[Closed] For all those Surrey Hills riders....

and then not being able to ride back up the road

this seems to be becoming more fashionable - quite a few videos I have seen recently with people pushing their bikes back up the hill.

All the kids at Swinley's jump gully seem to do it as well, after having taken their full face helmets off. It only takes 30 seconds to get down the gully anyway!

I thought the whole point of mountain biking was to ride up hills as well.

And all runs seem a lot gnarlier if you stick to a 100 or 120mm hardtail or FS, so instead of having to stick to 5% of the Surrey hills to find something gnarly enough to test your skills on your 6 or 7inch FS, ride something with less travel and narrower tyres and get the same adrenaline rush over 75% of the Surrey hills.

Quality! As a roadie I particualy like the description of roadies outsie the peaslake village store 😀 (perhaps I should feign some joolsburger indignation at being pastiched!!)

😀

Funniest MTB related thing I've seen in ages !

funny because it is so so true of that area!!! 🙂

gnarly 😆

HungryHungryHippo - Member
We're talking about cycling for christ's sake.....it should be a cheap past-time available to all...
Says who? Don't want to spend much on biking? Then don't. Doesn't mean that riders who choose to spend more than you deserve this smug derision.

HHH - have to take issue with you there. Deviant is merely stating some common sense, not really smug derision. Its almost reaching triathlon proportions for retail pi$$ taking. Or maybe its another regressive form of taxation???

no one is forcing people to spend money... if you have it, and want to spend it... what is the issue?

I feel I need to qualify my comments. I do not have an Audi, I have an old Honda, I do not have a 5k bike, more a triggers broom that still has some parts from the 90's - I am fat though.

Live and let live I say.

I can vouch for Jools comments 😀

this seems to be becoming more fashionable - quite a few videos I have seen recently with people pushing their bikes back up the hill.
All the kids at Swinley's jump gully seem to do it as well, after having taken their full face helmets off. It only takes 30 seconds to get down the gully anyway!
I thought the whole point of mountain biking was to ride up hills as well.
And all runs seem a lot gnarlier if you stick to a 100 or 120mm hardtail or FS, so instead of having to stick to 5% of the Surrey hills to find something gnarly enough to test your skills on your 6 or 7inch FS, ride something with less travel and narrower tyres and get the same adrenaline rush over 75% of the Surrey hills.

You're an idiot.

I ride a 6" travel Pitch with lyriks up front. I push up the road at the end of fly tipper, and am confused as to why I should be made to feel guilty about that by the "holier than thou" retards on here. I spent years riding the trails on my 100mm hardtail - did I have fun? Yes. Do I have more fun now? Yes. Simple as that.

One thing I do know, when I was out there on my short travel, thin tyres hardtail I always knew I was riding a bike and not the high horse you lot seem to think you are riding around on.

Scott - I wasn't having a dig at individuals (at least not meaning to!) more that bikes costing that much money and advertised as still being lightweight make it difficult to climb a relatively short and not that steep a hill (on smooth tarmac, by Surrey standards!). It may not have come across like that!!

But everyone is entitled to opinions without being accused of being an idiot - unless of course they are touching a nerve. 😉

You're an idiot.

with comments like that you might soon be receiving a picture of your front door through the post...

Thanks. You just proved my point.

I know hat my front door looks like. Why would I need a picture? Idiot...

OK - no need for unnecessary biff. Back to an amusing cartoon clip....

I remember someone riding his Devinci? circa 9inch bike on a 4hills Surrey hills ride once.

Points to note:

He only owned one bike
He pushed nothing

He did a loose drop off next to Deliverance along with another drop etc.

I also remember an Asian lad on a crappy Trek xc hardtail with no helmet and no cycling clothing (I leant him mine as I didn't feel comfortable him riding it without) who did a big drop. He landed it smooth!

Somepeople don't need to be holy or bothered about what others think.

Peace. Its their money- or are people jealous of very expensive bikes???? Who cares!

It ain't all hardtail territory in the surrey hills......

Who cares what bikes people ride, as long as they are enjoying themselves. Nothing wrong with riding an expensive bike if that is what you like.

It's the muppets who excuse their piss poor riding because they don't have enough travel or new bit of gadgetry on their 4k rig. They will continue to get the mickey ripped out of them at every opportunity 😀

Hora - spot on. I took a ti hard tail around Richmond park this morning! Loved it.

