Here's why you're seeing less drop bars. 

I found your channel looking for fixed gear content and enjoyed the gravel stuff. The mountain bike content is really not my thing so I’ve dropped off lately. I still love your voice and perspective as a cycling fan with a realistic budget. You are such an antidote to cycling snobbery and the price-gauging bike industry.

If you're riding what works for you, you're doing it right.

I was actually thinking about this recently too. I've mostly stopped watching Spindatt videos due to the lack of drop bar content, content relevant to me. You actually inspired me to buy my first drop bar bike in 2018, base Specialized Diverge. Videos are still entertaining though, keep it up!

I came for the gravel content, I stayed for the Eric content.

It's funny, the utility side of cycling is actually what brought me to your channel. I'm still waiting for the day you get a Cargo Bike so Norton can come with you on longer trips. Thanks for another fun upload! Happy trails.

I feel like the opening to this video very much describes my life right now. I can't say that I miss the drop bar content specifically... I did like to see the places you'd explore on that bike though. There was some kind of beach area with boardwalks that was always cool, and I liked that you'd stop and session just about anything to have a little extra fun. Mountain bikes a just as good, and you seem to be in a better place in your life. Good to see. Keep it up!

I’ll watch whatever bike stuff you put out. I like all kinds of bikes. I’ve got a modern hardtail, I’ve got 90’s mountain bikes, I’ve got a weird weird early 2000’s restomod, I’ve got a 29” quadangle bmx, all bikes are cool. All bike content is cool. Every time I see different kinds of bike stuff on RU-vid it’s just another type of bike I wanna learn about.

Abandoned railroad tracks is maximum I want from offroad cycling. Nature, air, birds, pests - it's all there and my body on 26" mtb handle that just fine.

It's kinda cliche these days but I'm right there with ya. I was a roadie for about a decade but now a casual mtb and gravel guy. I try sometimes but can't really convince myself back on the road. In the usa the roads are insane and the road scene is pretty much dead anyway.

I recently put a flat bar on my gravel bike, I really like it. Being honest with myself, I rarely used the drops on a drop bar, so that's why I swapped.

The one thing I’ve noticed is the lack of 90s MTB content. Kind of disappointing for me because that is my niche lol. I do still enjoy mountain biking but even when I’m riding trails I’m still on a 90s MTB. I am doing Cyclemith short track on my 92 stumpjumper lol. I actually got first this last race for u15

I'm kinda like that too, my drop bar bikes are more to get from point a to b quickly. I love how fast I can get around town on my drop bar gravel bike, but otherwise I'll play around on more off-road bikes.

Hardtail commuting is fun! Ppl make it sound horrible lol. Opens up opportunities to do fun stuff during breaks too I will admit my commute is only 3 miles tho

Man this is a cool as hell video, love the editing style and you just accepting what you want to do and just DOING IT

I'm glad you're making content, and "Every bike is a good time" is an important message, but, like a few other respondents, I've fallen off because the MTB & BMX content is really not my thing. I miss the tinker Tuesday stuff, too.

Loving the new opening sequence and transitions! Good luck with the marathon!

Long live RawnsterX As a 90% mtd'r 10% gravel rider it's still my favorite spindatt bike

In the early 90s, I raced XC and although I had a cheap Trek road bike, I found road to be boring. I loved going off road into the mountains around Anchorage since it was just so much more fun. Even when I had a day without others to ride with so I could go off road (too dangerous by one’s self), I would still do long road rides on my XC bike. Mountain bikes are just more fun and you can go places and do things that are just not possible on a road bike (not that I would never ride trails on my road bike, but it was never quite as fun). Of course my mountain bike was much higher quality than my road bike too, so that may have had something to do with it. I just felt comfortable on my mountain bike in a way that I never was on a road bike. Plus I was a hammer back then and could keep up with most roadies on my XC bike. Aaaahhhh..., to be young again!

People change, preferences change and thankfully we're free to do what we love to do. It's just that I liked the old Spindatt content much more, like so many other commentators below, do too.

I started my riding on enduro and downhill bikes. An accident forced me to road and fixed gear bikes. Got a gravel bike some years ago and stuck with it until I caught a 26 inch 1995 univega MTB frame. Steel. Build it with some modern parts and it's the most fun I've ever had in the city.

I'm actually completely cool with the changes. All my bikes still have drop bars including my single speed, but the flat bar/MTB stuff is cool as well. Keep up the good work !

Please don't sell the Rawnstercross!

Drop bar content got me hooked because of the reasons you cited for me personally, drop bar was more efficient and I loved the content. Dropped off after you moved away to more full time mtb

I'd take a MTB all day for everything. Maybe more or less aggressive tread, air pressure, or lock out the suspension.

