Getting back into DH? « Singletrack Forum

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Getting back into DH?

35 posts & 15 voices | Started 10 months ago by cookeaa | Latest reply from Pimpmaster Jazz

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cookeaa - Member

Having spent the last couple of years free of bounce and evangelising about the wonders of riding HTs, last night in a fit of Hypocrisy I went and spanked £150 on a Stab Frame to go with the Boxxers in my Garage...

I'm a heart beat away form building another bargain bin DH bike again...

Too late to talk me out of it of course, but I was just wondering, has anyone else caught a "second wind" interest in DH and did it take or do you now have another fancy toy in the garage that never get ridden, did you find it easy to get back into or have Kids/Missus/Work made it harder to commit the time?

I'll be in masters now which from what I remember looked like a pretty competitive field at the last few DH races I attended...

Posted 10 months ago #
xiphon - Member

Don't feel guilty if it only gets used once in a blue moon. My DH bike only gets ridden about 10-12 times per year.... but it's worth keeping, just for the fun had in those days.

On the plus side, it means the components will last for years to come!

Posted 10 months ago #
Pimpmaster Jazz - Member

Not really quite the same, but I'm having similar devious thoughts.

Posted 10 months ago #
trail_rat - Member

i had similar thoughts when i got back from the alps - but it really is just alps fever for me ....

the uk race scene was the reason i stopped racing dh tbh ..... its largely up its own arsehole - not all and i still have some good friends that race dh but i have many more from the much more friendly XC race circuits

Posted 10 months ago #
superted666 - Member

I'm in a similar mood too
Been XC riding for the last few years and hadn't done any downhill since 2006 but recently got a new full suss bike and i've been having a whale of a time

Posted 10 months ago #
roddi18 - Member

Trail rat, That's interesting you find the dh race scene to be up its own arse and the Xc one to not be.
I agree with you that the dh scene is far too 'Too cool for school' and very fashionista driven but i would say the xc race scene is far more elitist and full of preening wannabes.
Both those opinions are from racing in both at the same time.
The best atmosphere and vibe i have got from an event are from the Gravity enduros which i find to be a lot of like - minded people out to go fast and have fun. Plus £60 for two days riding is far better value for money imo than a dh or xc race

Posted 10 months ago #
DaveyBoyWonder - Member

What Terry said. I found the whole DH scene up its own arse when I stopped about 6 years ago. That said, if I could justify the outlay for a new DH bike I would, purely for the cool little local tracks I know near me. Another reason I got out was the effort vs fun. Went to Wharncliffe at Easter and played on the DH tracks there for a few hours but overall must have spent at least 90% of the time riding along the bottom fireroad and then riding/pushing back up and only 10% of the time riding anything fun.

For me, now, the option to ride from my door and have an hours riding non-stop in amazing scenery on amazing trails, both up, down and along beats a days downhilling any day.

Posted 10 months ago #
xiphon - Member

DBW - for me, I think that 10% of riding (time wise) is worth the 90% push-up.

A day doing an uplift is equal to a day's riding through the countryside, which is equal to a day riding a BMX at a park...

Posted 10 months ago #
GW - Member

Terry - did you even race DH UK wide? I always found the DH scene quite different from region to region with it all coming together for the Nationals? (which finally seem to be on the right track)as for it being up it's own arse, I wouldn't really agree but the DH race scene is (and always has been) full of keen young riders with parents prepared to chuck shed loads of money their way in the name of their kids' chosen "sport". some stick it out and become fast and some not so much.
anyone under the age of around 23 without major backing from parents is a pikey in comparisson and you'd need to be majorly fast/talented to make anyone notice and actually get any help/support/backing. (just look at the likes of Barker in comparisson to say Thomson) Pa Barker proved you don't even need a good bike or kit to win a DH races but you still need shed loads of support/funds to get anywhere.

back to the OP, I've been around the DH scene since the very start (here, anyway) and still have DH race bikes but don't race, infact sometimes I don't even ride DH for months. often I simply can't be arsed with all the faff/travelling/expense or being away from family for the sake of a few minutes DHing on often the same old tired tracks I rode 10+yrs ago (and almost certainly faster on a DH bike bike no better than your average £2K AM bike these days. You'll find Masters scary fast at the top end, I'd be a Vet now and even Vets is mental fast now. if you're not taking it too seriously you should still have fun and the uplift situation is still so gash here that racing is often still a better way to get to ride more DH than you would normally. Do any of your mates still race (or are up for getting back into it?) racing alone can be miserable (not always obviously)

Posted 10 months ago #
trail_rat - Member

ok - ill rephrase that scottish XC scene is friendly .. SXC , Nofuss events , Puffer , and all the other wee events that go on ...

when ever ive gone to england - 24/12 - mayhem - dusktill dawn ive found it alot less friendly and much more elitist ... where as it was getting the way that everyrace on the DH circuit was real serious all the way through the pack.

