Mountain Biking - Any words of wisdom?

I'm relatively new to the sport (6 months), and made the mistake of spending less than I should have on my equipment. Now I'm sorta stuck, can't really justify having 2 mountain bikes but not sure it's worth upgrading what I have.

I bought a Trek 820 for $275. It's working out okay, but it's really NOT a mountain bike. I'm pretty big (6'2", 210 lbs), and would normally consider myself pretty athletic. But riding this bike around the trails is totally kicking my butt, and I'm finding it hard to notice much improvement. My "benchmark" trail is 3.2 miles, moderately intense. I'm stuck at 30 minutes for a lap. I feel like I'm moving at a pretty good pace, but I know lots of folks are doing it in 25 minutes, and some competitive riders do it in 18 or so, I've heard.

Questions:
1 - Is it the bike, or is it just me?!

2 - What advantages would starting from scratch with a $500 - $700 bike give me? I know that's not a huge budget, but I'm trying to be realistic about my budget.

3 - In the very likely event that I can't fit that into the budget (would like to get a road rig instead of having two MTBs!), are there any upgrades that would improve performace enought be worth the investment? The only thing I've added is a Velociraptor rear tire.

Thanks!

Jeff

The best thing you can do to improve your performance is to ride with more experienced riders. They will provide incentive to ride harder than you would alone.

As for equipment, remember that it is 90% rider, 10% bike. And even that is debatable. If I were you I would keep riding the bike as is, it's a good entry level bike but if you spent any cash on upgrades I think you would be wasting your money. You can find used bikes in very good shape for great prices, and probly will end up with less invested than you will upgrading your current bike. Look in the for sale section here and on ridemonkey.com.

Happy New Year!
Due to the fact that you are relatively new to the MTBing I would focus more on just riding, rather than time trialing. My feeling is if you go enjoy yourself on single track and general riding as often as you can, before you know it you will be a lot stronger.
If you ride, it will come.
Good luck. Zach

it's been said many times before but i'll say it again.

it's not the bike, it's the rider.

you've been at it for 6 months, how long have the faster folks been riding?


stick with what you have and continue saving your money.

I consider myself pretty athletic having weight lifter, played football, basketball and many other sports for most of my life. Mountain biking is a killer of all those. It requires the leg power of football, endurance of a runner, leanness (being leaner helps tremendously as strenght to weight ratio is better).

Give it time and push yourself. Learn to become satisfied with the small things. Couldn't do that obstacle in the beginning. You are doing it now. etc...that kept me going and because of this my speed naturally went up.

Ditto on Mikeok by riding with better riders...try and find fast riders and see how they go through and try to mimic (keep in mind if you have a ht and they have a dually it might be hard to follow EXACTLY like them).

Also learn to watch the trail. Sit down and analyze a section. Eventually you will be able to 'watch' a section while riding it but right now you scope is small in comparison so your body has no time ot prepare for upcoming obstacles...this scope increases with time. When riding with better riders watch their eyes. I bet they are watching 10-20 ft in front of them while you watch maybe 4th.

The best riders can smoke people who are bad riders on awesome bikes. Skills help pay the bills :D 500-700 american is a good starting bike that offers future upgrade potential. That is the minimum for a hardtail bike I would spend. (excluding wicked deals)

Good tires help...but seriously keep working on basic skills. Also have fun. Practice basic trials to find other way over obstacles (just look at how shore based riders get over, around and under obstacles), djing puts a lot of fun back in riding. Most of all enjoy and keep pushing. Any little progression remember and brag about...in the end you will have progressed farther than you think.

Originally posted by Bike'n'Climb
I'm pretty big (6'2", 210 lbs), and would normally consider myself pretty athletic. But riding this bike around the trails is totally kicking my butt, and I'm finding it hard to notice much improvement.

Jeff, unfortunately it is going to take time to develop the skills and cardio fitness level to go faster. However, if you stick with it, you will see improvements. I remember the 1st year that I rode a mountain bike. My uncle, who had been riding for several years, used to take me out and beat me up on every ride. He was always faster than me - every ride. He is also 19 years older than me!

Of course, my ego simply could not take it anymore, so the following Winter I decided to ride on an indoor trainer 3 times/week for only about 30-40 minutes/ride. The first ride of the next year, I was faster than my uncle.

Anywho, for your questions:

1. It's both you and the bike. However, it's mostly you. When you get your biking fitness level elevated to the point where the bike is holding you back - it may be time to look @ another scoot.

2. I would save the money, and invest in a more high-end bike in a year or so. You'll appreciate the difference much more then.

3. You may want to upgrade your sus fork, and upgrade to clipless pedals - if you haven't already done so.

Good luck, Jeff!!! :)

Something I might add- I am currently riding a mtn bike that doesn't fit well. It's a long story how I got it, but the frame is way too big for me. I rode it alot anyway the first few months after I built it, but I have come to absolutely hate this thing. I have endo'ed more times on this big stinkin' bike than ever on any other bike I've had. I have it loaded for a long ride tomorrow, but only because it's replacement is not finished yet (yes, still waiting on parts :( ). But as for skill and performance it's mostly rider, that is unless you can vastly improve on what you already have which might cause you to want to ride more.

Welcome to the forum by the way...

Wow! I just posted my original email about 2 hours ago, and I already have 6 responses! Anyway, the news is consistent and (all things considered) good. It's good to hear that improvements will come as experience builds, and that I don't have to spend $1,000 to be "good enough."

To be honest, I have absolutely no doubt that improvements (or lack) will rely on me. I'm a little older, heavier, and more out of shape than I care to admit. We moved to a relatively big city about 2 years ago (Charlotte, NC) and mtn biking is about the only thing that I've found to do that isn't overcrowded and traffic-jammed. I'm having a blast with it. Bought my bike in the Spring, rode my first trail in August.

Anyway, thanks for the quick and thoughtful responses! I just got back from a ride, so I'm headed for the showers!

Jeff

first, are you sure its 3.2 miles? I can run 3.1 in 19 minutes. take comfort in the fact that maybe the milage is wrong :D