Spoke Tension - THE MTB ISSUES THAT REALLY GRIND OUR GEARS

This month the topic troubling Our tech team is...

WHY DO SO MANY BRANDS MAKE THE SAME SPEC MISTAKES?

From budget-friendly machines sold at superstores to superbikes costing the same as a house deposit, we get a chance to test them all. And one thing we can't help noticing is that brands keep getting the same things wrong. We're not talking dodgy geometry or suspect suspension kinematics - although some manufacturers definitely need to work on those! - but parts specifications. All too often, brands focus on attention-grabbing parts that look appealing in a catalogue or on the shop floor, when the money would be better spent on improving other areas of the bike's performance. Or they jump onboard industry trends that let them use the latest buzzwords in their marketing bumf, but have little impact- or even some negative traits - out on the trails. These are four of the most common spec missteps we see, which make our testers roll their eyes each and every time.

ROBIN WEAVER 

TECH EDITOR IN CHIEF

35mm handlebars - the standard we never needed

The shift to 35mm bars happened a number of years ago (although not by every brand, it should be noted), yet still baffles me to this day. While the increase in diameter from 31.8mm has some claimed benefits, they're not necessarily ones I was ever desperate for.

For starters, while both alloy and carbon fibre 35mm bars offer a slight weight saving compared to their skinnier brethren (because the larger diameter allows the tube walls to be made thinner without compromising strength), we're talking tens of grams here not exactly life-changing. And of all the places you'd look to save weight, is the handlebar the place you'd start? I suspect not.