MTB ride: I was poorly equipped for this :D

[Indyjps]

I ride an old full rigid from about 89-90 on the trials around me sometimes. You should see the looks I get - but this was my trail killer for 5 years in the early 90's.
I also ride a 24" bmx on the trails.

A decent portion of the guys on the trails around me, are very bad riders and a $3k bike doesnt go very far to correct that.

 

[GeePig]

I have Kross hardtail when I am going distances, but my choices when I have to travel by car or for local gully work are my Romet Jubilat folders.

1 x 3 gearing is extreme enough when you push it hard enough, and that horizontal bar makes a useful carrying handle. My other one is a single-speed coaster brake, which I prefer when things get wet. I have been serious about my off-road riding since the 1970s, and I know that whatever $$$ people are riding today they will be riding something else tomorrow, if anything at all.

And yes, side-pull calipers on steel rims!

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

A decent portion of the guys on the trails around me, are very bad riders and a $3k bike doesnt go very far to correct that.

Do you live in Boulder County, Colorado?

One thought that often runs through my head around here is "way more capable bike than rider", which is followed with "at least they are out riding".

The negative effect of the poor skills on modern mountain bikes lands mostly on the trails themselves. Since the advent of poor full suspension designs and disc brakes, brake chatter bumps (most often just before or in a turn) are now a predominant feature on many trails, especially marquee trails and trails close to large populations. One of the first things I teach any proteges is how to navigate those effectively.

 

[Singleton]

Reading in I thought

1. this is going to end with broken bones isn't it?
2. The overgeared crowd are going to be jerks.

I am glad to be wrong on both counts!

 

[Pauliemon]

Good job! The ultimate goal here is fun,...and beer. Looks like you had both.

 

[us56456712]

I’ve ridden single speed klunkers in mountain bike races with over 2000 racers. I start at the back and let the real riders have all the speed and carnage. With this many people I manage to pass quite a few, then on the single track flats they might pass me. I pass them again on the hills, more technical places and sand. Back and forth. People ask about the old 1930s cruiser I’m riding. I till them I bought it for $50 and they proudly say theirs cost $3 - $5000. I say that’s too bad and ride away. I love that. They usually catch me at the finish as it is usually in a town and flat. Some are mad and grumpy with me. I still manage to beat quite a few. I have to spin like a propeller at the end and still can’t keep up. Years ago no one noticed or commented on my old klunkers when I raced them. I still get no comments at the start but people now take notice and comment when I’m keeping up or passing slower riders. Fun.

 

[Singleton]

I till them I bought it for $50 and they proudly say theirs cost $3 - $5000.

At that level of money spent i am 90% sure theyr'e trying to justify the expense when someone ona literal klunker in every sense of the word is keeping up.

I hold no ill will to folk who go for the high end. The high end advances and experiments with the craft and helps push things forward. However 'you' owning a $5k bike does not make you a better person than me. Just one with deeper pockets.

That said if they were less douchbro over it I'd want to geek out over their stuff.

Then again I'd just as badly want to geek over your klunker, because it takes an all too familiar engineer to get one of those up and going.

 

[us56456712]

At that level of money spent i am 90% sure theyr'e trying to justify the expense when someone ona literal klunker in every sense of the word is keeping up.

I hold no ill will to folk who go for the high end. The high end advances and experiments with the craft and helps push things forward. However 'you' owning a $5k bike does not make you a better person than me. Just one with deeper pockets.

That said if they were less douchbro over it I'd want to geek out over their stuff.

Then again I'd just as badly want to geek over your klunker, because it takes an all too familiar engineer to get one of those up and going.

There not a straightforward build, that’s for sure.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

However 'you' owning a $5k bike does not make you a better person than me. Just one with deeper pockets.
That said if they were less douchbro over it I'd want to geek out over their stuff.

The douchebros are hilarious and the worst offenders that lack skill on their expensive rides get the most bvtthvrt about getting owned by someone on an inexpensive and/or "unconventional" bike. I find them entertaining, especilly since I was informed by a few different sources that there are some around here who have literally worked themselves up into a tizzy about me. All I do is ride how I enjoy riding on whatever bike gets a leg thrown over it.

 

[Singleton]

there are some around here who have literally worked themselves up into a tizzy about me.

