Do Complicated Bikes Make Life Simpler? | GMBN Tech Show 352

In this week's GMBN Tech Show, Anna Cipullo and Owen Coutts are asking the question, is fully electronic MTB tech taking away rider control and skill? Are we headed towards a future where we can’t fix our own bikes, like modern cars?

Plus our usual favourites including this week’s Quiz question and much more!

💻 Submit Top Mods, Bike Caves, Rewinds and more to us

⏱️ Timestamps ⏱️
00:00 - Intro
00:19 - Is electric suspension the future?
07:22 - News
12:50 - Quiz
13:35 - Top Mods
15:59 - Comments
17:20 - Rewind
20:20 - Comments

Useful Links:

What do you think about electric vs analog suspension? How often do you use a suspension lockout?

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[rider]

Of course not. It's absurd to even suggest such idiocy. Electronics & advanced tech have ruined all forms of wheeled sports. Autos, motorcycle & bicycles. While making them unaffordable & unreliable.

[PhilDiasPJD]

The advantage of all this tech coming to mtb is great for the companies charging extortionate prices, extortionate prices when the next best things comes out and people have to upgrade or miss out AND extortionate prices when ultimately this tech fails.
For me I'll just enjoy riding my no nonsense aggressive hardtail on the trails and my rigid xc mtb on the roads and canals, both of which i built from scratch.

[ish]

Have I ever flipped my climb switch on then gotten to the top of the trail and forgot to turn it off and get locked on the first jump? Yeah I do that😂

[jenibond]

just way to get more money !! the days of top end bike for 5k is gone, 9 batters and 10k later you got pay subscription to ride your bike

[GlenHunt]

So we're on the cusp of "just press the go button" and hang on? Now all we need is a Boston Dynamics rider and then we won't even need to go outside and get nature all over us.

[KDog]

No to all the electronics that are coming out. Sure, it great while it works. But get a glitch, forget to charge the batteries, and you have a dead bike. Yes, with all these electronics doing everything for us, we will lose basic skills. It is happening in the automotive industry. Plus, all these electronics you are not going to be able to fix your bike without having a bunch specialist tools like it is with cars. Try working on E bike motor or the electronics interface. See how far you get.

[craigbest]

No thanks to the electric suspension. Every time I use my shocks lockout lever I forget to unlock it, so I just leave it now.

[StefanDrake]

I have a lockout on my fork a SR Suntour XCM30 and i barely use it
The way i see its electronics on bikes are a big gimick, if analog is still working fine why change it ? (If it ain't broken why fix it)
Besides why cancel rides with friends because you forgot to charge the batteries on your Shifter, Fork, Shock and dropper ? I mean sure a dropper can be usefull but as someone who sets up his saddle height once and forgets about it i think its strictly optional
Same with spandex clothing in MTB you don't need the newest cycling clothes to ride an MTB... shorts and a shirt or a hoodie is more then enough, Never skip on protection, Full face helmet, chest armor, shin guards and arm guards... why full face helmet ? I prefer my jaw intact thank you

[RobHill]

Why is no one addressing the fact that FOX is ripping off the UK market and charging around £400 more than the US for this new neo stuff? The dropper was £400 more and the shock is around the same if not more!🤷🏼‍♂️ if the shock actually learnt from your riding and adjusted itself then awesome but if all it does it lock out then it’s nothing new! I did hear you can download the pro’s tunes to it but I don’t think the average rider is going to ride that trail at pro speed so the tune wouldn’t be any use?

[thevapingpolisher]

A good aggressive hard tail make life easier

[reneesui]

I am a car mechanic for mostly high end cars and I hope the bike electric shocks are much better then the car ones. I have seen some really wild failures and wouldn't trust it on my bike until everyone agreed it was stone cold reliable, maybe pro teams can afford the repairs but im not going to risk it.

that and I can for-see a situation where a company can link your suspension working to a subscription and brick your bike if you don't pay. bmw already tried to get people to pay monthly for heated seats.

[kw]

didn’t realize that Quadlock was a kickstarter, cool stuff!

[robbchastain]

It is sickening to me, all the luxury baked into vehicles of all sorts, including bicycles which should represent the pinnacle of the beauty of simplicity. And why we need motor vehicles with console televisions in the middle of the dash is beyond my comprehension, crazy that those are even legal when we're supposed to be keeping our eyes on the road. There's an excellent expose of the high-fashion industry titled How Luxury Lost Its Luster and I'd say that by turning motor vehicles and bicycles into common luxury commodities, the industry has simply lost lots of us as customers as we prefer not to advance into this age of overly precious and expensive comfort wagons, but hey, an SUV parked close to the store entrance makes grocery shopping like winning the Baja 500 without the bother of actually driving off-road and getting dirty.

[RisseK]

Yeah, because high tech bikes are already so low maintenance? It's insane. Manufacturers recommend people to service suspension forks once a week practically. That's already insane. Making things more complicated than that? No thanks. I have already sold my E-full sus and built a fully rigid bike. Might upgrade to suspension fork later if I ever find a sensible one.

[MtHoodMikeZ]

There’s a trail system near me where you primarily ride up on a road (though no cars).

On that one I use my lockouts. I also take my helmet off. That way I remember to open up the suspension afterwards. Plus my head is less sweaty. 😊

[MTBstuart]

i hate how complicated bikes are becoming, and I'm relatively new to mtb (2 years) and all this tech is great for racing but i don't see the point for most of us, the more tech on them the less fun in my mind, and i think the same on cars too, yes racing cars are insanely fast compared but you would have as much, if not more fun in a classic mini on a track and most of us are here for fun not serious racing.

So many of my friends are going for AXS and trying to convince me to do the same but no chance, i have 9 speed on my hardtail and my enduro bike and I've just built up my nukeproof scout frame as a singlespeed rigid bike and its so much fun without suspension at all let alone technology

[jto-mtb]

Yes, I have an Orbea Oiz with a stepcast. I use the dual lockout all the time.

[ltrtg]

Yes I use the climb lever on Pinkeye. When I remember. I even turn it to open. When I remember. I must admit electronic suspension would mean I don't need to remember. It would mean the suspension is in the wrong setting when I forget to charge the battery.

[davidpayne]

Yes I do use my lockout to great effect when climbing

[frankharradence]

Use lock out on my Fox DPS rear shock when riding uphill on a fire track between a particular section on my local Forestry trail at High Lodge Thetford (for locals, when repeating rides through the Beast section)