Just got back from my first off road ride in 18 months, to be fair it was a shakedown ride after fully servicing my 10 year old full suss. Good points, the forks and shock behaved, the dropper post worked, the shifting worked (need to reset the bottom limit screw on the front mech). The bad bits were the mud, the gloopy mud and the bottomless mud, need to dig out the mud tyres. There was a strange rattling from the front, tightened headset and QR up half way round, not a lot better, the rear brake ate two springs (I hate avid juicy 7s) and the trails looked a bit like an explosion in a dog egg factory. Oh and it rained.

Got back to find a pedal seized. Anyway sussed the rattle, the flipping front axle only goes in one way around, only a mm in it, swapped that around, QR should work now, hopefully no more rattle (I had visions of fork bushings gone), pedal lock nut was loose so the main nut had tightened up on the bearings, now fixed. Brake is likely to be going the same way as the front, in the bin, £80 for a new one.

Bikes now clean, I’m clean, main issues fixed, feel quite happy now, might give it another go next weekend. Felt a bit like a survival ordeal but it’s got to get more fun when it warms up.

Yup, you’ve got to be **** stupid or mental to go mountain biking these days.

Still, beats road biking.

If it takes more time cleaning/declagging the bike than actually riding it then the bike stays in the garage..
Frozen mud – Out on the mountain bike,Road bike stays inside I don’t like black ice & tarmac..
Unfrozen mud – Road bike,gravel bike or mountain bike on rocky trails.
Dusty trails-Probably on holiday 😆

Still, beats road biking.

this, a million times this

Brake is likely to be going the same way as the front, in the bin, £80 for a new one.

Just get some cheap shimano, they just work

Out on the SS on the local weatherproof loop, no clag, no big trotting, super sized dog eggs

Best bike this time of year is cyclo-crosser do bit of both and stay bit cleaner after 28 years of cleaning MT bikes/shoes/camelback the novelty wears off gravel and road bikes are much better option.

Remember being young and single when Saturday was ride all day in whatever and a quick bucket and brush to get the worst of the bigger clags off? Sunday was also free all day to clean the bike properly at leisure while sipping beer. Evening spent admiring clean bike, reading a magazine, grabbing a curry and a DVD or off down the local country pub on now sparkling bike.

Those were the days my friends, I wished they’d never have ended 🙁

I love winter riding in the woods. Sliding around the corners and searching for traction on techy climbs.
Doesn’t take too long to clean the mud off if you do it straight away.

Meh. Let the mud dry and knock the worst off next time you fetch the bike out! And yes, it still beats road biking 😆

I chucked the fat bike in the car yesterday evening with all my kit after getting caked in Lakes crap. I’ve just got home and washed the bike, it was properly grim. Luckily I’ve no outside light so I don’t know how bad it still is.
Clothes and bits are in the wash now.

b n d, yep going for Shimano, front brake and hardtail all XT, I prefer the feel as well. Today’s ride used to be my local clag free local loop, might need to take my folding spade next time and divert some water. MTL and Crown Point definitely a little soggy. Not sure mountain biking us better than road, certainly very different, took a while to get back into the position, gearing etc. Pleased I hadn’t lost much technique, cleared most of the usual tricky bits. Spent a surprising amount of time going sideways.

Maybe get someone else to fully service your bike 😯 😉

Nothing worse than road biking in cold wet weather IMO. As said CX bike off road as you are working harder but going slower so the wind chill isn’t so bad.

I just pressure wash everything including my shoes and clothes when I get back. 😀

Saturday, bike so mud covered the wheels wouldn’t go round.
Had me a walk carrying a bike.

Why not ride somewhere that’s not muddy then. The last 4 weekend rides I’ve done have all been off road, bloody brilliant and not muddy. I’ve not needed to wash the bike at all.

Just pick your riding to suit the conditions.

Malvern Rider

Remember being young and single when Saturday was ride all day in whatever and a quick bucket and brush to get the worst of the bigger clags off? Sunday was also free all day to clean the bike properly at leisure while sipping beer. Evening spent admiring clean bike, reading a magazine, grabbing a curry and a DVD or off down the local country pub on now sparkling bike.