Dear Lord that's hilarious. Also kinda sad considering they're the ones that will try playing gatekeeper to anyone trying to get help from the local shop.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

I spend hours on my nearby trail system all by myself. It's old and underdeveloped and narrow, gets more use in the winter. My kind of trails, i love it, you just have to be faster than the mosquitos!

 

[Pauliemon]

C'mon man easy on the douchbros. When I was selling high end bikes they were about 70% of my business. They are constantly looking for the next trick goody. They race all the races. They support that part of the industry. Not to mention a ego booster when you drop one (or ten) on your 50 lb klunker.

If you really want to be humiliated try riding with a accomplished single speeder. Picture you're slogging up a steep hill. Spinning your brains out in your lowest gearing. A single speeder cruises by you standing on the pedals. As he passes you he says "nice day for a ride bro". You don't respond because you're about to run over your tongue. When you finally struggle to the top there he (or she) is. Usually sitting on a log smoking a joint. If I had any strength left I'd kick them.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Picture you're slogging up a steep hill. Spinning your brains out in your lowest gearing. A single speeder cruises by you standing on the pedals. As he passes you he says "nice day for a ride

Never heard of such a thing.

As far as ego goes, that appears to be the biggest problem with the bros. If they kept theirs in check, they wouldn't be so douchey. Again, I just ride my ride the way I love to ride and it's purely about doing what I love to do. Avoiding the crowd scenes has become the norm (Yeah, Matti!) and being able to enjoy my rides without any chance of encountering attitudes brought me back into riding dirt and enjoying it as much as I did before the bros invaded.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

A single speeder... Usually sitting on a log smoking a joint.

*ditches derailleurs

 

[Pauliemon]

Never heard of such a thing.

View attachment 185233

As far as ego goes, that appears to be the biggest problem with the bros. If they kept theirs in check, they wouldn't be so douchey. Again, I just ride my ride the way I love to ride and it's purely about doing what I love to do. Avoiding the crowd scenes has become the norm (Yeah, Matti!) and being able to enjoy my rides without any chance of encountering attitudes brought me back into riding dirt and enjoying it as much as I did before the bros invaded.

I should have known. KCI is a accomplished single speeder.

 

[Pauliemon]

*ditches derailleurs

Yeah usually smoking and not sharing! Pre-covid of course.

 

[Singleton]

The people that I truely can't grasp is the fixie crowd. Single speed I can get my head around. Fixies?

Bwah?!

Anyway supposed to warm up a bit next weekend so going t otry hitting a local trail. Nothing exciting literally green trails on a walmart bike so. According to the internet I'm gonna die and or be miserable.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

The people that I truely can't grasp is the fixie crowd. Single speed I can get my head around. Fixies?

The fashion accessory "fixie" hipsters are something I don't want to get, but eventually they are going to sell their fashion accessory bikes when they need money and characters like us will benefit from the glut of bikes on the cheap. It's already happening to a certain degree.

YMMV, but I find riding brakeless fixed gear beneficial for a myriad of reasons. The most beneficial thing to me as a sub/urban cyclist is the situational awareness it requires to keep from getting killed by either motor vehicles, or the sheer recklessness of riding in traffic without brakes. The only cons for me after almost exclusively riding in this fashion for about six years were the lack of isometric fitness it provides and it somehow dented my high speed singletrack handling skills. The cons disappeared after about a year of multi-faceted riding, yet the pros are all still present.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

I should have known. KCI is a accomplished single speeder.

It's just one of the many fun things I've participated in for a while. There are certain skills in the dirt that it teaches and compared to many, I'm a slow learner.

Yeah usually smoking and not sharing! Pre-covid of course.

A long time ago in a far away corner of Crested Butte, I was leap-frogging a MTB trail climb with some CB locals. They stopped after a stream crossing and after I waded through they had just lit up a corncob pipe. They were not stingy, as was usually the case in their neighborhood BITD.

 

[Pauliemon]

I joke about the sharing thing. I live in Northern California, I worked for a company that produced one of the first production ss mountain bikes, do the math. Single speed mountain bikes were a similar thing. They were all the rage around here. A lot of really trick ones built up. They were fun to ride around the lake where the terrain is basically flat. As soon as the trail turned up, uh oh. A lot of good deals in the classifieds after that. But if you take the time and learn they are hella fun.