Single speed MTBs are favoured by many street and dirt MTB riders as there 'is less to break', a sentiment shared by their BMX cousins. Other BMX parts seem to be slinking onto MTBs as well, with very promising results. Three piece cromo cranks, originally only seen on BMX's are now commonplace on MTBs, as are the solid chainrings that go with them.
There have been companies set up in MTBing that produce parts for MTBs that are very BMX styled, and they are doing very well, but I have more of a problem with those companies who originate building one style, and decide to cash in on another market.
Now, there are some companies, i am willing to admit, that do produce good products for both markets. Yet there are others which I end up feeling should stay in their niche, and do what they are (relatively) good at.
For example, Pashley, a producer of really rather good MTB and Trials riding. Yet their BMX range is frankly not up to scratch, well, that might be a little harsh i suppose, I should say, their BMX range is nothing special, which, for a brand so widely respected in MTB as Pashley, isn't a particuarly good thing. On the other end of the scale, Mongoose BMX's, although not the top end of the BMX scale, have their accepted place, and have rather nicley cornered the market of low end/budget BMX's, altthough they are now expanding to slightly more expensive models. In MTB however, Mongoose produce rather sub-standard bikes, that cannot compete with those that they are put up against. This is apart from the very high end Mongoose MTB, which although good, I can't help thinking I would rather spend the same rather large sum of money being asked for some Mongoose MTBs, and spend it on a better full-sus ring, by a different make, for the same price, or maybe less!
I don't see whay someone would want to spend over a thousand pounds on something blatantly sub-standard to another thing for the same price!
Another thing I have a gripe about is companies expanding their ranges badly. Gusset, for example, make some very sweet stuff, for both MTB and BMX, including the pigmy cranks (of which i have a pair) and their other products like stems, bars etc is pretty good too.Yet it is when they try to make BMX frames they seem to have fallen at the starting gate. They might be ok, but they certainly aren't the type of thing to make one piss oneself with uncontrolled joy, which is, to be frank, what i want. Yes I know that's a hard, and rather messy thing to do, but I'm sure it's not that impossible, and who knows....it might be worth it for the parts.
So a plea to any companies out there..(though I know that very little notice is going to be taken when an innocent young rider, new to the scene can be fleeced out of a few more pounds) please, if you're going to try and expand you're range of products into another market, think very carefully about it, and do a lot of research first! and if you can't be bothered, then fucking well stick to what you can do!