-
Posts
-
-
Hello.. newbie here. Roadie for twenty years; switched over to mtb for six months now. So, I went out on some techy trails with my Gary Fisher hardtail w/ my new group outfitted with high end bikes- Santa Cruzes, Konas, etc. These guys are hardcore; they blast through the downhill portions but have a hard time on the way back up. Point is, do all mtbs- XC riders in particular- put more emphasis on the downhill? It’s not how strong you are, it’s how you ride the technical stuff. In that case, I got a long way to go…
-
Hello.. newbie here. Roadie for twenty years; switched over to mtb for six months now. So, I went out on some techy trails with my Gary Fisher hardtail w/ my new group outfitted with high end bikes- Santa Cruzes, Konas, etc. These guys are hardcore; they blast through the downhill portions but have a hard time on the way back up. Point is, do all mtbs- XC riders in particular- put more emphasis on the downhill? It’s not how strong you are, it’s how you ride the technical stuff. In that case, I got a long way to go…
Hey sampson,welcom aboard the mountain biking lifestyle.Are you totally done with road bike’s,or are you alternating??If I was you,I would put an emphasis on climbing with all those road miles under your belt,you can find alot of technical stuff on climbs as well as level singletrack and trails.I bet your legs could get you up some nasty rock garden walls and tough technical sections which I aspire to.I ride a 2007 XL StumpJumper which is basically rated for trail,xc,little bit of down hill and free ride,basically a do-all bike.I mostly ride trail but most trails out here in colorado have climbs and rocks & roots.If you want to do some downhill as well,you need to figure out how much down hill you want to do if your thinking about buying another bike because you can buy a bike that can have a combination of riding styles built into it so you can get a bike just for your own riding style(s).
I like downhill but I’m not into it enough to warrent body armour and full face helmet’s,that is a rough sport that can bite and I have a job to show up to on monday morning’s so I like to be in one peice,hahahahaa.But it is a kick in the butt to bomb downhills no matter how much your into it.It all boils down to what degree you want to downhill and buy a bike according to that degree.Or if you got the money and can afford two bike’s,you could buy into a full on downhill bike and really have some fun bombing downhills and ride the other bike on the trail’s and climbs.There is almost an infinite combinations of riding styles you can buy a mountain bike to ride however you want to and different manufactures do somthing a little bit different than everyone else,but I like my stumpjumper because it can do whatever I like to do.There is a new bike from the Yeti camp that I like alot because it is speciffiacly made to do everything from downhill to cx.check out this link to yeti and see what you think.[url:1pvwtlve]http://www.yeticycles.com/#/ourrides/ASR_7/WHITE/[/url:1pvwtlve]
There will be lots of bikes to look at and I think you will get alot of responses to your post so I hope you find just the bike and info your looking for,here’s to ya and your new addiction of mountain biking.
-
MTB riders in general shape their riding to the trails available and what they are seeking from the sport. If you are looking for something really similar to road biking, then you hooked up with the wrong crew. Find a more pedal oriented XC crew you will enjoy your bike more. Wave ‘hi’ to me when I am pushing my bike up the long smooth sections. If you are looking for something more progressive, stick with the crew you have found.
XC riders tend not to focus on bombing downhills for a handful of reasons. First, they know the equipment is designed to be light and efficient when pedaling and not durable and predictable when the trails get chundery. Further, most of your best XC rides are on multi-purpose trails. Bombing MP trails, especially heavily trafficed MP trails, is bad for a laundry list of reasons. Next, everyone draws pleasure from a different type of pain. When my thighs are burning and my lungs are on fire, I am quick to say "F’ this." But riding with broken ribs, knuckles or the phone book of nagging injuries I have collected over the years, can often fire me up to push harder. A real XC rider could probably fill in the rest of the list.
You are still new to the sport, so there is lot’s to see and try. One of my riding buddies back East rides trails and dirt roads from Pittsburgh to D.C. every spring. Maybe, you missed the calling of BMX as kid and Dirt Jumping or 4X is for you. There’s suspension on 26 inch bikes to cover for the deteriorating cartilage in your joints 😀. Don’t close any doors because of fear of one kind of pain or other. Crashes when riding on the more progressive side are often spectacular, but usually there’s just a few "owies." You’re a roadie, so you’ll never miss out on a trail because of the three hour pedal to the top won’t stop you.
-
Welcome aboard Samson. One of my riding buddies would fit with your group, nothing but downhill for him. I like it all though, downhills are best – but you pay the piper on the climb up. To me thats just part of the routine – the part that helps keep you in shape. I think most people that concentrate more on cross country riding accept the climbing with the downhills – and get bikes that are uphill friendly.
-
Hey there. With you being a former roadie, I bet you have alot of endurance. That’s good when it comes to getting up climbs. There really isn’t one particular type of terrain that XC riders focus on. That’s why its XC. Although I will for me that I do look forward more to the DH portions and make the absolute best of them. In order to be a fluent XC rider, one has to be prepared for an arrangment of various types of terrain. With you having all that road under your wheels you be fine as far as getting up the climbs provided that you do understand that if you are going up hill you are going down in gear. Otherwise you are going to have hard time with it all. To me the only real difference in XC riding and road riding is that a road is not technical in the way the way that XC trails are. Once you are comfortable with having to navigate technical spots and handling your bike in ways that you are not acustomed to you will be good to go.
Also don’t worry to much about the other guys that you are riding with. 1) they are experienced and 2) you out there by your choice, not there’s. Have fun on your own accord and yet at the same time improve your skill level.
-
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.