what type of mountain biking do you do

Northwind

Er... Yes. You appear to have understood my point, are you after applause for repeating it?

Anonymous

:?:

njee20

It's XC then, stop being pedantic! If you push your 45lb DH bike up the fireroad to ride down then it's DH, if you're a fat cnut who can't ride up hills and walks up White's Level it's still XC.

I just meant that 'trails', 'singletrack' etc is all XC, there seem to be plenty of people who say things like "I don't ride XC, I do trails", which I find daft myself.

Anonymous

njee20 wrote:

I just meant that 'trails', 'singletrack' etc is all XC, there seem to be plenty of people who say things like "I don't ride XC, I do trails", which I find daft myself.

As I say, the problem is if I say XC some think I want to ride stuff that really isn't me. I'm not up for proving my fitness and pushing my body to the limit on distances, over flat non-technical trails. I'm just up for fun technical stuff that's generally in a direction other than up, and get a bit of exercise at the same time, but having fun is top priority.

So I don't do any particular category other than I just ride for fun.

Northwind

njee20 wrote:

It's XC then, stop being pedantic! If you push your 45lb DH bike up the fireroad to ride down then it's DH, if you're a fat cnut who can't ride up hills and walks up White's Level it's still XC.

I just meant that 'trails', 'singletrack' etc is all XC, there seem to be plenty of people who say things like "I don't ride XC, I do trails", which I find daft myself.

Not being pedantic, just pointing out that your definition doesn't work, you're taking issue with one person's definition of their riding but replacing it with one that's no better. As soon as you start drawing lines in the sand you'll run into this. Stop pigeonholing. If an XC rider rides to the top of cresta run at innerleithen then rides down it, they're not suddenly downhilling, they're still just riding their bike.

lesz42

love places like cannock chase ( both trails) and llangegla

out in the open, xc trails, but dont and cannot do places like coed y brenin

love cycling around town, very early on a sunday morning, with the place to my self


up or down, it dont bother me, but dont expect speed!

cloudynights

just help me on this one, are trail centres more or less centred around a area of forest

j_l

Just like to ride where ever, local loop, trail centre, over moor epic with map, even local cycle path with my son and Mrs.

Just love being out on me bike 8)

evernas

Not for me.There are none trail centers in Bulgaria :evil: so riders have to "use" fire-roads and that kind of paths.Plus my town is situated between few big hills so there are too many options for exploring and that is what i do every ride. :P

Petty Vagrant

dirty, filthy riding in the woods with the lads!! Well this time of year anyway!

I live in flat essex so def not downhill!!

Love just being on the bike and will use any excuse to jump on it, apart from riding XC/singletrack (or however you want to badge it!) I love using my bike just for transport around town. I hate sitting behind the wheel of a car in traffic, the buzz of weaving in and out of it on a bike is just so much fun! Probably wouldn't pass a Bikability course with the way I ride though!

njee20

I did say I just ride my bike, I just find other people's need to fit into a certain niche odd, and find the obsession with creating them even stranger.

I remember MBUK doing a ride on the Surrey Hills, doing all the normal trails and calling it 'aggressive XC - with a focus on attacking the descents' err, isn't that what everyone does?! That was all my point was.

singlespeedexplosif

Just riding. None of this aggressive XC/Freecore Gnarl-lite bolox. Trail centres serve their purpose - which is mostly to keep the hordes from locking their brakes down some beautiful moorland singletrack.

njee20

Edit, random double post.

Anonymous

njee20 wrote:

I remember MBUK doing a ride on the Surrey Hills, doing all the normal trails and calling it 'aggressive XC - with a focus on attacking the descents' err, isn't that what everyone does?!

Not really. I know many who "do" XC, enter all the races, and their home is Swinley. Surrey Hills is too aggressive and technical for them, but they are home speeding round the motorways of Swinley and they call that XC. I call it boring, but anyway (well actually there is some fun to be had at Swinley but the XC races tend to avoid those areas).

Whatever. Just less argument over what it's called and more riding

Stoo61

I would say the riding I like best is wilderness riding which is essentially XC but its not possible to leave the front door at find that.

I do actually really enjoy road riding locally :roll: .

hbrashaw

xc/am/dj/fr lite

njee20

I know many who "do" XC, enter all the races, and their home is Swinley. Surrey Hills is too aggressive and technical for them

By 'all the races' I assume you mean they do the odd Gorrick in fun!? Not that there's anything wrong with that, but if they're finding Surrey Hills 'aggressive and technical' then they'd struggle with virtually every XC course out there! To me the Surrey Hills is the epitome of XC!

meesterbond

Bimblecore... or Agressive Pottering depending on which bike I take.

lg18

WRT the OP's statement that most threads seem to be about train centres. Maybe that's because they are easy to discuss, as many people know the exactly route taken, can give advise on particular aspects etc. I don't think I'd get many responses if I posted a question about a random "natural" XC route I'd made up from the OS map. Of course there are some threads like that, but most are bound to be about "trail centres" I suppose.

