Running or climbing tire me out loads more. I guess it depends on how fast you ride.

I’ve XC skiied a bit, I did not find it as hard as MTBing hard. The effort seemed to be distributed nicely all over rather than concentrated in the thighs. Hard to explain, but I was able to go flat out for an hour or two without feeling the need to grimace in pain like I do on the bike.

Probably because you’re not trained enough in XC skiing to be able to push so hard – limited by technique (I’m assuming you’re talking about classic skiing, where it is pretty hard to put serious power down without good technique). I’ve raced both, and the difference is that after riding a bike it’s just your legs aching, after an XC ski race your whole body aches (though that’s skating – my classic technique isn’t good enough to be able to tire myself out in the same way).

However I’m sure aracer will tell me how wrong I am in a few minutes

Apologies for the delay.

I would say that rowing really can’t be beaten for a cardio-vascular workout. It has the same demands as TT’ing but it involves all the body. Nothing I’ve done on a mountain bike comes close..

Few sport in themselves are demanding, it just depends how hard you push yourself. Your heart can only be worked so hard and in MTB a combo of extended high-level cardio and risk-taking is rare, I guess Nico and his ilk are closest? The TDR must be toughest cycling event as endurance goes. Yet Alpine-style mountaineering even at a moderate level is pretty unique I think, at the top level it’s off the scale in terms of toughness / difficulty etc. It can be open-ended, uncertain, mentally and physically way more demanding than anything else simply because it’s so committing. Get it wrong, go too slow or make a bad judgement call under fatigue or stress and there’s plenty of opportunity to kill yourself and others.

Maybe a RLJing, no moves-barred, rush-hour in London, 48hr TT on a tandem would be getting closer 🙂

every one wailing on mtbing?

Football is not harder at sunday league level than xc/dh mtb at wc level.

Conversely riding Cannock chase once on a Sunday morning before drinking seventy five lattes is not harder than premier league football.

To those saying that you can take up mtb late and become an elite racer you are talking rubbish. You couldn’t take up dh racing/xc racing/cycling at 25 and make it to elite level. Just like you can’t take up any sport at 25 and become a professional/elite.

Mountain biking/cycling (unlike a number of sports) is as hard as you make it

You can’t compare like for like. What a silly game.
Boxing is much harder… unless you get knocked out, or knock the opponent out in 10 seconds…

To those saying that you can take up mtb late and become an elite racer you are talking rubbish. You couldn’t take up dh racing/xc racing/cycling at 25 and make it to elite level. Just like you can’t take up any sport at 25 and become a professional/elite.

What about that Irish truck driver who’s gone from being 17stone fatty to raceing the tour of Ireland in 3 years, or that guy in his 40’s who rode for a pro team in either Quatar or Oman erlier this year after only taking up cycing in the last few years. Cycling’s one of those sports it’s very easy to come into late. Even in DH, Peaty proves you can be 40 and still on the Podium.

I think there are sports that are more demanding that mtb BUT I am always interested and pleased (from a weight loss perspective) at the difference between my HR when MTB and road biking. Leaving aside the obvious reasons, it always makes me feel much better to look at effort spent on a 2-3MTD ride in comparison with hilly road ride of same duration.

So let’s not knock MTB too hard!!

Leaving aside the obvious reasons, it always makes me feel much better to look at effort spent on a 2-3MTD ride in comparison with hilly road ride of same duration.

You’re not trying hard enough on the road then 😛

Possibly 😉 but always struggle to get my HR up on my road bike even in a triathlon and I am mashing it then!

Sorry but Peaty is 37 and he is consistently getting beaten and has been for the past 3 or so years really. Plus he has been racing at an elite level since 17.

You can have a long career as a cyclist but starting late and becoming an elite is more an exception than a rule.

Also there are exceptions of footballers who started late in their career. Doesn’t make it a general rule though does it.

Water Polo

This.

Swimming & Fighting & throwing a ball around.

Lets be honest, titting about in the woods then going for a beer isn’t the most demanding of activities. It’s fun, which is the only reason you need for doing it.

Track cycling
I’ve never been in so much pain and knackered both physically and mentally. Don’t actually know why I’ve booked in to do it again to be honest.

If it makes you feel better say you did a hard 5 hour bike ride. Time is always better than distance. Doesn’t matter if two of those hours were a long liquid lunch.

Funny thread tbh most sports havde their own unique demands bases around stamina strength flexibility dexterity etc in various degrees, this is why no one person is the best at all sports………..makes the whole thread a bit pointless really

Sumo wrestling.
Its not the short life expectancy or the wearing a big nappy, its the having to eat the equivalent of your body weight in food each day thats demanding.

Sorry but Peaty is 37 and he is consistently getting beaten and has been for the past 3 or so years really. Plus he has been racing at an elite level since 17.

You can have a long career as a cyclist but starting late and becoming an elite is more an exception than a rule.

Also there are exceptions of footballers who started late in their career. Doesn’t make it a general rule though does it.

Peaty may be consistently beaten, but then you could argue so is Gwin (in that he comes 2nd or lower more often than 1st), Peaty’s still as quick/quicker than 90% of the qualifiers.

Becoming elite in any sport at any age is an exception rather than a rule, but cycling certainly seems to be easier than most to get to the top levels later in life, probably less for sprint diciplines like DH, track and BMX, but look at any time trial or road race and there’s a larger number of older compettitors. Just look at the TDF, loadsa guys in their 30’s and a fair few in their 40’s.