Discussion
So there I am riding around Swinley Forest, getting lost and sweating and breathing out my bum.
Really enjoying riding and it's only my 3rd time out on my new £700 BMC. It's a great bike and I'm learning with it every minute. Anyway I had been realy going for it most of the ride and probably overdoing it as my pulse hadn't gone below 160 since 5 minutes into the ride.
I got to a fair sized long hill and due to my beginners ignorance I was in too higher gear and I stalled.
So I walk the bike up the last 1/3 of the hill, get back on the bike but stop for a drink, panting and looking ill.
An older chap of about 50-55 cycles up the hill and stops near me. I mention how out of fitness I am and he looks at my brand spanking new bike and says 'don't worry, once you get good at it you'll get something like this' with a smile, looking down at his fully suspended Scott.
I felt all wounded, there I am on my new pride and joy (only other MTB I had was a Raleigh Memphis before I joined up at 17), and he poo'poo's it!
Seemed like a nice chap though, think he used to be uber fit as he mentioned triathalon etc.
On a serious note though, I thought that fully suspended MTB's were really for jumping\downhill and not ideal for tracks and trails like at Swinley as they sap the power strokes?
Is this yet another example of my noobiness?
Next purchase is a set of V8 or V12's and some stiffer soled trainers.
Loving this as a form of fitness, so much more fun than running.
Really enjoying riding and it's only my 3rd time out on my new £700 BMC. It's a great bike and I'm learning with it every minute. Anyway I had been realy going for it most of the ride and probably overdoing it as my pulse hadn't gone below 160 since 5 minutes into the ride.
I got to a fair sized long hill and due to my beginners ignorance I was in too higher gear and I stalled.
So I walk the bike up the last 1/3 of the hill, get back on the bike but stop for a drink, panting and looking ill.
An older chap of about 50-55 cycles up the hill and stops near me. I mention how out of fitness I am and he looks at my brand spanking new bike and says 'don't worry, once you get good at it you'll get something like this' with a smile, looking down at his fully suspended Scott.
I felt all wounded, there I am on my new pride and joy (only other MTB I had was a Raleigh Memphis before I joined up at 17), and he poo'poo's it!
Seemed like a nice chap though, think he used to be uber fit as he mentioned triathalon etc.
On a serious note though, I thought that fully suspended MTB's were really for jumping\downhill and not ideal for tracks and trails like at Swinley as they sap the power strokes?
Is this yet another example of my noobiness?
Next purchase is a set of V8 or V12's and some stiffer soled trainers.
Loving this as a form of fitness, so much more fun than running.
it is possible that you took his words out of context, in that he was trying to motivate you into getting faster and better thus you could justify a bike like his......... but in honesty it sounds like he was a cock with issues. sorry, they are out there, just get fitter and faster and whup his sorry ass next time you see him.
Zaxxon said:
I thought that fully suspended MTB's were really for jumping\downhill and not ideal for tracks and trails like at Swinley as they sap the power strokes?
In the days before suspension, [i[everything[/i] was riden fully-rigid.You still see people on downhill courses and jumps on hardtails.
My balls don't clang when I ride, so I like the 'forgiveness' of a full-susser on downhill stuff and the comfort it offers on rougher trail centres, but for the rest, I'm rigid.
Glad you're enjoying it; just ride and be happy.
I'm not slating the blike, I think he was being encouraging is some way, as in, 'keep up the effort and practice and you'll have one of these one day'. It's no biggy.
I was just relating the initial dissapointment at my new new pride and joy paleing into comparison next to a Scott
Still like my BMC though, a great beginners bike and should see me ok for a long time yet. I wasn't going to spend £3k on something that could be a passing fad (I am terrible at starting a new hobby and not sticking with it).
I was just relating the initial dissapointment at my new new pride and joy paleing into comparison next to a Scott
Still like my BMC though, a great beginners bike and should see me ok for a long time yet. I wasn't going to spend £3k on something that could be a passing fad (I am terrible at starting a new hobby and not sticking with it).
Get some Wellgo MG-1s - best flat pedals evar! (or something).
Learn to do everything on a hard tail and flat pedals and you'll be a much better rider if/when you come to get an expensive full susser.
