Old Mountain Bikers
 

There are old pilots and bold pilots but there are no old bold pilots.

Any old mountain bikers out there?

I just took up mountain biking at the age of 70. I don't have much in the way of true MTB trails in my area so mostly ride easy trails of hard pack dirt, grass and gravel. Nothing technical on them. I also ride hiking trails and then get some logs, roots and rocks, but again usually not technical. Sometimes though, I take off down game trails and then I fall, and fairly often.

I usually just got black and blue and scrapes and laughed it off because it was so much fun. I was recently injured enough to have major pain and limitation in one arm and shoulder. It doesn't stop me from biking but I have stopped riding game trails until it heals.

My wife claims that nobody rides off road anymore at my age. I don't intend to quit but it has me curious. Any old mountain bikers out there?

If so, have you tamed down the trails you ride? What kind of off road riding do you do?

I'm 65 and I like to ride some technical trails. I don't like to get crazy or take big jumps because I don't want to fall.

I'm 60 & got a used MTB cheap last Fall. it's fun to go where the road bike & hybrid are less appropriate. I've been caught on rougher trails than I wanted to be on. I try to research ahead of time but sometimes I just get caught off guard. I had a cpl surprising falls last year & trying to avoid that. I've got a little issue w/ one shoulder but I have no idea if it's from a fall. I don't really keep track of that too closely, but I'm thinking it might be from a fall. Those narrow trails are tough to ride on, fun to explore, but tough to ride on. I got caught on one last weekend that was so narrow & so deep from erosion I had to walk behind the bike, pushing the saddle & rocking it left & right to keep it on track until I got to a less eroded spot.

I'm 64, been mt. and road cycling since I was 33. I still mt. bike, mostly in fall thru spring when the temps drop round these part. The trail riding is terrific in fall/winter even when the ground is frozen.

I know my wife questions the mt. biking, especially as I took a hard fall a week or so ago on a really nice single track. Didn't see a stump under the leaves, then caught the h-bar on a tree and was ejected onto the ground. I was moving at a clip as well. Badly bruised lower ribs (maybe cracked, but no difference), bad bruise on inner thigh with a black and blue going from mid calf to mid thigh. I was in LOT of pain last week, getting better this week and will try some easy trail stuff this weekend.

Thing is, it's hard to recognize that my age is a limit, especially when I'm able to handle the not too technical stuff like I have all my life. Getting hurt just takes forever to heal, so I try not to fall. And I DO NOT ride anything technical or in the least bit sketchy, especially when I'm alone. A riding buddy who's 8 years younger, fell a few years back on a solo mt. bike ride, broke 2 vertebrae in his neck. He was able to call 911, it took them 45 minutes to find him, he's lucky it wasn't super cold, he might have died of hypothermia. They had to helicopter him out. I'm unclear how he's able to convince his wife that he's OK to solo, except that he too has been doing this all his life so how to stop now ?.

I'll be 69 around Christmas and still mtn.biking on my heavy arsed steel GT. Still riding roots, rocks, stream crossings, mild drops, nothing like the younger generation on dual-susp, but not too awfully tame either. I do find there are sections now tho, that I'll think twice about, maybe even walk, that I used to ride. But I'm still riding and hope to be able to continue for a good long while! Oh, and because I still ride some "iffy" trails, I don't go out there alone.

You have me by a few years. Do it if you like it. A quality shock and disc brake setup will make the ride much safer and enjoyable.

Old Mountain Bikers

Never die they just go down hill.

Sorry couldn't resist. Can't recall where I heard that.

Up to a couple of years ago I used to ride a FS MTB on abandoned fire roads then the fires and rains came. The trails that didn't get closed got bulldozed and were no longer fun to ride.

Loved going downhill on the FS bike it was like flying.

Thank you gentlemen. It is interesting and helpful to hear the individual perspective of each of you. I am glad to hear I am not the only old one out on the trails, though I do seem to be the oldest.

I do feel it is safer than the road biking I used to do. One nice thing about age is the memories I have of quiet, lonely country roads with little to no traffic. Trees hurt less than vehicles when you hit them.

55 and been mtb'ing since the late 80's. Still shredding, jumping, climbing, and dropping in. Fire roads and singletracks on my 26'ers. My FS is down for the count so my main ride is one of my hardtails. Nothing like the younger folk on their 27.5's and 29'ers though. lol I ride road a lot too but nothing beats being up in the hills and mountains on dirt!
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...14ac030b_b.jpg
IMG_9905 by 2cam16, on Flickr

Well, you have me beat in the oldie stakes, but only by two years! I still ride mtb as much as I can -- it's my 'first love' in cycling -- but now stay with non-technical singletrack. At 68, I'm skeered to death of getting a broken hip or worse, and simply can't risk a blow to the head given my recent medical history.

