[Closed] Whos just had enough and reverted back to a simpler way of mtbing

Oh god...here we go-again.
Biscuits?

I've a pitch and a swift, adding a Cumba HX1 to that list shortly (apparently hope have run out of 1.5" lower headset bearings fo the next few weeks).

Both bikes are fun in different ways, I quite like going exploring on the Swift as it makes decents hard work (being fully rigid), so taking the pitch down the same runs later on feels easy as you've already picked out the lines!

Also a lot is unride-able by me which makes means pushing or carrying a lot more

FTFY

No, I've not, if I wanted to walk then I would, I go for a ride to ride, as long as you're enjoying yourself though then go nuts!

Cx bike is not mountainbiking, you've given up mountainbiking not reverted to a simpler way

Cx bike is not mountainbiking, you've given up mountainbiking not reverted to a simpler way

the cx bike has got me thinking about getting a HT again

O teh ironing njee

Gone back to a singlespeed hardtail and realised I don't need a full sus for the majority of the riding I do (Woburn and occasionally trail centres with the odd uplift day somewhere). It's much better to ride. Will probably 1x9 it at some point though.

Cx bike is not mountainbiking, you've given up mountainbiking not reverted to a simpler way

Should he start riding a cruiser?

Seriously, isn't mountain biking just riding a bike off road? Are 29ers mountain bikes?

Cx bike is not mountainbiking, you've given up mountainbiking not reverted to a simpler way

When I started mountain biking, my bike was rigid, geared and with canti brakes. And the tyres were not much bigger than 35mm to be honest. so if Flat bars and 26" rims define mountain biking then so be it, but my origins in mountain biking were strikingly close to Cyclocross bikes. Indeed, my first thoughts when riding CX for the first time were "wow this is just like the old days".

Yes, gone fully rigid on my 29er on account of suspension forks needing to be sent off to be fixed.

Fine for the vast majority of the riding I do, although I do feel a bit cagier on descents as going over the bars seems like a more ever-present threat.

Also takes me back to my first forays off-road, on the canti-braked, steel Marin San Rafael hybrid I used to commute round London on, with the road tyres swapped for chunkier ones for the odd day out in the Surrey Hills.

29ers are mountain bikes. CX bikes are road bikes which some oddballs think are a good idea to ride off-road.

Back to the subject though, I nipped out after work on Friday night on the singlespeed. No camelback or food etc. Just me and my bike. Was only out an hour but it was a hugely enjoyable ride. Going to try and do that a lot more often and if I get a mechanical, screw it, I'll have a walk.

When I ride my bmx or roadbike off-road I'm not "mountainbiking" am I?

Seriously. 🙄

Not really seeing 'all the tech' that is assailing us mountain bikers - an uppy-downy seatpost's about the only thing that's caught my eye as something new that might be worth having.

Anyhow, I'm riding two HTs atm and they're fine, but underline the fact that for me a short travel FS is the best bike for my riding in the UK.

It's refreshing to ride bikes at opposite ends of the spectrum. Each one seems pretty good in its own way until I ride the other one.

Empirical proof of the n + 1 formula.

having a light bike such as a cx bike enables you to shoulder,carry & push easier therefore opening up or combining more trails - I feel I can go almost anywhere on my cx bike (apart from steep tech descents or places I need brakes) 😆

I feel if I had a little more such as wider tyres, better brakes and a more confident positioning I'd be happy for 80% of my riding.

When I ride my bmx or roadbike off-road I'm not "mountainbiking" am I?

Depends whether you think it's riding any bike on a mountain, or riding a mountain bike on any path, that makes it mountain biking.
Is it the bike or the mountain that's important?

It's easy to make this very complicated.

I had a great ride last night, just me and the hardtail (the only bike I have) and messed about in the woods for a couple of hours, riding little bits of track over and over until I pushed it too far and fell off. Brilliant, reminded me of being 13 again.

Speak for yourself surfr - .my first mtb 20+ years back sounds similar only it's first ride was down v. steep technical chutes with drops and jumps with the saddle slammed, strikingly far from pedalling round deserted football pitches and parkland.

suppose it all depends what you want from mtbing.

its adventure,fitness, interest in bikes for me.

It's really very simple vinny

[b]"When I ride my bmx or roadbike off-road I'm not "mountainbiking" am I?"[/b]

Depends whether you think it's riding any bike on a mountain, or riding a mountain bike on any path, that makes it mountain biking.
Is it the bike or the mountain that's important?

There was no mountain
There was no mountainbike
There was no BMX track

Did I go mountainbiking on a BMX? Or did it ever actualy happen?

