Discussion
Most mountain bikes now have riser handlebars which people don't seem to fit bar ends to, I think this is because of
A) The riser bars now being wider (due to newer lighter materials) and generally more swept and thus better for control and for climbing than the narrower heavier handlebars of the 80's, meaning bar ends might not be needed and might protrude out too far anyway.
and
B) Fashion
I expect short bar ends could still give a more natural hand position for some people on long road and climbing rides. Bar ends still come with flat handlebar bikes like hybrids don't they?
A) The riser bars now being wider (due to newer lighter materials) and generally more swept and thus better for control and for climbing than the narrower heavier handlebars of the 80's, meaning bar ends might not be needed and might protrude out too far anyway.
and
B) Fashion
I expect short bar ends could still give a more natural hand position for some people on long road and climbing rides. Bar ends still come with flat handlebar bikes like hybrids don't they?
Edited by el stovey on Tuesday 28th September 10:19
I think bar-ends are great for riding distance where the change in hand position is welcome, but most of my mountain bike riding is singletrack, and I really don't relish the idea of catching a bar around the wrong side of something and having the handlebar ripped out from underneath me where I might just about get away with the impact if there wasnt a giant hook attached to the end of my bars...
This could all be more about my innate ability to hit stationary objects though.
This could all be more about my innate ability to hit stationary objects though.
I think they're still popular with the XC whippets, but of course no 'trail rider' would ever admit they're an XC'er anymore it's not a cool genre to be in. So it's a fashion thing.
The other side of it is they're an extra set of hard pointy things to jab into you in a crash, which some would argue is more likely if you’re riding without having a hand near the brakes.
The other side of it is they're an extra set of hard pointy things to jab into you in a crash, which some would argue is more likely if you’re riding without having a hand near the brakes.
itsnotarace said:
Seems I am terribly unfashionable because I don't like riser bars, but I do have bar ends fitted to my flat bars.
I think that's cool again now! but I must admit to being a bit old and not really down with the kids.Can anyone explain to me where XC/Trail/All Mountain categories all start and finish?
I mean, I think I do mainly XC but that's not cool so can I say I do mainly trail riding? It's kind of small hill like where I roll (cycle my bicycle) so that can't be 'all mountain' can it? Are 'trails' just in 'trail centres'?
I tend to ride on rolling hills and disused railway tracks and quiet roads and bridle paths where I stop and say hello to pretty girls on horses.
lol omfg etc
Edited by el stovey on Tuesday 28th September 11:05
el stovey said:
I mean, I think I do mainly XC but that's not cool so can I say I do mainly trail riding? It's kind of small hill like where I roll (cycle my bicycle) so that can't be 'all mountain' can it? Are 'trails' just in 'trail centres'?
I tend to ride on rolling hills and disused railway tracks and quiet roads and bridle paths where I stop and say hello to pretty girls on horses.
lol omfg etc
Admit it you're a roadie aren't you? Bet you shave your legs and everything.I tend to ride on rolling hills and disused railway tracks and quiet roads and bridle paths where I stop and say hello to pretty girls on horses.
lol omfg etc
Would class myself as XC for sure. I ride my mtb on bridleways, tracks in forests, along the ridgeway, quiet country lanes etc. I couldn't tell you about any of the other disciplines as I've never ridden anything like that 
The idea of going up a ski lift with my bike to ride down a hill doesn't appeal to me in the slightest.
The idea of going up a ski lift with my bike to ride down a hill doesn't appeal to me in the slightest.no-one rides just one class though do they??
The classes just pander to those that ride predominantly one one surface...
I commute on mine 18 miles daily - pot hole infested tarmac
I cycle with my 8 year old along Bournmouth sea front- - smooth tarmac
I go for rides with my mates through the New Forest on gravel paths
As above but more serious up and down at QE Park near Portsmouth
I've tackled the Marin Trail, north Wales
The 2 last ones are bone jarring on my Stuntjumper Carbon HT... but mountain bikes used to be rigid anyhow, and having used to ride a Lapierr 714 which smothered the bumps, I find the extra jittery nervous-ness of an XC adds to the adrenaline off road and speed on it.
I'm getting bar ends asap too...I miss them.
The classes just pander to those that ride predominantly one one surface...
I commute on mine 18 miles daily - pot hole infested tarmac
I cycle with my 8 year old along Bournmouth sea front- - smooth tarmac
I go for rides with my mates through the New Forest on gravel paths
As above but more serious up and down at QE Park near Portsmouth
I've tackled the Marin Trail, north Wales
The 2 last ones are bone jarring on my Stuntjumper Carbon HT... but mountain bikes used to be rigid anyhow, and having used to ride a Lapierr 714 which smothered the bumps, I find the extra jittery nervous-ness of an XC adds to the adrenaline off road and speed on it.
I'm getting bar ends asap too...I miss them.
el stovey said:
Can anyone explain to me where XC/Trail/All Mountain categories all start and finish?
Maybe only the marketing people who invented the term to make kids think they need 4-5 bikes. Pretty much everyone rides XC, if you're going from point A to point B (or more usually Point A to point A via somewhere) off road you’re cross country riding, but that Sooooo uncool these days.