Posted 10 months ago #
cookeaa - Member

Yeah I sawyour thread PMJ, seemed to have decended into an "STW debate" on the Merits of a "Proper" DH race bike Vs a shorter travel, not so slack FR or "Mini DH" bike, plenty of armchair Experts shouting not much useful advice, Did it help you with choosing a bike at all?

For my own part, I previously owned and occasionally raced a Stab in the past, a much older version of the one I just bought and I got on OK with it better in some ways than the DH9 I replaced it with, so the 05 Stab I just purchased will probably be OK for my needs as well.

@ Trailrat, you reckon DH is really that Bad now?

My memories are all of the smaller southern race series PORC, Aston Hill and early UKBP stuff, which is what I'll probably try and get back into, they all had a good atmosphere, from looking at SDH I think the Welsh series might be worth a trip down the M4 to but I think they might take themselves a bit too seriously, still I can always escape back over the border, and probably Gawton too, there's plenty for me to ride Down south, withing a 3 hour drive, but that's still plenty of Days away...

My only real concern is the time/travel commitment now I have far less time and more external commitments than I did before, and I don't much fancy owning a DH bike (Even a Shite one) if I'm not riding and racing it on a reasonably regular basis, no "Alp fever" here but it needs to get used or it's gone again...

Posted 10 months ago #
trail_rat - Member

thats fine if its all about winning - tbh i was never that fast and it was more about being social for me ... dh lost that long ago - last seen about 2002 ...

perhaps it died along with the grassroots racing .... its all national this and national that now ....

maybe give mike marsdens races a go if they were closer - stuff like porc etc possibly closer to grassroots than nps and SDAs that i did cause there was never any opportunity to do anything else up here after about 2002/2003

i was at a round of the winterseries this year at inners an it was still like i remember it in 2006 - how ever my holiday to the alps nearly made me want to get another dh bike and do a bit of racing....

Posted 10 months ago #
GW - Member

roddi18 - Member
Trail rat, That's interesting you find the dh race scene to be up its own arse and the Xc one to not be.
I agree with you that the dh scene is far too 'Too cool for school' and very fashionista driven but i would say the xc race scene is far more elitist and full of preening wannabes.

Yeah but Terry went from a mediocre Pikey DH racer to winning XC races.
all compettitive Cycing could be seen to be "up it's own arse" if you look on them from the wrong perspective.

Posted 10 months ago #
scruff - Member

Grassroots is still thriving, we run a session every month with support from FC, UCI and used to get Si Paton bringing his tatty van full of TLD and dogs in exchange for sponsored number plates. We also have trail building days, tracks are always evolving to make up for lack of elevation.

It is what you make of it.

Posted 10 months ago #
soulrider - Member

I have a DH bike, its brilliant
I only 'race' it at the No Fuss Enduro DH
The rest of the time it sits in the shed - well thats a lie it comes out about 10-12 times a year over to Fort Bill or on the DH tracks around me - its a total riot..

well worth having in the shed for a day out playing with your mates.
something I havent done enough of this year.

DH Racing - in the North of England I felt it went serious in 2000 then totally up its own arse a few years afterwards..
Last DH race I did was '01 I couldnt be bothered after that.
as far as XC racing goes I found it mellowed somewhat in 2k... not really XC raced since just Enduros (10/12/24 hr races) which are more fun (IMHO)

Posted 10 months ago #
trail_rat - Member

ha - hardly - still had to earn my stripes like the rest of us ....

i was a pikey Xc racer for a few years before i won anything !

grass root in scotland ? used to be local races run by local shops when i first started - sidlaws , kinoull , inners , fort william , then you could do the SCU races as well. now it seems to be SDA or nothing - id be happy to be corrected on that as i wouldnt mind doing lower key racing as it is ill just kill my self at a national !

Posted 10 months ago #
GW - Member

you know thos bigger unfriendly English races you attend, how much of that unfriendliness would you say is attributed to you not being as well known from finishing as high and how much would you say was from the size of the field and the fact you don't frequent the same series as many of the other competitors?

I was at 10UTB this year (lifts shut at Glencoe) and didn't find it friendly at all *wonders why*

Posted 10 months ago #
GW - Member

double post

Posted 10 months ago #
Stopadoodledoo - Member

The WDMBA races have a very relaxed attitude to them, although are pretty competitive. Did the one at Rheola earlier in the year and it was probably one of the most chilled races I've been to in years.

Cookee, that DH9 was way too big for you. It was too big for Curtis and he was 6'; I thought you were crackers when you bought the frame off him

Posted 10 months ago #
cookeaa - Member

I pushed on with it for a good couple of years though it was too long and too heavy really...

It was a joy rattling through roots and rocks without really bothering to think at all, although the shock was crap and would hapily kick you up the arse off of any jump, were you present the time I landed @ 90 degrees to the ground over the table at Blanford, I think that was a fair indicator that I was "Over biked", that and the fact that anyone else lifting it on/off of an uplift trailer always went "Bloody Hell!! How much does that weigh?"...

