When it comes to New Year’s resolutions, shedding weight is a popular one. Lighter weight often correlates with improved health and vitality; the same applies to mountain bikes and the biking industry. After allowing themselves to bulk up over the years, it’s high time mountain bikes undertake a weight-loss journey.

Where Has the Innovation Gone?

Modern mountain bikes resemble their 19th-century ancestors for a simple reason: no one has devised a more efficient and effective design. Despite tremendous technological advancements over the past two centuries, the best way for humans to propel themselves under their power still involves two wheels, pedals, and a handlebar for steering. Whether tackling cross-country trails or enduro adventures, we want our mountain bikes to enable us to move as swiftly as possible with the least physical effort. In this sense, lightness is a fundamental aspect of what defines a bike.

However, comfort, dropper posts, and grippy, durable tires are also essential. Early bicycles from the 1800s, some weighing over 80 pounds, earned the nickname “bone shakers” due to their wooden frames and wheels that did little to cushion the jolts on dirt and cobblestone roads. Introducing pneumatic tires and steel frames made bikes more comfortable, capable, and lighter, making pedaling easier. Reflect on that for a moment: bikes became more capable and lighter simultaneously.

The aviation industry has followed a similar innovation trajectory, yielding world-changing results. Perhaps the most famous aviation pioneers, the Wright Brothers, were bicycle builders and mechanics before achieving their groundbreaking flight at Kitty Hawk. Just like bicycles, airplanes require lightweight construction for takeoff. Lightweight bikes are easier to pedal uphill.

If you look at mountain bike publications or advertisements from the 1990s, you’ll likely spot images of people lifting their bikes overhead. Owning a bike rugged enough for diverse terrain yet lightweight enough to toss around effortlessly was a big deal then, as it is today. In the 1990s, we placed bikes on car roofs with our bare hands. Today, we have ramps and lifts to assist with mounting bikes on hitch racks.

Weight constraints in mountain bike design appear to have relaxed over the past six or seven seasons. Today, more trail bikes weigh over 30 pounds than under 30, reversing the trend of several years ago. For example, a high-tech downcountry wonder-bike priced at over $8,000 weighs nearly 32 pounds. Another example features the latest wireless drivetrain, highly responsive suspension, powerful brakes, and exceptional tires, yet it weighs almost 35 pounds right out of the box.

Indeed, we’ve added dropper posts and complex linkages. But we’ve also eliminated front derailleurs, inner tubes, extra chainrings, and, on the latest bikes, even shifter cables and housing. What happened?

A heavy mountain bike tends to stay grounded and withstand rocky terrain. We’ve added sturdier tires and wheels to prevent flats, increasing bike weight. A lightweight bike allows smoother riding, allowing you to glide over obstacles and avoid harsh impacts.

Affordable, Lightweight, or High-Performance

It would be one thing if mountain bike prices were declining, but they’re not. (Despite recent supply-related price reductions, some are returning to pre-pandemic levels anyway.) On average, buyers are getting heavier, yet not cheaper, bikes. Given the three significant constraints—price, weight, and performance—it often feels like we’ve been presented with only a single option lately.

Not that it’s a bad choice. Most of us will acknowledge that today’s mountain bikes are the best they’ve ever been in terms of comfort, durability, and capability. However, they could be even better if they were lighter than the previous models and those before them. Easier to pedal and climb; easier to take airborne. Capable of transporting us hundreds of miles off the grid for self-supported adventures.

Lighter Weight Translates to Better Performance

Of course, today’s lightest bikes are typically the priciest, and none of us want bike prices to soar just to shed a few extra grams. Fortunately, history shows that innovations and technologies developed to address top-end constraints eventually trickle down to the average consumer. Yet, without apparent consumer demand, brands have little incentive to prioritize additional weight savings.

Designing mountain bikes that are both lighter and more capable is no simple task, but history proves it’s far from impossible. It’s high time for mountain bikes to embark on a weight-loss journey once again.

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