The bicycle industry is changing. Today more than ever, technology is allied with the sector to offer us solutions that allow us to enjoy our fans even more. Especially, in the field of Mountain Bike. Do all these changes respond to a real need? Are they, in part, a strategy to promote the sale of bicycles? A debate that never loses today.
Be that as it may, it is something exciting. Then we get the
crystal ball And we tell you some of the trends that could be imposed in the near future. Some of them are a reality; others simply reasonable conjectures. What do you think?
Light e-bike segment growth
The growth of this segment is unstoppable. The electric bikes are particularly settled in the MTB modality. And it is precisely the world of mountain e-bikes that could bring us more new news.
With its emergence, an unstoppable race began to develop more powerful engines and batteries with increasing autonomy.
Brands have made huge advances in the development of powerful electric bicycles and with good autonomy.
But the market is changing and today many
Bikers They are willing to sacrifice some electrical assistance in exchange for a more agile and maneuverable bicycle that transmits sensations similar to those of a conventional model: we talk about light e-mtbs. They are bicycles with a more modest level of assistance and considerable weight savings. Its 15 or 16 kg are not far from enduro models for a few years ago.
Specialized was one of the pioneer brands, with the launch of the Turbo LEVO SL in 2020. Little by little, other reference models were joined to the segment of light electric models: Trek ex-e, Orbea Rise, the Scott Lmen Eride, and others.
It will be interesting to discover how brands work to balance power, weight and battery life. What will be better? A very light bicycle with a minimum power? Better a light bicycle with full power that consumes the battery more quickly? Or maybe a medium weight bike that balances power and autonomy?
Bike settlement Mullet
[CAPTION ID = "Attachment_9597" Align = "Alignnone" Width = "744"]
Santa Cruz Bronson, with its "Mullet" configuration.[/caption]
30 years ago Cannondale and Trek surprised the market with different wheel sizes in front and behind in their MTB bicycles. At that time, the concept did not set: perhaps it was not the time, or the difference in size between 29 ’and 26’ ’was too steep.
But everything has changed in recent years. Mixed wheel size bicycles (
Mullet) have add more and more followers; especially, in the modalities of Downhill and Enduro. But the trend already begins to settle in the trail segment and it seems that it will be one of the short and medium term rise currents.
The usual configuration of the
Mullet It is a 29 ’’ wheel in front and 27.5 ’’ behind. The theory dictates that a larger wheel circulates more easily on obstacles, while smaller wheels are better to turn agility.
In addition, a smaller tire allows to transfer the weight of the cyclist behind the pronounced descents armchair, which is a security plus.
When market leaders like Santa Cruz embrace the concept
Mullet, it is a sign that the favor of the
Bikers and that he will continue to set a trend in the future.
Electronic suspensions
[Captation Id = "Attachment_9601" Align = "Alignnone" Width = "744"]
Fox "Live Valve" system.[/caption]
We attend the proliferation of electronic devices applied to the suspension of mountain bikes. Everything seems to indicate that the trend will continue.
A few years ago, Fox launched its system
Live Valve, capable of electronically adapting the suspension of the bike to the changes of the land. Using several sensors, damping is blocked to increase pedaling efficiency in favorable terrain and opens when it detects impacts. In this way, the biker can careless (in theory) of the system. Electronics takes care of work. Rockshox responded with its wireless system
Flight Attendant.
At the moment, electronic suspensions are not accessible to the general public, given its high cost.
In more radical MTB competitions, telemetry is used today more than ever to configure the suspension. A good example is Mondraker's MIND system, which allows you to adjust it based on your piloting style or your technical skills, as well as monitor it in real time. Released in 2021, it is included in several brand bicycles, including the Trail Raze model.
Therefore, there are reasons to think that the competition will adopt this technology and perfect it. Over time, prices will go down, cheaper versions will emerge and, before we realize, the electronic fork and shock absorbers will be common in mid -range assemblies.
