I'm apparently off to Swinley this weekend with a couple of mates who are mainly Roadies, one to the extent that he doesn't own an MTB but does have an Arkose which is what he will be riding... Now I pretty much know he's going to hate the experience because we're going to drag him round the full blue/red loop which will exceed all of his handling skills and comfort zones by some margin He can put up with a mucky bridal way but anything nadgery with roots and it's panic and tumble time (He is a true Roadie)...
But the question for me is do I show some solidarity and take along my own Gravel bike, knowing I won't much enjoy the experience either, but at least He'll have a comrade... or do I go full bastard and take my MTB blast all the fun bits and sit waiting for ten minutes while he swears and crashes his way to me?
It's a genuine quandary for me, the selfish part of me doesn't really want to ride round (a probably wet) Swinley on my gravel bike, another part of me knows I will be back again with my MTB, so one loop on a less than optimal bike isn't really the end of the world, plus it is only Swinley not a big trip/day out...
My other mate will probably be bringing his MTB as he doesn't own a gravel bike.
WWSTWD?
You need to enjoy your ride too.take the mtb.
I quite like swinley on the cx bike and you’ll be waiting for your meats anyway so I’d go for cx or gravel (depends how on trend you are 😉 )
Ride your mtb and meet him for cake at the end
Lend him your MTB so he has a good time and isn't put of MTBing?
Take your MTB but don't race off and leave him? Let him try your bike if it fits?
where has he got the idea that a gravel bike will be good/suitable/fun for swinley?
if he's made up his own mind, let him suffer/find out for himself
if you've told him it will be fine, go gravel in solidarity.
Swinley would be more fun on a Gravel Bike anyway I'd warrant...
Certainly, if you're going back again soon and know you'll have your MTB with you, and you're actively trying to get your roadie mate a little more interested in riding offroad, it would pay to show him some solidarity I'd say. At least the once...
Lend him your MTB so he has a good time and isn’t put of MTBing?
^
This or get him to hire one.
I usually take the 100mm XC HT to Swinley as it's not really worth taking anything else for official but took the 4x at the weekend. [with 100mm hard as]
Same ‘genre’ all the way.
If it was a road ride I wouldn’t show up with a road bike knowing my mate was doing it on an MTB.
Far better going through the same pain and laughing about it in the pub after than one person having a shit time on their own.
As above lend him a bike or get him to hire one.
We have done both in the past and its been worthwhile as everyone has had a good time.
If you were feeling generous you could follow an altered version of the red and blue, cutting out the sections you think he might really struggle on. It isn't hard to link or skip sections in Swinley as the fire roads go everywhere. Wouldn't be hard to take him around (e.g. Tank Traps) if you thought there was a real risk he was going to fall sideways into a ditch...Appreciate that might reduce the fun for others, but this outing sounds like someone is going to end up cross anyway!
where has he got the idea that a gravel bike will be good/suitable/fun for swinley?
if he’s made up his own mind, let him suffer/find out for himself
if you’ve told him it will be fine, go gravel in solidarity.
I've not told him it will be fun, I've strongly implied it will be a bit more 'challenging' but I've also said I'd be OK to ride it on my gravel bike, because I would...
He's not so much chosen a Gravel bike over an MTB, it's the only Off-road bike he owns, because he's just not into MTBing as a general concept...
Actually thats a thought, are they renting MTBs/E-MTBs at that hub place still (CV19 and all)?
I could suggest he rents something more appropriate...
Take the gravel bike, no question.
Also, it will be crap on a gravel bike if you're an MTBer, but he might find it ok if he's a roadie. For MTBers it needs to be pinned to be fun, which is not possible to anywhere near the same speed on a gravel bike. However it will be something new for him he's never experienced, so that will work fine. And you - you need to put your money where your mouth is!
If you were feeling generous you could follow an altered version of the red and blue, cutting out the sections you think he might really struggle on. It isn’t hard to link or skip sections in Swinley as the fire roads go everywhere. Wouldn’t be hard to take him around (e.g. Tank Traps) if you thought there was a real risk he was going to fall sideways into a ditch…Appreciate that might reduce the fun for others, but this outing sounds like someone is going to end up cross anyway!
I'm not in charge, Our other mate, also a Roadie but one that owns an MTB and has been round Swinley too, tends to lead our outings, and may well decide to beast him round the full Red/blue loop...
