with respect i completley disagree – you don't pedal on mountain descents.

WTF? Have I been mountainbiking wrong all these years? I thought I was meant to pedal?! Crikey I've spun-out a 46×12 combo on countless occasions! Sure on the really technical descents you might not get as far as the big ring, but when you do hit the long open stretches and some of the nice flowy singletrack sections if you don't have the extra gearing length you just sit there like a complete nonce as the rest of the pack waz past you without trying and can carry more speed into the next section.

Incidentally I've SS'd in mountains and would do it again (my SS sits at home currently but it's going back into use having trashed the drivetrain on my FS, but you do have to be masochistic as noted, and for short one-off fun trips I'd take gears.

grum – Member
"In other words, don't dismiss the value of walking/running as a bottom gear"
Why not just ditch the bike altogether then?

Good question 🙂

But c'mon I was talking about really steep stuff, and the geared bikes were travelling at pedestrian speed anyway.

Unless you are racing, surely it's more pleasant to walk when it's like that.

if i went to the mountains on holiday and had to pedal down the hills i'd ask for a refund. if you have to pedal it means the trails are boring. (or you can't ride!!)

nice flowy singletrack sections

WTF? Have I been mountainbiking wrong all these years?

sounds like it!! try pumping the trail. 😀

surely it's more pleasant to walk when it's like that

Not for me – I like the challenge of being able to ride that stuff. It's not (as noted above) about getting to the top as fast as possible necessarily, it's about achievement.

On the downs, I like to travel as fast as I can, and sometimes that requires the big ring and a few pedal strokes even on technical stuff. At least, when I do it it does 🙂

if i went to the mountains on holiday and had to pedal down the hills i'd ask for a refund. if you have to pedal it means the trails are boring. (or you can't ride!!)

HAHA! That has to be the most sweeping generalisation about mtbing I have heard 🙂

I'm not talking about long fire-road slogs, I am talking about a few pedal strokes on singletrack.

Yeah me to. I once had a great weekend in the mountains on a singlespeed, but the highlight was to be this monster decent that went on for miles. It turned out to be the biggest disapointment for me and the other two singlespeeders as we were left spinning our nuts off whilst the geared riders whooped up the decent. IIRC they got down 20 minutes ahead of us buzzing we were just miffed 🙁

sounds like it!! try pumping the trail.

Not trying to be funny but I've ridden most of the UK recognised trail centres (not exactly a bragging right), been to some of the best known DH tracks (and put in competition level times on the DH tracks) and trails in the Alps for weeks on end and spent years on normal stuff in the UK too, and I've pedalled on downs all of them at some point to get more speed. Of course not constantly, but 2-10 strokes every so often to regain what you've scrubbed if you needed to brake. While it's obvious you want to keep brakign to a minimum, it's not possible to remove it entirely and when that's done you need to regain that speed – if you just rolled back up to speed you'd be a damn sight slower! While I am normally the last one up a hill, I'm usually the first down it.

Well if you pedal on mountains molgrips I bow in front of your riding god capabilities.
During yesterday run at triora, I would have gain much more with a better cornering than by hammering the pedal.
People I rode with (all of them in the top 20 of the 1001 enduro serie) were racing each other with a 'no pedalling allowed' rules, but hey what does someone living on the alps like these guys knows about riding on mountains…

that requires the big ring and a few pedal strokes even on technical stuff.

Well now I really do bow… Because each time I try I seems to hit a rock with the pedal…

Well now I really do bow… Because each time I try I seems to hit a rock with the pedal…

Is your timing really that bad?

People I rode with (all of them in the top 20 of the 1001 enduro serie) were racing each other with a 'no pedalling allowed' rules,

Just because they chose not to pedal doesn't mean it makes sense. And why would they have a no pedalling rule if it made them WORSE in a fun race? Think on it. Sure racing without pedalling improves your technique, but it's not the fastest way down a hill, the combination of both technique and pedalling where possible is faster.

Juan are you comparing a race to general mountain bike riding in mountains.
I can't believe this site sometimes. So we are saying as a general rule you don't pedal down mountainsides? so at the top of a fireroad you just freewheel down, on the road back you freewheel and on the less technical stuff you freewheel.
I'm really not into downhill but from what I've seen they all pedal like fury especialy the last bit crossing the line.
And I don't think someone taking a break in the summer is ever going to give a flying **** about enforcing a no pedaling rule 🙄
Staggering.

Is your timing really that bad?

dunno I'll try to tell to the rock…
Well I am trying to tell that you have more to gain by learning to brake/corner than by pedalling. See the guys who had this "race" at the uplift day yesterday did it to improve their technique. Dher's (specially at world class level) do pedal, but that is because their technique is flawless.

I think, on this occasion, Juan may have taken a concept for technique improvment and applied it as a rule across all riding to justify his SS and poor pedal/rock timing 🙂 I just accept that when I'm on an SS I have to rely solely on gravity to get me down and that's generally slower overall.

dunno I'll try to tell to the rock…

No no, that's where you're going wrong – it's not the rocks fault, it's yours – YOU need to time it correctly! 😉

There are some great video clips on Youtube of downhillers pedalling some of them pedaled their way to becoming World Champions.
So I'll watch and learn from them and go further to say that clearly living on an Alp doesn't make you an expert.

coffeking why dont you get your ass down here and show me then 😉

Juan you really are being outrageous this time.

Of course you need great technique to get down things fast. However, there are many situations on many hills both big and small where a bit of pedalling can help your overall speed IN ADDITION to great cornering etc.

Wtf is the problem here? Surely that's obvious? And why so insanely competitive? I have no idea if you are a better rider than me, so why are you trying to score points via the internet?

coffeking why dont you get your ass down here and show me then

You pay for the flights and at a convenient time for my work and I'll be there, I've no problems testing the theory "is a bike faster down hills without pedalling"?! And I'd happily race you just for the fun of it TBH, you might beat me due to superior cornering skills, but that doesn't mean you wouldn't be faster if you could pedal too.

As molgrips says, it's a combination of all areas, not "pedalling is not required". Isn't it idiotic to suggest otherwise?

Sent Peaty a mail, think he is taking his chain off as we speak 😉

EDIT
As my english mate said a few days ago, it's not just worth it.

Do you think Vouilloz won the Megavalanche all those times without pedalling?

Edit: Oh I see you edited already 😉

That's right, Juan – it's not.. Go and find someone else to try and prove you're better than 🙂

aye, thats right, look at him not pedaling

Grum it was a quote of him about a regional DH race back in late 90's…

So the long and the short of it, most people think mountainbiking is about speed?

That's not how I've read it, epicyclo.. mtbing is about fun, and a lot of people get a rush from belting down hills as fast as they can. I know I do. Pedalling helps that 🙂

CK – that looks a bit like Cwmcarn in terms of trail 🙂

No not at all no ones even suggested that.
I suggest he takes his singlespeed and tailors his routes each day to suit.
As I said I spent years on singlespeed only, and would often defend my choice of bike but for a trip to the mountains I'd have a job convincing myself that singlespeed was the right choice.

molgrips – Member
That's not how I've read it, epicyclo.. mtbing is about fun, and a lot of people get a rush from belting down hills as fast as they can. I know I do. Pedalling helps that

Hmmm, must try this pedalling downhill stuff 🙂

http://freecaster.tv/1000006/1005144

how many pedal strokes in the first 50 seconds?