On The Pedals
By Jason Giacchino

The Already Old New Year

The passage of time can be a funny thing; moments tend to drag while eras fly by without our noticing. How often do workweeks slog painfully by while months and even years seem to vanish in a flash? The same theory holds true for our own industry (and any industry for that matter that relies upon the concept of model years).

At the time of this article’s writing, the first week of 2009 is barely in the record books and even though the calendar has been flipped over to indicate an all new year, most of the 2009 model year bikes have been available since fall. In fact, the 2010s are likely going into final development/early production as we speak.

What I like most is those incremental changes that the manufacturers slap on to relatively unchanged models: those tweaks here and there that aren’t quite enough to get the press drooling but are certainly appreciated by fans of the model who’ve experienced the original shortcomings out in the real world. What’s funny about those changes is that like the workweek or even a process as grand as erosion, the greater state of evolution being accomplished isn’t visible in the moment. In other words, take a 2009 bike design that hasn’t received a total makeover since its inception and ride it back to back against the original 2005 version. For an unchanged model, there are most certainly an infinitesimal number of nuances that come through in nearly every aspect of measurable performance.

Why is that? The simple answer is that mountain bikes, like most complex machines, are more than the just the sum of their parts. Hundreds of components sourced by dozens of manufacturers contribute to what we think of as a singular whole. And don’t for a minute think that all of these suppliers are content to rest on their laurels as the model years pass either. Manufacturing processes are being updates, tolerances tightened, and materials swapped in an ongoing battle to keep the edge over the competition. As a result, even models that we consider completely unchanged at the OEM level are likely benefiting from dozens of unannounced improvements as the years go by.

Perhaps most interesting is that while most industries follow a strict calendar year that coincides with the model year’s development/ release, the mountain bike industry is one of few where some of its leading contributors have committed to doing away with the model year concept altogether. These companies, it turns out, would rather not commit themselves to something as arbitrary as a calendar year when identifying their models but rather keep open the option of making improvements as the need arises. A great theory on paper and seemingly smooth in practice to everyone but the guy who just plunked down his cash on a new bike only to find out a week later that it was completely redesigned hence nearly instantly obsolescing his purchase. In that line of thinking maybe we all take a little bit of comfort in the concept of the model year. If for nothing else, it provides a little piece of mind that our investment will be the newest possible incarnation for a year anyway.

Questions? Comments? Love letters? Send 'em to Editor@mountainbiketales.com.