hadn’t realised it had become unfashionable until I needed to replace my 29 HT xc bike. Basically very little choice between low-end and £5k race rigs.

@olddog – where have you been looking. Dozens of short travel xc fs bikes for £2k. Cotic will do you a tasty British xc 29, 275+ HT for £2.5k

@ jambalaya … I needed one at short notice so limited to what was in stock or could be ordered in less than a week, at the local shops. Wanted HT and I think that was the main limiting factor. Got a Trek superbly 9.7 in the end, since added dropper post, proper tyres and will fit some SLX brakes I’ve got in the shed when I get around to it. I have a feeling with more time to think I may have gone full suss.

try this.

http://myword.jeffreykishner.com/users/kishner/essays/013.html

Dozens of short travel xc fs bikes for £2k. Cotic will do you a tasty British xc 29, 275+ HT for £2.5k

Bird have that one featured on the main STW page coming out soon.

It’s a big world, and even in this country there’s a lot of riding. Don’t worry about what type it is – do what you enjoy.

I like lots of different kinds of riding.

XC is the same as ‘trail’ isn’t it?

sort of? in navigating this terminology when I started riding more seriously it seemed XC is more about actual racing, as a more performance focused variant of Trail/AM. That’s why its looked down on. (lycra)

I’d say most people are now Trail or AM riders. Depends how gnar you go, anything more gnar is Freeride or DH

I ride up hills, don’t use uplifts, I go down hills, tracks, and trails, singletrack. I consider myself mostly a wilderness trail rider, and don’t hit much man made stuff, but I like going fast down hill, but not downhill 😉

oh and I have little idea wtf enduro is.. like DH racing culture applied to trails?

I think they THINK they are Trail/AM riders, but really, it’s still just XC, but on bigger bikes.

More like touring bikes with knobbly tyres. Putting racks/panniers on a CX bike would a little difficult, and uncomfortable…..

oh and I have little idea wtf enduro is

It’s a race format, that’s all. Quite specific.

oh and I have little idea wtf enduro is

its an xc race with the climbs neutralised to give us fat biffers a chance..

ghostlymachine – Member

canopy » I’d say most people are now Trail or AM riders. Depends how gnar you go, anything more gnar is Freeride or DH

I think they THINK they are Trail/AM riders, but really, it’s still just XC, but on bigger bikes.

Bang on.

Trail riding – riding XC from the door of your audi not the door of your house

XC tends to generate images of lycra clad types racing around a field. It’s a rubbish term.

Proper XC, I just call riding. I love just getting out and exploring hills, woods, commons, moorlands, bridleways, cheeky footpaths, whatever. I call them all trails (except when there aren’t any trails at all). Even urban xc, through back lanes, parks and paths (all generally cheeky 😀 ).

Most of what I ride is a mix of cross country natural stuff, combined with singletrack though mostly unofficial and only a fraction are dug up with berms, jumps and drops. Then there are trail centres but ride them less.

My riding has definitely shifted to lower travel, trail munching and exploring, short travel full sus or hard tail, either suit. Though I still have a place for having fun and get the bigger bouncer out.

molgrips – Member 

oh and I have little idea wtf enduro is

It’s a race format, that’s all. Quite specific. [/quote]

Ah, but there’s enduro and then Enduro 😉 (one might involve lycra and the other not).

I think they THINK they are Trail/AM riders, but really, it’s still just XC, but on bigger bikes

Agreed, I think it is what most ride when not at trail centres (and in fact when at most trail centres) but people prefer the label of “trail” as it sounds more extreme and is a good excuse to take it easy on the flat and uphill.

No clue what I ride.
I used to call it XC rather than XC Race (although now I’d call XC the racing side of just riding a bike). All mountain seems to be a less fashionable term now. The Germans would probably call it Marathon-Tour, but not in the way a brit would call it Tour.
Then when in Morzine with a hardtail 😈 some girl called Emmeline who had a stripey rainbow jersey (you probably know her) told me it was called “Enduro”, when I described it (but not Enduro in the DH-lite / EWS sense imho).

I have several bikes… and I ride them across countryside. So that is surely cross country? (Preferably proper countryside and not a purpose built ribbon thru the trees, which I’d call “Trail”).

Going back to the OP’s point, it is pretty much a shifting baseline observation on the use of terminology. It is based on an idea of what they think ‘xc’ stands for and comparing against contemporary terms. It needs to be remembered that XC was the same kind of marketing/fashion driven term that Enduro is now, and so is a fairly arbitrary point of reference to use as a comparison. The demise of XC is mainly just its usage as a term and its perceived connotations, whereas simply riding bikes off-road has remained pretty constant whatever – and however – you ride.

I dug out a 10-year-old guide book and did a lovely route in south Devon last week – very “XC”:

looks nice. wezzat then?

In reply to the OP, yes, almost every weekend, OS map, general idea of where I’m going, taken the decision to ride every bridleway and byway in Kent, its been a blast so far.

The difference between 10 years ago and now?

Well i ride the same routes, but walk a lot less of those routes than I used too, thanks to modern lightweight, long travel bikes! 😆

jam bo – Member
looks nice. wezzat then?

South Brent – up into the moor via Avon Dam and then down again. I did some of the ride as part of an all-dayer with a local friend of a friend 4 years ago and really wanted to go back!

Need to explore that bit. Never been.

I’ve just upgraded my Orange 5 to 1×11 and new hope brakes. It’s also on 27.5 with Stans tubeless rims on hope hubs, several hundred quid spent on a dropper post and a front fork that would cost £650 to replace, All are subject of post purchase remorse as I have an old 26 inch Cotic bfe that would get me out and about with a lot of fun, but the kit things is fun too and it definitely adds to the ride as it all just works better. There is nowt wrong with just keeping it cheap and simple. It’s not a competition. Trail centres are guaranteed, know what you get, graded, good place to meet and have a coffee after. It’s a choice not a take it or leave it. As for xc riding. I’m not sure what that is? Try riding in Swaledale North Yorks. It’s got moor top cruising, gulleys single track, lots of rock, some dirt some grass but not much in the way of woods. There is super steep and gentle amble. Not a man made trail in sight. But if you wants some roots and tabletops and big berms then an hours drive and you can ride Hamsterley trail centre.
The thing I love about MTB is if you have pedalled to the top of a hill on a £100 Argos bike you get extra respect not less.

Only shredding for me.