5:36 As an ex-trail steward for DORBA, you can get the trail route to improve by taking a McLeod tool, a sharp shooter shovel, and branch lopper with you on your next trip to the trail and cultivate the hindrances out of the trail bed. I saw some colored pin flags & flagging (ribbon tied around trunks), so ostensibly, some individual(s) have found a route, but have not had enough ridership to press the trail-bed in. Sculpting the approaches & departures from the trail vastly increases the odds of getting other riders to take on a new "bandit trail" and getting more of the trail's potential to appear. My son just bought a Marino Enduro, like yourself, and cannot wait to get some flow & weave out of its geometry.

I have been removing drop bars from my collection as well. The only time I use my bike for transportation any more is when riding down town, and that is more fun on a flat bar gravel bike with hydraulic disks.

Awesome riding, perfect camera placement!

Here am I over here putting drop bars on my Roscoe.

Well that's funny...I've been feeling the exact opposite lately and riding drops more and more.

This plain simple xc bike is my favourite Spindatt bike right now. I imagine it as my "one bike." Reasons 1. Seems to cope with all kinds of trails well.( when Eric is riding it anyway) 2.Probably reasonable to ride to trails or some commuter type riding. 3. Looks of course. I used love the straight frame line from top of headtube to rear axle( Poseidon Norton). Now I've gone back to liking the more traditional break in the line at the seat tube.

Love seeing the increase in mtb content

I do remember the bike shop vids and the drop bar riding you did all those years ago.....I still think that gravel/CX bikes are well worth having...... I'm in the eastern UK where it's a relatively flat landscape and drop bars/fat tyres do make sense at times on some of my local off-road bits (which is usually muddy bridleways and dirt/gravel roads and a lot of windy weather).....But I still ride my MTB's a lot of the time and even have a couple of road bikes to keep up the wide spectrum of riding that I do..... I also find it amusing in this part of the world where road bikers are really unsociable and the MTBers aren't..... As for the Gravelking SS tyres on the Rawnstercross (is that how it's spelt perhaps ?), they're good....I run 35c on my Cannondale Synapse and 28c on an old rim brake Spesh Allez as, being an old '90's MTBer and quite ancient, still like going on gravel on a road bike....Good fun. Been watching for years and will keep watching.....

I have a trail system 12 miles away. I want to one day ride to it, ride the 10 miles of trail and ride home. But thats a large endeavor, and much of the road to get there is 55mph speed limit.

Flat bars are ALWAYS more fun. I had flat bars on my road bike with 25mm tires.... It just feels pure - like a kids bike. You just yank on the bars and pedal.

I use to watch your channel, back when you was working at the bike shop, at that time I was working at a shop to, good times, I miss working at a shop just no money in that, now a manager at one of the biggest home improvement stores in the states.

Bring back the grouch. That’s the content I miss

I'm probably one of the few rare people in my area that commutes to work with a gravel bike. At the bike parking at work, you can clearly see that the office is dominated by mountainbike riders. I can easily count around 20+ mountain bikes and barely a handful of us with "drop down bar" bike types. I'm the only one using a gravel bike while 3 other co-workers use a roadbike.

Guilty to say I'm passing on recent content as im not mtb guy, road and gravel seems more interesting to me

I’m just more into building less bikes that do more than into owning all the bikes that fill all the specialized spaces. I’m still on the best bike for everything challenge, even though I know that bike will suck at competition with bikes specifically designed for one terrain. I like to adventure where I shouldn’t on what I shouldn’t but still do okay.

Just imagine how versatile a drop bar MTB would be. Also, Elgin has a gravel ride on May 25th and put drop bars on your Norton, or any of these MTBs you have.

For me personally i used to ride fixed gear and road bikes years ago when i was young and lived "in town" then life happened and i got out of cycling for a bit...Then a gravel bike pulled me back in because i'm old and cars are scary(esp in the DEEP SOUTH). But here that still means driving to the ride. MTB never clicked for me during phase 1 of my cycling because there weren't as many trails (or maybe i couldn't figure them out without trail apps or whatever) but gravel was 100% a gateway drug to MTB this time around. Gravel rapidly escelated to flat bar gravel, to dropper post, to chunkiest tires i could fit, to riding straight up MTB trails on the gravel bike. Now its full on MTB for me. I mostly use the gravel bike for vacations to Portland, Maine. Its a killer "City Bike" for coffee runs, etc.

Based on your background with bicycles it was not something you are into. This can't jump and tricks :) But this particular one is so awesome for bad roads, steep hills and long distances.

