Just reading up on tyre/rim combo’s and you would think my setup is an accident waiting to happen. 23’s were raised when I was discussing with Caden and didn’t seem to be an issue but ERTO would suggest 28mm minimum. I’ve done my fastest ever crit lap with this combo and it’s more stable than anything else I’d tried. As it’s 26mm installed, is it now a 26mm wide tyre? These things are not clear.
I did once pop a Maxxis Refuse off a hooked rim in a race. Didn’t pop the tube, luckily.
ETRTO is more applicable to hookless, not hooked. The hook should make it safe. I you are hammering into corners in a crit, wider will have more margin for traction and I very much doubt any extra aero drag. Have you tried wider? It will likely be the wider wheel shape that is the reason for the stability, not the tyre fitted. My WRs ars very stable with a range of widths fitted.
My WR50 are hookless, I bought them as gravel wheels initially. 28s were allowed on them initially according to ETRTO but it was updated and now not. Zipp have tested tyres on their 25 int width hookless and had a list of tyres that were tested as safe. It is now updated as 29mm minimum as per ETRTO. 30f and 32r now at 50 psi for my 80kg is great. If I raced perhaps I would try a few more psi, but unlikely to happen now.
I’m not good enough to need wider tyres. 
Me either tbh, but oh well I wear them all out eventually.
This guy’s advice is get a cheap gravel bike, and don’t be focused on performance if you want to still enjoy cycling as you age.
Seems like good advice to me, which is what I do.
I know you are keeping traffic going mate, so well done. 
I already do enjoy my riding and am still banging out 10k+ km a year. The gravel bike is good to open up more routes with less traffic. Pretty happy with it for that. Drop bars are preferred by me for more hand positions for hours on the bike.
I’m kind of wishing now that I opted for a gravel bike rather than a MTB.
I see that Polygon are really pushing their new models of Gravel bikes, they are pretty big name for bicycles in the US I think but you can only buy them via online these days?
I’ll probably stick with the tried and true brands of Trek, Giant, Specialized etc especially Trek with their lifetime frame warranties. It was the reason why i bought the Trek Marlin7 MTB but I usually ride that on road anyway and it sounds like a 4x4 with mud tyres lol.
At almost climbing closer to pension age, i’m toying with selling the motorcycle and buying a E-Gravel bike for my jollys. I love my Suzuki 650 V-Strom but the insurance for this bike is insane compared to what it’s worth so with rego and CTP I’m now looking at $1,200 for rego and full comp insurance per year so that’s $100 per Month and I don’t use it every Month.
Also, there’s a possibility that we may downsize our house next year and depending on where we end up, and whether or not i have enough storage for 2 motor vehicles, at least I’ll have my bicycles and 1 car if we decide to get an apartment instead of another house…I’m truly over mowing lawns these days.
With the correct tyres for application, other than hand positions - which you can modify for - there’s little difference. As per another thread on here, the MTB could still be faster on average on dirt roads.
If the Chinese make a big push into high end bikes - as they appear to be doing - Trek might not be around in their current form to honor warranties. Polygon will probably still be around though.
Third party property is usually pretty cheap. Mine is about $100 a year. Just make sure it’s locked up well.
But yes, it depends on how much use it’s getting. My MC is my primary commuter, so if I wasn’t taking the company car a third of the time now, it would do about 10K km a year. Cheap compared to running a car.
As Taiwan has been the centre of frame manufacture over the past 3 decades or more, it’ll be interesting if China takes over in the frame building business. I surely hope that Taiwan can still be the Competition that China needs that’s of course it doesn’t take over Taiwan itself.
There’ll always be room for dedicated bike builders such as Trek and Giant and then there’s the dedicated private Bicycle Manufacturers from all over.
Since Covid, we’ve already seen major changes within the bicycle Industry, components as well as the E-bike trade. But prices of ready made off the floor bikes have really shot up in price as there’s little in the way of discounting like there was before and when components dry up like the triple touring group sets, bike makers have had to find alternatives and Companies like Sram have really given Shimano a run for their money.
Even at the Australian Company Vivente Bikes, still make awesome bikes for all adventures and many more combinations than before but Noel McFarlane has had to abandon the original 27 speed derailleur gear set up and go with the 14 speed Rohloff for all their models shooting the RRP from $2750 for a fully fledged Tourer to $7,100 for the Rohloff bikes with gates belt drive. I’m still of the opinion that despite the price, part for part and knowing how good these bikes are, still represents good value.
Worth or value is down to an individual’s perspective. But coming from a guy who pulled his last bike build from the council hard rubbish pile. I think bike prices have gone crazy, so I’ve probably already bought my last new bike.
