Things the MTB industry does wrong

caad9

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Top end Kona and similar have hit up around $10k. Greed and downward pressure on the dollar to manipulate export profits has pushed things up through the mid section more recently.
The new Process X is over $10k and specced with X01/GX mix and alloy 'in house' contact points.
I've been a long term Kona fan and had plenty of support from them over the years, but that is absolutely bonkers

They used to be successful due to pricing, not sure what they do now because the bikes are not better than the competitors
 

Haakon

Keeps on digging
The driveline on the Cannondale is silent, just the tyre noise to disturb the peace. Sadly I often fall asleep. At least that is what I tell people when I fall off.
Dont laugh too loud... Im putting my crash down to the sleeping tablet I'd had the night before after a week of chronic insomnia - just spaced out for a second I think.
 

AaronM

Likes Dirt
As someone who got back on a bike a year ago and now is being frustrated by the “industry” to the point of not bothering to ride.

  • Entry level bikes that aren’t up to the task. That’s a combo of XL frame and 110kg rider bending stuff on dirt trails.
  • Horrid after sales support. LBS (chainstore or not) attitudes. “Well that wouldn’t have happened if you bought that bike there” except the failed part is the same dickhead!
  • Every problem is solved by buying something double the price of what you had, and yet nothing is twice as good.

It would appear to ride on my mix of urban and flat-trails with some rough terrain thrown in I needed to spend $5k on some enduro bro bike and even then it’d be “wrong”.

Overall the feeling I’ve been left with as a consumer is that everything is “wrong”. I’m riding the “wrong bike”, I’ve got the “wrong helmet”, I’ve got the “wrong shoes” I’ve got the “wrong gears”, I bought from the “wrong shop” the “wrong brand”.

I feel the only “right” thing is to sell the bike and call it the “wrong use of my money”
 

wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
Less shops and more people that can help @AaronM.

If there's burners local to you I'm sure there's many that would be willing to help get you riding again (relatively) stress free.

I'm about your weight and have been riding with the right selection of parts, pretty issue free for the last while.

What are you on at the moment? What are the issues you're having?
 

moorey

call me Mia
Overall the feeling I’ve been left with as a consumer is that everything is “wrong”. I’m riding the “wrong bike”, I’ve got the “wrong helmet”, I’ve got the “wrong shoes” I’ve got the “wrong gears”, I bought from the “wrong shop” the “wrong brand”.

I feel the only “right” thing is to sell the bike and call it the “wrong use of my money”
People will tell you that you have the wrong bike/kit etc, no matter what you ride. Opinions are like arseholes, all except mine stink.
Don't get caught up on the latest and greatest, or listen to marketers/influencers. Buy a used bike that's solid, does the job, and makes you smile. Don't worry about weight, that usually results in serious compromises unless you have $10k to blow on parts.
 

AaronM

Likes Dirt
Thanks. I’ve sorted 99% of my issues myself, and to be honest I’m extremely happy with the size/fit of my Merida Big-Nine. The low rent wheels didn’t cope and buckled up quick with my weight, but some entry level Shimano wheels I swapped to are rock solid.

The bike had a few initial assembly problems, as did my wife’s bike bought a few months later that can be tied to the LBS. For me that resulted in two pretty hard falls that caused further damage some of which I’ve fixed and other things I’ll have to ignore for a bit longer.

If it wasn’t for Rotorburn I’d have bailed long ago - I think right now I’m going to give one of the “independent” mobile bike mechanics a go to fine tune some things and I’m hoping I’ll have a good 6 months riding experience after that.
 

moorey

call me Mia
YouTube is your friend. I'm self taught, and do evertything except shock rebuilds...and even they aren't that hard with the right tools. I learned the hard way over the last 25 years....mostly through trial and error.
Have a crack, or ask the brains trust on here if you get stuck. For the love of god, don't ask technical Q's on facebook though.
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
If it wasn’t for Rotorburn I’d have bailed long ago - I think right now I’m going to give one of the “independent” mobile bike mechanics a go to fine tune some things and I’m hoping I’ll have a good 6 months riding experience after that.
@Scotty T was going to try out a guy near Stromlo who apparently comes highly recommended. Scotty?

But I definitely second @moorey's suggestion to do things yourself. THere's a youtube tutorial for any task you could possibly imagine. The Park Tool ones are very good.
 

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
Absolutely diy. Basic tools wont set you back too much though buy decent quality and there is nothing you cannot do at home. Sometimes the rules have to be bent a touch. One time at band camp I used an impact driver to remove a BB cup. Etc.
 

AaronM

Likes Dirt
Agreed, Park Tool make some great videos. I’ve also bought the exact right tools so doing things is easier and I get a good result on the macro level. What I’m having issues with is the finer aspects of derailleur adjustment :) where my lack of experience is hurting and I really need to just start riding again and enjoying the action of using the bike not second guessing whether the chain will move as intended.
 

oliosky

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Agreed, Park Tool make some great videos. I’ve also bought the exact right tools so doing things is easier and I get a good result on the macro level. What I’m having issues with is the finer aspects of derailleur adjustment :) where my lack of experience is hurting and I really need to just start riding again and enjoying the action of using the bike not second guessing whether the chain will move as intended.
make sure your hanger is straight. No amount of derailleur adjustment prowess will overcome a bent hanger, especially if its 12 speed.
 

AaronM

Likes Dirt
make sure your hanger is straight. No amount of derailleur adjustment prowess will overcome a bent hanger, especially if its 12 speed.
Front and yes, the LBS didn’t set up the original well, so it moved out of position on the frame, caught the rear of the cage on the chai wheel and literally bent the pin that the entire assembly pivoted on.

Their fix (on a bike that was ~100km old) was to twist it back, tighten and adjust. It would then go in and out of adjustment as the pin rotated.

I’ve subsequently replaced it with the next model up Shimanos tree and the action is perfect, but I just haven’t got the balance between initial position when locking in the cable and following the Shimano guides seems to place it very close to “doing the same thing” although the new design derailleur is much more robust.

Anyway We should be bitching about the industry - I’ve got a thread on my drama that I should update :)
 

gippyz

Likes Dirt
IMO the industry listen too much to what the pro riders want for racing when designing bikes or components or frames rather than us. We're their largest consumers and what we need day to day is almost always very different to what the pro need for racing. We need components that last longer and more durable, not something that will fall apart after 6 months or heck after few weeks. We need something that doesn't cost a kidney to buy, not something that will get you over the line 0.1 second faster.

Oh in addition, the industry need to understand the rise of DIY and online shopping, and start making stuff more accessible rather than just trying to keep propping LBS or distributors and allowing them to be the king pin dictating how much to charge customers and what they can get (and thus what they should buy).

Maybe I'm a bit too extreme, but that's my take.
 
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