Mountain Biking - pics of my ride in the park by my house

and also my cheap bike

Beautiful !!!

i guess you mean the scenery (not the POS bike)? :D

That seems like a dumb place to put a drink holder. Wouldn't the front tire shoot mud/water/crap right into the nozzle? I know that my bikes downtube gets more muddy than the rest of my bike after a ride through the trails.

Actually the nozzle stays clean because there is a clear plastic cover that flips over it. If you look closely at the pic you can sort of see it.

Lovely scenery there, you're lucky you have it to ride through when the urge hits.

Can you see anywhere else to put the drinks bottle Jason? Great scenery, ive got a park 2 mins up the road from me which i can ride in when im bored, although its starting to get a bit boring now, im searching for a close area to ride in when i feel like i gotta ride :)

Meh, who cares what you ride, as long as you have fun. Isn't that the idea?

Meh, who cares what you ride, as long as you have fun. Isn't that the idea?
Some of the people on this board sure care. I find that these people spend tons of money on their bikes and believe the more expensive a bike is the better it will perform. Then they try to persuade others into thinking money=performance 100% of the time simply to provide themselves with a sense of justification for putting tons of money into their bikes. Then they believe that they are expert riders because they have expensive bikes. I think expecially in mountain biking, skill is way more important than having the best equipment. I wish everybody would ride just to have fun.

Very well said...it's not what you have but what you do with it, money is no replacement for heart. For me I would use a camelback rather that mess with trying to get the bottle in the holder...kind of looks changeling when riding with one hand and trying to get that bottle in the holder.

well yeah, but depending on what you doing you need to have the proper equipement everything else is dangerous,so some performance standards are nessesary ,but there sure are peole think titanium bolts will make them a better rider ,and that spend more time spending money than riding.

I find that these people spend tons of money on their bikes and believe the more expensive a bike is the better it will perform.

The one thing that you're missing is that generally more expensive bikes have better components (more durable) as well as more durable frames.

You're right, it's all about having fun, no matter what you ride.

Getting upset with people who ride rougher trails (compared to the flat smooth trails in your pics) and can benefit from more durable equipment seems to me to be just as silly as ridiculing folks with cheap bikes, not that I've seen much of that here.

Nice looking trails, to bad someone cut all those logs and moved them out of the way.

I have found the more the bike costs, the more it cost to fix.

Thats a matter of opinion really. I dump some decent cash in my bike. It takes the abuse of technical trails. If I had gotten a cheaper bike I would have snapped the frame by now (well maybe two or three)....

quality of bikes required are relative to the area you intend to ride. You may not see value in 'expensive' bikes, but that doesn't mean they don't hold value. Anyone from Ca, Wa, BC, Co or other quality terrain areas will likely vouch for that.

Anyone from Ca, Wa, BC, Co or other quality terrain areas will likely vouch for that.

You forgot North Carolina :)

And yes, I've seen cheap, and some very nice bikes die.

To give the original poster though riding bikes, is riding bikes (BTW-looks like a nice place to ride. Also, if you're a fan of intact skin and muscle take your kickstand off)

On the other hand, a more expensive bike will generally be much better built...lighter...faster...stronger...etc.

What's that rod-shaped attachment below the bottom bracket? I don't see those on MtnBikes in my area....

That rod shaped attachement is what we "Pros" refer to as an on board satellite receiver(OBSR) for GPS equipped mountain bikes . Wait.....nope...I was wrong it's a ...gasp,cough,hack...deap breath....KICK STAND!!!! :eek: ;)

Some of the people on this board sure care. I find that these people spend tons of money on their bikes and believe the more expensive a bike is the better it will perform. Then they try to persuade others into thinking money=performance 100% of the time simply to provide themselves with a sense of justification for putting tons of money into their bikes. Then they believe that they are expert riders because they have expensive bikes. I think expecially in mountain biking, skill is way more important than having the best equipment. I wish everybody would ride just to have fun.
They sure do. But i find that as long as your having fun, it doesnt matter what you ride. Hell, I've seena guyu on a road bike taking on some of the off road downhills i used to find very challenging. Its more about the rider than the bike anyway. Sure many people spend a lot on bikes (including me) but you always gotta remember the name of the game is fun.

looks like a nice place to ride. As far as the bike...if it makes you happy screw everyone else :D

looks like a nice place to ride. As far as the bike...if it makes you happy screw everyone else :D
what exactly do you mean by that?

why is the kickstand dangerous?

I mean if the bike makes you happy...and does what you want it to do, then who cares how much it costs? Kickstands can get in the way and just catch up on something especially on the trail.

Let me put what I said in a different way:
It's not the people who ride very expensive bikes(whether it be on a challenging trail or just around the neighbourhood) that piss me off--it's the people who have little skill and think that by riding the top of the line bike they are somehow superior to everyone else and then feel the need to brag about their bikes and pretend they are experts. I have nothing at all against any average rider showing off their bike or their skill within reason. An analogy to this could be a 16 year old kid in a done-up Honda civic with a loud exhaust and a huge vtec sticker (thinking that the sticker adds horsepower) and then nearly running me over as he makes a lane change without bothering to even look(this actually happened to me by the way)

Some of the people on this board sure care. I find that these people spend tons of money on their bikes and believe the more expensive a bike is the better it will perform. Then they try to persuade others into thinking money=performance 100% of the time simply to provide themselves with a sense of justification for putting tons of money into their bikes. Then they believe that they are expert riders because they have expensive bikes. I think expecially in mountain biking, skill is way more important than having the best equipment. I wish everybody would ride just to have fun.

I spend a lot of money on my bike because I have the money and no other sensible hobby to spend it on. Granted, I dont look down on my friends for having inferior bikes, but I spend the money to spoil myself and enjoy having really good parts....

Ming

I think a decent bike is needed. Or at least a fairly light bike with decent components. A friend and I both started on pacifics. Mine was some POS dual suspension model. It weighed a couple thousand pounds and was pathetic. It didn't like to shift, brakes weren't very good. He has a vortex pacific hardtail and it was a hair better. He upgraded to a hardtail and I got an ironhorse warrior disc. Definetly much more pleasurable to ride. I would rather see someone out on a trail on a cheap bike than not seeing them on a trail.

WV has some decent trails. Some are pretty rough. But I don't see myself snapping any frames anytime soon. Although I do know a guy that snapped an ironhorse. He weighs a good 70lbs more than me. And he is crazy. I think I will be ok with mine.