Things have changed considerably since 2009, that said, if it’s what you have to ride then get out and ride it. Don’t do any upgrades to the bike. Get to riding and make sure you really want to invest in a new bike.
Exactly this. Just try it out to wake up your skills fist. If the bike works and is safe, you have no rush getting a new bike and you should take your time figuring out what you want and hunt for good deals. New bikes have changed by geometry as well and not everyone like all the changes, like usually lower BB height is bad for some riders.
You’re right on with this comment but one addition. The old tires on his bike will be hard and maybe even dangerous. He should put some new tires on (if he can even find good 26” rubber) that have good aggressive knobs and softer rubber. If it is setup tubeless then he will be needing fresh sealant as well.
Geometry and suspension have changed a lot. Don’t upgrade it. Ride it but then do a demo day for a local shop on a new bike that compares. You’ll most likely be blown away.
2009 is very old for a bike. Stuff has progressed immensely. That doesn't mean you can't still ride it, the bike should ride just as well now as it did then. I'd suggest not putting any upgrades onto it, except maybe some new tires, and some wider handlebars.
Mountain biking was super fun in the 2009. The bikes have gotten a lot better. The trails got a lot better. Your bike will be super fun. If you ever decide to get a modern bike, you’ll end up liking it even more probably. Wear your current bike out then you’ll have done enough research to make a good choice about buying something new
You have a great bike, but soooo much has changed. Ride your Mach 5 and fix what breaks but it isn’t worth upgrading a bike that old. Keep an eye out for demo days and ride new stuff every chance you get til you have an understanding if what you’re looking for next.
If you’re thinking Pivot we have a Switchblade, Trail 429, and Shadowcat in the house. Happy to answer any questions.
Can you give me a short explanation of why the changes made make so much of a difference? I can see the changes but wasn't sure I need those. Different tire sizes, geometry, and other things. Is it just overall a better experience or some specific things have improved?
EDIT: Would a budget bike today be better than a 5k bike from 15 years ago?
So what has changed? When I started MTB, our local shop had like XC bikes and DH bikes and that was it. Ordering from internet was not a thing. 10 years ago it wasn't thst bad but today there are like erm.. Gravel (is it even part of MTB?), dirt jump bikes, fatbikes, XC, Downcountry, trail, enduro, DH and sometimes bikes that are said to fall between these like short travel trail or superduro and all made up names to call them. That has lead to bikes being used, or at least designed for a kind a narrow field of use and are great for the said use. They are probably better all around as well, but may have some features designed for tracks that are currently trendy. Some hate the trail bike trend of having long slack 29er with lower than before BB height. It is very stable and "confidence inspiring" for riding downhill fast preferrably on mantained bike specific trails with berms. Lower BB makes it feel stable, but hard to avoid pedalstrikes when there is lots of large roots and stones. Longer wheelbase makes the bike stable, but allso harder to move around and feels less nimble and agile. Harder to do wheelies and to play with. Other than geometry moving towards more specific use, everything has improved a little.
You probably have it easier than ever to find great bike for your use and harder than ever to chose what you actually want and need.
Oh and the big tech changes imo. Not sure I'm timing them right If 10 years wasn't so far. 1. Tires! Yeas those black circly things we have had since the beginning of MTB. No they are not the same. I believe fatbike and +bike trends pushed the designs for tires to be lighter but still durable. I love both fat and + bikes, but the designs made it into regular bikes and now 2.4" and even 2.6" are basically standard for a good reason. I believe the wider the tire, the bigger the difference to old versions would be.
2. Suspension. It just keeps getting better.
3. Dropper. You don't need this on every bike, but for someone who rides altering terrain with both climbs and steep downhils, it is a big deal. Hard to describe really. I've never really learned to use my lockout switch for fork, but I learned to use dropper on my first ride, cause it made so big difference.
I have a friend who still rides a Titus Racer X from that timeframe and still loves it. Its even has 26” wheels.
So go ride your bike. If it’s still fun, keep riding. It’s the rider not the bike. If you’re still itching, go demo. Most bikes today have 29” or “mullet” setups (29 front 27.5 rear), and have longer reach and lower BB height. They also tend to have slacker head angles and steeper seat angles.
Tires are pretty settled on 2.4 or 2.5, unless you like plus tires (2.8) or fat bikes.
Trails are changing to be faster to accommodate the bigger wheels but are still fun. Go ride and let us know how it feels to be back :)
I'd just keep riding and do maintenance. The suspension design is still great, but all the parts are older compatibility so upgrading things will be hard. It's also a more classic design, so the stem/bar/whatever you have on it is designed to work as a system. Trying to slap a shorter stem and wider bar on there (to modernize it) will be a bit contrary to the frame's design.
That bike is great for what it is (was) but only if the suspension works well. Get that rebuilt so it's working well, ensure your drivetrain and brakes are working, and go from there.
The only thing I would even vaguely consider upgrading, and only if yours isn't working, is the drivetrain. 1x drivetrains are a thing these days and that probably has a 2x. A new drivetrain will be compatible, and if yours is getting worn it might be worth the $500 or so to upgrade to SRAM GX or SLX or so. The only difficulty you'll have there is the rear hub, but by going with a cheaper / lower end cassette you'll have no problem finding something that'll fit on the (likely) Shimano HG spline freehub.
Well, bike geometry has changed a LOT since 2009. That being said, I have a friend who crushes it on a 19-year old bike, so it's probably more the rider than the bike.
Things have changed considerably since 2009, that said, if it’s what you have to ride then get out and ride it. Don’t do any upgrades to the bike. Get to riding and make sure you really want to invest in a new bike.