I know hat my front door looks like. Why would I need a picture? Idiot...

there was a thread this morning:

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/member-ruffriders-doenst-send-the-wheelset-i-bought

which invoked this story of similairly being ripped off:

I remember getting ripped off on eBay a few years back. I posted up on here asking if anyone was from the town the bloke was from. By the next evening I was able to send the shitebag a photo of his own front door

Don't mess with STW, our arm is long.

and this retort:

Reckon the bloke knows what is own front door looks like.

which I thought was quite amusing.

However most of that land is privately owned and people hooning around on unlicensed trails is one thing that might threaten future access.

If we do lose access who will be the idiot then?

Kudos100....thats a great video, one of my favourites for the Surrey Hills....the point of the original cartoon video (i think?) was lampooning those riders who (as you pointed out) blame their riding on the limited capabilities of a 4k bike, when in reality they are never likely to get near the limits of what the bike is actually capable of.

I used to be based on the Ambulances at Cranleigh, quite close to Peaslake, Leith, Holmbury etc....most weekends were spent picking up MTBers with broken bones....the bikes they were on were irrelevant, some had hardtails and some had FS....a crash is a crash whatever the bike is.

For what its worth i've ridden most of that video and Gibbet Hill (see the Whyte Bikes promo video for the new 146 to get a look at Gibbet Hill) on Hardtails, i didnt take the big jumps at Leith because i am a pussy not because the bike isnt capable....and i walked down a 10 yard section of Gibbet Hill where none of the available lines looked appealing....i'll concede that FS in that instance may have got me down safely but i'd also wager that a better rider than me could've got down it on a rigid.

The point?...not sure really but i stand by what i said about the costs involved in MTBing these days....truly ridiculous for what the bikes actually are and it excludes loads of kids who i'm sure would like to get involved but cant stump up the money needed to get a decent bike.

Didn't mean to have a go at Deviant, that cartoon just irritated me as being smug. We're all just doing silly stuff on bikes for the fun of it. Don't see the need to stereotype and mock. Seems like most people found it funny though so maybe I'm just having a bad day.

G&T anyone?

If we do lose access who will be the idiot then?

The person who's wasted the limited time they do have on the hills by riding a 100mm hardtail with girly narrow tyres.

HTH

riding a 100mm hardtail with girly narrow tyres.

you do see some of those around, I'll admit. Glad mine only comes out for visitors 😀

Oh good lord I think I rode past the guys in the original cartoon today. They were riding up one of the single track descents and I swear to god one of them forced a guy going down the hill to stop and pull over!

As I passed them they were talking about share issues and capital financing. I suggested that the double track to the left of the single track might have been a better option but they dismissed it as too easy.

I take it all back. The cartoon is spot on.

An interesting read.. maybe more than the video was tbh : )

i stand by what i said about the costs involved in MTBing these days....truly ridiculous for what the bikes actually are and it excludes loads of kids who i'm sure would like to get involved but cant stump up the money needed to get a decent bike.

Maybe the kid's expectations are the issue? Top-end bikes are the price they are for a reason - there's a market for them. But competition between brands means no-ones getting ripped off and no-one's making a fast buck either. I had loads of fun and got hooked on bikes as a 12yo on a £170 Raleigh, I then got a £600 Marin with my own earned money a year or so later (rigid cr-mo, canti's, deore - are bikes really so expensive now?).
What's changed is what people 'think they need' and that seems to be the point of the vid, unless I'm just glossing over some blatent p$$ taking.. )

It is just blatant piss-taking, and the funnier for being so.

But can someone explain why the p$$$ taking out of spesh's - why do they seem to be singled out for abuse (I am not an owner - although wondered about a discounted 2011 version a few weeks back!).

[i]But can someone explain why the p$$$ taking out of spesh's - why do they seem to be singled out for abuse (I am not an owner - although wondered about a discounted 2011 version a few weeks back!). [/i]

No offence to Specialized riders. I used to own one. Just an observation that many people do seem to look down their noses at Specialized for reasons that I can't fathom either. It's just observational and not my opinion. That's true for the cartoon as a whole.

Glad that most seemed to enjoy it though!

They design bikes that are neutral, stable handling bikes which don't take long to dial into your riding preference. Many boutique bikes can't boast this IMO.

A lot of people look down on them as its a Ford of the bikeworld. It has the steering dynamics, stable, nimble chassis etc etc. Whereas most folk want an Audi A4 sportline quattro to show off on.

Whereas most folk want an Audi A4 sportline quattro to show off on.

pretty misguided aspirations then...

