The UK bike brands that drive innovation

Rob Weaver has been a mountain bike journalist for over 18 years and has a deep expertise of bike testing and all things mountain bike tech. During this clip Rob opens up about the brands that push extreme innovation changes in mountain bike technology and the brands that lead the charge…

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Edited By: Doug Tucker, onlyflightdispatch.com

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frame drawing something I remember people going um uh going to manufacturers and before they got their race bikes they would weigh them because of paint weight so there would be like a discrepancy in weight between frames that was actually Toby did that yeah who’s like a proper Puzzler like sew into it wants the bike to be perfect wow but yeah there’s there’s I guess there’s always like a massive difference yeah I was thinking uh before so so how long have you been testing bikes uh I guess like including my freelance stuff probably what year is it now 2024 17 years 17 testing bikes so if you took a a photo well if you looked at a bike from 17 years ago to a bike that you’re going to go and test now they’re obviously drastically different so different have you noticed it or is it just sort of incrementally kept changing well what’s cool is you got Brands like um I suppose mon raer were one of the first yeah but you have and then obviously Chris Porter’s geometron brand like those stood out and that’s why we got we were desperate to get on those bikes because you were like right we want to ride the extremes I was really lucky so God going back so like I said I got to know Paul Walton who was fabian’s mechanic and then Steve Stevie be introduced me to Fabian in maybe 05 something like that and I kind of just stayed in touch with him and so when he was at mandrea and Cesar did the for geometry stuff I went out to fenosa B part have you been there really no I haven’t actually really cool place yeah amazing yeah um and I rode the first like it was a pretty rough and raw um prototype forward geometry bike okay so it their trail bike so it was two years before it came out so explain forward geometry what’s the overview so basically they were like why do all the TR like sayar Rojo was like why do all the trail bikes have 60 70 mil stems let’s just reduce the stem length cuz originally it was 10 mil they took it down to 10 mil and they put that extra length in the frame to increase the front center to make it a more stable bike I think they kept they maybe slacken the head angle a bit or kept it roughly the same but the idea was increasing the front center which is a super important measurement front and rear center is one of those things that people probably don’t talk about or think about enough okay everyone’s like angles reach and all of that stuff but it kind of the rear and front center is what helps to find where you’re going to sit in the bike so it’s really important in terms of how you’re waiting the wheels which you know creating a balanced ride is is key to making a bike feel comfy and stable and fast speed so what you’re saying is this bike is drastically different because it’s longer and with but with the shorter stem so there’s two different characteristics that you’d be testing as opposed to everything else just changing by like a degree yeah and that’s what it that’s what it was and then and obviously Chris really got behind it and Chris is very vocal and really helped push things along and Fabian obviously you know he’ he was right up there at the top in World Cup racing for a long long time and you know if you’ve kind of got his seal of approval and he is alongside niiko as you know ultimate tinkerer a guy who you know who can tell a single click of low speed compression on one run you know that’s that’s the level of detail you’re dealing with so when those guys are kind of backing something like that you has to Peak your interest you have to go okay what’s in it yeah so I went and read that and um and then after that the geometron stuff and so you could kind of see how far it could progress right whether it was too far yeah what maybe need what were your initial impressions of riding that bike uh that bike the 10 mil stem was pretty quirky and it was like in certain situations like climbing and stuff it would feel a little bit light and a little bit Twitchy but you could see the Promise You know you could see the benefits um and then on the geometron which was another step cuz that was a big bike yeah really big bike early ones were mental weren’t those really as far as he could go yeah the the smallest bike they did had a reach of 485 on the g16 which is massive right when you think at the same time I think I had a Yeti around then an S sp6 she had a reach of 425 M so like huge discrepancy massive um but it was that sort of like would this is what you could do or you could kind of reain it in a bit and maybe we just kind of get the best of both worlds and it was sort of what they did and you had Brands like specialized really scratching their heads and thinking and you know they did all that work with the Stumpy Evo when that you know when they came out with that and they had a bit more adjustment it was slammed super day in jobike isn’t it what the start of yeah so so you’re saying that was a reaction to these extreme I think so yeah I think it was I think they were they were certainly like at the Forefront of what could be done and yes there were some quirks and things that maybe not everyone would be into and it looked a bit different it rode a bit different but the reality was you got a lot out of riding it downhill okay and you were like God this feels safe you know it feels a safer place to be safer bike to ride and you know you think about all the stuff christed around Fork offset he was doing crazy stuff you know switching out um upper Fork you know CSUS for like the 26 inch ver verion to get shorter offsets because he could see the Promise in that okay and weirdly actually on a separate trip out to see niiko we were in the back of his van and he’s got loads of different CSU around and he was already doing it too really he just not making any noise about it okay it’s just he you know that dude is like the back of his he’s there he can like recharge shocks like with nitrogen tank in there oh my God I did actually on a ride with him we he was like I’ll ride my bike and I was like okay uh and we were doing it for some photos and he were coming into this this really highspeed like rock garden when you had to basically come in jump and transfer Line to Line otherwise you kind of just hit this big rock on the way out and it was it’s pretty sketchy he kind of did it you’re like okay yeah fine sure 10 time will champ of course there’s no problem and then I go to do it and the photographer is like yeah go you know drop in and I’m going in and I can just see this head like peeking out from behind the Rock and it’s niiko and I was like dude what are you doing I’m out of control I’m G I don’t want to hit you and he’s like I’m