Why do you need a rubbish bike to appreciate your surroundings?. Last night I climbed a hill and sat there for 10 mins to watch the sky then rode some fantastic singletrack down, repeated on other hills/ trails until getting dark in the trees and rode home on a footpath through a bright yellow rapeseed field with a pink sky background. All on a 150mm modern bike, reverb, uturn and tubeless etc. I then sat in the garden with a bottle of beer and watched the bats.

climbed a hill and sat there for 10 mins to watch the sky then rode some fantastic singletrack down, repeated on other hills/ trails until getting dark in the trees and rode home on a footpath through a bright yellow rapeseed field with a pink sky background

sounds like a copy of singletrack 😆 😉

no one said rubbish, I meant a simpler bike (mostly regarding suspension and I suppose)!

I do own a FS bike btw (Turner Flux)

If I go riding with my friends and they're on their mountain bikes and I'm on my CX does that mean that we're actually doing different activities?

I think you're over-thinking it Craig.
Ride whichever bike you think will be most fun.

We're riding from Abbey Village at 7 tonight. There will be hard-tails and probably a few full-suss.
Are you out? CX or MTB, either one welcome.

cheers Ian, its no biggie Just something I'm mulling over

cheers for the invite but I'm doing that clone mtb challenge (on my cx bike) 😆 on Saturday so I'm having a few days off!

Bourbon and a Jammy Dodger please.

I sort of get what Sefton is on about.

As a lad most of my biking would be looking at a big hill and thinking I'd like to ride/climb up that and then doing it.

That was made possible because bike designs were simple ie just a triangle and you could easily get it on your shoulder. My last 2 bikes have been full sussers which are quite impratical to carry on your shoulder, so I never consider riding/climbing up similar hills.

I'm a sucker for the gadgets

simple is as simple does..

I've gone really minimalist.. I'm now doing all my all terrain biking on foot.. with no bike at all.. I just find it all so gauche

purist, poorest or purest..?

.my first mtb 20+ years back sounds similar only it's first ride was down v. steep technical chutes with drops and jumps

This is different terrain to that I ride my CX bike on how exactly?

Dyfi Forest World Cup Descent
[img] [/img]

Bont Goch Ascent - Nant-yr-Arian trail centre
[img] [/img]

Hyddgen approach on Joe's back Garden
[img] [/img]

purist, poorest or purest..?

poooest

GW - member

I was born 20 years ago with an 8ft willy and I've waved it arround ever since and you lot are all rubish

Surfr - member

This is different to how I wave my 8ft willy how exactly?

Fixed that for the both of you

I thought something was weighing me down on the climbs recently.

I think mtbing in the early days or with a less capable bike requires a better knowledge of mountain craft?

Why so?

I can see the logic for a less capable bike requiring better bike skills, but mountain craft?

I've gone really minimalist.. I'm now doing all my all terrain biking on foot.. with no bike at all.

[i]Only with no bike and no mountain are you truly mountain biking. [/i]

You can just make shapes in a Surrey car park without having to buy an expensive bike, you know.

but mountain craft

OK maybe I was going to far with the mountain craft 😆

I have taken mountain biking even more minimalist. I don't actually have a bike or go outside, I just like to try to score points on a cycling forum by making other people look stupid.

It's funny. No idea if this is a troll or not, but when I was 8 I had a drop handlebar Raleigh Olympus. There was a little wood where we lived with a jump, but I could never ride it. I always wanted something like a Grifter so I could really play in these woods.

So yeah, CX biking, doesn't seem simpler to me. Maybe a basic bike with less gears and less to go wrong is simpler, and that's fine.

But CX biking, maybe that is more sophisticated and far more limiting! 😀

I thought something was weighing me down on the climbs recently.

Surely that's just the epic levels of stoke building up in your system from shredding so much GNARRRRRRRR 😛

[IMG] [/IMG]

this should do!

Im lucky to have a choice of bike, a fully rigid marin and full sus enduro.
Both nice well spec'd bikes. Im just happy to be riding either. Each to their own. Its a free country.
I think people can get bogged down in the latest this and that, I can understand that mentallity too, but it wont make you a better rider for it.
At least riding rigid forces you to focus on your line choice so potentially make you a smoother / faster rider as a result. Although its fun just to batter down a trail on the full sus too!

I have long assumed that despite the obsessive nature of some on here we are all roughly riding the same mix of: road and off road, hard pack and mud, Smooth and rocky, tech and non tech. What differs is how we think about it and what is important to us.

Your average day in the Peek you will come across all sorts of big rigs with massive tyres, dropper posts and bash guards and on the same trail xc whippet hardtail riders all lycred up. I assume it’s the same everywhere.

I have one decent bike, an alloy hard tail with 100mm forks, 27 gears and everything that is not niche but it is high end and have had a similat set up for at least the last 8 years, although, just maybe 120/140mm on a carbon frame for the next bike.

PS I don’t wear lycra.