Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)
  • Riding 2+ bikes – affect your ability?
  • buzz-lightyear
    Free Member

    Given that every bike is different to ride: weight, balance point, smoothness, handling etc… does flipping between them affect your riding?

    I mention this because I rode my FS after a break of a month just riding my HT. And found it tricky and had some offs too. Or maybe the trails we were riding on Exmoor were that bit trickier and I'm imagining it?

    ChunkyMTB
    Free Member

    MTFU?

    mboy
    Free Member

    If anything it will make you better… Why? Cos switching between bikes, you're less likely to get used to certain traits and foibles with a particular bike.

    Perhaps that's why some people on here own 10 bikes or more! 😉

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    buzz-lightyear
    Free Member

    Well that's me told!

    mamadirt
    Free Member

    Well most folk on here seem to be able to swap between bikes no problem but as a confirmed 'one bike woman' I'm with you on the 'finding it tricky to swap' front. It's not so much that I can't swap easily it's just that if I have more than one I always manage to convince myself I'm on the wrong bike 🙄 (bit of 'bad workman blames tools' syndrome). I've just bought myself a cracking little entry-level BMX for the commute . . . sheesh, it's fast and a shed-load of fun . . . so much so that I haven't ridden my beloved Tazer in the last week (it feels heavy, sluggish and has burger all pop on the jumps 😕 ) – I don't want it to be like that so the little BMX will be hitting a classifieds forum near you very soon 🙄 .

    I much prefer to have one bike and know it inside out . . . when will I learn?

    Olly
    Free Member

    riding a 11" framed street bike certainly improved my confidence and ability to manhandle a 21" marathon trail bike.

    i still get bucked around like a pinball riding my XtC, possibly cause my trance has taught me NOT to be light as a feather, to keep traction, where as on a stiff allux frame, light as feather, floating over the rocks is the way to go.

    mybike
    Free Member

    Taking the same trails 'at speed' on different bikes ends in offs for me 🙁

    I like that I never learn 😉

    slowrider
    Free Member

    last time i had 2 bikes that i used regularly they were similar; a blur 4x and a chameleon with almost identical builds. as such they rode quite similar and it was great fun to nail scary stuff on the 4x for that little bit more leeway then go back on the chameleon and do it just the same. i know lot of people reckon HT makes you a better FS rider but for me it was the other way around.

    geoffj
    Full Member

    I'm shit which ever one I'm pushing riding.

    buzz-lightyear
    Free Member

    I was popping over a large branch at about 15mph. I think I forgot I had rear suspension. When it uncompressed I was lobbed on the front wheel and crashed. Dork!

    13thfloormonk
    Full Member

    I've only had two mountainbikes for 6 months or so, but i've been deliberately keeping them for distinct types of riding, the Duster for local singletrack and flatter stuff, the rocky ridge for 'proper' mountains.

    And the road bike just teaches me to pedal harder on both the mountainbikes 😀

    JonEdwards
    Free Member

    I can generally get 90% comfortable within 5 minutes of starting riding something different. That said I do chop and change loads, so I'm used to it. In the last eight days I've ridden my Bfe, my fixie, my road bike, someone else's road bike and today my Soda.

    The only one that really tends to catch me out is going from the big bike to the fixie – that really can be a headf'ck mostly down to not having 28" bars or DH spec brakes….

    lyons
    Free Member

    well i have different bikes, but i use them for different types of riding…

    chvck
    Free Member

    I have 2 bikes – a hardtail and a bmx, use them for entirely different purposes (bmx = jumps, hardtail = xc/dh). I find that if I only ride the bmx for a couple of weeks then getting back on the hardtail can be a bit odd for a descent or two, don't have any issues going from hardtail to bmx though.

    Stu_N
    Full Member

    Adjust quite quickly, main thing that catches me out is how quickly the bike turns in, has caught me me out once or twice.

    Have scared myself on the HT a few times too, mainly after riding the Prophet for a while without having a go on anything else. I guess people generally set their bikes up as they like them so most will be reasonably similar handling.

    EDIT: Poet's Glen (Pentlands) on CX bike after 10 days riding a Prophet MX with 36s on the front was frightening too. Very frightening indeed. 🙂

    Carbis
    Full Member

    I adjust between the HT and the FS quite quickly, mainly I feel because they have very similar riding position, same bars, shifters and saddle. Handling is different but I think that helps. The wife has no problem switching bikes either, claims her FS is just like a squishy version of her HT.

    Garry_Lager
    Full Member

    The more bikes the better you'll be I reckon. It's a subtle effect, so it's not like you'll transform into a stronger rider overnight, but it just widens your understanding of how bikes work on the trail. Different frame geometries, suspension, etc what's a stiff fork feel like versus a flexy one, it's all grist to the mill. Different bikes dictate different riding styles and this is a good thing.

    mamadirt
    Free Member

    I've just bought myself a cracking little entry-level BMX for the commute . . . sheesh, it's fast and a shed-load of fun . . . so much so that I haven't ridden my beloved Tazer in the last week (it feels heavy, sluggish and has burger all pop on the jumps ) – I don't want it to be like that so the little BMX will be hitting a classifieds forum near you very soon .

    Ah burger it . . . move along now, nothing to see here. This little thing is so damn fast I can't let it go 😕 . Two bikes are the new monogamy 😉

    jedi
    Full Member

    yesterday i rode the demo9 in the morning then did a coaching session with the hummmer and today i'm off riding bmx 🙂

    all feels good

    mamadirt
    Free Member

    Yeah, you appear to cope pretty well with swapping Jedi. I'm off out, the Tazer can wait . . . for now.

    mieszko
    Free Member

    I have a xc and a road bike. I just use my road bike for road riding and my mtb for anything offroad, as I couldn't use my road bike for it. However I did find it tricky for the first couple of rides getting used to ride my Maxlight after Fuel Ex I had. Different lines, had to pay attention to what's in front of me that the Fuel would just ride over. Soon it became as much fun as when riding the Fuel but quicker up hill (now trying out an NRS so best of both worlds for me) 🙂

    cookeaa
    Full Member

    5 Bikes here (and considering a 6th)….

    I would say they all have their place and teach you different "transferable skills"…

    I do notice the diffeence but often it's a positive, if I ride my local trails on the DH bike one day and then my XC/Trail bike the next I find I attack more on the XC bike, and ride it that bit harder into corners and off drops, where I'd maybe back off and tell myself it's not the right bike for ragging…

    I couldn't use my XC bike for the kind of DH riding/Racing I want to do and I couldn't use the DH bike for XC or trail centres, so they both meet a need

    The BMX makes you realise just how much an MTB compensates for your lack of finnese and precision, but I probably don't ride it anything like enough…

    My road bike is Just an Efficient tool to get from home to work and back again, but it does help with fitness and make you feel like your getting the miles in at least…

    If I had to have one bike it would be something along the lines of my XC/trail bike, a 4" forked HT with sensible gears and brakes, capable of most things, but not quite everything…

Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)

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