just looking to see how the bike’s behaving as you go through the Rocks he wants to see exactly how the rear end from a certain angle so it meant I was like brushing past his ear and he wouldn’t move wouldn’t Flinch just so I could see he could see sorry exactly what the bike was doing if it was deflecting or what you’re like dude that is like next level yeah he yeah he’s he’s a dude but it’s people like him Fabian Chris all of those guys and and a lot of the big Brands get loads of stick for being these big corporations just churning out bikes but the reality is yeah sure there’s a few business people well you know depending on the brand people in suits who are Keen to make money yeah fine everyone else is just super into it right or the engineers everyone’s in it for the same reason just like us just looking for excuses to ride bikes and you meet those guys they’re so genuine so desperate to just build better bikes they’re not there going we just want to sell more bikes and make more money yeah they’re like as long as I keep my job and I get to ride a bit and I get to make Co bikes that’s what I’m in it for and that’s what I think gets forgotten okay with all of this stuff I’m sure you know Focus probably got forgotten over the last few years as well just criticize bite Brands and you know but but that’s the thing and there’s there’s that sort of like the people that are so into it are the ones that drive that Innovation and that’s where you see all those cool bikes coming out and seeing what other brands are doing who are brave and going out there and and kind of you know just taking a risk they’re the ones that are like forging forwards and and the other ones are going actually yeah there’s something in there let’s try something it’s really cool yeah and and that’s where so yeah there was a progression but there was also a big jump at that one point from where we were to kind of you know where we were going to go so was like a massive leap and then everyone else just sort just a few round yeah exactly yeah and it was really cool and then i’ I’d get on a couple of newer bikes and then I can’t remember what it was but I I jumped on a bike there was maybe two years old but at that point at that sort of critical point where everything was going crazy and then you ride and around going oh my God the bottom bracket is like 6′ High the front wheel feels like it’s going to like fall behind me at any minute and you just realize how good and safe the bikes are now yeah it’s really interesting I’m quite resistant to change I am and like I think it’s some dirt jump thing I don’t know just cuz dirt jump bikes just stay the same and it’s still as good as it always was right but that’s not to not to say that everything else can’t move on and really make a big difference and I always just I’m like feel resistant to like it’s it’s funny I don’t know why I have that reaction but I remember anyway going from 27 to 29 and just being like oh they’re making me ride 29 you know you know what I mean like yeah yeah totally it was like that it was it was like everyone’s annoyed they’ve got like a shed full of tires now they can’t use it seems stupid now it was a mission but it’s true though at that point yeah especially in that you know it’s a thickle world isn’t it yeah and it is that sort of like okay this is a is it a trend yeah you is it going to stay you want to be led down some path less fun yeah and at that point there was only like you know when there was the big 29er thing there was only a few bikes that were kind of doing it well and there were no tires there were no good tires there were no like there was so many things that but if I go now on my old bike it feels insane it feels like un R this riding a roller skate yeah which I never thought I’d say I never thought i’ because at that point you felt safe you could go super fast and yeah yeah it is interesting just to go back slightly but like visiting focus and seeing like you say the people are so energized by it and so they’re puzzling the studying the changing things real bike riders real bike riders that they are the people that made the brand what it is you know what I mean but that’s the same everywhere right that’s the same like we get caught you know Muk is the biggest selling magazine therefore they’re like it must be a huge corporation behind it no one cares it’s soulless it’s all of these things the reality is it’s a tiny team that are super no one’s going to be a millionaire guaranteed no one’s going to make a lot of money off the back of it but everyone loves it yeah and that’s what’s so nice about the entire industry there’s no bad people no it’s so cool yeah oh it’s interesting hearing you yeah that’s that’s really good I’m I’m still thinking about it’s how it’s interesting you talking about your bi like no bias and I’m I’m imagining it as like blind testing obviously isn’t possible because you would crash but what you’re trying to achieve is essentially that have you done anything where you’ve covered a bike up like if you for example took a a range of bikes and just gaffet tap the logos up for example and just rode them and gone no but we have got an idea we were going to do we are going to do something similar for a video yeah hey man what an episode that was you did amazing in it and so did you you Shawn like a star you Shawn like a moon I sha like a focus spring deal oh beautiful I got a question for you David to kick this final advert off yeah what would you do with up to 400 yeah if you got it back when buying a bike o I could stay in the bike shop and spend my €400 on accessories good point support your local bike shop great point I could take the €400 and go to another shop close by maybe buy 400 of pasta maybe go to the euro store get 400 and just that’s Christmas done for eternity keeping them out tickets yeah beans tires um Shamy cream a new pet a new pet perhaps a water dragon or an iguana lovely idea well Focus are actually making that question a reality nice because with the focus spring deals you can grab up to €400 back when buying a new bike if you want to find out more check out the terms and conditions and all of the details in the link we’re going to put that below and I’m so you’re going to read it out please okay you ready for me to read it out yes this is old school in it reading out links yeah anticipation I’m going do it anyway I want the deal ride. focus. bikes slring deals TRC oo nice so that is ride. focus. bikes spring deals TRC and let us know in the comments what you would do with €400 best answer wins a signed odub hat I like it good I’ve got hats yeah I’m ready yeah I’m good for that hey can we also put something up here that you can click on for the next episode how about we put a subscribe up there in the middle yeah we’re going to put a video we think that our lovely companionship will love on your face on my face yeah can’t see me now gone and on my face another video that we think people will love and thank you for watching thank you for listening please hit like And subscribe you guys are the best peace and love [Music]