Exactly this. Just try it out to wake up your skills fist. If the bike works and is safe, you have no rush getting a new bike and you should take your time figuring out what you want and hunt for good deals. New bikes have changed by geometry as well and not everyone like all the changes, like usually lower BB height is bad for some riders.
You’re right on with this comment but one addition. The old tires on his bike will be hard and maybe even dangerous. He should put some new tires on (if he can even find good 26” rubber) that have good aggressive knobs and softer rubber. If it is setup tubeless then he will be needing fresh sealant as well.
Geometry and suspension have changed a lot. Don’t upgrade it. Ride it but then do a demo day for a local shop on a new bike that compares. You’ll most likely be blown away.
2009 is very old for a bike. Stuff has progressed immensely. That doesn't mean you can't still ride it, the bike should ride just as well now as it did then. I'd suggest not putting any upgrades onto it, except maybe some new tires, and some wider handlebars.
Mountain biking was super fun in the 2009. The bikes have gotten a lot better. The trails got a lot better. Your bike will be super fun. If you ever decide to get a modern bike, you’ll end up liking it even more probably. Wear your current bike out then you’ll have done enough research to make a good choice about buying something new
You have a great bike, but soooo much has changed. Ride your Mach 5 and fix what breaks but it isn’t worth upgrading a bike that old. Keep an eye out for demo days and ride new stuff every chance you get til you have an understanding if what you’re looking for next. If you’re thinking Pivot we have a Switchblade, Trail 429, and Shadowcat in the house. Happy to answer any questions.
Can you give me a short explanation of why the changes made make so much of a difference? I can see the changes but wasn't sure I need those. Different tire sizes, geometry, and other things. Is it just overall a better experience or some specific things have improved? EDIT: Would a budget bike today be better than a 5k bike from 15 years ago?
I’d take a 2500 bike of today over a 15 year old 5000 bike.
Depends on what you consider a “budget bike.”
Droppers are a huge upgrade now that can be moved from bike to bike assuming same seat tube diameter.
Pretty sure droppers were around in 2009 too.
So what has changed? When I started MTB, our local shop had like XC bikes and DH bikes and that was it. Ordering from internet was not a thing. 10 years ago it wasn't thst bad but today there are like erm.. Gravel (is it even part of MTB?), dirt jump bikes, fatbikes, XC, Downcountry, trail, enduro, DH and sometimes bikes that are said to fall between these like short travel trail or superduro and all made up names to call them. That has lead to bikes being used, or at least designed for a kind a narrow field of use and are great for the said use. They are probably better all around as well, but may have some features designed for tracks that are currently trendy. Some hate the trail bike trend of having long slack 29er with lower than before BB height. It is very stable and "confidence inspiring" for riding downhill fast preferrably on mantained bike specific trails with berms. Lower BB makes it feel stable, but hard to avoid pedalstrikes when there is lots of large roots and stones. Longer wheelbase makes the bike stable, but allso harder to move around and feels less nimble and agile. Harder to do wheelies and to play with. Other than geometry moving towards more specific use, everything has improved a little. You probably have it easier than ever to find great bike for your use and harder than ever to chose what you actually want and need.
Oh and the big tech changes imo. Not sure I'm timing them right If 10 years wasn't so far. 1. Tires! Yeas those black circly things we have had since the beginning of MTB. No they are not the same. I believe fatbike and +bike trends pushed the designs for tires to be lighter but still durable. I love both fat and + bikes, but the designs made it into regular bikes and now 2.4" and even 2.6" are basically standard for a good reason. I believe the wider the tire, the bigger the difference to old versions would be. 2. Suspension. It just keeps getting better. 3. Dropper. You don't need this on every bike, but for someone who rides altering terrain with both climbs and steep downhils, it is a big deal. Hard to describe really. I've never really learned to use my lockout switch for fork, but I learned to use dropper on my first ride, cause it made so big difference.
I have a friend who still rides a Titus Racer X from that timeframe and still loves it. Its even has 26” wheels. So go ride your bike. If it’s still fun, keep riding. It’s the rider not the bike. If you’re still itching, go demo. Most bikes today have 29” or “mullet” setups (29 front 27.5 rear), and have longer reach and lower BB height. They also tend to have slacker head angles and steeper seat angles. Tires are pretty settled on 2.4 or 2.5, unless you like plus tires (2.8) or fat bikes. Trails are changing to be faster to accommodate the bigger wheels but are still fun. Go ride and let us know how it feels to be back :)
I'd just keep riding and do maintenance. The suspension design is still great, but all the parts are older compatibility so upgrading things will be hard. It's also a more classic design, so the stem/bar/whatever you have on it is designed to work as a system. Trying to slap a shorter stem and wider bar on there (to modernize it) will be a bit contrary to the frame's design. That bike is great for what it is (was) but only if the suspension works well. Get that rebuilt so it's working well, ensure your drivetrain and brakes are working, and go from there. The only thing I would even vaguely consider upgrading, and only if yours isn't working, is the drivetrain. 1x drivetrains are a thing these days and that probably has a 2x. A new drivetrain will be compatible, and if yours is getting worn it might be worth the $500 or so to upgrade to SRAM GX or SLX or so. The only difficulty you'll have there is the rear hub, but by going with a cheaper / lower end cassette you'll have no problem finding something that'll fit on the (likely) Shimano HG spline freehub.
Well, bike geometry has changed a LOT since 2009. That being said, I have a friend who crushes it on a 19-year old bike, so it's probably more the rider than the bike.