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  • Am I just rubbish now?
  • bensales
    Free Member

    Recently grabbed a new hard tail from eBay to give me a change from being a full time Zwifter, part time roadie and for the last few weeks have been back up Cannock Chase.

    Last time I rode there regularly was 2014ish and I’d go and knock out a couple of laps of the Dog and Monkey in about 90 minutes a lap.

    Now it seems loads of sections have rock garden qualifiers that I can’t clean, and stuff seems to be built with an assumption that you’ve got five inches at either end and an engine.

    Amused myself with banging out some laps of the new blue trail which is quite nice but could do with being three times longer.
    I guess it’s all just moved on and I haven’t, but it feels a bit crap to not be able to ride a trail I used to, when I haven’t got any less skilled.

    1
    DickBarton
    Full Member

    Maybe just the lack of time in/on the MTB though? The Zwift and road stuff will be great for fitness, but confidence and skill level may have dropped on the off-road technical stuff as you don’t get that on a turbo…maybe just time in MTB saddle and you’ll be sorted!

    funkynick
    Full Member

    I thought there was just a qualifier on the first red bit of FtD, although I noticed the other day that a line has appeared which avoids it…

    I’m not too sure why there is a qualifier there though as I don’t remember anything being that tricky on the rest of the route, and certainly nothing which requires a FS… it’s not changed that much in the last few years…

    Anyway, far more fun to be had away from the main routes… just go explore, although it might be a little muddy in places at the moment…

    1
    seriousrikk
    Full Member

    What are you basing your assertion that you have not got any less skilled?

    I can feel crap on a mountain bike for the first hour if I don’t ride off road for a month. From your description, you have had a much longer break. That impacts the skills you have available on tap massively. With more riding you will build confidence and it will all come back.

    What hardtail did you buy? Trails have not changed dramatically but they have changed – and bikes have changed with them. This also makes a difference.

    bensales
    Free Member

    One of my favourite bits used to be Watch Out Trolls but that’s a total mess. The bit by the road used to be really fast flowing singletrack but is slow, rutted roots now.

    Son of Chainslapper is still good fun although I miss the original.

    bensales
    Free Member

    What are you basing your assertion that you have not got any less skilled?

    Forty years of experience. Thirty of which have been riding at Cannock.

    What hardtail did you buy?

    It’s a Boardman MHT8.9. Was virtually unused and a bargain. Fairly standard modern cross country bike really. Previous mtb to it was a 2016 S-Works Epic.

    1
    gecko76
    Full Member

    The impermanence of all things, innit. Sounds like the trails have changed (I hate rooty ruttedness) but you will have changed too in ten years. Doesn’t mean you or they are rubbish, just need to put some work in finding your flow.

    2
    phil5556
    Full Member

    10 years off a mountain bike? Yeah I bet you’ll be rubisher than you used to be.

    I’ve had a couple of months where I’ve barely ridden this winter and it’s taken me a few days to get back in to it.

    2
    thestabiliser
    Free Member

    Serves you right for spending 10 years on Zwift, you pervert.

    but yeah, you can’t seriously expect to not do something for ten years and not lose anything. I’ve hardly ridden for two and am shite as a result, there’s a massive amount of incremental tactile learning (copyright) and muscle memory in mountain biking

    5
    alpin
    Free Member

    Is this the equivalent of someone playing COD and finding out they are shite at air soft?

    Riding virtual bikes does not relate to real world experience…. !

    **** this digital generation!

    BlobOnAStick
    Full Member

    Yeah I concur, you’ll have got into a fixed position on the bike and doing the stuff you used to do (moving about on the bike, riding ‘elbows out” etc) feels exaggerated and alien.

    I recently went through the same thing exactly and I’m sorry to say im betting it’s you, not the trails.

    didnthurt
    Full Member

    It’s probably just confidence and timing that’s letting you down, they’ll come back quick enough if you stick to riding your mtb.

    1
    alpin
    Free Member

    <!–more–>give up now and buy an ebike.

    ayjaydoubleyou
    Full Member

    I can feel crap on a mountain bike for the first hour if I don’t ride off road for a month.

    I feel crap on the bike for the first few miles if I switch between my (trail) full suss and (trail) hardtail. and that’s riding multiple times a week.
    the skills are probably still there, the confidence and possibly muscles maybe not.

    trails deteriorate and get tweaked by builders but if Cannock, one of the busiest and most popular trail centres had been revamped to the extent of needing a full suss ebike to get round; I think we would have heard about it

    crazy-legs
    Full Member

    I guess it’s all just moved on and I haven’t, but it feels a bit crap to not be able to ride a trail I used to, when I haven’t got any less skilled.

    If you’ve not ridden MTB for a while, you’ll be less skilled than you were when you rode regularly – it’s pretty much a given.

