Most important component

Rad2474

Was riding at Hamsterley yesterday and had a little bit of a think when i got to the bottom of Transmission,Accelerator,Nitrous. Now i know i'm faster on my fs than i was on the hardtail and i was thinking is it because it's got better suspension and handles better which makes me go faster? But my hardtail wasn't slow,bit more bouncy though. I decided it's my slx brakes that i think are the single most important component as i just know they'll do the job and i can brake later and harder with them. ( especially compared to the avoids i replaced with them).What would you say is your bikes single most important component?

rockmonkeysc

The rider.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

The rider.

Silly answer. Predictable, too.

rockmonkeysc

A good rider can work with rubbish components and still ride fast. A rubbish rider will still be slow on the best bike in the world.
The rider makes more difference than any component.
The single most important bicycle part is the frame. All the bikes biggest characteristics come from geometry and rear suspension design.
Things like fork, shock and brakes are only as good as the person who sets them up.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

A good rider can work with rubbish components and still ride fast. A rubbish rider will still be slow on the best bike in the world.
The rider makes more difference than any component.
The single most important bicycle part is the frame. All the bikes biggest characteristics come from geometry and rear suspension design.
Things like fork, shock and brakes are only as good as the person who sets them up.

The rider is not a component. It's a ... er... rider.

FishFish

Valve cap (red).

rockmonkeysc

Angus Young wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

A good rider can work with rubbish components and still ride fast. A rubbish rider will still be slow on the best bike in the world.
The rider makes more difference than any component.
The single most important bicycle part is the frame. All the bikes biggest characteristics come from geometry and rear suspension design.
Things like fork, shock and brakes are only as good as the person who sets them up.

The rider is not a component. It's a ... er... rider.

The rider could definitely be considered a component, a part, a tool. In your case, definitely a tool.

Angus Young

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Angus Young wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

A good rider can work with rubbish components and still ride fast. A rubbish rider will still be slow on the best bike in the world.
The rider makes more difference than any component.
The single most important bicycle part is the frame. All the bikes biggest characteristics come from geometry and rear suspension design.
Things like fork, shock and brakes are only as good as the person who sets them up.

The rider is not a component. It's a ... er... rider.

The rider could definitely be considered a component, a part, a tool. In your case, definitely a tool.

Nope. The rider is not a component. Don't be a tool.

cooldad

So the best way for me to improve my bike is get someone else to ride it?

Brilliant.

Not.

Cqc

Front tyre

Angus Young

cooldad wrote:

So the best way for me to improve my bike is get someone else to ride it?

That would definitely help in my case.

FishFish

Fire Extinguisher.

supersonic

Fork.

FishFish

Gramaphone.

felix.london

having just swapped out the (sh1tty) Elixir R's on the Session for a spanking set of 4-pot Zee's I'd be inclined to agree with the OP and say brakes...on a DH bike at least.

DCR00

Well dialled suspension

IMO crap dampers can ruin a brilliant frame

Probably followed closely by brakes

paul.skibum

Tyres - good brakes do nothing if the tyres dont grip, good suspension is useless if the tyres dont grip, good rider is always going to struggle with bad tyres.

Angus Young

paul.skibum wrote:

Tyres - good brakes do nothing if the tyres dont grip, good suspension is useless if the tyres dont grip, good rider is always going to struggle with bad tyres.

On the other hand...

Good tyres won't help much when your brakes don't stop you, good tyres won't grip if the suspension isn't keeping them in contact with the ground and you'd probably be faster than me any day, any place even if I was on a SC 5010C and you were on something you'd dragged out of a skip.

paul.skibum

Angus Young wrote:

paul.skibum wrote:

Tyres - good brakes do nothing if the tyres dont grip, good suspension is useless if the tyres dont grip, good rider is always going to struggle with bad tyres.

On the other hand...

Good tyres won't help much when your brakes don't stop you, good tyres won't grip if the suspension isn't keeping them in contact with the ground and you'd probably be faster than me any day, any place even if I was on a SC 5010C and you were on something you'd dragged out of a skip.

Its a bit chicken and egg isnt it? brakes need tyres, tyres need brakes - suspension you can do without possibly (assuming you are a hippy of some sort)

Angus Young

paul.skibum wrote:

It's a bit chicken and egg, isn't it?

That's what makes it interesting.

The Rookie

paul.skibum wrote:

Its a bit chicken and egg isnt it?

Why does the poor Cockerel always get left out, he came first when he laid the chicken.......

Briggo

Angus Young wrote:

paul.skibum wrote:

It's a bit chicken and egg, isn't it?

That's what makes it interesting.

No, it's dull.

Chunkers1980

I don't think he was referring to this thread, but what makes MTB interesting for him - how it all links together.

Angus Young

Chunkers1980 wrote:

but what makes MTB interesting for him - how it all links together.

^ Yes, this.

stubs

A proper well fitting comfy saddle. You cant ride if your backside feels like its on fire.

cooldad

stubs wrote:

A proper well fitting comfy saddle. You cant ride if your backside feels like its on fire.

I agree with this sad person ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Briggo

The product can not work without the sum of its parts, same as a car and so therefore there isn't a single 'main' component.

One is pretty much nothing without the other, ergo discussion is dull.

BigStu2

I dont think theres a single Best Component, just get a collection of reasonably good components on a good frame, Now I'll throw my Kona Unit into the ring here, you look at it and theres not much going on there, most people dont get it, yet it handles so well due to great geometry, however the mechanical brakes were horrible so I threw on hydraulic ones instead, that was like geting a get out of jail free card, and once it went tubeless it was better and now that it has a carbon handlebar its just awesome. So a few small changes and your bike will rock- well only if it is worth upgrading from the beggining....

pesky_jones

Briggo wrote:

The product can not work without the sum of its parts, same as a car and so therefore there isn't a single 'main' component.

One is pretty much nothing without the other, ergo discussion is dull.

+1, apart from the dull bit. Besides, if it's so dull why are you here? plus I think he was talking about the relationship between components, which isn't really dull - if you like bikes

Briggo

Pesky Jones wrote:

Briggo wrote:

The product can not work without the sum of its parts, same as a car and so therefore there isn't a single 'main' component.

One is pretty much nothing without the other, ergo discussion is dull.

+1, apart from the dull bit. Besides, if it's so dull why are you here? plus I think he was talking about the relationship between components, which isn't really dull - if you like bikes

To make the conversation even duller.

Angus Young

Briggo wrote:

To make the conversation even duller.

Well done, it's working.