After riding nearly 30 years MTB I am converting to dropbars. Even considering a drop bar on my Epic HT. Ride what you like…and have fun.

heyyyy speaking of rawnstercross, have you heard anything about this year's Panaracer Gravelking limited editions? usually it's around that time of year thanks for da videos ( you can call me Lucas if you reply :) )

Most of my riding is urban and mostly for fun rather than commuting, so I'd ride my DJ bike (sub 10 miles) or my trail bike with slicks on (10-25 miles). If I needed to go 25 miles plus on smooth trails/road then I'd choose a road/gravel bike if I had one. I try and get some proper MTB in every few weeks for which I have a trail bike (same bike as above but with knobblies) or my enduro bike for bike park or real mountain days.

for berms like the one you did, try leaning your body into the INSIDE of the angle of the bike (Like a MotoGP racer does on a turn).... I've never seen anyone give this advice for MTB berms, but it works incredibly well for me.

I have to say, about 1/3 of your ride, I was thinking "trail? What trail?"

I finally figured out that there is an alt bar that’s better than a drop bar for any rider who isn’t racing road or gravel.

I'm loving your CINEMA 🚬 intros lately

Forget dropper bars. Just put a 60mm riser bar on my hardtail, and my neck and back are loving it. Best decision I ever made. And no, as long as your handlebar roll is correct, it does not take weight off the front tire, nor does it make you unbalanced on the bike. Your riding position adjusts accordingly.

Oh! first I've caught a video on a fresh release! I'm actually finding my Gravel bike getting a lot less attention these days in favor of XC biking (or road race bike if I do asphalt). Part of it, I think, is as you noted - there's just a lot more trails to go to. If you're not riding your bike to the trail, why not take an MTB instead of a gravel bike? That being said - put drop bars on one of your frankebikes and voila - problem solved. MTB AND drop bar content.

Understandable. If you don't need it any more, you can send it to me. Lovely bike. I own a mountainbike, but..no mountains here. There are nice trails, but not in proximity. I don't drive.. So I have much more use for a road bike and a cross/gravel bike.

Cyclocross this winter maybe?

Cool vid.. Thats some janky XC trails there haha! .. Just thought id put in my 5 cents worth.. Ive recently just got a gravel bike, i havnt done any gravel riding on it yet, because ive been waiting until i could upgrade the rotors, so ive been using it for commutes & road rides.. Main reason i got a gravel bike instead of a hardtail or XC, is cos i can only afford 2 bikes, & my other is a Downhill bike.. I got a gravel bike so i could commute on it, (I'm also doing Uber Eats deliveries by bike as a side hustle lol), but also so i can do some gravel & single track exploring that i cant do on my YT Tues 2016 downhill bike.. Really, tbh, i should have gotten an enduro bike, but ive found, atleast in New Zealand, that Enduro bikes keep their value longer, so you can get a better downhill bike 2nd hand, as far as components & cond goes, than you can an Enduro bike for the same money.. I got my downhill bike, a 2016 YT Tues 27.5 aluminium frame, for $2100, ($1050ish USD) custom painted & new frame bearings etc. Every Enduro bike i looked at in that price range had lower brake spec, lower shock spec, & issues.. So thats pretty much the main reason ive got a downhill.. And also the main reason i got a gravel bike, not to be part of some fad lol, but for the versatility.. And that too was 2nd hand, & a great deal too, a 2022 Marin Lombard 2, with hydraulic Tiagra disc brakes & a GRX rear derailur, for $900 NZD, which i got after i sold my 2012 carbon roadbike for $900 NZD haha! Basically a straight swap for an upgrade, gotta love it! FB Marketplace ftw! As far as terrain goes, i have a 400m hill just half an hour away, with loads of free trails, & also a chairlift access bikepark, which ya can use for free if you get yourself to the top of the trails, either by riding, or shuttling. So im spoilt for choice when it comes to trails, but i want more range than my downhill bike can give me, but i can only afford 2 bikes, & a drop bar bike is the best for commuting, also i discovered how great road riding actually is, when i was rehabbing my PCL from a mtb injury.. So a gravel bike gives that versatility, 28c road tires for a commute or 60km road sesh, or 40c gravel knobbys for loose gravel or singletrack, with the option to change to fit a 650b wheelset when i can afford one, so i can get a little loose.. Some people might get a gravel bike for the fad, or even for full on bikepacking, like my mates who did 7000km around SE Asia, into Eurasia, ending in Turkey. Me, i got a gravel bike, on a 2nd hand budget mind you, because i can only afford 2 bikes, one for almost everything, & one for bike park & steep & techy single-black descents.. I think everyone has their reasons for a gravel bike, thats mine..

I've been toying with the idea of getting drop bars but I put lightweight MTB bars on my hybrid. They are short and extremely responsive, I tend to lean on them rather than grip them almost like a drop bar but I can grab them when I see roots. I still may try it with some used bars and that's the amazing thing about cycling...don't like it? change it then. I love the idea of wrapping my bars with the perfect bar tape for me. I wonder if you can get shorter, less droppy drop bars?