    I had the same, I was using my old MTB very occasionally (like 4-5 times a year) and when I bought my new MTB, it was like learning to ride all over again, exacerbated by the total change in geometry, gearing etc between the old 26″ bike and the new 29″.

    jkomo
    Full Member

    Yes, and older, don’t forget older.

    1
    wordnumb
    Free Member

    Have you tried turning it off, then turning it back on again?

    2
    fasthaggis
    Full Member

    The terrain I used to race XC on is now deemed GRAVEL .

    Welcome to the new* age.

    *Oops,sorryI meant to say your old age 😆 🤣

    imnotamused
    Free Member

    Ha I’ve felt like this after a 10 year hiatus to the dark side. Came back to MTB last year and immediately started injuring myself, quite badly on one occasion. I think it’s a combo of being 10 years older, rusty skills and more gnarly local trail builds. I don’t struggle on all the natural stuff I used to ride (Yorkshire dales classics for example), but the new skool trails like Golfie whoa, right out of my depth!

    1
    IHN
    Full Member

    Embrace it. I’ve always been rubbish, but I still enjoy it.

    1
    zerocool
    Full Member

    Practice.

    alanl
    Free Member

    Haha Ben! Cannnock Dog really is rigid bike territory. The Monkey is a little harder, but again, a rigid will get round no problem, I never used to bother with the Monkey much as it seemed a lot of uphill for little benefit, I’d do two or 3 laps of the Dog to keep my fitness up. Actually, I’ve never finished the first rock garden on the Dog, I’ve nearly done it, but one little bit at the end always gets me, but my mate, who is mainly a roadie cleared it easily.
    I’ve had a major shock here in Scotland, after being addicted to Cannock, I can see how poor my riding skills are. At Ae and Mabie, the reds are do-able by mere mortals, the off piste stuff is a level (or three) above my riding skills. Think World Cup DH routes. The reds are a step (or more) above the Midlands reds, if the Ae red trails were at Cannock, they’d be Blacks. Add in the amount of steep climbs (your zwift will help there) and its definitely a work out (theres one section, the Omega Man at Ae which is mostly downhill, where I’m shattered at the end, just because of concentration and chucking the bike around, even with little pedalling). Get out more, you’ll realise after a while that Cannock marked trails are really easy, and are as easy as you remember them. If you’re ever up here, I’ll meet you at Ae, and take you round some of the nicer trails that normal people can do without fear of death!

    chiefgrooveguru
    Full Member

    Stop doing anything for 10 years and you’ll be a lot worse when you start again!

    Kramer
    Free Member

    For me getting back on a hardtail after a decade on full suspension has shown me what a skill compensator full sus bikes are. Stuff I’d not even think twice about on my Stumpjumper Evo has me squeaky bum grade 2-3 on the hardtail.

    alcolepone
    Free Member

    I think a lot of the flat rock garden bits at Cannock are quite the physical challenge, rather than a skill challenge.   I went the other day for the first time and was disappointed at the amount of close sections on the follow the dog.   nearly all the descents on the first half  were closed.   It does feel like it be a bit neglected, which is a shame as the park prices should mean plenty of funds to help keep it going?

    1
    porter_jamie
    Full Member

    It’s a perishable skill. Bit of seat time and you will be right back into it

    takisawa2
    Full Member

    I rode Cannock the other week for the first time in a long time on my ten+ year old 29er. It still rode well. I was surprised how many alternative lines have formed. Looking at them I assume for powered bikes. I missed my fatty though, I need to get that back up & running.

    bensales
    Free Member

    The terrain I used to race XC on is now deemed GRAVEL .

    Probably why I bought a gravel bike

    When I started racing XC, it was round the edges of a farmers field…

    bensales
    Free Member

    Get out more

    There’s reasons I’m on Zwift. If I could get out more, I would.

    bainbrge
    Full Member

    Did the Glenlivet green trail with my small kids today – pretty sure it felt like a red run from 15 years ago. I haven’t ridden a mountainbike properly since a c.2014, so maybe it’s me.

    FunkyDunc
    Free Member

    My current mtb is a 2012 full sus 100m travel 26er

    When I got it back in the day I thought it was a weapon. Over the years I took it to trail centres and probably the last 5 yrs I’ve stopped going to trail centres pretty much , as each time I thought they were too rocky, and many potential over the bars moments

    Last weekend I went to Gisburn on the latest generation of 150/160 travel trail bikes. It was a different world obviously the trails are now built for bikes with this modern geometry, bigger tyres and travel.

    Stuff that would have me braking or even taking chicken lines on my own bike I was just blasting through.

    I’m not saying your Boardman isn’t any good, just I know think they are designing/ letting trails deteriorate so they suit these longer travel , big tyred full sussers

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