Mountain Biking - MTN bikers are nuts !!

But in a good way. ;)
My buddy whos been doing this a couple years took me up a mountain today for my first ride on my new stumpy FSR. This is one insane sport ! But i liked it, so don't take the post title the wrong way......i'm one of ya now too.:D

I don't know how far we went, but i thought i'd have a coronary long before we hit the top. He went ahead and got there about 3-5 minutes before me. By that time i was wondering what the @#$% i was doing buying a $1300 bike in order to kill myself in the most painfull way i could think of.

But we went back down a single track and thats when i did a 180 in my mind. That was fun!!!!!! Very steep and rocky in places......even he had to walk a few areas that were really bad. Then at one point i was going almost full out and came close to going over the edge. In my attemp to keep myself from tumbling down the cliff i overcorrected and hit the dirt at pretty good speed. I'm no spring chicken......probably twice as old as most of you at 49. So i was curious if i could still take a spill like that at my age and not break an assortment of bones. But with the exception of a cut on my arm i got right back on...........after inspecting the damage to my new acuisition of course. The stumpy is definatly used now. ;)

The stumpjumper worked great, and the shocks worked fine. The fork wasn't too spongy as i thought it might. Only thing is the seat. Man is my a$$ sore!! I don't care what my buddy and all you other MTN bikers say.....i'm getting a cushy seat !

Anyway, i think it's pretty darn fun, if not a bit crazy. Now it's Miller time :beer:

Hey, congrats. Sounds like you had a blast. Always refreshing to hear the excitment in a new rider. Spills and crashes are part of the game. No guts, no glory! No falls, no balls! If you aint bleedin, you aint tryin!

BTW, Your butt will be sore no matter what seat you use! Just like when you go workout for the first time in a long time. Your muscles in you butt need to get stronger to support your weight in the areas where your butt meets the saddle. The best way to do this is to go on short rides everyday for the first week. Stufff like a 15-20 min spin around the hood! Within a couple of weeks, you be fine. Oh yeah, a bigger seat will actually be worse because it'll chafe your thighs, and that's a heck of a lot more painful!

L8R

Yea, but this thing is like sitting on a broomstick ! Maybe at least a similar seat but with some padding. You could bop someone on the head with this thing and knock em cold. To tell you the truth, i never got used to the small seat on my street bike either, and eventually got a softer one that was an improvement. I get what you're saying about a BIG seat tho. I'll stay away from those.

By the way......at my age i think i'll pass on the "glory". I'm taking it slow for now on. (yea, right *S*)

Originally posted by dazco
[B]By that time i was wondering what the @#$% i was doing buying a $1300 bike in order to kill myself in the most painfull way i could think of.


lol. It's worth it :beer:

Like A2 said, you'll get used to the saddle. What do you have on it now? No bike saddle is "comfortable", but there are some that are more comfortable than others. The new stuff from WTB is good, Koobi makes good stuff, Sella Italia has a "gel" line of saddles...although from my experience, gel is Italian for brick. Everyone is different.

I'd recommend riding some more to see if you adjust to it...

The first time I met a mountain biker was in the 80s in Durango CO. I was sitting on the porch in front of my room at the Antler Motel. This guy on a goofy fat-tired bike came off a little single track trail that dumped off a hillside onto the sidewalk. He was stoked on endorphins and adrenalin. I got talking to him and he told me all about what a rush mountain biking was. As I watched him head back up that mountain trail, I thought, that's crazy.

Now, I do it.

Sometimes I think I'd like to go back to Durango and look for that trail.

I'll tell you this.....if it weren't for the ride up, i'd do those single track rides daily ! Love flying down the smooth parts with the big banked curves. Kinda like a roller coaster, but you can do it w/o pukin'. *S*

you'll get used to the hills dazco. Hell i actually enjoy gradual uphills at this point, the kind that have switchbacks! BTW the best saddle i have ever been in is a WTB Speed-V saddle.

Oh and congrats on the first fall, one of many to come i'm sure

What does that WTB Speed-V saddle cost?

