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> I think the claim about de-emphasizing climbing is BS. I agree. Downhill is more popular than it was previously, but it hasn’t displaced regular biking. Peop
by PragmaticPulp 5y ago
> I think the claim about de-emphasizing climbing is BS.
I agree. Downhill is more popular than it was previously, but it hasn’t displaced regular biking. People doing shuttle runs and lift-served are a tiny minority.
Modern bikes climb better than ever. Bar ends were more of a holdover from road biking that quickly went away when everyone realized how undesirable they were on the mountain.
- bigfudge 5y agoI’m not sure the low slack bikes in vogue now really do climb better tho. Head tube angle is a direct trade off between performance up and down hill.
- petre 5y agoSeat tube too. I have a fixed fork mountain bike with 67/74.5° head tube vs seat tube angles and a gravel bike with the classic 71/73° or what used to be classic on XC bikes. The gravel bike climbs really well with a higher gear but I wouldn't tank over bumpy terrain with it, the mountain bike is really stable on descents and on flats, climbs okay. Of course a MTB with 63/78° like the new Marin El Roy probably doesn't climb that well?
- PragmaticPulp 5y agoYou should try some of the newer bike geometries. It's amazing what they can get away with. I'd take a modern slack head tube geometry over an older bike for climbing any day. I've owned plenty of bikes through the years and I'm not going back.