If they were to all have a go at each others discipline who would be the best all rounder?
My money is on Cav.
nah its me
isnt he a bit of a one trick pony? though with a bit of practice he might make a wicked 4x rider
I am going for him because he has the endurance, speed and apparently ridiculously good bike handling skills.
Doubt I'll be the only one to say this but surely Peaty would have the potential. He had a pretty accomplished XC racing career in his early days.
nick craig
What are the rules of your competition? And are you including Trials?
I reckon it would be someone like Dan Atherton. Can handle a bike really well, uber fit and pretty good power to weight ratio I would have thought.
gee atherton?
Rules - what rules? Include whatever the hell you want. Fixie ballet might be taking it a bit far though.
Dan or Gee Atherton for sure, class at downhill but probably have the strength and fitness to be ok at xc or road stuff. They are also pretty good at bmx riding, dirt jumping and Id imagine they could ride trials too.
Id imagine all the road/xc riders will be **** at anything that involves ome sort of technical ability over fitness
59ttp - I'm not so sure about the road/xc riders being crap technically. Having watched some of them at close quarters this year they have phenomenal amounts of skill. Hmmm Killeen might be a winner too.
me
MBUK did a range of fitness tests on a range of different discipline mountain bikers (trials, DH, XC, dirt jump) and I'm pretty sure Peaty came out on top in most areas they tested and came out top overall
59ttp - I'm not so sure about the road/xc riders being crap technically. Having watched some of them at close quarters this year they have phenomenal amounts of skill. Hmmm Killeen might be a winner too.
Yeh maybe not crap, but give em a bmx and ask them to get through a set of 25 foot doubles, I'd doubt whether many would be able to do it.
Elbry
I'm not so sure about the road/xc riders being crap technically.
I'd be pretty confident that a top DH rider would give a good performance on the road, but I don't think it would work the other way automatically.
Fitness aside, I don't think the roadies would have the balls for DH stuff straight away.
Chris Akrigg
Actually, Chris Akrigg is a very good shout having seen him race XC and DH
Its between Elbry and Richie McCoy imo.
Though really maybe Gee Atherton. I'd have thought Andy Barlow would do ok as well.
sorry but it would be Ian Wilkinson all day
Jamie Staff for the win.
World champ in BMX and on the track
truth is prob liam killeen. rides motocross, can handle a bike, top at XC, think he's in the sky road team, small chap but would like to see him on a DH rig.
i'll second Andy Barlow
Killeen has a big engine but not really proved himself on the road yet
Andy Barlow leave it out mate
I can see where the Andy Barlow thing is coming from - first class DH rider in XC clothing.
3rd akrigg - trials, XC, DH, and i bet hes pretty handy on the road - great all-rounder imo. reckon most of the others would fall apart on the trials section of a comp, or at least have more of a disadvantage on them than akrigg would have in the other disciplines.
andy barlow might be up there in a scottish context, but not so sure UK wide. imo of course (and i know he is a HELL of a lot better than me...!)
I only said I thought me might do ok - based on being scottish xc champ and pretty handy at DH plus a former BMXer etc
has been so long that everyones forgoten the man the legend that is
JASON MCROY aka JMC http://www.jasonmcroy.com/jmc/index.php he rode for the joy of riding came back from impossable odds and won everything he entered rest in peice my man and injoy the trails in the sky
you're just lucky I live overseas.... 🙄
I'm going Gee Atherton at this moment in time...
Wasn't it the bloke who won the Singletrack Lee Quarry event back in the summer? Surely that has to be the definitive all round biker event. And he rode the transwales...
Don't think many DHers would stand a chance against some of the XCers, let alone the roadies. Didn't know the Liam Killean road MX tho, he could be in with a shout.
JMC all the way
Chris Akrigg
good rider in all mountain disciplines (including brakeless trials)
Craig Hardie... Scottish Cross Champ, XC winner, DH winner, road racer.
Elbry, surely?
Elbry does indeed have the laid back rock star style over the big acid drops, but I'm going with Gee - DH, 4X, plus he's had a bash at slopestyle competitions and the Mega and didn't disgrace himself.
