What are your bike skills like? Honestly......

The Spiderman

Me ? I`ve ridden road bikes most of my life, was a late starter to mtb so my skills are moderate so for instance I`ll ride a red, tackle the odd small jump (2ft), will ride small drop offs, quite happy on steep descents, can wheelie for a metre no more, can`t manual for toffee,can trackstand all day but hate tackling roots.

How do I compare against the the typical weekend warrior here ?

cooldad

I am a gnarrly epic riding god.
So you are probably rubbish.

supersonic

Pretty much as you Spiderman really! When I was younger I was happier with the jumps, but today am more XC.

cooldad

But honestly, I have an aversion to pain and being really old take ages to heal, so I avoid jumps and generally keep my wheels near the ground.

The Spiderman

Awaits the replies from the young whipper snapper free ride gods.................

Maybe I should hav added state age at end of reply?

(43 year old XC mincer.)

The Spiderman

cooldad wrote:

I am a gnarrly epic riding god.
So you are probably rubbish.

Standard STW forum answer.

supersonic

34 and 3/4 ;-).

welshkev

i'm ok. i'll happily ride red and black routes. some drop offs freak me out, where as others that are probably more difficult i hit :? i'm not great at jumps, but i can get about 2 ft of air (that feels like about 10 to me )

i'm middle of the pack when we do an uplift day and i'm faster than some of my friends, slower than others.

welshkev

i'm ok. i'll happily ride red and black routes. some drop offs freak me out, where as others that are probably more difficult i hit :? i'm not great at jumps, but i can get about 2 ft of air (that feels like about 10 to me )

i'm middle of the pack when we do an uplift day and i'm faster than some of my friends, slower than others.

cooldad

50 and 1/26th. More or less.

cooldad

welshkev wrote:

i'm ok. i'll happily ride red and black routes. some drop offs freak me out, where as others that are probably more difficult i hit :? i'm not great at jumps, but i can get about 2 ft of air (that feels like about 10 to me )

i'm middle of the pack when we do an uplift day and i'm faster than some of my friends, slower than others.

Is this your siamese twin brother?

welshkev

cooldad wrote:

welshkev wrote:

i'm ok. i'll happily ride red and black routes. some drop offs freak me out, where as others that are probably more difficult i hit :? i'm not great at jumps, but i can get about 2 ft of air (that feels like about 10 to me )

i'm middle of the pack when we do an uplift day and i'm faster than some of my friends, slower than others.

Is this your siamese twin brother?

yeah, but obviously he drags me along too...

nicklouse

I bounce well at the moment.

pesky_jones

Still a newbie, can wheelie ok but not manual at all. Getting ok with jumps but it really depends on jump with me, if it doenst appear too bigger gap then i'm fine and clear it by far, if theres a doubt in my mind I probally won't even attempt even though I know I would probally be fine. Drop-offs scare the sh1t out of me only done about a 4 maybe 5 foot drop max and thats about it!

EDIT: 21

Richie63

As fast as the young uns especially rocky descents.

50 in may ( so i want a pressie)

mintedox

I'm pretty average I reckon, can't wheelie and rubbish at jumps but still try. Like getting the miles in.


I like rides with big climbs for some strange reason.

The Rookie

Below average (at least with the people I ride with) on skill, was above average on fitness until I caught a nasty virus last April, only just getting over it, pain hurts, but my body still seems to seek ways of proving it.

46 and a 1/2.

Belated happy Birthday Cooldad!

The Spiderman

mintedox wrote:

I'm pretty average I reckon, can't wheelie and rubbish at jumps but still try. Like getting the miles in.


I like rides with big climbs for some strange reason.

Less mintedox more mountaingoat?

miss notax

It's all very subjective isn't it?!!

