A new frame material? A new shift group? A new motor? I was always there - for more than twenty years, my private, most ridden mountain bike was brand new virtually all the time. I enjoyed that, and as a worker in a bike store it was easy to arrange. But something has changed: My current (e-)mountain bike is more than two years old.

And I will continue to ride this "old bike" for a while yet. The new model has already been presented, but the massive supply bottlenecks mean that the actual replenishment arrives much later (than the product presentation in the bike media). And although Bosch has just rolled out the so-called Smart System, not that much has changed. The riding experience is - fortunately - comparable. It's also practical that my existing e-mountain bike and my S-Pedelec have the same battery format - so I can easily swap batteries back and forth. And there's no quick charger for the Smart System batteries, which isn't exactly helpful when you're out and about, and that doesn't increase my desire to switch to a new bike at all.

The idea of sustainability has also become more prominent. It is certainly better for the environment and resources to use an existing product for longer. However, when I used to change my bikes every year, I always sold them in perfect condition and then a new owner helped the bike to have a long, longer life cycle.

A final point: it's not actually true that I haven't bought a new mountain bike in two years. Because I'm constantly buying new mountain bikes and everyday bikes for my children, our fleet is pretty decent. And it's just as much fun, or almost more fun, to get a bike as a present rather than for yourself. And then to experience lots of small and big adventures on the bike together with the kids.