Any mountain bikers??

[bassteban]

The first time I saw TJ was at Vallejo's PAL BMX track- he was a pro, riding full factory for Mongoose. Probably 77 or 78- he was sitting on his bike, bars turned 90 degrees and both feet on the front tire. Motionless. I went home and learned how to do it, took like a month.

 

[elgecko]

SoCal is rife with Tinker sightings. I was suiting up for a MTB ride one time in the San Gabriel mountains when who should roll by but some dreadlocked roadie in full Cannondale kit.

 

[Tbone76]

Those stories are classic! I'm on the East Coast (upstate NY), so pro sightings over here are rare outside of a race. We did have Missy Giove get picked up a couple years back for trafficking weed, but other than that, not so much!!

 

[bassteban]

I rode a few miles next to Susan DeMattei at a MTB race years ago, until she left me. The Lemurian, IIRC. Some Italian pro roadie won that year, said it was the hardest race he'd ever done

 

[Mark Reccord]

Real men ride hardtails

Real men with bad backs and aching knees.

I paid my dues on a hardtail for local trail riding when I started riding. Won't be going back to one as a regular ride. My lower back and knees hurt enough as it is. Trails are monstrously technical here though.

I'm still gassing for a fatbike, though. Fully ridgid!

 

[Mark Reccord]

Those stories are classic! I'm on the East Coast (upstate NY), so pro sightings over here are rare outside of a race. We did have Missy Giove get picked up a couple years back for trafficking weed, but other than that, not so much!!

Been to the bike park at Whiteface? What a blast that place is.

 

[Mark Reccord]

I had one of those rides last time I was on the bike. You know, the "first ride in 2 weeks on really wet, super technical trails, where nothing goes right" ride?

Went OTB 4 times in 45 minutes. It was like I never rode a mountain bike before. I'm glad there were no witnesses.

 

[mtb777]

I did the hard tail thing for too many years and went to a Heckler and then to a BarcaLounger Nomad and forgot how to ride out the saddle and would just bash over everything seated. Lost what little tech climbing ability I had and went back to the Heckler again. I'm gassing for a TallBoyLT though. BassGear has my $$$heart$$$ right now. Maybe next year.

 

[ubado]

Real men with bad backs and aching knees.

I paid my dues on a hardtail for local trail riding when I started riding. Won't be going back to one as a regular ride. My lower back and knees hurt enough as it is. Trails are monstrously technical here though.

I'm still gassing for a fatbike, though. Fully ridgid!

This may sound silly, but my knees and back have never felt better and all I ride are hardtails. Actually sold my Cannondale Prophet to help fund my TransAM 29'er. After riding both FS & HT's, for where I ride; I find a steel hardtail with a 17"-ish chainstays and some tubeless tires around 20lbs (+/- 3 or 4lbs) ... and you're golden. Really no need for a full suspension. Between the steel frame and the supple rear tire, you'll feel like you have a few inches of travel working behind ya.


I can definitely see a full suspension bike being almost mandatory for riding up in Newfoundland. A fatbike with a suspension fork would be the cat's meow for up there too. Although I guess ridgid would be perfectly fine since you'll most likely be trudging through snow anyway.

 

[Tbone76]

Been to the bike park at Whiteface? What a blast that place is.

I haven't been to Whiteface, but I've done Killington and Hunter Mountain. The first time i rode Killington I only paid for the trail pass. I rode up to the top and then back down. On the way down I missed a turn and ended up lower down than where I started. I then had to ride back up to my car!! Oops!! Maybe I'll hit Whiteface next season. Riding has evolved so quickly in the time that I took off from riding. I have a huge amount of respect for the current crop of amateur and pro riders that seem like they could descend down the side of a building with no problems! The bikes have a lot to do with that, but there is some serious skill involved.

 

[Tbone76]

I rode a few miles next to Susan DeMattei at a MTB race years ago, until she left me. The Lemurian, IIRC. Some Italian pro roadie won that year, said it was the hardest race he'd ever done

Do they still hold that race?

 

[Mark Reccord]

I did the hard tail thing for too many years and went to a Heckler and then to a BarcaLounger Nomad and forgot how to ride out the saddle and would just bash over everything seated. Lost what little tech climbing ability I had and went back to the Heckler again. I'm gassing for a TallBoyLT though. BassGear has my $$$heart$$$ right now. Maybe next year.

I ride the Intense equivalent to the Nomad (Tracer 2) and there are definitely lots of technical climbs around here that I can't just bash over on it while remaining seated. Flat sections too. Even on the 160mm travel bike I'm out of the saddle a lot of the time as it makes it easier to ride tech sections more smoothly.

This may sound silly, but my knees and back have never felt better and all I ride are hardtails. Actually sold my Cannondale Prophet to help fund my TransAM 29'er. After riding both FS & HT's, for where I ride; I find a steel hardtail with a 17"-ish chainstays and some tubeless tires around 20lbs (+/- 3 or 4lbs) ... and you're golden. Really no need for a full suspension. Between the steel frame and the supple rear tire, you'll feel like you have a few inches of travel working behind ya.