It’s understandable on the shift, But it could still play in to your training for the MTB Marathon, Maybe do a 100k ride in the woods, with the gravel bike? Idk, I’m just justifying why you’d still need a gravel bike. 😅😅 Oh, Maybe an ATB for the occasional bike shop run on a nice sunny day. 🤣 Unless you still have the ride1up roadster. 🤣

Where is the content on the Twin T bike?

I was, at best, mediocre at mtb, but raced anyways because I could climb like a goat since I was a road bike racer first. Then on the downhills, all the actual mountain bike people would catch up and have to wait for me when I slowed way down for all the corners. XD I'm pretty much all utility biking now with most of my time being my commute to and from work. I do kinda miss when I had a rigid single speed mtb back when I raced, but I'm in way worse shape, so it probably wouldn't be nearly as fun.

Hardtail xc bikes are the future of all bikes.

The ronstercross, what frame is that I would love to build up something like that

Somewhere in the RU-vid galaxy there's a mountain biker talking about how aero his new bike is ☯️

is this a camouflage pattern on your casque ?

I swapped my drops out with 2” rise Jones bars , much better !!!

No more commute since Covid for me so similarly no daily use of drop bar bikes. Instead I've been doing my best (not very good but progressing) 30 minute daily imitation of the recent "Jesse Getting Messy" video on lunch breaks from home.

Norton is steady holding the camera

But hear me out: Spindatt, Leadville, dropbar MTB.

One bike missing from your lineup is a recumbent.

CLIK BAIT!?!? Hope this video gets 10,000 views today so you feel you have to make more drop bar content. 😊 Liked your reflection at the start.

I only ride road when the trails are too muddy.

Hell ya brother

I'd say the opposite, i see more and more proper road and gravel bikes on the road over the last couple of years... people understanding what works and getting off of the cheap suspension mountain bikes for riding, commuting, etc on the road and paths.... Personally i have 3 bikes and 3 bars, straight, swept, and drop... i feel best on the drop bars.... (riding street and light gravel)

I'm saddened by the loss of much drop-bar and fixie content from Spindatt.

The word you want is 'fewer' - not 'less'. Repeat after me: "I'm seeing FEWER drop bars." The distinction is whether you're talking about discrete or continuous variables - whether you count/measure the variable in integers (whole numbers) or not. So: "less water in the washbasin" and "fewer people at the party". "Less sand in the Sahara" and "fewer grains of sand in my eye" are all correct. We've got a supposedly common language. It HAS rules - even if your parents/teacher didn't tell you - or if you weren't listening.

I find drop bars uncomfortable for long distances, and not that fun. I think others are finding they agree. It'll likely level out. We don't need to be all on one or the other.

I recently stopped riding drop bars, they were hurting my back.

Drop baaaars!

Hell yeah bruther. Even my gravel bike has flat bars. Narrower and sweeped, but flat. Drop bars are trash. Everything is worse about them... you can even achieve the same aero on flats with some internal bar ends.

You’ve pretty much explained why I hardly watch your content anymore, I subscribed for years on my other account but with no fixed gear, no drop bar gravel and no resto mods on the older mountain bikes. I’m just not that interested in Mtb content unless it’s mad freeride and downhill bizzo. I know me not watching you as much wouldn’t mean zip in the scheme of things with you having 50k plus subs I’m just one person but yeah you filled a void on utube, doing interesting stuff and teaching people how to do awesome things now your just another mountain bike vlogger. If your enjoying yourself who cares hey go for it do what you wanna do everyone has to change and evolve and you’ll probably appeal to a broader cross section of the viewers now I guess.

IMO drop bars are so 1970s 🥴, they just don’t fit with today’s modern bikes. Should only be used for championship road racing etc etc when required. MTB bars, is the way to go, on the streets, and trails. Seriously who needs back pain at the end of the day, after riding on drop bars.

I'm closer :-)

*fewer

Wtf is a gravel bike and why would they have drop bars

wait a minute, I can use apex 1 with 105?

Drop bar fully XC MTB. You want it.

Its a phase. Later on drop bars will get more use. Some point in my bike addiction i even ride commuters and cruisers. Whatever fun they bring, regardless the bars

Because drop bar groupsets are typically expensive trash... like drop bar bikes themselves 😊 Stuck in Toronto I keep a 45mm tire on something often with fenders.. are rarely take my singletrack or jump bike out..

Fewer

drops for asphalt only. Flats for everywhere else!

Maybe the old farts can't bend that far over anymore and have to ride differently? I personally can't stand skinny tired road bikes but thats just me LOL

667 likes

I don’t even have to watch this video to tell you that the reason is simple and axiomatic- Drop bars suck and they are for people who hate fun

yeah ngl , im also bored of the mtb videos

fewer