Some time ago I wrote a little thing about so-called “advancements” in bike tech that exclude many of us from the cool kids club. It’s fun to hate on the bike industry, but what the world needs now is love, sweet love. And so, here are some things I enjoy about modern bike stuff. Please pardon the jargon and plethora of parentheticals (or don’t, whatever).
My absolute favorite bit of bike tech from the past 15 years is easily the dropper seatpost. As a shredder-to-the-core I strive to increase stoke and reach premium radness on every ride. (You can tell I’m serious about it by my use of ninja turtles-esque surfer slang.) These things are hard to achieve when your tall seatpost prevents you from getting low and moving around freely. Conversely, it’s hard on the body to climb hills when your seat is slammed down. Up until a few months ago (probably no surprise that I’m slow to adopt new technology) I would regularly stop, get off my bike, adjust the saddle height as needed, ride, stop, get off my bike, adjust the saddle, etc. With a dropper post I now can flip a switch and in less than a second I’m right where I need to be to get appropriate leg extension or low center of gravity. Who woulda thought I’d increase my gnar in my 40s? Probably wouldn’t have happened without this magical, modern device.
Rim brakes provided riders with proficient stopping capabilities for over a century. I will always love them and prefer them in most riding environments. That said, it’s undeniable that disc brakes have had an overwhelmingly positive effect on bikes. Hydraulic disc brakes especially offer stopping capabilities worlds above any alternative. When descending some of Seattle’s steep roads in the rain, snow, slush, plague of locusts, or whatever our current hellscape of a reality comes up with, it’s nice to know you’ll be able to control your speed and stop on a dime when needed. For some that could be the deciding factor between riding or driving. In many instances, like cargo bikes, e-bikes, and e-cargo bikes, they are an absolute necessity.
Bigger wheels! The larger the rolling diameter of a wheel, the more stuff you can run over without having to think twice. 32” bike wheels will soon be rolling out (see what I did there?) into the marketplace. I don’t know if they will take off as a new standard since they seem silly for anyone under 6’ tall. We’ll see. 29” wheels came out sometime in the 2000s and turned bikes into unstoppable beasts… for riders over 5’8”. For shorter folks it feels like we’re sitting between two wagon wheels. Luckily, after a few years of neglect, the industry adopted the 650b standard for those of us on the littler side of the rider spectrum who still wanna plow through trails like a combine. They call it 27.5”. Proliferation of 650b also opened the door for gravel bikes and commuters since they allow for a similar rolling diameter of 700c road wheels with much larger, cushier, grippier tires. For me 26” wheels still provide the most fun ride, but these other sizes definitely serve a purpose and have made riding better overall.
One-by drivetrains and narrow-wide chainrings can be seen on everything from beefcake downhill whips to utilitarian touring steeds to ultra-light road-racing machines. I don’t think they are appropriate for all kinds of riding, but if you like it and it’s not hurting anyone, I say go for it. I’m not here to yuck anyone’s yum. Besides, they are exceptionally appropriate in certain situations and I love them for those. Being able to mindlessly shift without concerns of chain tension or position is pure bliss. Whatever type of riding in which you wish to experience said bliss, I say go for it.
In the aforementioned “little thing” I wrote about stuff I hate and what’s still great, I mentioned a Trek Singletrack that was for sale in the Bike Works Werehaus. Well, a couple warehouse sales came and went and the bike was still there. So I decided to give it a good home and raise it as one of my own. I made some alterations to suit my needs and fill the gaps left by my other bikes. Since it includes everything I’ve mentioned above, I thought it appropriate to share a photo. (Plus I like showing off my exceptional bike assembling skills. They don’t call me a velomancer for nothing.)
If you find all these recent developments in cycling as exciting as I do, I have some good news for you. These features and more can be found on many of the bikes we sell at the Bike Works bike shop (when we have bikes, that is) or we can possibly add them to preexisting bikes if you wanna soup up your current rig. Swing by sometime and see what all the hubbub is about.