BIKER'S EDGE

Old vs New mTB

So here’s the question: Do old bikes suck? Or have we just been sold on “progress” year after year? Today, we’re finding out if the upgrades were worth it — or if old bikes were already kind of awesome.

Old vs New mTB: Test Setup

This is the original Santa Cruz Hightower from 2016—a 135mm travel trail bike that was considered aggressive for its time. 67-degree head angle, short reach, and a layout built around early 1x drivetrains and 29-inch wheels—or even 27.5+ (gross). I distinctly remember the word “game-changer” being thrown around.

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And this is the current version – Santa Cruz Hightower 4: 150mm of travel, a 64.0° head angle, and geometry numbers that looked like downhill bike territory back in the day.

These are our two bikes as stand-ins for their respective eras. It’s the same bike with the same intended application. There’s just a decade of “progress” between them. 

Geometry isn’t the only thing that’s changed. Suspension kinematics have evolved, components have bulked up, and drivetrains now offer massive range. Tires are wider, rotors are bigger, and suspension is beefier, which also means, yeah, the bikes are heavier (cue keyboard complaints).

So today, we’re doing some back-to-back riding to see just how much “better” modern bikes really are—and whether all that progress actually matters on the trail.

Old vs New mTB: Ride Impressions

New mountain bike – Hightower V4

All right — let’s start with the new-school. This is going to be the baseline, and then we’ll ride the OG Hightower and see how much “worse” it is.

The Hightower V4 is the prime example of a high-performance, modern MTB. It’s long, low, slack, at the pointy end of suspension design… and it’s incredibly easy to ride.

On the climbs, it puts you right where you want to be—upright, centered, and actually over the pedals. No weird stretching, very little wandering front wheel, no back pain — just sit and spin. It offers a lot of traction and control, partly due to the body position and partly due to how well the suspension tracks the ground. The suspension is fairly efficient while remaining active enough to provide a ton of traction, even in rough and chunky stuff. I was about 6% faster on my test climb aboard the new Hightower.

And then you point it downhill—and it’s like someone flipped on the cheat codes. That tall, slack front end gives you this big, confident “I’ve got this” feeling. You’re not worrying about going over the bars. You’re not worrying about your line. You’re just picking up speed and trusting the bike. It’s stable, predictable, and really easy to push hard. 

Sure, the front end height isn’t all roses. It’s tall enough that you do have to consciously stay over it, or you’ll feel the front end drift — but honestly, it’s a small trade-off for how composed it feels at speed. In other words, there’s no riding off the back of this thing.

It also jumps great. It’s poppy, easy to unweight, and just confidence-inspiring off takeoffs and landings. If you want to manual or hop something mid-trail, it’s happy enough to play along. Although the chanistays are significantly longer than the OG version, making it a little more hesitant to get that front wheel off the ground.

Basically, it does exactly what you’d expect from a modern all-mountain bike: it climbs without too much drama, and descends like a bat out of hell.

Old Mountain bike – Hightower v1

Now here’s the fun part — the old bike. And within five seconds, I knew: Bikes have changed a lot. 

Right away, the climbing position feels… wrong. That seat tube angle puts your hips way behind the pedals — like borderline recumbent. My feet were pretty far out in front of me, and I had this weird stretched-out reach to the bars. I honestly don’t know how we used to ride bikes like this, but I guess I was ten years younger back then, and my back was significantly less broken. Compared to the V4, which keeps you upright and centered, this feels like trying to climb while doing a crunch. The front wheel gets light, it wanders around, and your body is just in the wrong place to fix it.

The traction’s not great either. The rear wheel slips more, especially on loose or rocky climbs. It doesn’t stick to the ground like the new bike does. I think it’s mostly the suspension—there’s just less grip, less give, and way more bouncing around. And it’s wild to think that the back wheel slips more even when you have way more weight over it due to the slack seat tube angle.

That rattly, skittery feeling only gets worse on the descents. The rear end skips, bucks, and kicks side to side way more than the V4. You feel everything—and not in the best way. But here’s the cool part: it kind of worked better in slow, tight terrain. One of the sketchiest sections on the trail was this steep chute into a sharp corner, and I actually made it through cleaner on the old bike. It was way more terrifying, but the shorter wheelbase and steeper head angle helped it snap around more easily. On low-speed corners and awkward tech, this bike kind of comes alive. You can arc the front wheel, snap the rear around, and get it turned faster than the modern bike. Manuals and front wheel lifts are easier, too.

But open it up, and everything changes. On fast, rough descents — especially with turns — it’s sketchy. The whole bike feels twitchy, loose, and unsettled. Compared to the V4, which stays planted and calm, this thing’s constantly reminding you that you’re not as good at bikes as you thought you were. You miss how much work a modern bike actually does for you. Oh, and let’s chat about the dropper post length. Back then, dropper posts maxed out at around 150mm. Again, I don’t know how we did it. Sure, on some old bikes, you could remedy that by putting a modern dropper on there, but you need to remember that not all old bikes were designed with 200mm dropper posts in mind. Depending on your frame and ride height, you might not be able to run a longer dropper.