I started on a ~£700 hardtail XC bike and got the bug a bit and started looking at ~£2k bikes. I ended up going for a burly long travel hard tail instead of a Trek EX8. I think for UK riding it's the perfect all-rounder. Doesn't quite climb like a racey 100mm XC bike but it's very confidence inspiring heading down and it looks double hard (apart from being lilac!)
That said you can never have too many bikes to some days I do look longingly at £3k full sussers.
Learn to do everything on a hard tail and flat pedals and you'll be a much better rider if/when you come to get an expensive full susser.
I started on a ~£700 hardtail XC bike and got the bug a bit and started looking at ~£2k bikes. I ended up going for a burly long travel hard tail instead of a Trek EX8. I think for UK riding it's the perfect all-rounder. Doesn't quite climb like a racey 100mm XC bike but it's very confidence inspiring heading down and it looks double hard (apart from being lilac!)
That said you can never have too many bikes to some days I do look longingly at £3k full sussers.
Zaxxon said:
I was just relating the initial dissapointment at my new new pride and joy paleing into comparison next to a Scott
Nowt wrong with a hardtail Scott. There's always someone with something better/faster/prettier.I drove the lotus into work last week, and some b
d had brought in an Exige.I rode the Kona in today and found someone had brought in a couple of grand (at least) of Trek...
mackie1 said:
Get some Wellgo MG-1s - best flat pedals evar! (or something).
Learn to do everything on a hard tail and flat pedals and you'll be a much better rider if/when you come to get an expensive full susser.
Thanks for the advice, have just bought some new MG-1's for £30 on fleabayLearn to do everything on a hard tail and flat pedals and you'll be a much better rider if/when you come to get an expensive full susser.
If you can learn decent trailcraft on a fully rigid bike then you'll be a much better rider on any bike. Learning to pick the best routes down a rocky descent on a rigid bike makes you better at picking the right lines whatever bike you move on to.
Ref the "more fun than running" comment - it certainly is, but you have to do a lot more of it to get the same aerobic/fitness benefit as running.
Ref the "more fun than running" comment - it certainly is, but you have to do a lot more of it to get the same aerobic/fitness benefit as running.
ewenm said:
If you can learn decent trailcraft on a fully rigid bike then you'll be a much better rider on any bike. Learning to pick the best routes down a rocky descent on a rigid bike makes you better at picking the right lines whatever bike you move on to.
Agree with all this. I have a rigid bike and a 160mm full-susser. There are quite a few trails - twisty singletrack stylee - where the rigid bike is not only faster, but also way more fun. It's horses for courses.ewenm said:
Ref the "more fun than running" comment - it certainly is, but you have to do a lot more of it to get the same aerobic/fitness benefit as running.
The upside is that, on a bike, you can generally ride for longer and get well into that 1hr/1hr30 plus zone where you begin to make progress with stamina (as well as weight) if you go there regularly. The distraction of the rials - staying on the bike - is great for taking the monotiny, if not the pain of exercise.Zaxxon said:
An older chap of about 50-55 cycles up the hill and stops near me. I mention how out of fitness I am and he looks at my brand spanking new bike and says 'don't worry, once you get good at it you'll get something like this' with a smile, looking down at his fully suspended Scott.
Sounds like one of those "all the gear no idea" types, as Digga says just enjoy it.
Zaxxon said:
he looks at my brand spanking new bike and says 'don't worry, once you get good at it you'll get something like this' with a smile, looking down at his fully suspended Scott.
Difficult to know the meaning without actually being there me thinks.Could be he was being a c0ck and implying that good people only ride expensive bikes (which is so so so not true) or he could simply be a chap out on a ride who wanted a bit of banter with a fellow biker and the implication was that as you get more hooked (new rider on a brand new bike can stand out with body language, reflectors, rear cassette platic thingy on the back) and you'll end up getting more bikes, getting more involved and possibly spending more.
Why not go for the latter!
theboymoon said:
Why not go for the latter!
Apropos of this - the fact it takes all sorts - I was out with our regular Wednesday night singlespeed nuters and we'd just run up a singletrack that's parallel to the monster fireroad climb on the Cannock Chase 'Follow the Dog' trail and ahppened accross three youths (cheap bikes, no helmets, no 'proper' cycling gear) who'd just done said slog. They were all stretched out on a grassy bank, enjoying the last of the sun's rays, smoking spliffs. If it works for them, fair play.Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff