Should I Own a Mountain Bike?
 

No, seriously. A couple of nice MTBs popped up in the local classifieds recently and I was tempted. I've always been extremely curious about this whole mountain biking thing, and my brother-in-law, an avid mountain biker, tried - and then stopped trying - to get me into the fold, but I kept balking for various reasons - cost, logistics, my lack of fitness (or is it poor mental fortitude? :D)

So the question I'm really as is, would actually physically owning a mountain bike encourage me to at least try out the sport, or would I just be throwing away good money after bad?

(PS or I could just spend the money to get my motorcycle license and get me my first motorcycle, which I've been wanting to do for, like, ever!)

It depends. Riding trails is a lot of fun, but not everyone likes it. Only you can say. I think it is a blast. With a used bike you can try it and sell the bike for what you paid if it isn't for you.

Any chance of borrowing your brother-in-law's mtn. bike to see if you like mtn.biking? Or are there any bike shops that rent bikes, or someone that would let you try their bike? Personally, I don't see how anyone would not like mtn biking-you can go from mild to wild, doesn't have to be extreme. But I do know a few who don't care for it at all.

There's a learning curve to riding certain kinds of trails, if you think you might want to try single track stuff. One major reason I mt. bike is its harder to motivate for a road ride when its 35 degrees and windy. Thats my comfort point on the road. On a mt. bike you are usually moving slower (10 mph vs. 18), so less wind factor, you are in the woods, so less wind there. Can comfortably mt. bike at 15 degrees or so, so I've now extended my riding season.

Well, to be honest, MTBing and I did not get off to a good start. Way back in July 2016, the same brother-in-law lent me an X-caliber 9 and took me out to a group ride and a race across some hills to the east of Jeddah; only he neglected to tell me that the front brake was faulty, and I neglected to test ride the rig before starting out. On the first steep descent I came barreling down, I lost control of my speed, eventually ditching and crashing down onto my tush. For months, I had a third butt cheek to show for it.

But it was that incident that got me even more curious about MTBing, and the episode went a long way in getting me to shape up my regular riding. I had already figured at the time that I would've had a steep learning curve to grapple with, but it was on that day that I realized just how steep the curve was.

Would he lend me that X-caliber 9 again for a second chance to see if I'd fare better? I'll definitely ask him that the next time I see him! But there's no shortage of barely-used Marlin 7's (and lesser Marlins) in my size in the classifieds, along with a few older 3700s and the like!

Yes the formula is N+1 and is scientifically formulated so you know it is correct. It is good to own one of everything I think or at least most stuff.

You need to be riding easy dual track and easy single track at best. You need time to learn the bike, how it handles and brakes. Maybe join a beginner ride with a local mt. bike club, our club does these every first Sunday at local parks with beginner trails. Having somebody teach and demonstrate riding concepts is key. There are skills that get used for turning, braking, descending, etc.... that you want to know before you get over your head and get hurt.

Definitely get a MTB, and learn how to ride it. It will make you a better bike rider. MTB'ing is a skill set to be built slowly, and skills should be practiced in areas that are less likely to cause significant injury. YouTube is full of videos demonstrating skills for every level. As with ANY bike, a properly operating machine is critical for your safety.

Yes... And a Gravel, Road, Touring, Bent, Tandem, E, Trike, bike... Sure...

No really... Considering what it costs now days I would agree it best to borrow a basic Mountain bike and give it a try first...

Sounds like you got a bad intro to the sport.

Do some easy stuff first. Heck, some people never get into the gnarly stuff and still enjoy it for a lifetime. Its just awesome to ride a bike in the woods.

Get your own bike that fits and works well, and go with people who know how to ride with a beginner…. Or use Trailforks or MTB Project to find easy trails and go by yourself and take your time.

Being out in nature and no cars…. What’s not to love?

Way better to bave a bike you know and are used to. Ride it on some easy trail at an easy pace first. If it is one on loan that is okay, but you should be well acquainted with it and it should be in good working order. Then progress at your own pace. That may be fast or slow.

getting a MTB is one thing, racing downhill is another thing. you don't have to ride like he does, or even with him. I really enjoy being away from auto traffic

A good hardtail bike is good to have. It can be anything you want it to be and you can find your I wn adventures. Anything from single-track to rails trail, commuting around town or touring.

I can't really relate. In forty or so years of riding a bike I think I've had a mountain bike for nearly all of them. Excepting the first three or four years on a BMX, and the last two years of college when one broke down and I couldn't afford the next yet.

