Mountain biking at Dalby for a roadie

markhewitt1978

I wouldn't exactly call myself a hardened roadie with my earth shattering 15mph average - however road biking is all I've done for the last three years, so I have all the kit for that but nothing for mountain biking.

A friend has invited me to go do the red route at Dalby forest this weekend and I've arranged to hire a bike.

Any advice on what awaits me? I've never done proper mountain biking before so don't know quite what to expect? Firstly regarding kit, I'm thinking a long sleeved jersey (even if it is bright yellow) and longish shorts would be a good idea? I'd normally go out with short sleeves in decent weather. What about gloves, essential?

Apparently the bikes do come with bottle cages so at least I can bring my water bottle with me.

I'm looking forward to making a fool of myself

The Rookie

Dalby isn't too hard to ride.

Long sleeves are a good idea, baggies are generally used but you can wear road Lycra if you want, I always wear mits (unless it's very cold), saves on grazed palms if you have a low speed off and protects your knuckles from branches/thorns/nettles as well.

kajjal

Just wear whats comfortable. I wear the same gear mountain biking or road biking but gloves or mitts are more important for mountain biking and also a helmet.

The main difference is mountain biking is harder work over the same distance and you need better bike handling skills. A red route will be fine just remember it is designed to be ridden and keep looking ahead to get ready for whats coming next. Also get used to the disc brakes before setting off as they are alot more powerful than rim brakes.

Main thing is to have a good time.

FishFish

..and of course, because it is a red route you have to wear red stuff.

markhewitt1978

Well I quite enjoyed it overall! Hired a bike from the bike hut place, although I had to take the original one back because medium was just way too big, even the smaller size still felt massive (I'm 5'6")

Didn't do all the red route, apart from anything else we were pushed for time. So did I think the first 8 segments, which was ok, I got through fine, perhaps a bit too technical for my tastes, I did really enjoy just cycling along the gravel road parts, I would come back just to do that, cycling along a rough surface, in the middle of nowhere, away from cars.

The Rookie

Glad you enjoyed it, now you know why we try and hide how much fun it is from roadies, otherwise those qyuiet tracks will get too busy!

At 5'6" a medium was always going to be too big, you need either a small or extra small, maybe with some tweaks to get it right for you.

markhewitt1978

Well that's the last time I try and get any beginners advice here. .

njee20

I wouldn't say it's that clear cut, some mediums would be ok, and I can't think of many brands you'd want XS on.

eric_draven

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19620065#p19620065]markhewitt1978[/url] wrote:

Well I quite enjoyed it overall! Hired a bike from the bike hut place, although I had to take the original one back because medium was just way too big, even the smaller size still felt massive (I'm 5'6")

Didn't do all the red route, apart from anything else we were pushed for time. So did I think the first 8 segments, which was ok, I got through fine, perhaps a bit too technical for my tastes, I did really enjoy just cycling along the gravel road parts, I would come back just to do that, cycling along a rough surface, in the middle of nowhere, away from cars.

To technical?,apart from a few sections dalby is a pretty bland place to ride,a great workout though,some great off piste appearing now