Mountain bike brands love to festoon their bikes with all the latest and greatest features, often resulting in five-figure price points, but what about the ones we didn’t ask for?
Technological advancements in mountain biking are commonplace, with electronic gears, computer-controlled suspension and once exotic materials such as carbon fibre and titanium becoming almost unremarkable.
Some of these innovations have been genuinely game-changing and a chance to improve mountain bikes, but what about some of the stranger additions included on new bikes that we didn't ask for?
Here are some times when mountain bike manufacturers took a wild stab in the dark, with results ranging from genius through confusing, all the way to infuriating.
Headset cable routing
Headset cable routing is an annoying bugbear for many bike mechanics and bike owners for good reason. Barely had the dust settled on internal cable routing (which made rear-brake swaps more difficult and could even cause wear to steerer tubes) when bike manufacturers introduced headset cable routing.
Here, cables enter the top of the headset and journey through the centre of the upper headset bearing (no, I’m not joking) as they make their way into the frame.
The best I can say about it is it looks sleek, especially compared to the redundant holes left by internal cable routing when riders are using wireless electronic gears and dropper posts.
It also doesn't have to be too tricky to work on, because many well-designed systems have elegantly designed clippable spacers. However, many others are not so well executed.
Not even the best system can bypass the hard truth, though: rear brakes, gears, ebike cables, droppers and even lockouts have to be deconstructed and passed through a headset bearing if any of these components need replacing.
The worst-case scenario is replacing the headset bearing itself, in which case it all has to come apart, be passed through the old bearing, back through the new bearing and then reassembled.
Down-tube storage
Specialized introduced down-tube storage a decade ago on some of its carbon bikes with the SWAT box. Other manufacturers quickly made their own versions and down-tube storage quickly became de rigueur and also began to extend in-frame storage to aluminium models.
But what do you keep in there? Some in-frame storage is prone to water ingress and even if it isn't, whatever is inside can go mouldy or rusty from lack of ventilation.
A bigger issue is that in-frame storage can compromise the frame’s structure. Manufacturers are keen to explain how they're focused on optimising stiffness and strength, but neither of these things are improved by a whacking great hole in the frame.
Does the complexity in manufacturing down-tube storage into a frame get passed on to the customer? Well, that extra engineering time has to be paid for somewhere.
That said, if you want to keep your pockets clear and you can make a soft bundle out of an inner tube and a multi-tool that doesn’t rattle around, down-tube storage is handy to have.
Geometry chips
Any good mountain bike has to have appropriate geometry for its intended purpose. It’s the core basis for a decent bike because it impacts how it rides more than anything else.
Riders have personal preferences, so it stands to reason that manufacturers want to add in some versatility by offering adjustability where possible.
One of the easiest ways to offer understandable and robust geometry options is through the use of flip chips. These are inserts that slot into the frame and can be rotated or replaced in order to offer riders different angle and length options within the same frame.
However, is aftermarket adjustment needed? Or should manufacturers be giving us the right geometry based on their own research and development? MBUK presenter Tom Marvin says he doesn’t set a bike in anything other than the lowest and slackest setting anyway. “Perhaps it’s best to create a bike which is shaped for its intentions,” says Tom, whether that’s short and snappy, or long and stable.
Creating chips and the recesses in the frame for them to fit may be simple for clever engineers, but the research and development cost, and manufacturing the extra pieces required must cost something. That cost is likely to be reflected in the price you pay for the bike.
There is also the argument that if the manufacturer gives a large enough window of adjustment to make a meaningful difference to handling, there is a risk that the rider may be able to select geometric options that make their bike worse to ride.
32in wheels
Another new wheel standard is here and it’s bigger than ever: 32in wheels have been developed for XC racing, where minimising rolling resistance is a key consideration and can be aided by fitting increasingly large wheels.
But, outside of racing, will riders benefit from another, larger wheel size?
It means manufacturers are going to have to perform all sorts of testing and development in order to create bikes that are compatible with the new standard. Bike shops are going to have to hold a whole load of new and separate stock items, too.
Regardless of whether we want larger hoops or not, 32in wheels are here because they’re faster on the XC race track, and manufacturers are keen to be the first to supply consumers with the new wheel size.
Of course, there will be some advantages, and for taller riders they may well overcome the drawbacks of less space above the rear wheel and more weight. 32in wheels will roll over obstacles better and can offer the potential for increased traction thanks to their larger contact patch.
It remains to be seen whether 32in wheels remain a niche within mountain biking or whether they take over as a mainstream alternative to 29ers for taller XC riders.
MTB apps
Are apps that 'talk' to our bikes useful, or are they just providing another screen to get in the way of a good bike ride?
Apps are already out there from SRAM, Shimano and ebike manufacturers to set up your gears and tweak the power delivery of the motor.
The functionality of these apps is undeniable, and thanks to updates from the cloud, they’re continually improving.
However, if you’re a rider who believes bikes should be simple and mechanical (like myself), being required to download an app before you gain full functionality of a product can be frustrating.
Take the case of the Amflow with DJI's sensational Avinox motor. If you want to ride the bike more than 100km, you have to download and sync the app. It isn’t hard to do, and nearly everyone has a smartphone these days, but should an app be getting between you and riding your new bike in the great outdoors?
Auto-shift and anti-lock braking
Automatically shifting gears and anti-lock braking systems on bicycles might have sounded like science-fiction only a few decades ago, but they’re now far more popular than you might expect.
Auto-shift and coast-shift are available on some eMTBs, with SRAM’s Eagle Powertrain, Shimano’s EP8 motor, Bosch’s eShift system and Pinion’s MGU (Motor Gearbox Unit). They’re easy to set up at the click of a button and they work well, thanks to clever sensors and computer software.
They take the thinking away, enabling you to focus on riding your bike. I found auto-shifting on a Pinion-MGU equipped Haibike very useful on muddy, technical climbs, where mistakes and slips were common; the bike was always in the right gear.
However, some riders feel this level of automation is taking some of the skill away from mountain biking. Tom Marvin says there are already enough features on electric mountain bikes, and all their screens and buttons, without adding more.
Even more controversial are anti-lock braking systems (ABS) on MTBs, with examples from Bosch and Blubrake already in production. These use sensors to monitor the speed of the wheel and can reduce braking inputs electronically if the software senses the wheel is locked.
Theoretically, this could make eMTBs safer by reducing the likelihood of front-wheel lockups, but some riders find the system intrusive.
