Should MTBs be called ATBs?

FocusZing

nicklouse wrote:

cooldad wrote:

nicklouse wrote:

he escaped to the road section as well.

First worthwhile thing he's ever done

not really

viewtopic.php?f=40088&t=12906528

Point taken, it was created in the cake shop though. I saw I had repeated a thread so I changed it.

I wouldn't troll a serious forum topic.

dmorton

This thread is like a blunt pencil

timpop

OMG!

chez_m356

andy_welch wrote:

It's a bike and I ride it up and down various mountains near me (North East Scotland). Here it is on top of Ben Rinnes, for example.



So what else should I call it ?

how about betty ? looks good by the way, nice pic that

andy_welch

Right, Betty it is then

booldawg

haha, yes, I like to refer to myself as an cross-country cyclist. You may get away with the term MTB in other areas of the UK but down in Hampshire its stretching the imagination somewhat

raldat

FocusZing wrote:

supersonic wrote:

'All' though? How about just off road bikes?

That would work, more descriptive. I guess Most Terrain Bikes might get around any terrains which would make the description invalid. Lava flow, freshly laid concrete, ice...I'm sure there are others.

What do you mean ice. Where I live, it was covered in snow until Sunday when it rained all day and all night then dropped below freezin about 5am. Whole place has been covered in sheet ice since. MTB with spike tyres does not miss a beat, it then again I guess any bike with those types would...

FocusZing

raldat wrote:

FocusZing wrote:

supersonic wrote:

'All' though? How about just off road bikes?

That would work, more descriptive. I guess Most Terrain Bikes might get around any terrains which would make the description invalid. Lava flow, freshly laid concrete, ice...I'm sure there are others.

What do you mean ice. Where I live, it was covered in snow until Sunday when it rained all day and all night then dropped below freezin about 5am. Whole place has been covered in sheet ice since. MTB with spike tyres does not miss a beat, it then again I guess any bike with those types would...

Tyres with spikes I wouldn't mind trying that,sounds good. It must be fun going passed all the cars.

FocusZing

booldawg wrote:

haha, yes, I like to refer to myself as an cross-country cyclist. You may get away with the term MTB in other areas of the UK but down in Hampshire its stretching the imagination somewhat

Hey atleast you can get your speed going.

raldat

FocusZing wrote:

raldat wrote:

FocusZing wrote:

supersonic wrote:

'All' though? How about just off road bikes?

That would work, more descriptive. I guess Most Terrain Bikes might get around any terrains which would make the description invalid. Lava flow, freshly laid concrete, ice...I'm sure there are others.

What do you mean ice. Where I live, it was covered in snow until Sunday when it rained all day and all night then dropped below freezin about 5am. Whole place has been covered in sheet ice since. MTB with spike tyres does not miss a beat, it then again I guess any bike with those types would...

Tyres with spikes I wouldn't mind trying that,sounds good. It must be fun going passed all the cars.

Where I am is Denmark and yes, it is kinda fun riding at full pelt on a bike past people in town who are struggling to walk on the ice. They just look at you like you are some sort of evil person with devils magic to stay upright. Only prob is that they are salting the paths now so the ice is going, no more fun on my daily commute darn it!

paul.skibum

FocusZing wrote:

welshkev wrote:

EH_Rob wrote:

welshkev wrote:

FocusZing wrote:

[
I have walked up Snowdon three times I did not see one MTB. Ride up 80% of it? Towards the top the wind would blow you to your death (on the wrong day). If any do, it would be just to say they had, you could walk up faster.

No, they are used on roads, trails and hills. I have nothing against Down Hill MTBs, it looks like fun. The reference to the Dandy Horse was not a snub, just the origin of the bike.

I do idiotic things most days, no question.

you wouldn't have seen any dickface as there's a voluntary 'ban' on cycling at certain times of the year. it's to stop idiots like you walking in front of riders.

really, just when i thought you were getting better it seems your meds have worn off.

He didn't even tell you when he went up it...

you're right, but i'm assuming that it was during the summer months when most people go. or it was in bad weather when no right minded person would've wanted to go up there

I have been up in the summer and winter too, when it was snow covered. Never seen MTBs up Ben Nevis, PenYfan and many others.

Like I said the only reason you would go up on one is to just say you could, it's not something you would do on a regular basis.

