“Aggressive” riding – expressions you love to hate

I remember seeing an amusing thread on the old forum about mildly annoying expressions in mountain biking. For me, any time someone mentions “aggressive” riding I can’t help but think of this (or the follow-up).

Any others you’d like to share?

“Aggresive XC” lol

It’s like regular XC but with a dose of small man syndrome thrown in…

Agreed! Just WTF is ‘aggressive XC’… swearing whilst riding?!

aggressive XC – is that getting pissed off with the congestion and mincers at trail centres?

A few weeks ago (at Llandegla) I actually heard one rider shouting to his buddy infront of him “Ride it like you stole it”..I nearly made myself fall off to convince myself I wasn’t dreaming.

steed – do you really ride a horse?
rig – its not an oil platform (unless its actually that gary fisher singlespeed)
sweet, man, dude, stoked, nailing it, pinning it, killer loops, epic rides – when they’re just a day ride, anything followed by ‘lite’,
Attempting to grade non-man made loops/rides under man-made trail classifications. Just use real words. Saying its a black grade (because its rocky) surely puts people off getting away from trail centres (though maybe thats a good thing?)

I do use ‘to clean it’ though, and technical which are both pretty silly really.

Singlespeed – yawn yawn yawn!!

I like ‘aggressive’. Not sure of a better term to describe those times when you’re really attacking a trail, using lots of body english, railing the corners and generally pumping every ounce of speed out of it. Maybe while riding your xc race weapon, which just plain looks fast. Man, i’m stoked even thinking about it.

Whilst waiting for the missis’s guitar lesson to finish I found myself in Borders at the cycling section, I figured I’d have a flick through MBUK, I don’t remember the page but there is an absolute classic picture of Mr Dodd in quite an amazing outfit, it has to been seen to be believed, its not just awesome, its gnarly, rad and extreme.

In a “Freemans catalogue” kind of way 😆

sorry Mr Dodd, but you’ve got to admit its not your best 😆

I like ‘aggressive’. Not sure of a better term to describe those times when you’re really attacking a trail, using lots of body english, railing the corners and generally pumping every ounce of speed out of it.

But ultimately is it not just riding a mountain bike? People feel the need to find a name for what they do as XC just isn’t cool anymore…

was XC ever “cool”??

surely its like class?
as in the only people that have an isse with it are the ones in the middle?

and XC rider is quite hapy with that, a DH rider is quite happy with that,

i hate being lable aggressive XC, im propper XC don’t cha know?
😛

Its all just mountain biking right ?…..in which case,I actually think the term “all mountain” isn’t actually that bad in that it could describe everything……………..

***hides***

sessioning, railing, having it dialled.

Dude, you like totally got 2 feet of air.

I go for XC lite myself.

mini-XC is the future!

XC-jeycore-lite

AKA cyclocross, on a dry track

micro XC ? ..when you have ordered the wrong size hardtail frame ? 😀

‘sending it’

sending it where, ffs?!

oh and look at that thread about Elbry Sandland from last week, plenty of ridiculous huckfesting in that too.

Wheres Elbry when you need him!

he will undoubtedly be out with his destruktion kru on their mint rides, scoping out a zone for some sick lines, maaaaawnster hucks and ill flipwhips.

‘Stoked’ – just **** off

Bloik

“Aggressive, etc” sounds too much like wankerboy Nintendo Ninja language to me. Too much like the talk of our little evilzone mates.

Free ride. It’s all free, well other than FC car parking charges!
Niche – indicates luddite tendencies and attempting to naysay technological progress.
All mountain – not much use in 80% of UK.
Lets face it most riding is cross country, anything else is marketing garnish.

Clearly then, there are no bitter, insecure, xc jey boys on here? 😆

Seriously, the next time you make it to the bottom of that technical section….you know, the one with the rocks and that root? Yeah that one, – turn to your buddies and say ” I am so stoked – I totally shredded that gnarly section. Did you see me rail the burm? Lets go session it again!”

Initially you will feel strange, and no doubt your friends will recoil into their lycra in shock but soon you will realise that you are enlightened and your life will never be the same.

Ive always wondered what the black diamond runs look like.

Call it what you want – its just riding a bike..No point getting stressed about it. If we get hung up on what we call certain aspects of our hobby AND then start slagging folk off for using words we dont like – arent we missing the point of WHY we go for a ride? Arent we just taking the stress & shit from everyday out onto the trails? Leave it in the carpark/trailhead (WHATEVER you want to call it)..

was XC ever “cool”??

Back in the day when there were no DH kiddies, DJ was a bloke with headphones and Old Skool meant drum brakes and mustaches I thought I was cool and rode aggressive XC.

Nowdays I ride a Freeride Lite all mountain rig, sometimes sessioning gnarly sections, pining the fast ones and totally rocking some gnarly hucks ’till we’re wasted. You hear ‘lets pad up‘ from your mates and you know it’s on.

This is Mountain Biking

Proof I was cool racing XC \/

Come on… break out those Aggressive XC photos!

30 posts before someone said my most loathed phrase – “Back in the day” – somehow it always brings up an image of Gary Fisher looking smug.

Not a ridng expression (The just make me laugh) but the one that’s like fingernails on a blackboard to me is when suspension is described as ‘PLUSH’
Aaarrrggghhh!

Plush (from the Oxford Dictionary)

• noun – a rich fabric of silk, cotton, or wool, with a long, soft nap.

• adjective – informal expensively luxurious.

So it basically means ‘soft’

I don’t want soft suspension. That would be horrid. I want controlled, supple, taut…. etc
👿

All mountain makes me feel a bit funny but it does describe my riding (but faster than me).

Somebody on the old forum, cant remember who came up with drum ‘n bass trail hooning. And I do like that.

Wow you guys must be the life and soul of any party. 😉

Btw send is originally an American climbing term, as in ‘ascend’ – apparently.

I have to admit some of the language on that Elbry blog is pretty ridiculous for someone from the uk, but why do people get so agitated about all this stuff?

I have to admit some of the language on that Elbry blog is pretty ridiculous for someone from the uk, but why do people get so agitated about all this stuff?

It’s what we Brits do best. Ripping the piss out of lesser individuals.

My mates describe lines I take on rocky descents as “aggressive” after I informed them that there was no such thing as a “bad line” as long as you rode it with some style and without nearly or actually falling off.

I think it comes from my bump skiing days where I just used to hammer the fastest route directly down the fall-line. I use the same technique on my bike! :o)

Works for me. Word.

[list=1]@ flamejob – fair do’s for “getting air” 😉 with those bar ends on !!! wouldnt have fancied landing on those bad boys if it all went a bit wrong !

Those Agressive urban vids are class!!

I had no idea Simon Ralli had a pro snowboarder wee brother 😉

Peaslake last year, overheard some xc guys (didn’t seem particularly aggressive) talking about the Hindhead trails and Earthed 4, and how Brendan had had to ‘over ride’ them to make them look good on video?

WTF?! Presumably they didn’t mean he rode them too much and were concerned about erosion, but something else – please help, or just let me carry on thinking they were talking do-do.

Yes, some terms used by da kidz (and grown upz) can be a bit annoying, but the more florid stuff is pure entertainment.

Wasn’t there a quote from that Elbury character about “nailing sick acid lines” or something?

Brilliant!