Originally posted by dazco
Man is my a$$ sore!! I don't care what my buddy and all you other MTN bikers say.....i'm getting a cushy seat !

LOL- that's what we always called "spring butt". Trust me, you will get used to it. And after awhile when you have a tougher bobo you will want a harder seat. Give it time...

NAA....i rode on the street for years and never got used to hard saddles.

Peter,

I looked at the speed V and theres 3 models. Which is the one to get, or does it matter? Heres the text from the site i was looking at...

WTB Speed V Saddles
The original Love Channel saddle, the Speed V continues to please riders all over and remains WTB's #1 selling saddle. With a plush Soft-Shell and deep, supportive padding this saddle will keep you smiling as the miles roll by. Whether you ride in baggy shorts or lycra, the distance drop nose, generous padding and rounded corners promote mobility and stability in all conditions, especially technical situations.
Speed V Sport: Steel rail, high padding, CZ hard-shell. Black/Gray. 380g. $25.00.
Speed V Comp: Steel rail, synthetic cover, CZ soft-shell Black/Gray. 390g. $30.00.
Speed V Race: CrMo rail, synthetic cover, CZ soft-shell. Black/Gray/Silver. 380g$45.00.

UPDATE: just found another model, and maybe this is the one you mean. The 3 listed above all look the same.......small just like the stock stumpjumper saddle. But this one is wide. Is this the one you mean? here it is.........

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?sku=7125&siteid=pjv1c.QzcE0-ZNcKaaiSU1XeLntcw4ayrQ

The most comfortable seat from what I have heard is the Azonic Love seat or something like that. Big ol beast

I have the speed V race on my Bullit, it's good, pretty cushy. You can get it at Pricepoint (http://pricepoint.com/product1509.html) for $39.98

I mean Rocket V. They're lighter and still have all of the padding.

Here's my pic and this is probably what i'll be getting soon

http://www.pricepoint.com/product1650.html

but it's kinda pricy and you just spent all of that dough on a bike.
Here's a cheaper one. and it's at supergo
http://www.supergo.com/popup-itemimage.asp?ImagePath=/images/items/seats/full/WTB-SpeedVcomp-f.jpg&itemid=16833

go to www.wtb.com and check out their saddles. They're all winners.

Good luck


Edit: Even though they make look similar the WTB saddles do tend to have more padding, and if there's too much padding you'll get a nasty ass rash if you ride for more than 2 hours

here's a cool site. It shows you where the best buys are all over the web.

http://www.bestwebbuys.com/bikes/search/q/wtb/isrc/Google-i-browse-mfg

Originally posted by dazco
I don't care what my buddy and all you other MTN bikers say.....i'm getting a cushy seat !

Oh come on... be a Real Man! (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/real-man.html) |8^)

Oh come on... be a Real Man! |8^)

LOL !!! Yea, thats the ticket !! LOL!

Well, congrats on the ride. I use a WTB Speed V as well, very good saddle, thinking about getting a Karve though.

I think i'll order one, but i must figure out which one of the speed V models to get. I've yet to find anything online that describes the difference tho. One place described the construction a bit, but that didn't tell me anything about which one would be most comfortable. The one thats bigger is probably the most comfortable, but everyone warns against that. So i'll probably go with one of the 3 that are regular size. (i really want that big one, but y'all seem to think it'll be hard to ride with it)

the only differance really that there will be is in construction and weight. The VERY basic lowdown is that the less expensive the heavier and lower quality materials. The more expensive the lighter, better materials, and sometimes more comfortable

Specialized saddles are uncomfy pieces of junk...IMO of course.

Specialized saddles are uncomfy pieces of junk...IMO of course

AMEN !

Originally posted by fubar5
Specialized saddles are uncomfy pieces of junk...IMO of course. You're off your flippin rocker man! He probably needs to move from the "pro" class down to the "sport" class, a bit more padding but still an excellent "junk-saver" seat.

BTW: Yes, I am talking from experience

i agree, i dont think the specialized saddles are that bad either. The only reason i'm upgrading mine is to get something lighter and higher quality