I think I might suggest renting an E-bike if it's possible, He might actually enjoy the effortless climbing speed and the novelty of having suspension for a couple of hours...
You can book a hire bike from the bike hub website. Not sure what availability will be like at short notice.
He's more likely to enjoy himself on a hardtail, Swinley is fine for novice riders but I don't think a gravel bike will inspire confidence.
Take the gravel bike. Sometimes half the fun is hating it (usually in hindsight admittedly).
Not sure why I'd take someone on a ride that is beyond their capabilities and that they won't enjoy. What's the point?
Actually thats a thought, are they renting MTBs/E-MTBs at that hub place still (CV19 and all)?
I could suggest he rents something more appropriate…
I believe I may have suggested that ...
https://www.swinleybikehub.com/hire
Can't see why a roady would need the eMTB but... ???
I would ride the wrong bike - indeed I have done similar with a roadie pal. We were doing a gravel ride and they only had a CX bike. I took my single speed road bike on 23mm tyres so I had an even less suitable bike
No way would I be on a MTB and leave them on a CX bike especially if they are not offroad riders
It's pretty booked up on the rentals page for Saturday morning, so get in quick if you are renting.
The best bike rides are those on the most inappropriate bike possible. I'd take the gravel / cx / roadie with knobblies and frighten yourself silly.
I've pointed him at the rental option, but it sounds like they might have agreed to downgrade to blues plus fireroad pottering, and I might not be able to make the target kick off time anyway... Typical.
Lend him yours. I did this with a mate round Bedgebury the other day. He rode my lovely ti hard tail I rode my rigid hack. We both had a lovely time and he now wants to buy an mtb. A convert
[i]I’ve strongly implied it will be a bit more ‘challenging’ but I’ve also said I’d be OK to ride it on my gravel bike[/i]
So don't turn up on an MTB! I'd take the gravel just for the laugh, sounds like you'll need to wait a bit anyway.
I've done a reasonable part of cannock on a gravel bike complete with bikepacking bags. Was mental but very fun. Its a lot slower but more exciting than being on an mtb.
Sounds like you need a fatbike tbh. Fatbikes go with anything, you can wear it to a dinner party or you can wear it in the jungle.
Thing is, there's an unintended consequence thing that can happen_ i've done much like what you said and took a cross bike to an mtb ride, and the other guy on a cross bike got really pissed off because not only was he finding it hard, but he'd lost his excuse a bit. He'd have been happier if I'd just taken the normal bike, but ridden considerately to him, I'm sure.
So, depending on the person, I'd probably just take whatever bike I felt like, and just try to be a good riding buddy
So, depending on the person, I’d probably just take whatever bike I felt like, and just try to be a good riding buddy
This ^^ but also don't take a knife to a gunfight or vice versa.
Kind of like turning up to a beginner's road ride on a £10,000 superbike or (the other way round) an uplift day on a hardtail. Not cool.
As he's a mate, can you not just laugh at him every time he falls off, whilst checking that his bike is OK?
Well that went surprisingly well.
Two of us on gravel bikes one on a 26er epic, best part of two and a bit laps of blue and nobody injured.
One thing you do notice though when riding 38mm tyres with no suspension, the faces of a lot of the berms on the fun bits are pretty much wrecked.
But yeah, my mate who I was slightly worried about was fine, the odd bit of mincing (normally just over-braking into corners) otherwise, he's a diesel engine and will just grind his way on through anything...
Glad I showed solidarity...
or (the other way round) an uplift day on a hardtail. Not cool.
No-one minds do they. I turned up last week on my kids HT and my mate was on a 180mm travel.
Ride what you enjoy...they have all made their choice, so you make your's as well.
crazy-legs
Full MemberKind of like turning up to a beginner’s road ride on a £10,000 superbike or (the other way round) an uplift day on a hardtail. Not cool
I've probably done as many uplift days on a hardtail as I have on a full suss or my dh bike. I mean, I've had some ace hardtails, it was probably better riding fort william on my ragley ti than it would have been on my shit-awful Ellsworth Dare dh bike 🙂
Bikes are good basically.
Who wouldn't do an uplift on a hardtail???
Glad you had fun though, sometimes the daft option is the fun option.
Who wouldn’t do an uplift on a hardtail???
I actually have done in the past...
I've done an uplift on a ht.never again.was slow and get shaken to bits.