Dan or Gee Atherton. They would probably get blown away on the track and road by people who ride those disciplines, but would still finish in one piece, which I think is more than could be said for some of the XC/track/road riders on a DH course or BMX track.
"some" being the key word Mike. Plenty of top road and track sprinters have a BMX background. My money however would be on Killeen at the moment.which I think is more than could be said for some of the XC/track/road riders on a DH course or BMX track.
Or Elbry
grumm - Richie McCoy for sure! 😆
Obree.
Competition: start with a pile of tubes and random parts, build a bike, take out the hour record.
Nicole Cooke - [url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicole_Cooke ]made of win[/url]
I'd say Gee Atherton. Everything in one package and still pretty young.
However I would also say that Steve Peat and Chris Akrigg are up there to.
Not sure about Elbry as we are talking about the UK. Elbry's skills dominate the globe. I believe Wade Simmons and Darren Berrecloth wear Elbry watches.
Gee, Dan atherton or perhaps Jamie Staff (I bet he would be pretty good on a mountain bike if he tried)
But, the most awesome rider in Britain (in one discipline) has to be Jamie Bestwick IMO. He has dominated vert BMX for ages.
Wilko and Killeen are both good shouts IMO.
I suspect a lot of DH riders would make good sprinters, but not be so hot on longer road races.
shame nico vouilloz is french really, as it is my money would be on Gee.
Hmmmmm, I suspect the 'sprint' diciplines (DH, BMX, track) would be ok for the 'endurance' (XC, road) riders, but the sprinters would be left for dead on a multi stage road or XC race.
Actually, after reading those stats, shedfull is right...
10x Brit champ - road
junior world, road, TT and XC champ in same year!
brit CX champ
current olympic champ - road
multiple world cup champ - road
First ever Brit to win a grand tour event (wmns Giro)
youngest winner of in most all cases
and still only 26...
Can't believe I got a mention with all these other riders. Thanks wonny j! However I'm definitely not in their league. I just enjoy doing lots of different types of riding. 2010 is going to be a year based around doing the Continental Divide in the summer. Can't wait
Mark McPhillips
me
[img] 
[/img]
Shanaze Reade ? BMX and Track riding pretty much sewn up. With the transferable skills to cope with the technicalities of 4x/DH and the speed for Xc.
And the endurance?
I just can't see many of the track/BMX/DHers keeping their HRs up for >2hrs for an XC race, or still being able to sprint flat out after 5 hours on the road.
I just can't see many of the track/BMX/DHers keeping their HRs up for >2hrs for an XC race, or still being able to sprint flat out after 5 hours on the road.
But don't all pretty much all DHers train by riding road and xc rides? Don't think the same happens vice versa.
I don't think any of the dh guys would be in with a chance. I know tghey train on the road but I don't think any of them are up there with half decent road guys.
Someone like Nick Craig would be up there and I reckon Wiggins has the balls to give downhilling a go go.
But don't all pretty much all DHers train by riding road and xc rides? Don't think the same happens vice versa.
Yep, but rides are not races, not even close.
And the endurance?I just can't see many of the track/BMX/DHers keeping their HRs up for >2hrs for an XC race, or still being able to sprint flat out after 5 hours on the road
Try sprinting round a bmx track then come back and tell me these riders aren't fit enough to race for a few hours 🙂 You've got to be pretty fit to cope with that intensity of anaerobic exercise.
Sorry, did I say they weren't fit?
I said I expect that they'd struggle to keep that pace up for >2 hours. Happy to be proven wrong, but I doubt Usain Bolt would challenge the front runners in a marathon either, it's fairly basic physiology surely...
I cant believe Chris Hoy has not been mentioned, as a kid he was great on a bmx!
You've got to be pretty fit to cope with that intensity of anaerobic exercise.
but their aerobic threshold would be crap, which is important for anything over a few minutes
I suspect a lot of DH riders would make good sprinters
I wouldn't, there's very little pedalling in DH, just look at how much time Lopes took out of the top DHers in the world in the last flat pedalling section at Canberra.. BMX racers might tho.
each bike riding discipline is far too specialist for anyone to be great at more than a few disciplines. even in very similar disciplines, not many DHers can even ride 4X well, or 4X riders race BMX.
the only British rider I can think of winning both XC and DH races is scottish junior rider Aaron Gannicott.
