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Comment by CountDrewku | Hacker News Reader

Because they're ugly and most importantly they provide basically no benefit for mountain biking. If you're doing something like gravel riding or road riding then yes they're nice but you typically have drop bars on those bikes.

Having a big silly piece of metal sticking forward on your bars while you're trying to speed down a steep techy piece of single track is just asking to get hurt. It'd be as dumb as putting a kickstand on your mountain bike.

The only reason they used to be there is because mountain biking was so new it hadn't completely separated from the roadie culture. Older mountain bikes have skinny tires, narrow bars, long stems etc. All of this stuff has been proven to make downhill riding harder and less enjoyable.

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>Having a big silly piece of metal sticking forward on your bars while you're trying to speed down a steep techy piece of single track is just asking to get hurt. It'd be as dumb as putting a kickstand on your mountain bike.

Been mountin biking for 35 years, I have a kickstand on my bike. What argument against them is there?

Does it not fall down on big drops? Also where would it even attach on modern bikes? I don't think they have mounting points for them anymore

No, I get them spring loaded. Easy to get tube clamps for them.

>Been mountin biking for 35 years, I have a kickstand on my bike. What argument against them is there?

Respectfully, I have to ask what you consider mountain biking? I'm not trying to be mean but I have a suspicion that you're not doing real mountain biking and maybe just riding on gravel roads or tame dirt paths. Do me a favor and look up the Whole Enchilada in Moab, UT and let me know if that's even close to what you're doing while mountain biking. I think it'll make more sense.

They're extra weight that can get caught on things and break your frame or you. I've never seen a serious mountain biker riding with a kickstand.

Respectfully speaking, I think we’re talking about different kinds of mountain biking.

I think this is a big issue in this thread. A lot of people in here are calling riding on gravel or maybe a tame dirt path on there way to work mountain biking. This is why bar-ends and kickstands make sense to them because they're not actually mountain biking.

Respectfully speaking, that doesn't answer my question. We may be talking different kinds, true, I tend to go far enough that I'll absolutely need to stop and rest before heading back. Maybe you're just on short jaunts where stopping isn't needed?

The wave of MTB that we're currently in is loosely based on lots of things, but two major shifts have happened in the last 10-ish years.

* the geometries of bikes have changed dramatically. Bikes are longer, with slacker headtubes, longer reaches and steeper seattubes. 29" wheels are finally being crowned as "the" standard, with 27.5 and 26" wheels being relegated to speciality bikes.

*The style of riding has shifted from XC, where distance and ups/downs are to be expected, to more Enduro-style, where you go up to go down. The downs are what your bike is oriented to do. The downs are also getting more 'extreme' in the sense that you're seeing lots more flow/jump trails or simply highly technical sections.

Kickstands are not used (I haven't seen one affixed to a modern MTB in a decade or more) because they're heavy, they're a moving part, and most of the routes I ride they'd be an annoyance. They might be useful for you, but you're not going to find any manufacturer touting them as standard equipment (or even compatible) today.

Oh, I know they're not SOP anymore, haven't been for ages. But, they're pretty light and useful for when you get off the bike and don't want to lay it on the ground or on a tree.

I would imagine snagging it on things, having it drop down due to a big impact and getting tangled in your pedals, or potential impact with your heels since feet are more active on MTBs.

Change the springs if they fall down. I've hit trees and bent frames and not had the kickstand come out. If your heels are flying all over the place, the problem isn't the stand, it's not keeping your feet on the pedals. Heels shouldn't be going side to side when you're mountina biking.

Every single reason you listed is covered in the article.

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