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These are our top 9 products that no freerider really needs. For all those who are now upset, fuming with rage, feeling attacked, offended in their honour: Of course, this is meant with a wink. According to the motto: Ride free. Anything goes, nothing has to ;-)
Role
Ambitious mountain bikers swear by it: they stay indoors and go on the roll. To maintain their fitness, they hide away in the cellar or garage in winter, crank on the spot, get their heart rate up and sweat out of their pores. We say: indoor biking is rubbish. Our motto: Get on your bike and get out into the forest! There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad equipment! Riding through the terrain clears your head, lifts your spirits and frees your soul.
Ultralight hose
The manufacturers of Ultralight tubes promise weight savings of over 60 per cent. Plus a mini pack size. Great, isn't it? We say: We don't need it, you don't need it! The cross-country faction should bow to the weight dictate - we freeriders stick with the standard tube, which incidentally costs only a third of the price.
Heart rate monitor
With Heart rate monitor and smartwatch In addition to your heart rate, you can count steps, monitor your heart rhythm, document calories burned, check your oxygen saturation, record your training progress, etc. Are you a professional athlete? No? Then save yourself the electronic gadgetry and crank through life without the terror of measurement and the flood of data. Just you and nature!
Mobile electric air pump
Riding the escalator at the airport, opening the boot at the touch of a button or ordering food with an ordering app. The comfort craze knows no bounds. That's why we boycott mobile e-bike pumps and still inflate our tyres with muscle power. Our conclusion: we need automatic pumps as much as we need athlete's foot.
Electro-mania
The electric wave has hit us hard: e-vario support, e-shifting, Flight Attendant or TyreWiz, which sends the tyre pressure digitally to your smartphone. Of course, you need an app and a password for this. The e-gimmicks are also expensive. That's why it's better to invest the money in bike park trips. Because: few batteries = less stress. And: When the juice is gone, the faces get long.
Analogue damper pump
This is where electrics make sense and a digital display makes life easier. Most analogue damper pumps show a much coarser scale for an effective suspension setup. Yet suspension guru Marcus Klausmann says: "One or two psi plus or minus - that's worlds!"
Pickup truck
No, just because you like to ride from Munich/Grünwald to the bike park in Leogang with several friends doesn't mean you need a pick-up truck like Cowboy Kyle Strait at the Rampage. A rear carrier will do for you. Pick-up trucks belong in Wyoming, Montana or Utah, but not on the A 96 motorway.
Manual machine
It really does exist, costs around 200 euros and helps you to find the sweet spot with the manual: the manual machine. We say: "Man up!" Put your finger on the rear brake and learn the wheelie. Once you've got it, learn the manual. Just like Hans Rey learnt to surf on his rear wheel - with practice, practice, practice! Learning to manual with a machine is like slacklining with ski poles - you can do it, but you shouldn't!
Eraser - tyres with ultra-soft rubber compound
Tyres in the ultra-soft or super-soft compound often score top marks in magazine tests. What few people consider is that the service life of these tyres is very limited. In concrete terms, this means that these tyres provide a hell of a lot of grip, but only for a short time. In no time at all, the knobs are gone and the traction is lost. That's bad for the environment and bad for your wallet. Yes for racing, but for us hobby freeriders: unnecessary! We recommend a hard rubber compound at the rear (rolls well) and a medium-soft compound at the front (is perfectly adequate).
Laurin Lehner
Editor
