Is this really the right way to go? Will it work? I’d love to go biking in Morocco, or Patagonia, or… whatever it is we’re dreaming of. Whatever would suit us better. Whatever would do us more good. Too often, a dream stays a dream. A “what if” remains just that: a thought experiment. The problem? In life, “what if” doesn’t count.
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Sure, it’s not easy. Not because the opportunities aren’t there, but because we don’t see them. Or because we can’t see a way to actually do what we really want to do. Everyday life, work: everywhere we look, we find reasons to put things off. At some point, we begin to spend more time talking about things than actually experiencing them.
Maybe that’s one of the biggest problems of our time. Not just in the bike industry, but in general. We discuss possibilities, risks, strategies, and consequences until even the best ideas start feeling heavier than they need to. Adventures become concepts. Visions become meetings. And curiosity? That just turns into concern.
But most answers don’t come to you while sitting at your desk. You have to go out and search for them.
For this issue, we planned a hell of a lot – and did just as much. And at some point in the process, we realised: shit, it’s no longer enough. We need to find new ways forward, otherwise the bike world will just keep going round in circles. That’s bad for the industry, but first and foremost it’s bad for most riders and the bike culture they’re part of.
We discuss technical details as if riding a bike would be impossible without those debates. We turn our noses up at what we already have because something newer and wilder has come along, convinced that without the latest thing, fun is off the table. And in all of that, we forget that a new suspension fork is only as good as its setup.
Our latest survey shows just how absurdly wide the gap between theory and reality has become. More than half of all buyers received their bike without any kind of individual setup. Suspension settings – the very parameters that determine control, safety, and riding fun – were never touched on most bikes. Not even explained.
Let’s put that a different way: we’re discussing the final three percent of performance in new products, while most riders might not even be unlocking fifty percent of the potential in the bike they already own.
If that’s the reality, then as a magazine, it no longer makes sense to talk about marginal performance differences in new suspension forks until we address this performance gap.
For our mega group test with 30 eMTBs, we tested more than ever, ran elaborate analysis and benchmark sessions – and still, we had that exact feeling: this alone is no longer enough. Because more effort doesn’t automatically lead to better results.
So we put our test criteria and weighting under the microscope, added our first beginner test session, and asked bike brands a whole bunch of questions they probably haven’t heard from any media outlet in recent years.
The crucial point isn’t that we test even more. It’s what we focus our attention on in the first place. Who and what we give attention to shapes what gets talked about. When an entire industry talks only about details and loses sight of the bigger picture, something has to change. After all, that was one of the key takeaways from the Brixen Papers.
It would be wrong to criticise things, then fail to do better ourselves. So we decided against “what if”, and just got on with it. Properly.
This issue marks a turning point. It’s not perfect yet. It’s the beginning of deeper change. You can discuss endlessly whether change is possible. Or you can simply start.
New paths rarely emerge from doubt. More often, they’re created by someone brave enough to simply take them – or ride them, Turbo mode very much allowed.
The latest issue is available now in our free magazine app. If you haven’t installed our app yet, now’s your chance to download it for free in the App Store (iPhone/iPad) or in the Play Store (Android smartphones & tablets).
Cheers,
Robin Schmitt
Founder of E-MOUNTAINBIKE
Words: Robin Schmitt Photos: Diverse
About the Author
Robin Schmitt
Robin is one of the two founders of 41 Publishing, a visionary and go-getter. While he now enjoys every second on the bike – whenever his busy schedule allows – he used to race against the clock at enduro events and a few Downhill World Cups. Besides that, Robin practises kung fu and Zen meditation, plays the cello, loves Classic Cars, travels abroad and still reviews numerous bikes himself. Progressive ideas, new projects and major challenges – Robin loves exploring undiscovered potential and getting to the bottom of new trends.