And jumping, fun factor? It’s not bad, in fact, it’s the best part of the bike. But I was definitely coming up short on some jumps. It might’ve been that I just didn’t carry enough speed because the bike wasn’t as confidence-inspiring. It takes more trust — and honestly, I didn’t always have it.

So yeah, the OG Hightower still has some charm. It’s quick, it’s snappy, and on the right trail, it’s pretty damn fun. But you have to work harder for everything, and you don’t get much room for error. The butter zone is much smaller. 

Old vs New mTB: Scoreboard

Here is our scoring. Keep in mind the scale starts at 0 and goes up or down by one or two points. Also, for this showdown, these are the only two bikes considered for scoring. So when you see a score, that’s not necessarily the overall score of that bike against all its competitors. Instead, it’s a way to show how much better or worse one of these bikes is when compared to the other. 

Category	Old	New
Climbing Performance	-1 — poor posture, traction issues, vague front end. Still fairly efficient	+1 — efficient, centered, tons of traction
Descending Capability	-2 — fun in slow tech, sketchy at speed	+2 — very confident and composed at speed and in chunk
Suspension Performance	-1 — harsh, rattly, poor rear-wheel tracking	+2 — plush, grounded, supportive, and balanced
Handling	+1 — nimble, fun in tight corners	0 — stable but not razor-sharp; slight front-end push
Intangibles	0 — no specific feedback noted here	0 — no downsides, well-built, everything works as expected
Versatility	0 — playful in some scenarios, sketchy in others. Ability to run 29 or 27.5+	+1 — well-rounded across terrain types. Less versatile configuration options.

Old vs New mTB: Analysis

So now let’s answer the big question. Are new bikes better? Do old bikes suck? Is it worth trading in your old relic for a cutting-edge bike? Or have we just been sold “progress?”

If you look at the straight scores without any sort of preference bias, it’s clear that the new bike is the better option. The old bike scored a -3 and the new bike scored a +6. But, and this is a big but, it all depends on where and how you like to ride. 

For example, I like to ride high-speed, rough and rugged trails with a more natural feel. The trails I ride have more open sight lines and are more wide open. Clearly, the new Hightower is the better option for me. And I’d have to say it’s the better option for the majority of riders. 

I can think of one exception, though. Folks who enjoy riding really slow, tight, twisty trails without a lot of sustained downhill might prefer the way the older bike handles. I will say, though, that I can’t see any scenario where the old bike is a better climber due to the seat tube angle. So even if your terrain falls in this category, you might be better off on a more modern bike with a better climbing position.

Overall, I think the last decade of progress is real progress. Bikes are much better in general. They’re more robust, they fail less, the geometry is more dialed for modern riding demands, and suspension kinematics are more refined. We’ve gained improvements in stability, capability, handling, and climbing. Modern bikes are a bit heavier, but unless you’re racing XC, weight problems aren’t really a thing. They’re blown way out of proportion, and the benefits that come from more robust frames and parts far outweigh the penalties.

Now, for my last bit of advice. If you have an old bike, should you go upgrade? I think it depends on the actual model and brand. Some bikes have been outdated faster, while others have stood the test of time. I will say in general, if you’re within one to maybe two generations of current, you’ll probably be pretty ok. That’s usually in the 2-4 year range. If you’re in that spot, you’ll be about 80% of the way to a modern or current bike. Beyond that, and you’ll be behind the curve a bit. If you’re ok with that or don’t want to spend money on a new bike, great. Keep riding what you’ve got – that’s infinitely better than not riding bikes at all.

There’s also the upgrade route. If you have an old bike, you can upgrade parts like dropper posts, brakes, tires, and suspension components to bring it into a more modern era. You’ll likely be limited by your frame and the parts that are compatible with it, so you’ll never get fully current. And keep in mind, the biggest factors in determining how a bike rides are the geometry and suspension kinematics. You won’t really be able to change those with upgraded parts.
bing control.

the bottom line

So, are old bikes garbage? No. Not at all. Are new bikes better? Yeah — pretty much across the board. 

But here’s the thing: the best bike is the one that keeps you riding. If that’s an OG Hightower from 2016, great. If it’s something brand new with all the bells and whistles and geometry that looks like a downhill bike from 2012… also great. Ride what you’ve got. Upgrade if and when it makes sense. And don’t let progress convince you that fun has an expiration date.

If you’ve got an old bike that still rips, tell me what it is in the comments. If you’re thinking about upgrading, let me know what you’re looking at. And if you like this style of content—comparisons, deep dives, or just nerding out about bikes — make sure to follow along for future articles, and I’ll see you next time.