lots of pictures on this forum of people enjoying themselves on their MTB's
but why are they nearly always a bit tubby? lots of baggy freeride jerseys failing to hide a bit of middle age spread, and cheeky smiley faces with double chins.
obviously there are the racing snakes out there but they seem few and far between.

myself i'm skinny and most of the people i cycle with are of 'normal build'.
maybe the STW demographic is just more overweight than the norm?
or is a bike a lifestyle accessory that modern hectic lives only permit tubbies to indulge in a bit of cycling for a couple of hours a week?

bored Gary?

I'm a triffle over weight and had noticed thats not that unusual in my age range on a bike (44 years old 97 kg 1.93m tall BMI 26, don't look that over weight but in the days when I ran and rock climbed I was 12kg lighter)

I wonder if like me they had ended up on an MTB in the hope the excercise would do some good. Perhaps more importanlt its an out door pursuite where weight carries less penalty than some but still gives a good grin factor.

because nearly all people are a bit tubby ??

bored Gary?

waiting for the cricket to finish then going for a ride. 🙂

I have definately noticed that mtb'ers are getting porkier though,
however those mtb'ers who have taken to the road* have all lost their extra chins and got a lot fitter.

*happens to a lot of them when they reach 'middle age' the bike to work scheme probably has a lot to do with it

cake & beer

thepodge +1

because nearly all people are a bit tubby ??

Bloody cheek Barnes! It's a 'winter belly'…. 😳

Generally, far too many people in the UK eat too much and don't exercise enough. Hence, you're gonna see a fair few portly folk out there on the trails. Mind you, I know some 'well upholstered' bods who are very fit and healthy, so there you go. I'm svelte because I smoke cigs and worry a lot.

I worry that Barnes will be cruel about my Winter Fuel Allowance…. 🙁

So that average folks like MidlandsTrailquestGraham can come better than mid-pack?

So that average folks like MidlandsTrailquestGraham can come better than mid-pack?

…..LOL 😀

I have noticed that a lot of the clothing for sale in the classifieds are usually XXL 😉

I worry that Barnes will be cruel about my Winter Fuel Allowance…

I'm more indiscriminate than that 🙂

i think the tubbiness comes from celtic ancestry, when people had to store up food like camels to get them thru the winters. look at rooney – super fit but even he's a bit tubby.

also cycling doesnt exercise your torso much. for mtbing, its all about the buzz, so you get the kind of people that like to indulge, meaning lots of booze and lots of food.

I'm a bit tubby because I like eating pies and drinking beer.

Not entirely sure there is any correlation between my tubbyness and my enjoyment of mtb riding though. 🙂

Because every time they **** your wife she gives them a biscuit?
(paraphrased from a famous cricketing sledging exchange) 😛

She gives me the packet 😀

We ride because we like it .

We drink beer because we like it .

We eat what we want .

We grow have leg hair because we are to busy drinking beer to shave .

We enjoy life in many aspects without caring what anyone else thinks .

Ever seen a shaven roadie on a $400 bike fitting in with the crowd ? Welcome to mountain biking where anyone getting out there and riding is welcome among us, judging a person on glistening calves and carbon dura-ace is a bloody sad affair .

well said ozzy

here here ozzy!

Anyway, I'm not tubby, I'm fat 🙂

Two hour stop-start ride, with climbs taken at a sociable pace = an excuse to eat bacon sarnies before and cake after, while chugging energy drink during?

Imagine working all week and turning up for a Sunday 12 noon ride all pumped and thinking your mates you are riding with are holding you back because they are hungover 😯

Stop – Start – Chat is great ! everyone is friendly , everyone is welcome , no one frowns at the noob who is 5 mins later arriving … and still give him time to catch his breath. Thats MTBing 8)

Bit like people who have a gym membership
i have a membership but dont go
i have a mtb but dont ride it
but coz i have an mtb means i can eat lots of cake and beer and not feel
guilty l.o.l 😛

BTW , i came 3rd in my class 2 weeks ago (bronze medal too) and have a race next Sunday , i carry probably 10-15kg (gut area) more than i should and im sucking a beer as i type .

Be kind to all MTBers folks , they share the same passion as you 8)

Speak for yourselves porkers! 😉

Because it's not a sport as much as a leisure activity these days, with much more in common with rambling/walking than any form of competitiveness.

When I started it was about racing, and the rides we did reflected that. Now people take their wives and girlfriends out, for goodness sake!

I guess that unlike the roadies we have lots of reasons to stop and gas, rather than just grind out the miles – therefore not as fit/svelte.

And, as said – few people starve in Western societies.

What crikey says. For the majority (myself include) it's an expensive version of rambling. Hence all the fat faces, wobbly bottoms and baggy clothes that fail to hide the chub.

Maybe there is enough folk for another forum
such as
chubby bikers .com
actually i bet that ones already gone 😯

So smiling and enjoying it is wrong now, I'd rather be tubby and happy than a skinny miserable twit who needs to post on forums boasting about his size zero physique

Classic trolling, that.
Combination of things – mtb'ing is an expensive hobby (at the level we do it), so the riders have to be slightly older to be able to afford it, hence more susceptible to podge.
And as someone said, mtb'ing is about fun, where road biking is a bit boring, so the only excitement is seeing how fast/ how far you can go.

Because we like beer and cake we talk endlessly(to avoid riding) about our fuel ex but rarely get on one. we ride downhill on our focus fat boy and hope one day to have an orange or maybe 5. Maybe its all a bit inbread

It's all down to a simple misunderstanding.
I thought I was supposed to be eating five portions of fruit and veg in every meal.

so the riders have to be slightly older to be able to afford it, hence more susceptible to podge.

rampant ageism 🙁

You don't see many serious mountainbikers with fat legs though, however much of a gut they've got. Any sport you do sitting down isn't going to be great for the six pack.

I think a lot of people ride primarily for the fun/social aspect of it, with the exercise coming a fairly distant second.

Ultimately though, who gives a sh*t?

It's all down to a simple misunderstanding.
I thought I was supposed to be eating five portions of fruit and veg in every meal.

I made the same mistake. At least I've been able to keep up with drinking the recommended 21 units of alcohol a day.

It's a decision on my part so I can make better use of newtons second law on the downhiils.

MrSmith – do you deliberatly attempt to come across as a self righteous **** in the majority of your posts on here?

What a KNOB, most of us ride our bikes for the social side, not to be going full tilt round the forest, mountains etc, we all have busy lives with work and family, and maybe some may have a few extra pounds BUT they are getting of their butts at the weekend and doing something about it. I myself am skinny but have to watch the colestral level and I need to get out on my bike just to make me feel better in myself

Cos we're proper blokes like………

not 14yr old school boy wannabees

I am a fat **** but can at least ride a bike and climb pretty well. But I'll **** squash anyone who calls me tubby though!!! 😉