Back to riding a shonky old Kona for me, I know where I belong...

The WDMBA are on my Radar, they've basically taken over where the Dragons left off right?

Posted 10 months ago #
trail_rat - Member

GW - size of field had something to do with it

i actually knew quite alot of folk at the events and still placed fairly highly but the red mist descends down there once the flag drops i found - try to win at all costs even if it does mean shoving the other guy off his bike- admittedly not usually from the folk at the front of the pack either !

Posted 10 months ago #
Hob Nob - Member

The WDMBA races are great. I would have done more if it wasn't for clashes with other stuff this year.

The only downside is the uplifts are a bit of a bike wrecker, so in every sense they are picking up where the Dragons left off

They are the nearest 'proper' DH races we can get to. Others may be worth consider would be some of the MIJ races at Taff, they are very relaxed & you get a lot of riding in.

I'm hoping the UKBP series starts up again soon, as it's only 40 minutes down the road for us, I can take the little bike and just go along on the Sunday as it's short enough not to need a whole days practice.

Posted 10 months ago #
Stopadoodledoo - Member

They are more relaxed than the Dragons, I'd say. Aston Hill's always good for a laugh, haven't they got the Eastern Champs coming up again in September?

As for the DH9, Curtis used to fiddle with every shock he ever owned, believing his 'setup' to be far superior to that of TFTuned, etc. Inevitably, he wouldn't keep a note of what the original settings were so could never get them back to how they should be. He then invariably stated that the shock was blown or crap.

He did this to his SX, my 222 (when he borrowed it), his 222, the Yeti, the Intense M1 he got off Dom, Ratboy's Super 8 (once again whilst borrowing it), his Big Hit, etc. That's a lot of 'blown' shocks.

p.s. the Yeti was a bit too long for 8 Ball when he had it and he is 8' 9 tall and has an onion for an eye.

Posted 10 months ago #
Pimpmaster Jazz - Member

Aston Hill's always good for a laugh, haven't they got the Eastern Champs coming up again in September?

Yes.

The last few races have been a good craic.

Posted 10 months ago #
dingabell - Member

I never really "got" downhilling. I couldn't really see how you could enjoy going down a hill that you hadn't worked hard to get up first. Then I thought I'd give Cwmcarn a go. MY GOD do I get it now!! What a crack. Can't really afford it but I'd love to build up a DH bike on the cheap. Would be so nice to not have to count the grams of everything I put on it.

Posted 10 months ago #
GW - Member

it's much harder work pushing a 40lb+ bike than riding a sub 30lb up any hill dingdong.
and DHers do count grams too.

Posted 10 months ago #
ridingscared - Member

do you have to race? I don't race , but do uplifts as many times as I can afford, have 'push up and session' days and go to the alps once a year. I still have my xc and road bikes, enjoy them but like the change of pace a days dh brings.

Posted 10 months ago #
cookeaa - Member

Why wouldn't I want to race?

It doesn't have to be ultra competitive, but I think it's nice to actually have a bit of actual "sport" in your chosen activity rather than just the odd uplift and fannying about in the woods on a Sunday...
Plus I reckon racing brings a proper "change of pace" to your DH riding, i.e. you'll probably ride with a bit more urgency and might surprise yourself with what you can actually stick...

Don't get me wrong, I know I'm not stunning on a bike but that's no reason not to enjoy the racing, someone has to come last and it might well be me, so long as I have fun who cares...

Nah I'm getting well up for it now... Missus has provisionally Okayed Sep-4th for the Eastern champs so it's in the diary now, and if I haven't sorted the Stab by then I'll be the only HT rider in Masters, so there's an incentive to crack on with it... cheers all...

Posted 10 months ago #
xiphon - Member

Some people enjoy the competitive atmosphere of racing to improve their riding, others prefer to just 'fanny about the woods' with more skilled riders, to improve skills.

Posted 10 months ago #
flyingmonkeycorps - Member

Hmm... There's an MSC F3 frame for sale in the Classifieds, anyone know anything about these?

Posted 10 months ago #
xiphon - Member

Thanks to Google...

Posted 10 months ago #
flyingmonkeycorps - Member

Yeah I managed to find some pictures but that's about it... Just wondered if anyone had ridden one!

Posted 10 months ago #
Pimpmaster Jazz - Member

Missus has provisionally Okayed Sep-4th for the Eastern champs so it's in the diary now...

See you there. I'm setting up the entry form as I type.

Posted 10 months ago #
cookeaa - Member

didn't think entry was open yet. I'll have another look at lunch time, cheers.

Posted 10 months ago #
GW - Member

xiphon - Member
Some people enjoy the competitive atmosphere of racing to improve their riding, others prefer to just 'fanny about the woods' with more skilled riders, to improve skills.

I love fannying about too about but without timing it's difficult to judge if your improved skillz are actually helping you go any faster

Posted 10 months ago #