What's considered an Olympic quality MTB?

kammybear

I've just been viewing some youtube vids of avarious olympic MTB races.

I'm surprised at how basic the courses look? Stuff like afan look way more challenging? I also noticed that there was a wide variety of bikes used. Some racers using hardtails, while others full suspension.

What are the rules for bikes and what's considered an olympic spec? I would have thought selecting XTR all round?

nicklouse

Something fast on smooth services and that is light enough to run with fast.

Vs or discs come down to the rider, as does suspension or not.

kammybear

So basically anything goes baring a hidden electric motor?

nicklouse

Not sure if they have let 29ers in to the Olympics yet.

xand_xand

Mtb- everything will be custom to the Olympian. To suit his/her own style of riding, build, body type, endurance levels etc.
Course - they may look less challenging than some of the trails we know and love but you watch the precision and speed of these guys.

Anonymous

Cyclocross would probably do for the MTB course in Essex. It's probably more interesting getting off the bike, running & climbing, than just riding that. Though the rock garden bits would be nice to see them crashing on skinny tyres.

Not watching it though. Has really nothing to do with MTB as far as I'm concerned. I'm no roadie but I'd rather watch the road race (helps that it goes round my way).

gezebo

I'm sure that during the last Olympics they had to make the course more challenging because people were going to cyclocross bikes on them.

I think there are no specific rules regarding a bike. Would be interesting to see if any 29ers make a show given how popular/recent they are.

mrmonkfinger

to be olympic quality I reckon a bike would have to

1) promise far more than it can deliver
2) be put together about 5 minutes before the event
3) stand a fair chance of disqualification for doping infringements

rockmonkeysc

XC is not much of a spectator sport. Downhill would be much more worth watching and it's a sport we could actually win.

ddraver

Stupid light and stupid stiff basically...

grl

There was a programme about Annie Lush at the weekend who is the British entry. She was riding the course on a HT Boardman!

Clank

grl wrote:

There was a programme about Annie Lush at the weekend who is the British entry. She was riding the course on a HT Boardman!

Isn't she a British entry in sailing, though. As Boardman are official supplier to the GB Cycling, it makes sesne she'd be on one.

Bikeradar recently had a video up of one of the MTBs to be used in the olympics - it was a prototype frame and custom sized.

....but it was a hardtail!

ddraver

Think he means Annie Last...

And yes Boardman supply Team GB's off road stuff...

Thewaylander

deadkenny wrote:

Cyclocross would probably do for the MTB course in Essex. It's probably more interesting getting off the bike, running & climbing, than just riding that. Though the rock garden bits would be nice to see them crashing on skinny tyres.

Not watching it though. Has really nothing to do with MTB as far as I'm concerned. I'm no roadie but I'd rather watch the road race (helps that it goes round my way).

For me.. this. I just don't think XC racing reflects what most people ride these days.

Clank

Thewaylander wrote:

For me.. this. I just don't think XC racing reflects what most people ride these days.

I kind of agree and disagree.

It's terrible to say, but pedeling about on a purpose-made trail, set within a confined area, is exactly what a lot people ride these days. All we're arguing about now is size of the boulders they want to find!

Clank

ddraver wrote:

Think he means Annie Last...

D'oh! <facepalm>

I should have realised that - it was her bike that Boardman was talking through!

Thewaylander

Clank wrote:

Thewaylander wrote:

For me.. this. I just don't think XC racing reflects what most people ride these days.

I kind of agree and disagree.

It's terrible to say, but pedeling about on a purpose-made trail, set within a confined area, is exactly what a lot people ride these days. All we're arguing about now is size of the boulders they want to find!

To a point, but i know a lot of natural trail riders, and a lot of people i know do this for fitness in between DH sessions.

Clank

Thewaylander wrote:

To a point, but i know a lot of natural trail riders, and a lot of people i know do this for fitness in between DH sessions.

Look at it this way (ignoring the flipancy of my earlier post). How many more people do more XC style riding? How many family groups will be pootling about the local reservoir or nature reserve? How many folk will be peddling in counties that aren't blessed with big decents? From a personal point of view, unless I drive anywhere, my cycling has always been in and around more gentle terrain. So again, I think the course is a good reflection of what a huge number of riders are content to ride and have ready access too.

I think XC style riding is still a big thing recreationally. It's just not the bit everyone talks about (unless they're deriding it).

So as much as folk can diss the XC Olympic course, and hail it waste of time, it's about in the ball-park for what most people will actually be happy to ride. Damn, I wish my lcoal way-marked trails were as technical!

styxd

For me.. this. I just don't think XC racing reflects what most people ride these days.

Whos most people? The average overweight middle aged Brit who spends his sunday afternoons mincing round a trail centre?

supersonic

Course - they may look less challenging than some of the trails we know and love but you watch the precision and speed of these guys.