Put a short list together and get them to enter the Singletrack Weekender the only way to know for sure!
Horses for courses. DH riders have decent bike handling skills, but they could not even dream of riding Paris - Roubaix, as Brad Wiggins will not be challenging Peaty at the worlds next year either.
Ian Wilkinson has to be considered as one of the best domestic riders, I also believe he is not a full time pro....
Like a few posts before, I've always been impressed by Chris Akrigg. He hasn't just stuck with trails riding he started out on, he rides and plays on every type of bike. His videos often show him failing and failing again, until he gets it right, rather than just a polished end result of video sequences.
"I don't think any of the dh guys would be in with a chance. I know tghey train on the road but I don't think any of them are up there with half decent road guys."
Whereas obviously all the top road guys could do fort william dh in 4.43. It's ridiculous to expect any top class athlete to match a top class athlete in a related but substantially different field.
It would almost certainly be Gee Atherton. To anyone doubting the cardio or endurance of a DH racer know this - Ben Reid showed up at an XC NPS a few years back and destroyed everyone. On his 4x bike.
Gee would be there or there abouts at DH, 4X, BMX and he was hotly tipped to win the red bull rampage before injury so he would even beat Elbry in the freeride stakes. All he would need would be extra cardio to be competitive in xc, cyclocross and road, the Athertons (along with many DH racers compete in road and xc in the off season). It's safe to assume he could turn his hand to trials too.
Chriss Akrigg is pretty awe inspiring for sure, but there is little evidence he is truly a world beater in any one category, much less all of them.
Dougie Vipond
without prior knowledge I'd say one of the top XC riders. They can do the MTB stuff, they're still going to be stinky quick on the descents, they're fit enough to ride very fast on the road and can cane it for an hour at cross.
If its everything on 26 inch wheels then its danny macaskill. not chris akrigg. danny is as fast down the megavalanche with similar times but then blows every trials rider out the water in trials.cross country he could hammer a lot of strictly lycra clad folk.. and road riding? he would ride 7 miles home from work on 23cs in 10 inches of snow! He can even see in the dark and rides night rides without lights lol.
you could organise this whole competition for real and it would prove the point ;O)
Gee would be there or there abouts at DH, 4X, BMX and he was hotly tipped to win the red bull rampage before injury so he would even [b]beat Elbry in the freeride stakes[/b]
Dude. No. Just no.
Ben Reid showed up at an XC NPS a few years back and destroyed everyone. On his 4x bike.
Can we have some evidence of that? Are we talking about a multi national DH champion winning a sport race? That's hardly the same! He appaparently came 4th in an Under-14 Irish NPS XC race a long time ago.
Andy Barlow, true Gent and can make a featherweight xc machine look like a grin powered-dh bike on the same terrain..
Having said that, the boy Danny Macaskill is beyond question. Finishing 52nd overall in his first megavalanche? Never mind backflips up and off trees and riding railings better than I can ride round a car park. Once again a true gent.
JOINT FIRST!
Gee.
He'd do alright riding XC and road but any XC pleb wouldn't be able to ride 90% of what he can.
Mr gnar why do you even ask the question. He can apparently take most professional dhers on his fully rigid ss.
Barefoot
Nicole Cooke fo' sure.
Geraint Thomas FTW in the men's category.
The most adaptable rider currently riding is Nicole Cooke, or as an alternative Roger Hammond, you don't win rainbow jerseys by being crap.
[i] langy - Premier Member
Actually, after reading those stats, shedfull is right...
10x Brit champ - road
junior world, road, TT and XC champ in same year!
brit CX champ
current olympic champ - road
multiple world cup champ - road
First ever Brit to win a grand tour event (wmns Giro)
youngest winner of in most all cases
and still only 26... [/i]
world champ too of course...