The Mountain Bike Thread

sal_the_salmon said:
its honestly no different then riding a loaded touring bike at that point. not great fun but 100 percent doable esp considering how wide range modern mtb gearing systems are.

the worst thing about ebikes is yielding to them. i always yield to the climbing rider (the right thing to do) but ruining a fun descent for a group of 5 dentists on sworks ebikes just feels terrible.
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I assume “A group of 5 dentists” is code-speak for “a group of 5 riding Yetis?”
 
Great thread for pickin' up some ideas. Haven't been on a bike in about 4 years due to working out of town for some years. Looking forward to this coming spring, when my garage is finished so the bike is more accessible. I've got a Rocky Mountain Slayer 70 (2006) and my wife's got a Trek Fuel 90 (2003). Not looking into going extreme just some mellow rides to get some much needed exercise, not looking to be breakin' any bones at 71..
 

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Some of the best sections of several excellent trout streams here in PA where I live are only accessible by hiking or biking in. Years back I thought nothing of hiking a couple miles wearing my waders, wading and fishing much of the day, and then hiking back out. I still do that, but to a lesser extent. But you can get there quicker, have more time to fish, and not get so tired by riding a bike.

Here’s my bike for doing that. I can carry my rods in a PVC tube in the bag that hangs on the handlebars, and carry my boots, waders, etc in the 2 foldable baskets over the rear tire.

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watching the pro men ride the "seattle" line on bomber at Camp Sekani in Spokane this weekend was fun.

Downhill mountain bikers in 2022 are insane.
 
sal_the_salmon said:
just incase any of you are reading this thread and happen to have a cool MTB from the 90's gathering dust... im looking for bikes to bring back to life. only the 90's though. spare parts as well.

i am espcially interested in konas, kliens, yeti, richtey, gt's, and titanium bikes.
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I have a GT Richochet from 1998. In great condition, just needs some basic TLC. Size Large.
 
Here’s my old cannondale, had it since 1990 or so. Rode it all over AZ and CO, and need to get it out more. Recently tuned it up, thinking it might be a good shuttle bike for short solo floats.

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sal_the_salmon said:
Downhill mountain bikers in 2022 are insane.
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This is something I don't love about mountain biking, these days; as the bikes get better, the injury risk keeps increasing. The downhill sections of XC races are now comparable to what downhill races used to be. Gravel bike races are now what XC used to be, I guess.

This is part of the reason why I like hard tails. Although modern hard tails are ridiculously capable, there's still a very real limit on how stupid you can get on one. You can have a lot of fun, without perpetually increasing the risk.

Here is a funny anecdote about modern bikes. The first time I took my wife mountain biking, we hired top of the line Santa Cruz FS trail bikes. She went the entire way down the Raging River trail, sitting down. I didn't realize until we got to the bottom and I rode behind her. If that isn't a testament to how insane modern suspension is, I don't know what is. If she did that on a hard tail, she would have gone over the handle bars within the first minute.
 
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jaredoconnor said:
This is something I don't love about mountain biking, these days; as the bikes get better, the injury risk keeps increasing. The downhill sections of XC races are now comparable to what downhill races used to be. Gravel bike races are now what XC used to be, I guess.

This is part of the reason why I like hard tails. Although modern hard tails are ridiculously capable, there's still a very real limit on how stupid you can get on one. You can have a lot of fun, without perpetually increasing the risk.

Here is a funny anecdote about modern bikes. The first time I took my wife mountain biking, we hired top of the line Santa Cruz FS trail bikes. She went the entire way down the Raging River trail, sitting down. I didn't realize until we got to the bottom and I rode behind her. If that isn't a testament to how insane modern suspension is, I don't know what is. If she did that on a hard tail, she would have gone over the handle bars within the first minute.
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thats part of why i love riding my gravel bike. its underbiked enough that i walk the really dangerous sections, but its also underbiked enough to have fun on places a modern bike wouldnt even blink an eye.

low risk, max fun.
 
jaredoconnor said:
This is something I don't love about mountain biking, these days; as the bikes get better, the injury risk keeps increasing. The downhill sections of XC races are now comparable to what downhill races used to be. Gravel bike races are now what XC used to be, I guess.

This is part of the reason why I like hard tails. Although modern hard tails are ridiculously capable, there's still a very real limit on how stupid you can get on one. You can have a lot of fun, without perpetually increasing the risk.

Here is a funny anecdote about modern bikes. The first time I took my wife mountain biking, we hired top of the line Santa Cruz FS trail bikes. She went the entire way down the Raging River trail, sitting down. I didn't realize until we got to the bottom and I rode behind her. If that isn't a testament to how insane modern suspension is, I don't know what is. If she did that on a hard tail, she would have gone over the handle bars within the first minute.
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The second time I rode to the radio towers at the top of Raging I was with my buddy who had a brand new full squish bike (Specialized Stumpjumper). I’d never been on a full sus bike before when he said, “Here, ride it for a mile or so.” We were just leaving the summit for our long descent so we swapped bikes (I had a nice Specialized carbon hardtail at the time). Suffice it to say 3 months later I had a full suspension bike. I’m a mellow rider but occasionally find myself on some steep, sketchy trails. The rear suspension helps keep my wheel on the ground and in control.
 
jaredoconnor said:
This is something I don't love about mountain biking, these days; as the bikes get better, the injury risk keeps increasing. The downhill sections of XC races are now comparable to what downhill races used to be. Gravel bike races are now what XC used to be, I guess.

This is part of the reason why I like hard tails. Although modern hard tails are ridiculously capable, there's still a very real limit on how stupid you can get on one. You can have a lot of fun, without perpetually increasing the risk.

Here is a funny anecdote about modern bikes. The first time I took my wife mountain biking, we hired top of the line Santa Cruz FS trail bikes. She went the entire way down the Raging River trail, sitting down. I didn't realize until we got to the bottom and I rode behind her. If that isn't a testament to how insane modern suspension is, I don't know what is. If she did that on a hard tail, she would have gone over the handle bars within the first minute.
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I know what you're saying. 55mph downhill on pavement or a 30mph in a crit on 700x23, no problem. Cyclocross, loved it. But put me on dirt, or worse for me, loose gravel, with fat tires and my fear factor sets in. Probably because I had a big motor, but couldn't develop the bike handling skills. With a soft tail and I always felt less in control than with a hart tail. Doesn't make sense, but I always felt the MTB would be how I got hurt.
(edit, weird thoughts in the early morning) MTB's are kinda like fishing stillwaters for me. I'd rather be on a road bike or cx, just as I prefer river fishing, but hey, it's close enough to still be a lot of fun.
 
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Tom Butler said:
I know what you're saying. 55mph downhill on pavement or a 30mph in a crit on 700x23, no problem. Cyclocross, loved it. But put me on dirt, or worse for me, loose gravel, with fat tires and my fear factor sets in. Probably because I had a big motor, but couldn't develop the bike handling skills. With a soft tail and I always felt less in control than with a hart tail. Doesn't make sense, but I always felt the MTB would be how I got hurt.
(edit, weird thoughts in the early morning) MTB's are kinda like fishing stillwaters for me. I'd rather be on a road bike or cx, just as I prefer river fishing, but hey, it's close enough to still be a lot of fun.
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One of the reasons I got into MTB is because it is ironically safer than road biking.

On a MTB, you are far more likely to hurt yourself. However, broken or dislocated bones are the worst that can (usually) happen. On a road bike, you are less likely to hurt yourself. However, you are FAR more likely to die.
 
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