I have ridden up Snowdon and various mountains in France and Canada - Sometimes you have to carry the bike but for a lot of it you can ride - the purpose of the bike is that it is a mountain bike - the fact that the majority of people use them for riding cross country is not the fault of the bike.

bompington

Best "ride all the way" ascent I've done is Beinn a' Bhuird (rough pronunciation bain a voo-erd) in the Cairngorms, which used to have a rough track almost to the summit that was built as part of a planned ski development years ago that never got off the ground.
It's 1196m so a bit under 4000ft, a bit bigger than puny bumps like Snowdon certainly.
I've never tried but I would guess that you could get up Cairngorm itself (1245m) via the ski centre tracks, and potentially on over the plateau to Ben Macdui (1309m) although from my memory, there are a lot of boulder fields that would mean that only the likes of Danny Macaskill could ride the whole way.
As for Ben Nevis, the only higher mountain in the UK, the climb out of the glen is a steep, stepped, built-up stone path, and further up there are extensive scree and boulder fields so you'd be struggling. People certainly do it though.

OK, that's enough highland geekery. And as for what you call it - I'd say off-road bike is about the simplest and most accurate, but really, it's a bike, who gives a monkey's?

FocusZing

bompington wrote:

Best "ride all the way" ascent I've done is Beinn a' Bhuird (rough pronunciation bain a voo-erd) in the Cairngorms, which used to have a rough track almost to the summit that was built as part of a planned ski development years ago that never got off the ground.
It's 1196m so a bit under 4000ft, a bit bigger than puny bumps like Snowdon certainly.
I've never tried but I would guess that you could get up Cairngorm itself (1245m) via the ski centre tracks, and potentially on over the plateau to Ben Macdui (1309m) although from my memory, there are a lot of boulder fields that would mean that only the likes of Danny Macaskill could ride the whole way.
As for Ben Nevis, the only higher mountain in the UK, the climb out of the glen is a steep, stepped, built-up stone path, and further up there are extensive scree and boulder fields so you'd be struggling. People certainly do it though.

OK, that's enough highland geekery. And as for what you call it - I'd say off-road bike is about the simplest and most accurate, but really, it's a bike, who gives a monkey's?

Cheers, Beinn a' Bhuird sounds good, I wouldn't mind trying that when I go up to Scotland again. Wish I had the skills of Danny Macaskill. Thanks for the civility of your post.

FocusZing

paul.skibum wrote:

FocusZing wrote:

welshkev wrote:

EH_Rob wrote:

welshkev wrote:

FocusZing wrote:

[
I have walked up Snowdon three times I did not see one MTB. Ride up 80% of it? Towards the top the wind would blow you to your death (on the wrong day). If any do, it would be just to say they had, you could walk up faster.

No, they are used on roads, trails and hills. I have nothing against Down Hill MTBs, it looks like fun. The reference to the Dandy Horse was not a snub, just the origin of the bike.

I do idiotic things most days, no question.

you wouldn't have seen any dickface as there's a voluntary 'ban' on cycling at certain times of the year. it's to stop idiots like you walking in front of riders.

really, just when i thought you were getting better it seems your meds have worn off.

He didn't even tell you when he went up it...

you're right, but i'm assuming that it was during the summer months when most people go. or it was in bad weather when no right minded person would've wanted to go up there

I have been up in the summer and winter too, when it was snow covered. Never seen MTBs up Ben Nevis, PenYfan and many others.

Like I said the only reason you would go up on one is to just say you could, it's not something you would do on a regular basis.

I have ridden up Snowdon and various mountains in France and Canada - Sometimes you have to carry the bike but for a lot of it you can ride - the purpose of the bike is that it is a mountain bike - the fact that the majority of people use them for riding cross country is not the fault of the bike.

True, fair point.

FocusZing

raldat wrote:

FocusZing wrote:

raldat wrote:

FocusZing wrote:

supersonic wrote:

'All' though? How about just off road bikes?

That would work, more descriptive. I guess Most Terrain Bikes might get around any terrains which would make the description invalid. Lava flow, freshly laid concrete, ice...I'm sure there are others.

What do you mean ice. Where I live, it was covered in snow until Sunday when it rained all day and all night then dropped below freezin about 5am. Whole place has been covered in sheet ice since. MTB with spike tyres does not miss a beat, it then again I guess any bike with those types would...

Tyres with spikes I wouldn't mind trying that,sounds good. It must be fun going passed all the cars.

Where I am is Denmark and yes, it is kinda fun riding at full pelt on a bike past people in town who are struggling to walk on the ice. They just look at you like you are some sort of evil person with devils magic to stay upright. Only prob is that they are salting the paths now so the ice is going, no more fun on my daily commute darn it!

Yes, I am not liking the salt covering my bikes at the moment, hope spring comes early.