I can definitely see a full suspension bike being almost mandatory for riding up in Newfoundland. A fatbike with a suspension fork would be the cat's meow for up there too. Although I guess ridgid would be perfectly fine since you'll most likely be trudging through snow anyway.

I do think it's a function of the terrain. There are lots of places where a HT just makes sense and I'm not bashing HTs at all. In fact I want a slack, steel HT for a second trail bike. Just can't see me riding it a lot on our toughest trails. I have preexisting back and knee issues and riding a hardtail locally has aggravated them in the past. Everyone's different but I will say that the terrain here does reward a FS bike.

I rode a friend's Pugsley on dirt/rock a while back and with 7lbs in those fatbike tires it was pretty forgiving and the traction was stupid. Most of my fatbike rides would likely be on snow so not super technical anyway.

Had a great pre-work ride this morning. Watched the sun come up over the North Atlantic and the trail tread was mostly frozen, which makes for hero conditions after a really wet fall. Amazing amount of grip on the frozen dirt. My favourite time of year to ride. No OTBs today!

 

[Tbone76]

Real men with bad backs and aching knees.



I paid my dues on a hardtail for local trail riding when I started riding. Won't be going back to one as a regular ride. My lower back and knees hurt enough as it is. Trails are monstrously technical here though.



I'm still gassing for a fatbike, though. Fully ridgid!

Ride whatever enables you to get out on the trail more often! I missed the simplicity of a hardtail bike, and how my pedaling instantly transfers to the rear wheel with no bobbing or loss of power. I definitely had to readjust my riding style but it made me fall back in love with being out on the trail. If I lived closer to some of the ski resorts I'd probably pick up a downhill or all-mountain rig, though.

 

[bassteban]

Do they still hold that race?

Dunno- I'll ask at work in a few (I wrench part-time at my LBS:thumbup:)

 

[Tbone76]

Dunno- I'll ask at work in a few (I wrench part-time at my LBS:thumbup:)

That was a dream job for me when I was in high school. Lucky man!

 

[bassteban]

Its pretty dreamy aside from the piddly pay...

 

[skwee]

Wish I could do it more on a real hill: have gone downhill at Vail, in Colorado. I think I like biking better than skiing.

 

[Mark Reccord]

I haven't been to Whiteface, but I've done Killington and Hunter Mountain. The first time i rode Killington I only paid for the trail pass. I rode up to the top and then back down. On the way down I missed a turn and ended up lower down than where I started. I then had to ride back up to my car!! Oops!! Maybe I'll hit Whiteface next season. Riding has evolved so quickly in the time that I took off from riding. I have a huge amount of respect for the current crop of amateur and pro riders that seem like they could descend down the side of a building with no problems! The bikes have a lot to do with that, but there is some serious skill involved.

Whiteface is intense. Great if you like 2400 vertical foot, 5km uber-technical descents. The great thing about the lift serviced parks is that you can rent a slack DH sled at them (necessary at WF if you want to have any fun) so you don't have to invest in your own expensive DH bike. They've got a good rental shop at WF, too.

Ride whatever enables you to get out on the trail more often! I missed the simplicity of a hardtail bike, and how my pedaling instantly transfers to the rear wheel with no bobbing or loss of power. I definitely had to readjust my riding style but it made me fall back in love with being out on the trail. If I lived closer to some of the ski resorts I'd probably pick up a downhill or all-mountain rig, though.

Can't argue the simplicity of a hardtail, but if your point of comparison is a FS bike from 1999 you might want to look at some newer ones. Linkage and shock design has come a long, long way since '99. Pedal induced bob is effectively a thing of the past. There's still a small amount of power lost as compared to a HT but it's pretty minimal. Today's FS bikes are completely different animals compared to those from a decade ago. Again, not at all bagging on hardtails or anyone's choice to ride one. I don't care what bike anyone rides or what size their wheels are or whether they have the most fashionable biking duds. All I care about is people having fun on the trails.

 

[Mark Reccord]

Wish I could do it more on a real hill: have gone downhill at Vail, in Colorado. I think I like biking better than skiing.

Tossup for me, but luckily I don't have to choose!

Funny, I've been to Whistler 3 times. Never in the winter. The bike park there is un-freakin-believable! Gotta try to get out there to ski sometime.

 

[Tbone76]

Can't argue the simplicity of a hardtail, but if your point of comparison is a FS bike from 1999 you might want to look at some newer ones. Linkage and shock design has come a long, long way since '99. Pedal induced bob is effectively a thing of the past. There's still a small amount of power lost as compared to a HT but it's pretty minimal. Today's FS bikes are completely different animals compared to those from a decade ago. Again, not at all bagging on hardtails or anyone's choice to ride one. I don't care what bike anyone rides or what size their wheels are or whether they have the most fashionable biking duds. All I care about is people having fun on the trails.

Believe me, I'm not bagging on full suspension bikes at all! Just at this point in my riding journey I'm content with my HT. I really like some of the current FS trail rigs out there, and I may splurge on 1 in the future. On the flip side, I have to check Whiteface out next season. When I get ready to go I'll shoot you a pm. I'm slow, but who cares ! Have you tried Killington? It's up there in elevation, too. Lots of trails of varying difficulty.