Seriously CyB isnt that technical. Try taking the Rangers down Snowdon, thats bloody technical. Its not a long trail but its hard work trying to get down without caving your face in.
Its bi-polar biking. You go up climbs that challange an xc bike then u blast down descents worthy of a dh bike.
Stuff we’ve been doing for years only now you can get a specific bike for it; designed to make the descent part faster and more fun without compromising the climb too much. AKA Allmountainbike.
Like roadies aren’t influenced by marketing either, no way, not at all, not me sirree, never in a million years. 🙄
Well they are, but there aren’t quite as many silly sub-genres to subscribe to. MTB suffers from the problem that marketing bollocks has confused the shit out of many people just starting who think they NEED a specific type of bike to ride certain places not that it might just be a bit more fun with more or less suspension travel.
Define fun. Riding a long travel full bouncer can surely sanitise something that might be a bit more white knuckle on a short travel HT?
IME, the places where a ‘bigger’ bike adds anything are limited, not that it isn’t worth it, because it often is, but full bouncer does not equate to more fun than a HT, necessarily.
Also, the previously mentioned term, over biked, is a valid one. It’s when you’re hauling around too big a bike and the extra fun/capability doesn’t warrant the effort required to pedal it to where you’re going.
NEED a specific type of bike to ride certain places not that it might just be a bit more fun with more or less suspension travel
Its not about the travel duuuuude
And besides good riddance to the grumpy ****, if they cant get over themselves and accept that mountain biking is still a young sport that is evolving then I would rather they were on road bikes than cluttering the trails up.
full bouncer does not equate to more fun than a HT
Lets not get into that row too. You can get HT AM bikes as well as FS AM bikes.
And I would rather be over biked than under biked. Over biked might make some things easier (but never boring IME) but being under biked can be dangerous. Granted not as dangerous as being under skilled.
To answer the quetion I would point further North. So Fort Bill, Laggan, Golspie, Balblair and the Red Rock??? Trail on the Black Isle are all way more ‘all mountain’ than any of the Welsh Trail Centres.
Red Rock has taken a few victims I am sure.
All worth the trip!
The rocky bits of the black route at Laggan Wolftrax are the closest to alpine trails that I’ve come across at a trail centre.
As for All Mountain, I always imagine that it is a bike that is capable of lengthy climbs, tight and technical descending at low speed and stable enough for high speeds on trails that are not groomed for mountain bikes, while still being able to handle the abuse of a bike park and making a trail centre’s swoopy final descent as fast and invigorating as possible.
As for All Mountain, I always imagine that it is a bike that is capable of lengthy climbs, tight and technical descending at low speed and stable enough for high speeds on trails that are not groomed for mountain bikes, while still being able to handle the abuse of a bike park and making a trail centre’s swoopy final descent as fast and invigorating as possible.
So a Bike that goes up, a bike that goes along, a bike that goes down, a bike that handles well at slow speed, and a bike that handles well at high speed all rolled into one?
The distinction is important, apparently you can now get “All Mountain Shorts” and “All Mountain Helmets” – I certainly wouldnt want to be caught on a 900ft hill wearing my AM Baggies….
I’m going to Dartmoor this weekend, it’s over 1000ft in places with big rocks, but I might ride a HT with shin pads and shorts above the knees – I’m fully prepared for death.
agentdagnamit – Member
The distinction is important, apparently you can now get “All Mountain Shorts” and “All Mountain Helmets” – I certainly wouldnt want to be caught on a 900ft hill wearing my AM Baggies….
I’m going to Dartmoor this weekend, it’s over 1000ft in places with big rocks, but I might ride a HT with shin pads and shorts above the knees – I’m fully prepared for death.
Why would you even need a MTB at all if your not riding a mountain.
So what does Over Mountain consist of? Riding up a hill, and back down again? Or do you have to ride up a specific side, and back down the other? Or does coming down the same way you go up count?
I did read up on what freeride actually means, and I concluded it was like downhill but without the conviction. I.e. similar obstacles and technical difficulty but more about sessioning stuff rather than all out speed.
Whether this is true or not I don’t know, just my view.
but I actually agree…
Good points actually. It is normal to see DH bikes being pushed up hill rather than ridden which is what a lighter bike with wider gear ratios allows.
To me, the label “freeride” is kind of like big bmx stuff – trails full of jumps, drops, wallrides etc. Bike park riding like Whistlers Black Velvet, Crank It Up etc. (ie the best kind of riding).
You’re right about DH being all about speed. With that comes riding the “correct” lines and getting down the hill as effectively (i say boring) as possible. There are generally some obstacles to separate the men from the boys to spice things up. Generally serious mindset.
Freeride is about getting down the hill in the most fun way possible and often includes silly line choices which can get you down the hill more slowly. Obstacles are far bigger and more technical than DH riding. A DH track will be riding over rough stuff with the odd drop and gap. A freeride track will be all about the drops and gaps. The freeride mindset is generally far more chilled too.
I would say you certainly need more “je ne sais quoi” to be a good freerider. I agree with _tom_, freeride is generally just getting awesome on a bike.
OP – Just go ride some DH tracks. Make a loop out of them. A trail centre is always going to a canal path with “features”.