Those were the days my friends, I wished they’d never have ended

Hell yes. 🙂

Why not ride somewhere that’s not muddy then. The last 4 weekend rides I’ve done have all been off road, bloody brilliant and not muddy. I’ve not needed to wash the bike at all.

Just pick your riding to suit the conditions.

Why spend your life driving when you can ride a road bike from the front door?

18 months! 18 months….

Why spend your life driving when you can ride a road bike from the front door?

Cos road biking is dull as **** perhaps?…

Why spend your life driving when you can ride a road bike from the front door?

It’s not all your life
It’s called variety
It can be fun
It can be worth it

Why spend your life driving when you can ride a road bike from the front door?

I haven’t ridden a road bike recreationally for many years. This is because it was absolutely no fun due to the massive amount of pot holes and arseholes that I encountered on the ride.

People who get tribal about types of biking do not compute with me, inside their heads must be orrible places.

Off road cycling is a dry weather activity for me nowadays, that’s ok though something to look forward to.

nearly 2 years since my mtb came out …. much more
fun on the roadie club ride – no it’s not dull as,
just pick your riding buddies and it’s just as
much fun oh and roadies can get just as filthy even
with guards on !!!!

I don’t think it’s tribal. I’m saying I’d much rather get muddy than compete for the limited space on the roads with cars and lorries.

after fully servicing my 10 year old full suss

Sounds like you did a cracking job 😀

I’d much rather get muddy than compete for the limited space on the roads with cars and lorries.

It’s all good,both disciplines have their positives & negatives.
Depends where you ride.I prefer going out on the road bike straight from the door rather than driving somewhere to get covered in mud.
Lovely quiet rural lanes around here for road cycling.If I lived adjacent to some well drained MTB trails I think the MTB would get more use in winter 😆

People who get tribal about types of biking do not compute with me, inside their heads must be orrible places.

Off road cycling is a dry weather activity for me nowadays, that’s ok though something to look forward to.

And I don’t understand why road biking in the wet is more enjoyable than slipping about on trails, just goes to show we’re all different, eh?.

You could just use zwift and never have to deal with inclement conditions or traffic ever again 😆

The muddier it is, the more biscuits I can justify afterwards 😀

This time of year I just fit some tyres that roll better on the road and stick to back roads / gravel / green lanes with a decent surface.

Or, as others have said, by a CX bike.

Nearly 2 years since my mtb came out …. much more
fun on the roadie club ride – no it’s not dull as,
just pick your riding buddies and it’s just as
much fun oh and roadies can get just as filthy even
with guards on !!!!

They can’t you know, they really can’t.

Cos road biking is dull as **** perhaps?…

But it isn’t! I spent 21 years as the world’s most enthusiastic mountain biker and then I slowly lost my mojo. By chance a road bike came into my hands and I haven’t looked back; I’m much much fitter, cleaner and better off than I was and I’ve sold the mountain bike on the basis that if I ever want to go off road again I can hire a better bike and let some other poor sod clean it. I keep thinking about mountain biking and looking and then saying: “naaaahh… maybe next summer…..”

Where I live I do road and very easy off road on same ride so any bike I use spends about 50% of time on each. If it is very, very wet and muddy then I may mis out the off road parts but miss them after a few rides.

Using a fixed gear with no brakes cuts down on parts for maintenance and cleaning which means I just spend two minutes hosing it off when I get home. A full suss geared bike sounds like the opposite and not something I would want to be cleaning all the time…

Singlespeed, rigid fork, hope hubs and brakes, putoline on the chain = winter riding bliss.

A full suss geared bike sounds like the opposite and not something I would want to be cleaning all the time…

Hose it down, lube chain, put it away. Change some bearings of an evening every year or so, it’s really not much bother.

Best bike this time of year is cyclo-crosser do bit of both and stay bit cleaner after 28 years of cleaning MT bikes/shoes/camelback the novelty wears off gravel and road bikes are much better option.

This!

TINAS has it. Also battling against the mud on a SS warms you up!

Where did you ride?

Singlespeed, rigid fork,

This..