spectastic

yea, i'm leaning towards selling the mtb and using my gravel bike with 40 mm tires to get my off roading in some easy singletrack, without all the super technical stuff. it should help me build some handling skills.

i live with roommates who aren't cyclists, and I don't want to encroach on their lives too much with all my bike ****. with a road/race bike and a gravel/adventure/commuter bike, my needs/wants should be covered.

jsk

There have been some times that the thought of taking up MTB has tempted me, but I added track racing instead. My thinking was I might as well take advantage of living close to a Velodrome, it's not an opportunity many people have and it's also great for improving your road cycling and a pretty good fit for me physiologically. On the other hand, SE Texas isn't exactly known for great MTB trails. TBH at this point I would probably get a gravel bike before a MTB, but even that probably won't happen anytime soon since I've spent so much on a track bike and related gear this past year.

Voodoo76

When I had the opportunity living in MI, within riding distance of a lot of trails, I was usually burned out after 50-60 road starts in a season. So I didn't do much more than casual MTB rides. Now I have a very minimal old man race schedule on the road, but I don't see much good MTB riding in the SATX area. Just can't win Don't even own one at this point.

echappist

get the mtb

I've actually crashed 3 times getting my mtb in the two months I've had my bike: once trying to clear a curb i would have cleared on my road bike, once by clipping a tree, and last Saturday when I endo'ed over a drop off. Would I keep on doing it? i think so. The downside are crashes (mostly low speed), a dirty bike, and ticks (or bears on the West Coast), but there are upsides, too: no cars, no distracted drivers, lower temperatures in under the trees compared to the baking asphalt, etc.

Right now my aerobic capabilities (even when it's down 10% from when I was racing well in 2016) still write checks that's too high for my skills to cash, and sometimes, I even have to get off the bike on uphills as i'd overshoot a switchback and find myself going off trail. As such, my MTB rides are more JRA type rides, but I'm enjoying learning how to handle my bike. I realized after moving to NJ what a luxury it was to have a park where one can do intervals on a road/TT bike, and frankly, I haven't felt safe on the road since moving to NJ. On the MTB, I decide what level of risk I want to take, and unless a driver really want to hunt me down, I don't have to worry about getting mowed down. Also quit mass start road racing for a similar reason. Hoping that I can one day climb the categories in MTB, but for now, I need to improve my skills. In the mean time, I still ride my road bike, albeit exclusively on my smart trainer

Heathpack 

I bought a MTB two years ago and I'm objectively terrible at it. If I break a bone in pretty much any part of my body, it is a huge hit to me financially because I have a physical job which is partially paid on commission. So I don't take a lot of risks on the MTB which definitely slows down progress. Physiologically, MTB is also somewhat counter-productive for my training- to get over rocks and sharp ups in the trail, you've got to produce a lot of little bursts of power and my muscle fibers don't work that way. MTB builds a lot of fatigue for me and it has to really be limited if I've got serious TT work to get done- MTB makes my legs "dull" when they need to be sharp. I am much better off building volume on a road bike.

But, with all those negatives, I still love it. To me, its a great mental and physical counterpoint to TT workouts- its loose, free-flowing, my MTB friends are chill, its scenic, fun & peaceful. Most of my rides are zone 2/3, I don't slay myself much on the MTB as it seems others do. The mountain biking in our town is merely ok and I have to either drive to a ride start or ride 15-40 min on the road to get to a trailhead, but its worth it to me. (I also do a lot of "away" mtb- semi-local stuff and mtb-associated travel). Its honestly what I want to do on the weekends, its my reward for being serious and getting the work done during the week. Ex refers to mtb as "good for the soul" and I agree. So he schedules as much as I can tolerate depending on where I am in my season and we work around the fatigue.

YMMV of course. If you like it a lot, do it. If you don't care too much about it, don't.

TMonk

Another great way to get good at MTB for a newbie roadie who's fit is to ride the same trails recursively! That way you'll get to practice your skills, hone your speed and you'll know which obstacles you need to keep an eye for. Knowing certain segments of trail can really be a blast once you get a good flow going.

There are certain lengths of trail that can be really treacherous with rocks and roots but if you know which line to take you can float over it with ease. Los Gatos Ravine at Mount Laguna is like that - certain segments are like a half-pipe going down with rocks and roots in the middle, but with some speed and precognition you can just ride high up and the wall and cruise over it while your friends curse and slow way down for the roots - awesome.

spectastic

jsk

Yeah some of my MTB-ing friends say that crashes aren't as bad compared on the road, but it seems like crashes happen a lot more often in MTB, and if you land on rocks/etc I would think the crashes can still be pretty bad.

big john

Years ago a group of us descended a 15 mile rocky, technical trail and a friend came along who had limited skills, though he is a good road rider. He kept falling while trying to stay with guys who are highly skilled. I advised him to back off and offered to stay with him and avoid crashing but he continued to flounder the whole way. He no longer rides dirt, which is a shame.
I don't think crashes are inevitable if we stay within our limits, get some instruction, and know when to get off and walk a section.

spectastic

colombo357

Depends how fast you're going.

colombo357

The first step to getting better at MTB is laying off the brakes, especially the front brake. Braking and traction are mutually exclusive. Brake before a corner, then coast through it. The acceleration in the corner can be frightening at first.

It's a chicken and egg problem. When you're new at MTB, you want to go slower, but things are easier when you go faster. So you go faster, but then the penalty for failure is higher.

Get over that hump and it will make you a better all around cyclist.

spectastic

doesn't that kind of go against big john's advice of taking it slow at first? i get that carrying your momentum forward through the rough stuff probably makes it easier to stay up right. but you have to know what you're doing. i ride motorcycles, and understand braking and cornering. anyway, that's not the part of mtb that i dislike. I actually like the twisties and turns. I just don't like the big rocks that could ruin my wheels, derailleur, and/or break my bones.

TMonk

I think you're over thinking this. If you're not into it, just don't do it! Problem solved.

"Taking things slow at first" isn't meant to be taken so literally. It's about riding within your comfort zones and not getting too excited out there.

gsteinb

I feel like you're talking directly to me about posting.

TMonk

Don't go Gary!!! I'd much rather ban a few sacrificial lambs instead

tommyrod74

In 25+ years of XC racing and 12+ years of crit/road racing, I've seen such worse crashes on-road than off, and far more catastrophic equipment damage.

Yeah, if you go into XC riding with a Cat 1 engine and zero handling ability (not saying this is your situation), it's easy to overdrive the chassis, so to speak. But even though off-road crashes are more common, they are rarely catastrophic. The bikes are built to take it (to a degree). It's fun. If you don't want to do it, no big deal, stick to what you enjoy. But it's not as risky as what you already do on the regular.

Also - ride over the rocks, don't steer around them. Tires sidewalls and rear derailleur are a lot less vulnerable that way. The bike is built to do it.

And yeah - momentum is your friend. That doesn't mean charge recklessly through stuff - just don't brake every time you see a root or rock. Tentative riding often leads to unnecessary mistakes.

Ttoc6

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. I'm not good a mtb technicality, but his applies even going uphill. Focus on doing the right thing and not making your roadie power do it all for you. You'll come out at the other side cleaner, happier and usualy faster. Focus on line selection and have the right speed for the obstacle.

Also, you can never have your weight too far back. That's why droppers are so popular.