“That’s all I can stands, and I can’t stands no more!”
I think Popeye was the first to utter the phrase, though Chunk’s delivery in the Goonies is easily my favorite. Mountain bike geometry has been in flux for years now, with certain measurements taking on new importance at the expense of others, only to be revisited a few years later.
Progression is good, though the road to perfection can be bumpy along the way. Tell us which aspect of modern mountain bike geometry has taken things too far in your opinion.
Handlebar width
I’ll second handlebar width
BB’s down in the dirt and STA’s that place your knees out in front of the bike a mile, jus’ no…
Modern reach #s has simply made me change from large to medium.
Agree, I downsized my last two from XL to L
Lot’s of folks seem to complain about the whole “long, low and slack” thing but I feel it’s (mostly) what has given rise to most bikes of varying amounts of travel being awesome “all-arounders”. Almost no bikes right now are “bad” and the worst thing I see in general to complain about is crappy brale specs on a lot of bikes due to cost cutting. That said, I have noticed that a few brands have started getting a little too long in terms of reach…I’m 6’ 2” and have consistently ridden an XL since I was about 16, I’ve ridden a few bikes the last few years where the reach feels more like XXL while the rest of the geo is in XL territory. For me, this has given these bikes a very uneven ride feel, particularly when it comes to tight cornering…like trying to parallel park a 70’s Cadillac!
Crappy brakes, that is!
I for one love towing package brakes!
I understand your dilemma although I have done longer TT’s, kept STA @72° and settled into 65/66° HT. I also have a preference for BB height to be off the ground as opposed to the silly drop many have today.
6′ skeleton of a rider with arms long enough to pass the dutchie across the room without getting outta the chair. With that part said, I have zero tolerance for bazooka stems, too clowney for this one!
Now, enter today’s over the counter prices. I can do a fully custom for less than many production bikes. I retired from frame fabrication a number of years ago. Now, I have a keen knowledge of desired lengths and angles.
STA as to ride steep climbs it would be better to have longer chainstays, no drawbacks with it
For the most part, there are enough bikes available in so many configurations that most people can find what they like. On some brands though reach is getting to the point where most people probably need to size down which might present a problem if for people who needed a small or XS frame to begin with.
As a 6’4″ XC rider, nothing is too extreme with the current direction. They just keep getting better and more capable. Perhaps chain stays were getting to be too short (with across-the-size-range consistent chain stay lengths) but now that wrong is beginning to be corrected as well as larger sizes have been going to longer chain stays on the newer bikes. Keep the capability enhancements for little-to-no cost coming (in terms of ride quality/experience; actual cost in $$$ for new bikes is a whole different thing!)
BB too low