Though I find it interesting to observe that as we get older, most of us don’t see a high price as such an obstacle anymore.
Oh yes…the cashed up boomers we are
But seriously, I think half the issue is that dealers from overseas will just say “hey send it over to Australia and whack on 200%…Aussies will pay anything”
When you see that especially older Australians are buying $80K utes from Japan when our currency is around 114Yen to their 100 yen…so why are Australians paying so much for Japanese Utes…they pay nowhere near than in Japan. So it might be true…Aussies will pay what’s required and the price just keeps going up and up and up. $130K for a 300 series Landcruiser these days…WTF!!
Hmm, Australia isn’t the worst place. Having just come back from the UK, I was astounded at the prices being asked for quality new bicycles. Oddly you could get perfectly usable stuff for very reasonable prices but start looking at anything trendy and the sky was the limit…
BUT it was a mecca for cheap quality second hand stuff at the moment. It seemed like ‘no disc brakes - no sale’ was the mantra.
I’ve never been to the UK but gathering only on opinion of many YT video’s I’ve watched on Cycling, the UK seems to have a much more vibrant cycling scene than we have here in OZ.
Yes I know they have a huge population compared to us over a much smaller area but they don’t have our weather either. But the English Countryside just looks amazing and especially so many hedges and stone walls…
But they have one huge advantage too is that they can virtually get to other Countries, cultures in the world just by ferrying across the channel and the world is their oyster so it’s no surprise that the UK has many opportunities for touring ad Europe is so set up for bicycle touring, there doesn’t seem to cop the same aggressive demeanor as we have in Australia. So I guess theres so much more tech and variety than we get here plus the UK pound is very strong unlike our Aussie Peso.
Obvioiusly money comes very easily to some people. I’ll stick with my 2004 Corolla that’s apparently only valued at $2K - 3K. But market value isn’t the same as worth. It’s worth more to me than the over-complicated, less durable, and over-priced new offerings that are designed to keep us poor.
As for local being significantly cheaper. It appears to be the case. I could get SKS mudguards and Schwalbe tyres much cheaper from Germany that AU. One of the only products that AU does well is local produce - as in fruit & veg. Apparently cheaper for the quality than most offerings in wealthier countries around the world. But I wonder how much of that is due to ripping off farmers.
I can understand their take on discs in generally a colder and therefore a wetter for longer environment. Which is great for us that still value rim brakes for road use.
We have very different preferences in our bikes but yeah no more new bikes from the LBS for me either. Too expensive.
Will use this place to inform myself when I source a new gravel frame. Chinertown - Index
Will just build my own.
Good way to go.
I bought my first serious MTB (ATB by today’s catagorisation), Giant ATX 760 new in 1992. I swapped out so many parts over the years that it was fairly unrecognisable compared to the original.
I also bought a Giant Cadex CFR2 in 1993. Eventually I gave it away to a friend.
Built some bikes up from secondhand or new frames in between mainly in the 2010s.
Then 33 years later in 2025 I bought the Kona Unit X (MTB/ATB, bike packing) with some inheritance money. And I still swapped out a bunch or parts like cranks, BB, post (dropper), stem, handlebar, pedals, grips, rear brake.
I just built another old MTB up recently to give away.
I’d like to think I’m done. But I suspect there will still be a lot of changes in the future. Like some on here, I’m too much of a fiddler. If I’m honest I probably like building bikes more than riding them. And as I get older, I appear to have more available funds to do that with.
I refuse to pay stupid prices for bikes or bike gear, although race tubs for Track is $120+ but there is no alternative. 
$50 for riding around the streets is the limit for Road wheels but for racing I would go to $100.
Foo
Foo
While I fully respect those views to minimise costs I am at the “can’t take it with you” stage and with all my kids well set up I’m prepared to pay for what I want mostly at my nearby LBS but with some online purchases … mostly Australian.
Of the five bikes I have owned since taking up riding in 2010 only two have been purchased new with the last one, an Orbea Gain costing $8k.
The other bike I have atm, a Giant Defy Advanced was purchased on EBay for $1400 although I doubled the price by adding a set of carbon wheels.
Can’t see any further bikes on the horizon but still browse from time to time as I have 4 bike shops within walking distance from home (Trek, Giant, Red store and an independent)
You frame your choices around racing it seems Foo. I am no longer interested in racing. No longer enjoy it. I still ride alot as it is my favourite passtime/interest. Quality wheels and tyres are just nicer to ride so that is what I ride. Tubeless all the way. Not cheap but I have managed to find some pretty good tyres for ~$60-. Thousands of ks since I’ve had to stop for a puncture. Never going back tubed. I will wear the cost as a result.
As GRT says, you can’t take it with you and you are a long time dead.