I need definition.

Thomas Prior

So, been off the "scene" for a good few years now but am finally getting back into the swing of things.
I got asked the other day what hobbies I have, I say "mountain biking" , "oh yes, what kind?"
It seems that im my absence people have built up a really large number of factions in mountain biking. I remember Trials, Racing and Downhill, but what the hell is all the rest. (Freeride, Dirt, Slopestyle, 4X, Enduro, All mountain, Marathon, Tricycle etc...)

So help me out: I ride a bike up and down hills that are 1200 meters high for 1-3 hours at a time and about once a week (if that..ahem)

What am I?

xone

A hardcore XC,freeride, downhiller!! haha. Be what ever you want to be. I know this has been no help sorry. I want to know what "pin it" means??

zero303

What you do has become just Trail Riding, or XC if you do it in a particularly competitive way...

I can help with some of the others.

Freeride: initially a little similar to downhill but with a bigger emphasis on style rather than speed, has developed in the form of freeride parks with big jumps, ramps, berms and log bridges, generally shorter-travel and lighter than a pure DH bike

Dirt: hardtail, long front travel bikes, build a really big ramp out of mud and do anything a BMX can do, but better...

4X: Kind of like MX racing or BMX dirt racing but on MTBs

All Mountain: Particularly mental trail riding, bikes need to climb well yet the descents are almost full-blow DH. Difficult to produce cheaply and generally a compromise in one area or another, nightmare category to define, marketing driven.

Marathon: really long xc races


That's a start, correct me if I'm wrong

whelieking27

i have always interpreted "pin it " as go all out as hard / fast as you can. i don't know if this is the correct interpretation , but that is what i've always thought it was

tomfraserb

Id say - Extreme hillclimbing xc/ downhil freerider. Add the word "dirt" somewhere if you go offroad!

Or "a cyclist"

Who really cares- you dont have to fit into a category. Just enjoy what you do.

xone

whelieking27 wrote:

i have always interpreted "pin it " as go all out as hard / fast as you can. i don't know if this is the correct interpretation , but that is what i've always thought it was

Is it? Ta.

Thomas Prior

cheers guys,

now i can look all the snot nosed little punks in the eyes and thoughally confuse them all.

I don't tend to let labels annoy me. I just want to know where I fit into this spectrum.

another note: I read MBUK recently; I get the impression most people now ride in bike parks - tell me this isn't true!

whelieking27

i tend not to ride bike parks too often. i prefer to ride around and find / make stuff to ride, i think thats what makes the sport more attractive to me, the fact you can go out and create things to do

Thomas Prior

read the "be a winter hard man" and was a little worried that no-one seems to do this sort of thing.
I've got so many trails round my way and I haven't got a clue where I'm going half the time (can you believe I actually resort to where the sun is to find my way home?)

I just figured that all people were doing this. Now it seems that people go to man made trails with a coffee shop at the end. Have i missed something?

gnasher5

read the "be a winter hard man" and was a little worried that no-one seems to do this sort of thing.
I've got so many trails round my way and I haven't got a clue where I'm going half the time (can you believe I actually resort to where the sun is to find my way home?)

I'm with you mate been doing this mountain biking since Christmas, (to get fit for M/cycle Road racing) and I haven't had a clue where i am or where I am going every time I have been out and to be honest that is the side of the sport that appeals to me. I spend all summer riding round in circles and in the winter it is just good to go out and wander around for a bit, so to speak. 8)

dirtbiker100

Thomas Prior wrote:

I get the impression most people now ride in bike parks - tell me this isn't true!

not entirely sure what you mean by bike parks..
mtb'ers ride in skateparks a lot, bikes similar to dirt jump bikes
there's also trail centres which could be a bike park i guess. "trail centre" is pretty self explanitory, coed-y-brenin and glentress are big examples.