[Closed] Bike stuff you just don't *get*

[i]When you go to any trailcentre, it is scary how many fatties there are on very expensive bikes.[/i]

what astounds me on group rides where there's any technical sections is how long is spent hanging aroudn waiting. I probably cover a third of the territory I would if I were riding alone.

I can see that if you only rode with a group you could end up wondering why you were, errm, generously proportioned because you 'ride' for 4 hours a week but you're actually only pedaling for one and a half hours.

Orange bikes.....

single pivots....

Rockshox SIDs....

Men in Pink polo/t-shirts

I don't have a problem with anything really.

I don't get why some bikes need two top tubes though.

Also fatties trying to save 21g from some component. Who are you kidding?

thomthumb - Member
recumbents.

WTF?

Yup, I was thinking the very same. Someone was puffing along on their recumbent trike yesterday with only a wafer-thin flag above knee height, and I floated past them easily (on my CX incidentally). I really don't see the point in them, other than to say "Look at me, I'm a bit different / a knob*"

*delete as appropriate

"[s]Look at me, I'm a bit different[/s] / a knob*"

generously proportioned because you 'ride' for 4 hours a week but you're actually only pedaling for one and a half hours.

I thought it was the burger and chips as my post ride recovery supplement 🙂

Lycra shorts. OK I can see the point behind a top but not shorts they offer no protection in a fall they look stupid if you are very fit and healthy and stupider if you a a bit tubby.

Lycra below the waist should only be used when on a road bike never even in an XC race.

And if you are going to come on here and say I'm not comfortable with my body then you are right and you are also a pervert!

this is starting to sound like loosewomen

Fakenger fixies, with ridiculously narrow bars etc, and track bikes on the road.

Doesn't boil my pi$$ or anything- if people like them that's fine- but I don't get the appeal.

people who can't ride for toffee but talk as if they can.

be more self deprecating, then good riders won't think you are a muppet when they actually see you ride after spending 10 minutes describing in detail the last road gap you "nailed".*

*i'm not including myself in the good rider category btw, since i'm typing this one handed due to an inability to turn corners 😆

I don't get people who don't get seat droppers.

They are the most important invention in the history of mountain biking 8)

I still don't get single speed for mountain biking. Cool on flat (no hills) tracks maybe, but I suspect some kind of masochistic/something to prove psychology is going on there.

This was bound to end up in the great singlespeed debate. As trickydisco states above, don't knock it if you've not properly tried it.

Singlespeed off road is not cool on flat (no hills) tracks. Singlespeeds work best on up and down terrain. Granted they aren't good on true mountainous routes, but for a high proportion of the routes typically ridden by 'mountain bikers', i.e. forest trail centres, moorland or local woods, singlespeeds work remarkably well.

What's wrong with single pivot bikes?

People who shun technological advances. I wonder if these same people play golf with wooden clubs, use bamboo fishing rods and run marathons in a pair of green flash daps.

People who care about what [b]other people[/b] ride 🙂

I ride SS as it makes me better on my other bikes because it massively improves upper body and arm strength. I like not having to mess about with gears that dont work in the mud or having to spend all my money replacing chains and cassettes after the trIs have ground them to dust.

Mnd you, I've also got a granny on my 40lb freeride thing, but then whats the point in not being able to take it out for a pedal on occasion?

People who think that technological advances are always necessarily better. 😉

I like not having to mess about with gears that dont work in the mud

Not an issue for me!

I don't get why trail centres are so popular.
I can see they've got their place, but for some people, mountain biking = driving to a trail centre, doing a lap and driving home.

Singlespeed is great for trail centres, not so great for "proper" mountain biking. Trail centres are a bit rubbish though, apart from the more downhill-inclined ones which are obviously great 😀

The only thing I don't really get are weird handlebars. They look stupid and uncomfortable (but I've never tried them so not sure on the last point). That and those who take out everything but the kitchen sink, but those kind of people only seem to exist on forums!

Hammerschmit - a solution without a problem

People who will slate said bike things without trying it first*

The only thing I don't really get are weird handlebars. They look stupid and uncomfortable (but I've never tried them so not sure on the last point).

Singlespeed is great for trail centres

Only if you mince the descents...

I don't get why trail centres are so popular

Cos the whole trail has been designed to flow nicely. You get to hammer singletrack at silly speeds without any interruptions. You know that great bit of singletrack you like on your fave ride? A trail centre is/should be that but all the way round.

If you don't enjoy them may I suggest you get a bit fitter and more skillful and try riding them really fast, perhaps? 🙂

DH bikes.