So, if you're riding Trail Centres but you like to do the whole course as quick as possible you're XC racing this, despite what the name might imply has little to do with actually being in a race. You need a Carbon 4" FS or HT for this, lycra so thin you can see individual pubes and an unhealthy obsession with weighing bike parts to see if the people who sold it to you were lying about it (they generally have) you need to cut, sand and file each part to be as tiny and light as possible. It'll weigh so little it'll climb faster than the space shuttle, but will be so horribly unstable you'll fall off a lot. This will bad because you HAVE to run SPD's and you'll crash clipped in and it'll break because it's so fragile. Sorry, but you'll also need to shave your legs if you're male. Don't know why. Basically a roadie.
So, if you're riding Trail Centres but not ‘racing’, you're 'trail riding' which of course requires a sub 25lbs carbon fibre FS bike with a million set-up options on your suspension all of which just makes things worse, oh and about 5" of travel, that's important.
UNLESS, of course you’re "trying really hard on the quick bits" then you're riding 'all mountain' which is the same, but somehow different. For this you'll need at least 6" of travel front and rear, brakes the size of dinner plates, bash guard and bars as wide as the moon.
If you don't like Trail Centres because they're "sooooo man-made and easy" which is code for "I’m super jealous of people who live near one" and ride in the woods "nailing 40ft doubles" made out of twigs you're a Freerider, you'll need at least 7" of travel, massive overbuilt frame and a full face helmet. Oddly you need to wear black, horribly tight and restrictive jeans. After all you're not trying if you're not wearing possibly the worse material ever created for getting hot/wet/sweaty, this works well with a bike that simply wont climb, wont pedal through deep mud and doesn’t become stable till about 25mph, which you wont reach until you’re riding down the tarmac hill home.
Then there's Downhlling, which as far as I can tell covers everything from people who actually Race downhill or ride DH courses for Fun to people who ride trail centres?? I've never got that one. Not DH tracks at centres like Cwmcarn or Cannock. People will tell you, with a straight face they ride Downhill, on Whites Level at Afan, which is an XC course. If you’re the former you’ll need whatever bike your DH Hero/Idol rides and steadfastly refuse to acknowledge that it has even the minutest fault, or that any other DH Bike “is even in the same league” You’ll also need about 5 grand to buy one and ideally an rocket scientist or brain surgeon to help you understand it’s many millions of set-up options, if you’re the latter you can run a single ring front on anything an as-by-magic it’s a DH bike.
Edited by P-Jay on Tuesday 28th September 13:24
P-Jay said:
el stovey said:
Can anyone explain to me where XC/Trail/All Mountain categories all start and finish?
Maybe only the marketing people who invented the term to make kids think they need 4-5 bikes. Pretty much everyone rides XC, if you're going from point A to point B (or more usually Point A to point A via somewhere) off road you’re cross country riding, but that Sooooo uncool these days.
So, if you're riding Trail Centres but you like to do the whole course as quick as possible you're XC racing this, despite what the name might imply has little to do with actually being in a race. You need a Carbon 4" FS or HT for this, lycra so thin you can see individual pubes and an unhealthy obsession with weighing bike parts to see if the people who sold it to you were lying about it (they generally have) you need to cut, sand and file each part to be as tiny and light as possible. It'll weigh so little it'll climb faster than the space shuttle, but will be so horribly unstable you'll fall off a lot. This will bad because you HAVE to run SPD's and you'll crash clipped in and it'll break because it's so fragile. Sorry, but you'll also need to shave your legs if you're male. Don't know why. Basically a roadie.
So, if you're riding Trail Centres but not ‘racing’, you're 'trail riding' which of course requires a sub 25lbs carbon fibre FS bike with a million set-up options on your suspension all of which just makes things worse, oh and about 5" of travel, that's important.
UNLESS, of course you’re "trying really hard on the quick bits" then you're riding 'all mountain' which is the same, but somehow different. For this you'll need at least 6" of travel front and rear, brakes the size of dinner plates, bash guard and bars as wide as the moon.
If you don't like Trail Centres because they're "sooooo man-made and easy" which is code for "I’m super jealous of people who live near one" and ride in the woods "nailing 40ft doubles" made out of twigs you're a Freerider, you'll need at least 7" of travel, massive overbuilt frame and a full face helmet. Oddly you need to wear black, horribly tight and restrictive jeans. After all you're not trying if you're not wearing possibly the worse material ever created for getting hot/wet/sweaty, this works well with a bike that simply wont climb, wont pedal through deep mud and doesn’t become stable till about 25mph, which you wont reach until you’re riding down the tarmac hill home.
Then there's Downhlling, which as far as I can tell covers everything from people who actually Race downhill or ride DH courses for Fun to people who ride trail centres?? I've never got that one. Not DH tracks at centres like Cwmcarn or Cannock. People will tell you, with a straight face they ride Downhill, on Whites Level at Afan, which is an XC course. If you’re the former you’ll need whatever bike your DH Hero/Idol rides and steadfastly refuse to acknowledge that it has even the minutest fault, or that any other DH Bike “is even in the same league” You’ll also need about 5 grand to buy one and ideally an rocket scientist or brain surgeon to help you understand it’s many millions of set-up options, if you’re the latter you can run a single ring front on anything an as-by-magic it’s a DH bike.
Edited by P-Jay on Tuesday 28th September 13:24
P-Jay said:
Yes, too much Bikeradar has made me a cynic
I know what you mean - Stuck in a train station and the only thing I had not read was "What Mountainbike"It was like reading a constant sales brochure. It was unrelenting. It would be the kind of thing you would start up if you wanted huge amounts of freebies from the importers.
Tripe tripe tripe.
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