its true,why does everyone wanna be an fmx-alike,dont people ride anymore?xc was a fad at one point and you had to have all tje light kit but now everyone wants to be dave mirra or travis pastrana!!

Hey this fashion thread reminds me of something that used to annoy me: It seems like alot of young riders think that having three chainrings is seriously uncool, which is stupid cos they miss out on fuctionallity and the ability to ride up and downhill fast. And if someone was to ask them why having one ring was better for their riding they wouldnt be able to answer with anything better than "it looks cool" or whatever. So, basically having some massive chainguide when you dont  ride hard enough to make it worthwhile is just a stupid waist of money and addition of weight! Dont let fashion get the better of you! I'm done...

i'd say i'm a 5 on the 1-10 scale.  but i can agree and disagree with the original statement.  its personal choice what parts you put on your bike, however there are the people with 'all the gear, no idea'.

haynesy

 has anyone else noticed how much more we pay for kit like raceface, norco, rockshox etc which is well cheep in the USA and canada.

I just bought my 222 right after i found out peaty left orange, because i rode someone elses and knew they were sweet bikes and i got it cheap.

I agree that most newly released parts are usually an improvement in function and so becoming the next must have cool item. The fashion part comes from the consumer as well as the manufacturer. How many people on here change certain parts on their bike that work fine but lets say the colours don't quite match as well as they could. I don't think Mtb has become fashionable otherwise your average Joe would be aware of it and lets ne honest most people think we're playing out on our bikes hoping off kerbs or xc stuff. Mention bmx and people go "ahh cool". I think the fact the mtb manufacters have given us a wider range of options with regards to componants has simply meant people get to personalise their bikes a little. Pretty it up a bit (in JK's demos case a lot, which is for sale in case you didn't know  ). Lets face it, DH is an expensive game. So you'd expect your average DHer to be able to afford to look how they want. I'd like to know how much each DHer spends on the sport a year and then figure how much of that cost is essential. I mean really essential. I don't think we're that manipulated by the manufacturers really as prices continue to drop and the sport is growing rapidly. That doesn't stop us being as vain as hell