been having to adjust the
threaded headset a few times due to looseness.

A hardtail mtn bike today is so different. Better brakes, aluminum
frames, non-threaded stems, index shifters (though that was available
when I bought my bike), and, of course, the ubiquitous front
suspension.

My bikes still work well but would spending $500 on a new mtn bike
gain me a lot more?

Thanks!
t
I am an old git with more money than sense, and having been through a few
upgrades, here are my views:
.. cantilever to V brakes - a huge improvement
.. V brakes to discs - an advantage in the wet and mud but I could live
without them
.. good steel to good aluminium frame - I didn't notice any difference
.. rigid fork to crap suspension fork (Indy C) - a waste of money
.. upgrade to a decent fork (Marzocchi) - well worthwhile (despite the
company being run by lawyers aka prats)
.. hardtail to full suspension - the start of a religious argument (I went
back to hardtail which I love but since doing that I've got tennis elbow and
have been in danger of losing some teeth fillings so maybe I'll go back but
with a lockout this time)
.. whatever to SPD pedals - a huge improvement

Joe

But canti brakes are such a pain in the ass to adjust
compared to V brakes. Go the way of a good pair of V's if you do your
own tuning. You love yourself for it.

I MTB 2004

"Zilla" wrote in message ...
Tai wrote:

A hardtail mtn bike today is so different. Better brakes, aluminum
frames, non-threaded stems, index shifters (though that was available
when I bought my bike), and, of course, the ubiquitous front
suspension.

You've named a few already. More gears may be another one.


Of course less gears would be better yet.

RE/
hardtail to full suspension - the start of a religious argument (I went
back to hardtail which I love but since doing that I've got tennis elbow and
have been in danger of losing some teeth fillings so maybe I'll go back but
with a lockout this time)

When you do, take a look at one of the Maverick-sus offerings (Maverick, Klein
Palomino, Seven Duo).

I've been through a couple of cantilever FS bikes and my current FS is has the
Maverick sus. With Maverick, I don't feel any bob at all - som a lockout would
be moot. I'm not sure why they're not more popular - maybe my riding syle is
too conservative to uncover some basic fallicy in it...but it sure works for me.
--
PeteCresswell