Mountain Bike Racing - Newbie MTB weight ? - Xterra

I've been doing triathlons and wanted to venture into doing the Xterra tris. Though I have a decent tri bike, I only have an old, all stock mtb, and it was fairly cheap back then, Raleigh MTB (forgot the model).

When I weighed it, it came in at around 34lbs. I was wondering what the "normal" weight is for a MTB for these types of races? 34lbs seems high so I was going to look into getting better gear. But maybe it's not.

Sure, it's old and heavy, but you won't be the only one with it at an Xterra. There's tons of racers who've never been offroad and end up walking the whole course. This is why Xterra races always have at least 2 miles of road or fireroad in it so riders can pass the walkers.

In short, I wouldn't reccommend doing an Xterra without any prior mountain bike experience. The couses are generally very technical.

Thanks for the reply. Well, I don't want to walk it so I'm assuming I should get something lighter. What do you think is a good target weight I should be aiming for?

Also, any kind of races that are more for beginners? I'd rather not make a fool of myself. I'm in the So Cal area.

You can always try the Sport race. It's half the distance of the full Xterra and there will be plenty of first-time off-roaders.

I'd reccommend riding the trails the race is held on (or find some good trails closeby... http://trails.mtbr.com) Look for some local mountain bike races too (www.active.com www.bikereg.com). Theses will have beginner classes for first-timers and such. Get a feel for the sport, then worry about your bike. ;) Then you'll have a better understanding of what you're looking for in a bike.

Most of the Sport/ Expert Class riders I know, including me, are running sub 22 lb Hardtails, and 22-25 lb FS bikes. Higher end, you're looking at a Ti frame built up with XTR components (Shimano's highest end line of components). Guys in this range are dropping some serious $$$ for their setups.

I would advise you to do a Beginner Class MTB race FIRST. MTB races are organized into three basic classes:

Beginner, roughly around 9-10 miles in length
Sport, length is roughly double that of the Beginners
Expert: The same distance as Sport or longer, but these guys are FAST

Aside from the distance differences, the talent level of the rider increases exponentially with each class. The Sport guys not only posess the endurance to ride 18+ miles at race pace, but have much better technique and bike handling skills then the Beginners, especially at race pace. Race pace is the key. I have ridden with beginners on trail rides at distances of 15-25 miles, and they are fine in terms of endurance. Its the speed that kills them. As they get more tired, the bike handling skills get sloppy, speed drops off, etc. This is what separates Beginners from Sports and Sports from Experts.

34lbs is not outrageous for a trail riding bike. Mid-level Full Suspension Bikes are running in the upper 28-35lb range these days, but this higher weight is not condusive to RACING. You will feel the effects of the weight even at the Beginner Level.

I too am a triathlete, and, as a fellow triathlete, you'll be able to understand this comparison: a 34lb bike in an Xterra is like someone doing a Half Ironman or a 70.3 on a Mountain Bike with knobbie tires. It can be done, but it wont be that fun. get my drift?