Storage space
[Captation Id = "Attachment_9602" Align = "Alignnone" Width = "744"]
Swat door device of Specialized.[/caption]
Storage solutions on a mountain bike have rarely been, say, elegant. But brands have taken a step forward in the search for storage solutions that do not break the harmony of their bicycles.
Specialized was a pioneer a decade ago, with the design of its SWAT system (initials of
Storage,
Toilet,
Air and
Tools), mounted in its Trail Stumpjumper model. The device called Swat Door offers an integrated storage solution in the diagonal tube, which is hidden under the front carrier. With a simple
Press and throw It is accessed to a cavity to save objects, without compromising the picture or the comfort comfort.
An ideal space to transport a multi -tool and the occasional spare.
Today there are many brands that offer this option. The trend is to carry the essential without having to depend on a backpack or a fanny woman. It is foreseeable that this trend will strengthen even more in the short term. Comfort, first of all.
Longer and thicker telescopic
Undoubtedly, one of the rising trends within the MTB panorama is the wider diameter of the telescopic scams: 34 mm.
This increase is closely related to the tendency to set up fixtures with greater route. A few years ago, 150 mm was already considered very long, nothing compared to some 240 mm models that we found in the market. Therefore, the more height the shell reaches, the greater the need to gain rigidity: by performance and durability of the material. And one of the solutions goes through the increase in the diameter of the beast. Otherwise, inconveniences such as undesirable crunch or unexpected system movements arise.
In any case, it is not likely that 34 mm will be imposed on all bicycles. For moderate travel scods, it may not make sense, but perhaps in the case of high cyclists. It could be that two standards lived depending on the needs. We will see it too.
More and more integration
Internal wiring is a trend arising more than a decade ago in the world of MTB. Since then, cable routing has become more complicated. There are more and more cables to hide, which complicates the task at the mechanical level. And, as if that were not enough, the rise of electric bicycles comes to add extra connections that still make operations even more difficult.
But the demand dictates that aesthetics counts, and more and more. Certainly, hiding the wiring inside the bike pipe results in a superlimpio -looking bicycle. The bike is wanded more easily, the paint is not staped with the movement of the cables and the possibility of hooks with them disappears.
This is what brands understand. Models such as Scott Genius or Merida One Forty, for putting a couple of examples, do spectacular integration work.
In the search for more integration, it is important to highlight the work developed to hide other elements that break the harmony of lines, beyond wiring. Thus, for continuing with well -known examples, both the Scott Spark and the Cannondale Jekyll hide their rear shock absorbers perfectly in the diagonal tubes.
Proportional pods
In recent years, the
REACH From mountain bicycles it has increased, always taking into account the size of the biker. Consequently, the front triangles have had to adapt. Today they are also bigger. However, the same has not happened with all rear triangles. The unique size is still frequent.
In recent times, the trend has begun to change and it is foreseeable to be accentuated in the coming years. One of the most recent examples is the launch, in 2022, of the new Cannondale Jekyll model, which reached the market with its
PROPORGE RESPONSE GEOMETRY. The goal was to design a bicycle in which the cyclist's posture was always centered between the two wheels.
Something similar can be said of Santa Cruz, which decided to mount proportional pods for each size in its Tallboy, Megatower and Hightower models, in addition to configuring specific angles of the armchair tube for more size cyclists.
Although enough bicycle manufacturers have changed to proportional pods, there are still many who use the same size in all sizes. We hope there are more manufacturers who make the change as the trend progresses.
Goodbye to Down Country?
The Down Country has been a way to call an alleged intermediate modality between XC and the trail. Especially, following the assembly of 120 mm suspensions in Cross Country bicycles, where the standard was 100 mm. Let's say it has been a kind of transition that is still to be resolved today.
The reality is that the market has evolved and the suspensions of 120 mm are already being assimilated by the XC ranges of some brands. This is due to the design of pictures to set up this specific route, but maintaining the geometry of a Cross Country bike. Recall that in this category, until recently, the 120 mm were mounted in pictures conceived for the 100 mm of rigor. This modified geometry and bicycle behavior.