Hilarious this thread, almost as funny as the video... So many odd comments? I ride a bike that's way over my skill level but I do because I can, my choice of bike is no more ridiculous than someone buying a Porshe for driving to work, or a big TV to watch x-factor, or a nice holiday or a... You get the idea. People like to have nice things; you work hard and reward yourself.

As for too expensive and being ripped off... WTF? Niche market, low volume sales and retail outlets, of course the premium products will be expensive. You can still buy bikes for a few hundred quid, just because Specialized flagship costs £7k doesn't stop kids getting involved... Or are we all supposed to be entitled to the nice things in life for nothing? Oh yes, I forgot, todays young think everything comes free don't they...

A point about expensive bikes. Yes, they are pricey but if you look at it this way... you can buy the bike of the world cup heroes! If you save your pennies you can actually buy the bike they ride (pretty much).

Can you buy the touring car of your hero? Well yes but how much is that!!!

Can you buy the F1 car of your hero? Yes, if you have the dosh?

These top end bikes are relatively affordable in that respect.

Do you need the best bike? No!

But if you do then that's fine too.

Any riding of any bike is good.

I'm happy with my old clunker but I still do have a hamkering for something new.... maybe one day...

I do not think that good things come free, on the contrary...what I find difficult to comprehend is articles on bikes costing several £000s and then people saying, of course this needs upgrading, that needs upgrading etc. A £2k+ bike should be fit for purpose straight away.

The niche market argument doesn't account for the rapid inflation in prices - but that just IMHO!!!

I ride a 6" travel Pitch with lyriks up front. I push up the road at the end of fly tipper

No offence to Specialized riders. I used to own one. Just an observation that many people do seem to look down their noses at Specialized for reasons that I can't fathom either. It's just observational and not my opinion. That's true for the cartoon as a whole.

When I started riding, a Stumpjumper was a special bike, a bike to aspire to. Specialised were (And still are) a ground breaking company, I ALWAYS wanted a Stumpy. And in 2005 I bought a Stumpy FSR and loved it. I traded it in for a Yeti 575, but I traded that in for a Pitch, so what does that say about them?

Basically, the root of it is that they know their niche brand bikes are no better than a Spesh at 1/2 the cost. And that bothers them.... 🙂

PP - interesting reply (and I guess they have economies of scale to keep priced lower - I wont say down). Why do you think they stopped the Pitch - seemed like an ideal bike for many people. How (in practice) did it differ from the SJ? And excuse the really numpty question but why would the pitch be hard to ride up a short stretch of road?

They're all good. As long as you are getting out. Going back to the 'Beast'. We were pushing up and 3 guys on cheap canti-braked bikes were attempting to come down (one doing really well). Had me smiling.

Ride within your limits and everyone takes something away out of their day out on a bike.

Interestingly anyone who laughs about a bloke on a posh bike not raging it to within an inch of its life- I doubt they themselves do their own bike 100% justice either. Nowhere near but then arrogance doesn't go hand in hand with self awareness.

but why would the pitch be hard to ride up a short stretch of road?

It's not. That's my point! 🙂

Why do you think they stopped the Pitch

1) It didn't sell that well really. In the first year of production they had so many left over that they never made any the second year..... True, is that. They only sold when the price hit £999 for the Pro Model. Then it got more expensive.....
2) It was so good it took sales way from the more expensive Enduro.

How (in practice) did it differ from the SJ?

Is that enough for you?

I ride a 6" travel Pitch with lyriks up front. I push up the road at the end of fly tipper

I have an identical bike with the same forks. I can ride back up that. Put some effort in!!!

So can I. I ride a singlespeed during the week. The weekend is for playing - pushing up hills and chatting to your mates while you do so. Put some effort into your pushing man!!!

that cartoon just irritated me as being smug.

Hmmm. I assumed it was a bit of a self-parody by the creator of himself and his mates.

Thanks and sorry to hijack the thread - I think (2) is key and links to me previous points about shrewd people knowing VFM rather than just price!!

Chakaping: could be right there. I didn't really get it.

Surrey's Diary of a mountain biker lot look like a bunch of blokes who enjoy themselves on their vids/pics. No 20ft doubles etc - just getting out there.

I used to ride my GT Lobo uphill

Swet baby jebus that was hard work!

They see me rollin

I see them bitchin

hora - Member
They see me rollin

I see them bitchin

Seems to be the case....

The video made me chuckle,but I'm not fussed about bikes people ride,or how much money they have. Riding bikes is good.

Loved it. Spot on, can't wait til Lostboysaint and Winterfold spot it...