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Since breaking my leg at the start of the year, I’m more interested in mtb. I may be selling one of my four strokes to upgrade mtb.
I’ve found mtb to be excellent for fitness, still get that adrenaline rush that we moto folks need, less cost involved, generally safer and less time consuming.
btw that also answers someones question about spandex short etc. 80 to 100 miles on a mtb takes quit some time and never would I ride that sort of time in a mtb short.
I ride MX to train for MTBing.
I never 'got' MTBs when people talked about them, but I could never get enough MX time as I was limited to 1-2x per week. Plus the driving, maintenance, entry fees, race gas, etc was just relentless. Plus I was recovering from an injury. So I decided to buy a MTB to get in shape.
I was not a natural on a MTB! (or course I wasn't on a dirt bike either). But I was addicted pretty quickly. The passion grew and now MX just seems too expensive, not really extreme enough (we do lots of drops and ledges in Austin), too dangerous, not offering enough actual ride time, and requiring too much windshield and garage time.
I will say this, when I get on a dirt bike now, even after being off for 6 months, I don't get any arm pump or tired at all and can ride nearly at my full pace right off the bat. The MTBs really keep you 'tuned up' so to speak.
One of the biggest limiting factors for me enjoying MX is that my greatest fear is that I would get severely injured on an MX bike (again) and I would not be able to MTB in to my old age as a result of my injuries. The thing about MTBing is that TONS of guys absolutely shred in to their 50s, and still ride very well in to their 70s. I want to do that. I will say that MX still assists me in that it gets my brain use to traveling much faster which NOW assists my MTBing.
Now, my wife has totally gotten in to it and she is quite the natural. I would not ever consider living in a city or retiring to a place that didn't have lots of MTBing. Retiring to the mountains for the win!
I ride enduro style bikes. Enduro in the MTB world means seriously chunky with jumps and stuff. It's like downhill light, but you have to pedal to the top so your bike has to work going uphill as well as downhill. I spend a LOT of money MTBing. I recently ordered a new Mondraker Foxy 29 frame, the frame alone cost me $4,150 but it's exactly what I wanted in a new bicycle. One fun thing about premium MTBs is that parts are interchangeable for the most part. So you can constantly swap forks, stems, wheels, shifting groups, brakes, etc to get your bike really dialed in.
What bike would you guys recommend out in the Carolinas? I definitely like the 1x11 and the 27.5 felt more playful than a 29er. Looking for a do it all bike that I can ride around the neighborhood or pack up and take to the mountains for some really good trails.
I ride mine around Pittsburgh which would be similar to the Carolinas.
One thing I noticed as well among the MTB crowd is that it isn't a big dick-stretching contest like a motocross race or track day. Everyone just wants to have a good time and be friendly. It's not all about hanging it out to one-up the other riders via cross-jumping, stuffing, look-overs and such.
I'm not that old (35), but 99 times out of 100 I will grab the Kona 134 and walk past the YZ250. It's just so darned convenient and FREE to ride the trails down the road compared to driving 1.5 hours each way and spending $30 to ride the local practice spot. And besides the occasional thorn and close-call, I don't feel I'm taking any huge risks out there.
If moto continues to price Generations Y and Z out of the sport, MTB will only grow in coming decades.
And of course you can easily spend as much on a MTB as you can on a Moto.
Of course when I go to the bike park the pads go on an all bets go out the window
27.5 all day long.
Pit Row
BTW, if in the US, if you buy brakes from overseas (chain reaction for example) you can get them front brake on the right standard, saves switching and rebleeding them.
I ride an older 29er stumpjumper with 120mm travel. I love the bike and feel like it's a great do it all bike for all the roots and rocks I ride and it also has enough travel to get a little rowdy when the opportunity presents itself.
Medina https://www.strava.com/activities/1067395676
Columbus https://www.strava.com/activities/1035460292
Birdsall, MI https://www.strava.com/activities/1064943654
Cycling is sport specific, that being said, you can be in great moto shape and get hammered by a cycling guy. Cycling fitness comes out of XC riding/racing, not enduro or all mountain riding.
I raced XC full on for 6 years, I experienced the fitness benefits for all of the work and it was a shitload of work. I just started racing enduro and can tell you firsthand it is a fraction of the fitness it takes to be a solid XC guys.
If you wanna make gains, you gotta be willing to suffer a lot! Riding for fun or just hitting rad trails will only fulfill the stoke factor. #pain-cave
Last weekend up in Mammoth as an enduro guy.
P-1
I will say this, when I get on a dirt bike now, even after being off for 6 months, I don't get any arm pump or tired at all and can ride nearly at my full pace right off the bat. The MTBs really keep you 'tuned up' so to speak.
Post a reply to: Does anyone train on mountain bikes?