I really enjoy singletrack as it is a change of pace and scenery for me. I did a couple singletrack rides on my Quick 1 but it felt out of place to me. I picked up an old Hardrock, made some upgrades, and had fun riding with my daughter. Minimal cash outlay got me a solid bike and hours of fun. It was a bit small for me so I gifted it to a work friend after finding an old Specialized M2.

Do you need a mountain bike? There's a fine line between need and want...

I find a mountain bike good for all-around riding. You can ride on trails or pavement, dirt roads and grassy parks. The gearing range is usually enough to get up steep climbs without getting out of the saddle, the bigger tires and suspension soak up bumps and bad pavement, you can ride over curbs and even down stairs. They are durable, and very reasonable nowadays.

I am primarily a road/endurance rider and have never had much interest in MTB…… until now. The area I live in is pure suicide for road riding but is a MTB mecca. The wife and I became tired of driving an hour or more to ride road bikes so bought a pair of Specialized Rockhoppers to increase our riding opportunities. Damn if we aren’t having a blast and feeling stupid for not done this long ago.
Endurance riding is still my passion but now I’m riding much more.

Yeah, if you don't feel the need for performance road riding a MTB can be an all surface ride. After doing a mixed surface on/off road tour on my rigid MTB I realized that I liked it a lot better than a touring bike even on pavement. Don't get me wrong, I loved to ride my road bike, but I don't mind hopping on a MTB to run errands.

These days I hit the trails every day for a dose of single track and haven't been on the road bike in months.

Then there are gravel bikes... but they are another story.

A bit of a detour (pun intended,) but I'm actually interested in this one! It looks ripe for some mods and upgrades!

I wouldn't mod or upgrade parts on that bike. I would leave it alone and find something that has parts you are looking for. That bike is designed to be a very low initial cost internet bike. Low quality parts on a low quality frame fine for the occasional rider or someone looking to purchase a bike to get stolen but nothing worth putting much money into aside from maybe small low cost stuff to keep it running till I can get the bike I wanted.

I get what you're saying, but I was thinking more along the lines of stuff off of Ali and his 40 Thieves over in the Big Red Land - things like a knockoff Hollowtech crankset and 11-speed L-twoo shifter/RD... that kind of stuff (I've been running those exact parts on one of my folding bikes for months now without issue.) The only thing I'd happily splash out on is the brakes - MT401/MT420 at the very least. There's no way I'm going to turn this into some epic YouTube dream build - it'd just be something to customize and enjoy as one's own.

With that being said, I'm far from pulling the trigger on any bike right now; I'm about to do some major repairs to the Old Girl.

That is even worse! Using knockoff parts and supporting that industry is just bad. Just because they or their government aren't controlling things doesn't mean we should support them. I would be great if Winnie the Pooh would do something about it but I doubt that is ever going to happen he has his hands deep in shady stuff.

What's wrong with having a dream build? Dream builds can be quite fun, expensive but well worth it especially if you plan on riding it often. My current commuter is a dream build (or close to it my dream doesn't fit the size and shape of titanium bicycle tubing) and I have put 3600 miles in a under a year and a half and can't wait to add more. Still have some stuff I want to do to it but most of it is again sort of out of currently made items.

If you know what you want in a bike do it! Splash the cash as you said. If you were just starting out I might say hold off but I think by now you know what you want so go for it. Don't do some low end knockoff but get the real deal and build it how you want it or buy it with the specs you want.

Dude!


https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a538c366a6.jpg

The dude abides. Probably my favorite movie!

Okay, now that Walter is just having his coffee, hear me out! On my Dahon folder - which is my daily rider and my most ridden bike - I've been running a Chinese, no-brand, Hollowtech II knockoff crankset for a while now. I originally intended for this to be a test run before I splash out on a real, actual Shimano deal (which I had already done just recently with one of my 7.6s, and it wasn't exactly plain sailing.) Problem is, this thing has been so smooth and reliable that I'm not in too much if a hurry to replace it with a real Shimano! The same bike came with a rebranded (with the Dahon logo) L-twoo A7 RD and shifter, and the, too worked with nary a hitch for the year and a half that they were on the bike, and when I upgraded to 11-speed I went with an L-twoo A9 and it's been a total workhorse so far.

Mind you, those are the only "Chineeze" components in that upgrade! The chainring is a Wolf Tooth; the cassette is a Sunrace ; and the chain is either a KMC or a Wippermann - I forget which one it is. Everything else on the Dahon is a brand-name item.

So, yeah, I will eventually replace that crankset and bottom bracket with the real deal - it's just that I'm not in a hurry to do it. Politics aside, would I be willing to go for a Chinese component in a pinch? I have little reason not to!