Still and yet: given the choice, I'll ride on gravel/dirt/singletrack whenever possible rather than on 'roads'. Fortunately, my 'summer' place affords singletrack and more quite literally out my back door.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ff51dd7345.jpg

Just two days a ago I was wrestling with age vs. risk vs. reward question. I am a bit younger than the OP but this question was still concerning me. I just did my first hardcore mtb ride in about 7 years this past Monday. I went all in and did the most difficult trail which has a long technical decent with little margin for error esp. when riding a hard tail that is prone to endo. The only two people I saw on the trail were less than half my age. Glad I did it but not sure I want to do it again. I am certainly transitioning to the mindset of less technical riding and survive to ride another day. Running into the same issue with snow skiing; definitely taking it slower than I used to.

I swore off hardtails in 1998. Last year I bought an enduro type bike, 160mm fork and 150mm rear with 27.5x2.8 tires. It really makes rocks and bumps easier and even rough climbs are smoother. The "plus" tires give great traction. The thing is no featherweight @32 pounds but it's a lot of fun to descend on.
Another thing it has is a dropper seatpost. I never had one before but now I am a believer. I will never have another mtb without a dropper. I highly recommend a dropper regardless of the bike you ride.

https://khsbicycles.com/bikes/2018-k...-6600-plus-18/

I have been toying with the idea of getting a FS bike but have hesitated because I have no expert level trails here, nor any expert level skills. But I do enjoy the comfort of my front suspension even when on relatively smooth dirt so I suspect I would enjoy a FS even though it is not needed for my riding. I have no argument with a comfortable ride.

I semi retired my 32 lbs ‘04 Stumpjumper FS last year for a Specialized Chisel HT 29’er. Glad I did, but I ride no rocks, no big hills, all dirt with some roots, lots of trees. I love the 26 lbs of bike. It accelerates and climbs better than anything I’ve ridden prior and is just plain fun.

And as note as to how old ?, a well known local guy kept mt. biking till almost90. He only started when he retired from Grumman in his mid 50’s so had some catching up to do. He basically had to stop due to some heart issues as well as the occasional injury that took too long to heal. I hope to last that long.

I think the suspension helps with the lack of skills on rougher trails. I'm sure a hardtail works fine for a lot of the country but here we have lots of loose rocks, holes, and square-edged bumps on a lot of trails. Full squish and fat tires makes it fun.

I'll be 72 next month and am about to buy a mountain. I'll mainly ride hiking trails and dirt tracks, nothing technical. I'm interested in getting away from cars and traffic noise.

Nice bike; not sure what a dropper is; I will consult my friend Google for enlightenment. In this neck of the woods, figuratively and literally, the large majority of single track means riding numerous rocks and roots. FS is the way to go I just have not been mountain biking enough to justify it but an FS bike will certainly increase the appeal and help get me out there. I am considering renting one for a day just to give it a try.

No more for me. I've broken too much stuff; collarbone twice, both elbows (in the same incident) and lastly my left hip. The hip involved the longest hospital stay but the elbows had longer lasting psychological complications so I'm calling that my worst injury. I'd mention concussions but I haven't always sought medical attention if nothing's been broken so I don't know how many. I liked the comment about no old bold pilots. Your wife is probably right.

I do my riding now on a recumbent trike.

A dropper seatpost. A lever on the handlebar controls the seatpost. Some drop 200mm, some only 85. The most obvious use is when descending, you lower the saddle which lowers your center of gravity which makes steep descents safer and easier.
You can extend the seatpost to your climbing position for smooth climbs or road sections and lower it just a bit for rough climbs. I find it helps keep the front wheel going where I want it to go on rough or technical climbs.
Another thing I have discovered is if I get off the bike on a rough section or climb it's so much easier to get going again if I lower the seat. If I stop someplace where it's hard to swing my leg over the bike, I can lower the seat several inches.

First MTB was new 1988 Rockhopper.
Now riding FS XC 29'r

I'm 60, and spend time on my mtn bike, but I don't consider myself old.

Mt biking is young mans game. I started in 1986 with my cannondale sold off my gary fisher this summer after near death experience in woods.
I used go have mtb ability but fell one to many times .
When u fall and if u ride u will it hurts.
🤡

I guess we all have to weigh the risk/reward of the things we do. I love road biking and I love mountain biking. I hope I never fall on either one.

I should add that one of the smoothest, most highly skilled mountain bikers I know is over 60.

I would just like to add, getting hurt at our age isn't a macho thing anymore like it was when we were in our 20's and indestructible. :50:

Curious where u ride ?
The single track in nwnj can be vicious.