To answer your question re. what type of riding. I have to admit to adoring the trail centres I've been to (Glen Tress, Laggan WolfTrax, Dalby, Mabie, Moray Monster, Red Rock (Black Isle)... however, I actually go to a trail centre maybe just once a year! 99% of my MTBing is "natural" - I plan a route from an OS map and go for it. I much prefer that, really. Although there is a large element of risk, because you never know what will really be rideable, and I almost always end up carrying/pushing the bike at some stage.

lesz42 wrote:

out in the open, xc trails, but dont and cannot do places like coed y brenin

Why don't/can't you? (sorry, never been to Coed-Y-Brenin, but would like to - so am genuinely interested into whether it's too hard/a bit cr*p, whatever!).

Anonymous

I reckon all you "I only ride natural terrain" snobs should bear something in mind.
There are trail centres which started out as somewhere where people went to ride. Much like how climbers tend to gravitate towards certain rock faces.
Over time, funding was gained to build some sort of facility there, and to harden the trails to the ever-increasing number of riders.

The difference between natural and trail-centre can be much blurrier than some narrow minded folk seem to convince themselves.

welshkev

i'm blessed with where i live (as i guess you are yeehaa) that i can leave my house and ride some stunning natural stuff. but i'm also only a 40 min offroad ride (through said natural stuff) to cwmcarn. i love riding both.


i can't believe anyone would say one is better than the other? just ride your feckin bikes and enjoy every damn minute.

Anonymous

welshkev wrote:

i can't believe anyone would say one is better than the other? just ride your feckin bikes and enjoy every damn minute.

THIS

(although, I have to admit, I've never managed to get to Cwmcarn in 40 minutes )

Anonymous

Trail centres vary a lot, though they are places where trails are (hopefully) well designed, well organised and usually intended to cater for the majority of skills. Natural trail areas differ in that some trails aren't designed or sanctioned, conditions vary throughout the year, and may even be quite dangerous whereas an official trail centre may sanitise the most dangerous parts, or at least grade them properly so you don't head off down what you think is a gentle XC and find you're heading off a cliff like drop down an extreme DH run.

Whatever, it's all generally good. So long as there are places for us to ride and it's not tarmac, it's good.

The only disappointing thing about some trail centres is they are getting too scared of being sued and are making trails they claim to be red or black that are little more than a flat advanced family trail. Some of the FC places in England are getting like this (less so in Wales, and can't comment on Scotland having not been).

j_l

deadkenny wrote:

The only disappointing thing about some trail centres is they are getting too scared of being sued and are making trails they claim to be red or black that are little more than a flat advanced family trail. Some of the FC places in England are getting like this (less so in Wales, and can't comment on Scotland having not been).

2nded, Haldon for example



Though it ain't going to stop me going for one loop of the red run after work

Anonymous

Yep, Haldon especially was what I was thinking of. Terrible what they've done to the place!

welshkev

it's been done to a certain extent at cwmcarn aswell, some of the climb has been smoothed out, ladder drops taken away, wall ride gone, trails made wider and chicken runs put in!!!

i know it makes it accessable to more people but why don't they just make easier trails for those people to ride and leave the trails as they are

Daz555

Chicken runs are fine but taking out advanced features just because a few have had injuries is a nonsense.

Thewaylander

worst part of it aload of the money invested in Trails in Wales is being used for trail repairs.. (Read making wider craper and duller for Londoners)

j_l

Thewaylander wrote:

worst part of it aload of the money invested in Trails in Wales is being used for trail repairs.. (Read making wider craper and duller for Londoners)

Why Londoners??

I would imagine there are some welsh pussies out there using trail centres

Thewaylander

I'm picking on Londoners, mostly as they are all we see on weekends in Wales, lots of rude Londoners going very slow on very expensive toys.

One this weekend I encountered blocked up all windy point not pulling over, turns out he had damaged his read mech and set up a single speed (to me if my bike is a bit dodgy i pull over asap for people) and that he had left his broken mech up on the trail as trash

I see alot of this and i agree its not the all and so on but all this year it is what i have seen on the trails London, bearkshire and essex areas, of people. So i have a bit of a bee in my bonnet about it now lol.