For me, bikes are about going places, you know A - B - C - A

I don't get why trail centres are so popular.
I can see they've got their place, but for some people, mountain biking = driving to a trail centre, doing a lap and driving home.

I can understand why some people aren't too fussed on trail centers but to not see why people do like them is pretty myopic.

DH bikes.

For me, bikes are about going places, you know A - B - C - A

Yeah, because when you ride DH you tend to find that you tear a hole in the space time continuum and don't actually travel anywhere at all. It's just like being on a bumpy turbo trainer in your kitchen.

Mountaibiking-Trail centres.
Golf-Pitch and Putt.

...may I suggest you get a bit fitter and more skillful...

Yeah, I can see the attraction, I just don't see them as the be all and end all of mountain biking the way some people do.

Which leads me on to...

I don't get why so few people ride bridleways.
Like rkk01, I like to actually [i]go somewhere[/i] on a bike.
I've ridden just about every bridleway near my house, yet I rarely see tyre tracks and can't remember the last time I met another mountain biker.

Only if you mince the descents...

guilty 😛 Though at times I have found 32-16 too easy for descending, it's about right for the relatively short climbs like you find at cannock.

Graham the reason I don't ride bridleways is that those round here are so boring! I'd rather be on my road bike on which I can be going a lot faster. There is one great little bit of singletrack bridleway though, but it only lasts about 20-30 seconds and it's not really anywhere you can build it into an off road loop.

Nonsense. You get there much quicker, although there is not actually that far away, with a much higher risk of serious injury. It's much more fun

People who use road bar tape on mtb flat bars (eh?)

People who buy titanium frames (fair enough) ... but then go stupid and buy Ti Bars, ti seatpost, ti stem (if there's one thing you want in bar/stems it's stiffness - not flex!) Pure mis-guided vanity

I just don't see them as the be all and end all of mountain biking the way some people do

I don't know anyone that does. Are you sure you're not just making up a stereotype as a vessel for your opprobrium?

I don't get why so few people ride bridleways.

Because you won't go more than 30 meters before you're carrying you bike around here.

I don't get quick release levers.

Everyone should spend £200 on droppy seatposts.

Long cage rear mechs. Why can you, apart from Saint ones, only get rear mechs with a cage that is about a foot long and catches on stuff all the time? Many people use a double and bash now so you would think that there would be a market for short cage mechs that are out of the way, still function perfectly and don't require miles and miles of bloody chain.

Seriously, can anyone tell me why?

a cage that is about a foot long and catches on stuff all the time?

Are you riding a 20" wheel bike or something? My long cage mech never catches.

You know you can buy short cage mechs.

A quick look on CRC would suggest that you can get some in a Medium and Long cage, but the only one I would consider short cage is the Saint mech.

You ride rocky trails with narrow gaps between rocks and sooner or later, your mech is going to hit something - much more likely with a longer cage mech. Plus, as I said, what is the purpose of such a long cage on a mountain bike?

Didn't realise how many people I was pissing off riding my lighweight all mountain bike with white seat and grips and £200 seat dropper around trail centres every weekend 8)

People who feel the need to comment on what is good/bad/odd/in need of changing on my bike
People who don't know how to ride with other people

stuboy2k - you forgot to add "29er" in that description...

You ride rocky trails with narrow gaps between rocks and sooner or later, your mech is going to hit something

Never happened to me in 20 years of biking, and I live in rocky South Wales.

And the long cage mech is because the vast majority of people use triples.

Tom & Kuco, yeah, I guess I'm lucky where I live that I've got plenty of bridleways and [i]other trails [/i] 😉 near where I live. Horses have made some of them almost unridable, at least in one direction, but there's still enough to make a decent loop or an extended commute.

Molgrips, you could be right, although I think bias confirmation is more likely. Whenever I hear people talking about trail centres, I tend to think, "Oh no, not again, why don't you do something different for a change". Maybe they do and I'm just not registering it.
Although, if you include places like the Wyre, the Malverns and Clent as unofficial trail centres, I do find it disappointing how often people will discuss which one they're going to next weekend as if they were the only options.

what molgrips said + what bigyinn said + 29ers + 69ers

molgrips - Member
Never happened to me in 20 years of biking, and I live in rocky South Wales.

Jinxed now! Take a spare mech hanger out with you next ride... just in case!

I don't get this thread.

I don't get the confrontational attitude that's so common on STW. In particular, the way it's so different to meeting other mountain bikers in real life.
Any slight difference of opinion or preference on here can lead to indignation or worse.
Out in the real world when I meet up with other people, we all ride different bikes and we all get on.