Some days i'm brilliant and other days I can't ride for toffee That's the thing about mountain biking though isn't it, some days you can clear massively rocky / rooty / boardwalk sections and other days be freaked out by a slightly dodgy looking drop....! Or is that just me :oops:

I think I'm good at twiddly technical bits (especially tricky climbs) but I definitely got into mtbing too late to ever be anything other than 'slow' on proper downhill trails though - the Mega last year proved that to me. I can pick my way down stuff but it has to be at my pace.

Hey ho

njee20

I'm alright, I lose ground in technical sections while racing (in national type races, quicker than most at marathon/24 type stuff). Pretty damn good on fast, flowing trails, not good on steep stuff. Not much of a jumper.

My issue always seems to be that I'm not particularly brave - I always just think "hmmmm, I could hurt myself here", so I back off. If I try (big if frankly) something I tend to succeed. I rarely crash, because I rarely push my limits!

I'm also really bad for getting into a bit of a rut (not physically). Little roll in near me I'd ridden loads, then crashed on it, not even badly, now have just have a mental block. Every time I get to it now I just think "here we go..." unclip, dab and make a right hash of it. So then I just avoid it, and it becomes a bit of a white whale.

I'm a strong climber though, and can keep going for quite a while. Basically I excel at the environment in which I ride most, like many I suspect!

.blitz

Hopeless at narrow gaps and slow-speed trialsy type stuff

Not too shabby on fast open flowy stuff with or without obstacles

Can ride some reasonable jumps but still land like a sack of sh1t

miss notax

njee20 wrote:

Basically I excel at the environment in which I ride most, like many I suspect!

This is certainly very true for me too

The Spiderman

Njee hit on something when he said that we adapt to the environment in which we ride.

I`d imagine that a lot of the Welsh contingent,say local to Cwmcarn,Afan or Peak district dwellers or the Scottish residents here are much more adept technically.

Whereas I`m quite good at slow speed manouvering through trying to keep the bike upright and rolling when it is swamped by sticky Herfordshire clay..........

From what we know of Njee I doubt if any of us would beat him for fitness or speed.

I wasn`t making real progress with fitness a couple of years ago when I was doing triathlon training but have piled on the weight in the last 12 months,so can`t even say I have that covered any more.

supersonic

I think slow, technical climbing is my forte.

nicklouse

hate skinnies.

The Rookie

I think that slow is my forte....just not too slow either!

The Spiderman

If only time spent on the forum translated into bike riding skills......................

pesky_jones

The Spiderman wrote:

If only time spent on the forum translated into bike riding skills......................

Probally does in some cases, unfortunately not in a positive correlation!

njee20

I'm not even fit at the moment actually, it's rather depressing! I suspect I'd get a sound thrashing from many on here! Work (in London at least) really does spoil everything! That said... 23 mile ride home with a beastly headwind can only help.

Jamie@AC

I used to mountain bike all the time. Was very good at fast trails. The sort of twisty, fast stuff through trees that's more on instinct than much else. I was never particularly good at the slower, concentrated style of riding. If I can't hit the obstacle/jump flat out then I'm not much use. Certainly jumps and trials stuff is just beyond me; never been able to trick.

Now that I mainly ride road bikes I struggle on mountain bikes. They feel big and heavy, and once again, unless I get up to a decent speed where weight turns into momentum then I struggle. I think on both bikes I'm good at carrying my speed through sections where others may back off. I know it sounds stupid, but I can certainly descend faster than most of the roadies I ride with.

I find I'm more technically able on my roadie now, certainly at track stands and stuff close to trials riding, I prefer the roadie; I feel I have more control over it.

I miss my proper mountain bike. Only being left with a single speed, single brake, 24" jump bike was foolish when my only other bike is the roadie. I need to swap it out for a trail bashing hardtail or very short sus AM bike. Something fast and agile (small & light).

If only.... ££££

scottfitz

Not sure about skills but this is how quick i am: http://www.rootsandrain.com/rider31690/ ... d/results/

bit fed up with XC racing get held up on the fun bits and passed on the flat fire road bits, thats why have started doing more Gravity enduro and DH races not the fastest there but i have fun! that what its all about.