I bet they do when I hit ice it's rarely graceful.

bompington

FocusZing wrote:

Thanks for the civility of your post.

Yeah, sorry about that, a bit out of place here ;-)

What I should perhaps point out before you start heading up the glen is that the track has been demolished in the name of the environment etc., I haven't been up it since then so I've no idea what the existing path is like. There are a lot of mountain tracks in and around the Cairngorms though, so if you're in the area and fancy doing some real mountain biking then there are some quite challenging (in terms of stamina really rather than technical), remote and spectacularly scenic routes.

rockmonkeysc

Wasn't mountain biking first started in the Californian High Sierra mountains by hippies? And downhill racing and freeride developed as a substitute for skiing in the summer?
In other countries there is a lot of mountain biking on mountains.
I have been up Snowdon on my AM bike & with my DH bike and I have ridden up Pen-Y-Fan a few times and ridden Glencoe DH track.
Downhill might use ski lifts but it's still riding a bicycle on a mountain so the description of mountain biking fits.

FocusZing

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Wasn't mountain biking first started in the Californian High Sierra mountains by hippies? And downhill racing and freeride developed as a substitute for skiing in the summer?
In other countries there is a lot of mountain biking on mountains.
I have been up Snowdon on my AM bike & with my DH bike and I have ridden up Pen-Y-Fan a few times and ridden Glencoe DH track.
Downhill might use ski lifts but it's still riding a bicycle on a mountain so the description of mountain biking fits.

That's good going up Pen-Y-Fan, did you go via the lower or upper car by the hostel/hotel?




"Charlie Kelly hauling denim down Repack’s Camera Corner, late 1976, on his 50-pound modified Schwinn Excelsior. Notice the safety gear – knee pads, elbow pads, leather gloves and boots – sans helmet.

A pickup truck parade that includes a pink 1953 Chevy leaves the last outpost of civilization – the leafy, hippie oasis that is Fairfax – heading up into the hills, with 50-pound bicycles and two chronometers … To Repack. The Repack trail drops 1,300 feet in 2.1 miles down the east side of Pine Mountain. At the top is an open ridge with views of Mt. Tamalpais, Marin, the San Francisco Bay, and the blue sky beyond. Fred Wolf and Charlie Kelly started the race down Repack, on Oct. 21, 1976, to be precise."

http://adventuresportsjournal.com/tag/issue-48


I can't argue with history and I can't argue with the spirit in which it was created.

rockmonkeysc

FocusZing wrote:

That's good going up Pen-Y-Fan, did you go via the lower or upper car by the hostel/hotel?

No first time we started from Talybont Resevoir, got lost and had an epic ride. The second time we did it we started from the end of the road directly in front of the north face and rode up the west ridge and down the east along singletrack which traverses the face of Cribyn, a route I wouldn't recommend riding without taking clean underwear :shock:

FocusZing

RockmonkeySC wrote:

FocusZing wrote:

That's good going up Pen-Y-Fan, did you go via the lower or upper car by the hostel/hotel?

No first time we started from Talybont Resevoir, got lost and had an epic ride. The second time we did it we started from the end of the road directly in front of the north face and rode up the west ridge and down the east along singletrack which traverses the face of Cribyn, a route I wouldn't recommend riding without taking clean underwear :shock:

Yes I can imagine, scary at the time elation at the end. I didn't find it that comfortable walking via the edge, with the wind. Great views though, I wish the UK had a couple of mountains similar to the altitude of the Alps.

FocusZing

bompington wrote:

FocusZing wrote:

Thanks for the civility of your post.

Yeah, sorry about that, a bit out of place here ;-)

What I should perhaps point out before you start heading up the glen is that the track has been demolished in the name of the environment etc., I haven't been up it since then so I've no idea what the existing path is like. There are a lot of mountain tracks in and around the Cairngorms though, so if you're in the area and fancy doing some real mountain biking then there are some quite challenging (in terms of stamina really rather than technical), remote and spectacularly scenic routes.

Cheers for the information.

stubs

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Wasn't mountain biking first started in the Californian High Sierra mountains by hippies? And downhill racing and freeride developed as a substitute for skiing in the summer?

People were riding bikes up and down mountains long before a bunch of hippies did anything in California. All they did was make it cool and invent the name. I have a photo somewhere of my Dad and his RAF mates at the top of either Garburn pass or Nan Bield pass (not sure which pass) in 1947 all Brylcreem and Woodbines having a breather before rattling there Raleighs and Sunbeams back down the track.