In 2021 there is an inflection point when some brands accept the challenge of producing Cross country models in series with the unique 120 mm option. Scott (Spark) and Orbea (Oiz) represent the bolder examples in this regard.
This can lead us if we are attending at the beginning of the end of a category that has never been established as a standard within the MTB panorama.
Santa Cruz Bronson, with its "Mullet" configuration.[/caption]
30 years ago Cannondale and Trek surprised the market with different wheel sizes in front and behind in their MTB bicycles. At that time, the concept did not set: perhaps it was not the time, or the difference in size between 29 ’and 26’ ’was too steep.
But everything has changed in recent years. Mixed wheel size bicycles (Mullet) have add more and more followers; especially, in the modalities of Downhill and Enduro. But the trend already begins to settle in the trail segment and it seems that it will be one of the short and medium term rise currents.
The usual configuration of the Mullet It is a 29 ’’ wheel in front and 27.5 ’’ behind. The theory dictates that a larger wheel circulates more easily on obstacles, while smaller wheels are better to turn agility.
In addition, a smaller tire allows to transfer the weight of the cyclist behind the pronounced descents armchair, which is a security plus.
When market leaders like Santa Cruz embrace the concept Mullet, it is a sign that the favor of the Bikers and that he will continue to set a trend in the future.
Fox "Live Valve" system.[/caption]
We attend the proliferation of electronic devices applied to the suspension of mountain bikes. Everything seems to indicate that the trend will continue.
A few years ago, Fox launched its system Live Valve, capable of electronically adapting the suspension of the bike to the changes of the land. Using several sensors, damping is blocked to increase pedaling efficiency in favorable terrain and opens when it detects impacts. In this way, the biker can careless (in theory) of the system. Electronics takes care of work. Rockshox responded with its wireless system Flight Attendant.
At the moment, electronic suspensions are not accessible to the general public, given its high cost.
In more radical MTB competitions, telemetry is used today more than ever to configure the suspension. A good example is Mondraker's MIND system, which allows you to adjust it based on your piloting style or your technical skills, as well as monitor it in real time. Released in 2021, it is included in several brand bicycles, including the Trail Raze model.
Therefore, there are reasons to think that the competition will adopt this technology and perfect it. Over time, prices will go down, cheaper versions will emerge and, before we realize, the electronic fork and shock absorbers will be common in mid -range assemblies.
Swat door device of Specialized.[/caption]
Storage solutions on a mountain bike have rarely been, say, elegant. But brands have taken a step forward in the search for storage solutions that do not break the harmony of their bicycles.
Specialized was a pioneer a decade ago, with the design of its SWAT system (initials of Storage, Toilet, Air and Tools), mounted in its Trail Stumpjumper model. The device called Swat Door offers an integrated storage solution in the diagonal tube, which is hidden under the front carrier. With a simple Press and throw It is accessed to a cavity to save objects, without compromising the picture or the comfort comfort.
An ideal space to transport a multi -tool and the occasional spare.
Today there are many brands that offer this option. The trend is to carry the essential without having to depend on a backpack or a fanny woman. It is foreseeable that this trend will strengthen even more in the short term. Comfort, first of all.
Undoubtedly, one of the rising trends within the MTB panorama is the wider diameter of the telescopic scams: 34 mm.
This increase is closely related to the tendency to set up fixtures with greater route. A few years ago, 150 mm was already considered very long, nothing compared to some 240 mm models that we found in the market. Therefore, the more height the shell reaches, the greater the need to gain rigidity: by performance and durability of the material. And one of the solutions goes through the increase in the diameter of the beast. Otherwise, inconveniences such as undesirable crunch or unexpected system movements arise.
In any case, it is not likely that 34 mm will be imposed on all bicycles. For moderate travel scods, it may not make sense, but perhaps in the case of high cyclists. It could be that two standards lived depending on the needs. We will see it too.