Exactly this - for you guys thinking they look easy and slow, you'd get absolutely blown away by these guys on their 'silly XC' bikes.

XC is still the most dominant MTB discipline. AM is becoming more popular, but many people ride AM bikes for a little more comfort and forgiveness.

It would, however, be good to see more MTB discplines at the olympics.

bluechair84

I don't think the olympics is really a spectator event; the long jump? the high jump? I'd be bored out of my mind if I was there. It's all about technical accuracy and the limits of human endurance - which isn't necessarily spectator driven. But there is a 4x course isn't there which has an over/under section which should be awesome to watch. More of this kind of thing would attract me to the event, consequently, the Olympics passes me by every year.

MacAndCheese

I could be wrong, but I thought the main argument against Downhill in the Olympics was that the bikes were not standard enough (e.g. different suspension configurations) which could potentially take the focus away from the skill of the rider and leave too much up to who has the 'best' bike. Therefore you would think that the XC bikes would be heavily regulated to prevent this?

styxd

I could be wrong, but I thought the main argument against Downhill in the Olympics was that the bikes were not standard enough

It could be that and it could also be down to the huge image problems downhill mountain biking has. Are they supposed to be taken seriously as the fastest athletes in the world down a hill on a bike, when they insist on wearing baggy clothes (nicked from motocross) and peaks on their helmets?

It doesnt know what it is. Is it an extreme sport, or a race? "Throwing down sick whips" "roosting" "getting loose" etc. are all well and good and make things more entertaining for the lads, but it wont make you any faster.

bails87

It's like the winter olympics.

Ski jump? Boring.
Figure skating? Boooooring.
Duathlon? Boooooooooooring


Ski cross?

Now that's a spectator sport!

supersonic

Thing is, the Olympics doesn't know what it is anymore. Has gone from ancient greeks throwing rocks, to an amateur competition when the modern era started, to now where they randomly include stuff and not others.

lostboysaint

There was a piece on this in one of the mags after the test event. Unsurprisingly most of the riders reckon that they'll be on hardtails, 1x10 set up and whichever sized wheels their bike sponsor wants them to ride (so Absalon will be on 26", Schurter on 650B and Kulhavy on 29"!).

Anonymous

Was just about to mention winter olympics and beaten to it. Grungy image and crazy stuff like skier and snowboard cross, so why not DH and 4X. They have halfpipe in winter too, so should have freeride in the summer.

bluechair84

If Olympians are provided with standard skis, crossbows, lumps of lead all made by one company to level the playing field, couldn't one comapny provide framesets (frames, shocks, forks) for the competitors and the team can kit out the rest? Or do they get to choose and use their own kit in each sport?

MacAndCheese

bluechair84 wrote:

If Olympians are provided with standard skis, crossbows, lumps of lead all made by one company to level the playing field, couldn't one comapny provide framesets (frames, shocks, forks) for the competitors and the team can kit out the rest? Or do they get to choose and use their own kit in each sport?

Unfortunately a lot of Olympians have to make massive financial sacrifices/earn very little and struggle just to get to the games, I think standardising equipment would remove one of there sources of income in equipment sponsorship. Plus if, for example, Specialized won the tender and supplied all the frames, their own sponsored athletes would have an advantage of being used to the bike and all the other competitors sponsors would not be happy about their athletes riding Spesh bikes.

MacAndCheese

styxd wrote:

It doesnt know what it is. Is it an extreme sport, or a race? "Throwing down sick whips" "roosting" "getting loose" etc. are all well and good and make things more entertaining for the lads, but it wont make you any faster.

Why can't an extreme sport be a race? Doesn't have to be either or. Also I think all the top Downhill racers are very serious about racing and going fast. Yeah so Danny hart pulled a whip at world champs, it's just like Usain Bolt's showboating at the end of the 100m, and 'staying loose' is probably what won Danny that title.

bluechair84

MacAndCheese wrote:

bluechair84 wrote:

If Olympians are provided with standard skis, crossbows, lumps of lead all made by one company to level the playing field, couldn't one comapny provide framesets (frames, shocks, forks) for the competitors and the team can kit out the rest? Or do they get to choose and use their own kit in each sport?

Unfortunately a lot of Olympians have to make massive financial sacrifices/earn very little and struggle just to get to the games, I think standardising equipment would remove one of there sources of income in equipment sponsorship. Plus if, for example, Specialized won the tender and supplied all the frames, their own sponsored athletes would have an advantage of being used to the bike and all the other competitors sponsors would not be happy about their athletes riding Spesh bikes.

Ah some very good points. I suppose DH biking, or any biking event must have entrance costs for competitors. Bikes are a bit mroe expensive than a pair of running shoes. But I suppose if the original problem is that different bikes might affect the final results so not representing atheltic ability, they do it in the XC so why not in DH?