What's Out and What's In - Mountain Biking in 2016 43

​It's a brand new year and our crystal ball is clearer than ever. Let us guide you into this new trip around the sun so you can be the best mountain biker on your trails and the internet.

What's Out - Mountain Biking 2016

  • Standards. As in the actual word. Never has there been a bigger oxymoron. Just the fact that we refer to it in the plural form is a pretty solid clue. We’ll take the new gear though.
  • The front derailleur. We have 9-44t cassettes now, seriously.
  • Enduro. Haha just kidding, but wish we weren't. It will always be XC to us.
  • Flat pedals. They cost us Strava KOM's and our feet fall off the pedals sometimes.
  • Having fun (see "Flat pedals").
  • Taking In / Out lists too seriously.
  • Starting your own clothing "company" that's really only a single t-shirt.
  • Ear tucker hats. Attention all energy-drink-sponsored athletes, psychological studies have shown this over-sized, ear-tucker-hat thing is a grown man's attempt at holding onto his lost childhood. You're over 30 now, embrace it.
  • Energy drinks. Still out. Reach for water.
  • Using the term "FML" - Sven spent it all.
  • Using the term "throwing shapes" for your MTB photos - it was always kinda weird.
  • Using the term "650b" -  It may be more accurate than saying Twenty Seven Five, but it's goofy.
  • Media houses. There's really only one. Technically your Instagram videos are media and you do still live at your mom's house, but that's where the fantasy ends.
  • Freebooters like these clowns, this kook or these assmunchers - candidates for worst humans in 2015 for sure. They've definitely stolen your photos or video at some point for their own Facebook page in hopes of selling shitty fenders and tailgate pads or some garbage product with their name on it. Filmers, riders and brands, Facebook will gladly remove the stolen content by filling out this easy form. Better yet, you could just "borrow" the shitty fenders and tailgate pads from their apartment and "loan" them to others to "keep the stoke alive" while making some gas money. Just make sure you give them credit for the shitty fenders and tailgate pads that shared the stoke because that makes it OK, right? #UNFOLLOW
  • Web edits with storylines. If it takes more than 10 seconds for the shredding to start, we’re out. Make that 5.
  • Epic edits. Kirt Voreis said they were out.
  • Web edits with music?
  • Most web edits, actually.
  • Fake RAWs.
  • Drones. The problem with GoPros is that beyond 15 feet, you can’t see what’s going on. And drones that can carry bigger cameras should still be referred to as “helicopters” and require more training than your average MTB “media house” can afford.
  • Riders using Instagram as their marketing platform instead of sharing something relevant or meaningful about their lives. #yourhashtagsboretheshitoutofus #showussomethinginterestingaboutyourlife #ifonlybrandsstoppedcaringaboutriderinstagramaccounts #thesehashtagsaretoohardtoreadanyway
  • Brands launching exclusive press releases(!) to a single website. Marketing 101 taught us that the more people who see your message, the better. Just use Facebook and YouTube and let the whole world have at it. The bullies demanding exclusives on your less-than-relevant content will be fine, your content will go viral and become relevant thanks to every-day internet sleuths and you'll get 10x the views which can be reported to your manager, ensuring your year-end view count goals have been met.
  • Murdered-out bike builds. C’mon guys, we like black too, but dang.
  • Hating on Plus tires. See “What’s in”.
  • Chains
  • Donald Trump. (We're optimistic)
  • Putting on your goggles in your web edit. Brandon Semenuk is exempt from this rule.
  • Internet mountain bike website writers complaining about everything.
  • Strapping your bike in the middle of the flatbed. Don’t be a dick, shuttle your buddies too.
  • Strava. Again.
  • Instagram. It's so painfully boring anymore.
  • Sven and Duncan because they go to too many cool places without us.
  • One Direction because Bieber 'found' himself'.
  • Results-based teams because they're not as fun to discuss.
  • Print mags, because your high quality paper doesn't help photogs gain followers on Instagram.
  • In / Out lists.

What's In - Mountain Biking 2016

  • Short-travel bikes with big wheels and aggressive geometry. Funny, they were first on our list last year too.
  • Wide range cassettes.
  • Using the term "Loves back wheel".
  • Using the term "making it talk" in reference to a bike getting loose.
  • 26-inch fat bikes.
  • Plus, mini-fat and Gary Fisher saying it's the ultimate tire standard and everything else is a compromise.
  • This thing that Sven and Duncan are gonna live in on the 2016 World Cup circuit.
  • Bar Drag Bounty 4. It's coming. March 1.
  • Vital MTB's forum.
  • Not owning a 4-inch XC bike and a 5-inch trail bike and a 6-inch all-mountain bike and a 6.3-inch enduro bike. Just pick one.
  • Wide rims. Yeah, we’ve been there before, but this time, it works!
  • Bell Biv Devoe in web edits.
  • Plus-sized tires. Don’t knock ‘em ‘til you know, kids. They have already converted some of Vital’s senior citizens, you could be next!
  • Electric mountain bikes. Tooooooo soon?
  • Gearboxes. Because still Belieb.
  • Bieber because he's now 'found' himself.
  • Trail building. Have you been out there recently? There’s gold in them thar hills!
  • Color! Whether it’s riding gear or your bike, don’t fall into the murdered-out trap this year! Express yourself!
  • Instagram. Who needs a PR agency when every athlete does his or her own marketing these days so everyone can scroll right by and forget instantly?
  • Proper "trails" edits from secret, hidden gems, deep in the woods. "Trails" means "dirt jumps" to you MTB types.
  • Slideshows. With the demise of the web edit (see “OUT”), the venerable photograph and proper story telling will be more IN than ever.
  • World Cup DH. Awesome tracks, incredible riding, the best coverage. 2016’s gonna be a PARTY!
  • Carbon. A couple of seasons ago, we were all afraid that all the carbon stuff would just implode. Today, there are almost no parts on the bike that don’t feature the fantastic plastic. With the quality improving and the prices dropping (somewhat), we can only see this trend accelerate further in 2016.
  • Pressfit BBs. We can dream, right?
  • Apparently Transworld is trying to be.
  • Riding more without posting some shit about it on Instagram. Experience your ride.
  • Young gun photo / video nerds.
  • Ponytails.
  • Loic.
  • VX1000 footage.
  • Descent-world.co.uk because Tommy is a one arm'd army.
  • YOLO music usage on commercial edits from brands because who needs permission for music to sell a couple bikes, right?
  • Ed Masters and Phil Atwill because humor and being a loose c#nt sells bikes.
  • Taking In / Out lists too seriously.
  • Team Rumors.
  • GT Factory Racing because we have another Syndicate on our hands.
  • Hardtails because we've grown too soft.

Thoughts anyone?

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