Mountain Biking - first off road on my Brodie

Hey,

I finally got to take my Brodie off-road and try all kinds of stuff on it. Holy - this bike totally rocks !!! I had only ridden it on the streets and then I got to go up and down rockfaces, learnt all kinds of cool stuff, and yesterday, when I got home I cycled down my first flight of cement stairs - no problem and so fun !!
Started with just a few steps and then built up to the full flight. It wasn't that hard after applying all the stuff I learned at the off-road course.

Anyway, it was fun !

Justen

Actually the two go hand in hand well. The better you get at street the better you get at offroad and visa versa. Through in some sidewalk runs (there are many many man made skinnies in van) and try and stay balanced and you have begun training for Ladie only. That is wicked that you are enjoying the bike. By doing both and of course your commuting you will never get bored. :)

Justen, Justen, Justen ...

Do you not know that ALL first rides must be accompanied with photos? Come on man. Lets see the beast in action!:p

:beer: :beer:

I'm glad you're so happy with the new bike. :D

Originally posted by Raiyn
I'm glad you're so happy with the new bike. :D

Yeah...It's great. Until then, I didn't realize or appreciate the full capabilities of this bike. There is still tons of stuff that I want to learn. One of my friends had been laughing at me before because I practiced all kinds of balancing everyday and he doesn't. But it was worth it on this course because I could stop midway down a steep embankment without losing my balance then keep going and he was not able to do this so kept wrecking.

Justen

Originally posted by dirtbikedude
Justen, Justen, Justen ...

Do you not know that ALL first rides must be accompanied with photos? Come on man. Lets see the beast in action!:p

:beer: :beer:

Yeah yeah - I know but we didn't have a camera with us - honestly !
I will take some next time we go out and post them.

Originally posted by Maelstrom
Actually the two go hand in hand well. The better you get at street the better you get at offroad and visa versa. Through in some sidewalk runs (there are many many man made skinnies in van) and try and stay balanced and you have begun training for Ladie only. That is wicked that you are enjoying the bike. By doing both and of course your commuting you will never get bored. :)

Training for Ladie only - what's that ?
Do you mean the bike course they put on?

Anyway, you're right - the two do go in hand. It's fun to do stuff on the street and practice balancing. I practice cycling right on the edge of curbs (where there are no cars against them), down stairs, over steep embankments with roots etc.

Can you suggest a few good areas in Van for practicing ? One guy told me to try under the South side of the Burrard bridge. Haven't had a chance to go there.
Any other good places you know of ?

And you're right, it never gets boring. I have to admit that now I look at everything as a possible thing to ride down. Everytime I see a downhill off a bike trail, I want to try it out !! I am getting so addicted !

Justen

Originally posted by Justen
Training for Ladie only - what's that ?
Do you mean the bike course they put on?



It is a single track on Fromme. Pretty basic from what I know of it but lots of fun. I am trying to get a ride down there to start doing some of the tracks on the shore itself. I ride quite a few trails up here but the manmade section pale in comparrison to the shore :)



Anyway, you're right - the two do go in hand. It's fun to do stuff on the street and practice balancing. I practice cycling right on the edge of curbs (where there are no cars against them), down stairs, over steep embankments with roots etc.


In training for the 'shore' ;)



Can you suggest a few good areas in Van for practicing ? One guy told me to try under the South side of the Burrard bridge. Haven't had a chance to go there.
Any other good places you know of ?


When I lived there I did nothing but work and smoke weed so really I didn't think of riding. Off the top of my head on Lonsdale there is a tonne of little things to play on. Lots of side streets with little ramp ups and staircases to ride up or down. Of course a little further over you have the docks which is a place where endless riding can be had. And then if you go even further you can go to cove bikes and ask some of the best riders on the west coast where some riding is. :)...

Mael, was that some BC hydro strain #17?

:D

Call me tired (or stupid) but your joke went over my head. (man do I feel dumb if this is obvious)

Originally posted by Maelstrom
Call me tired (or stupid) but your joke went over my head. (man do I feel dumb if this is obvious)

Sorry Mael it was an obscure one, and I'm famous for them.

Trailer Park Boy's, it's their ummm, crop of choice.

ahhhh...never seen the show but now I know what you are refering too...and I am glad it wasn't obvious. and to answer the question...of course...while I don't chronic at all anymore I never smoked anything less ;)

Hey,

Just wondering if riding down stairs is going to possibly damage my rear bike rim. It is a little different from off road stuff and since I am over the back of the bike as I descend, I thought it might put alot of strain on the rim as I careen down the stairs !!

Any tips for cycling down stairways ?

Justen

Stair riding does put a lot of pressure on rims. What rims do you have? Remember to do a lot of aborbsion with your legs to suck up the stairs.

Tip # 1 hold on and never 'grab for the brakes' if you need to brake feather them but on if you need to. (this same tip work for rock gradens and dh sections)
Tip # 2 - Don't suddenly decide to turn. Pick a line and enjoy.
Tip # 3 - Tip # 1 and tip #2 work well when applied right :D...

another thing. If the stairs are really steep (north shore has some nasty steep stairs) pull up a tiny bit at the bottom of the steps. no need to endo onto concrete.

so you went off roadie on your brodie?

Originally posted by Maelstrom
Stair riding does put a lot of pressure on rims. What rims do you have? Remember to do a lot of aborbsion with your legs to suck up the stairs.



Hi Maelstrom,

Thank you for all the tips !! Yeah..braking on steps would not be a good idea. I find it easier just to find that line and go with it but still have my fingers over the brakes. I know the North Shore has ALOT of pretty steep stairways - I haven't tried any yet though.

I just have the Rhyno Lite rims. So far so good..no bent rims but if you have any recommendations, I would certainly welcome them.

I have been considering the Mavic tubeless rims but don't know enough about tubeless rims to go ahead and buy them yet.

Justen

Any tips for cycling down stairways ?

You could just learn to clear them with one hop. Then you will only have to make the landing and not worry about the amount of hits the rear rim takes.:p


:beer:

That's what I do. Drops with transitions aren't impressive to me when I've dropped 8 feet to flat, hard concrete

:D

Originally posted by Justen
...snip...

I just have the Rhyno Lite rims. So far so good..no bent rims but if you have any recommendations, I would certainly welcome them....snip....
Justen I like my Rhynolites. :D

Originally posted by Raiyn
I like my Rhynolites. :D

Hi Raiyn,

I like them too..so far.
Do you think the Rhynolites are okay for heavy drops and stair descents etc ?

What's with tubeless rims ? Are they any more durable or just a hassle ?

Justen

Tubeless is ok for XC racer types but I never saw the point. Define "heavy drops" Stairs wouldn't be anything for them.

Originally posted by Jim311
That's what I do. Drops with transitions aren't impressive to me when I've dropped 8 feet to flat, hard concrete

:D

Funny but in a trail situation I find drops to tranny harder because you can't really brake you have to flow and since most come with a corner at the bottom (damn trail builder guys) you have to land 100% perfect or run into trees....just my experience though.

Originally posted by Justen
Hi Raiyn,

I like them too..so far.
Do you think the Rhynolites are okay for heavy drops and stair descents etc ?

What's with tubeless rims ? Are they any more durable or just a hassle ?

Justen

Justen are terrain here doesn't offer any sharp point things. We really don't need tubeless. I have seen the porcupine affect and we just don't need to worry about. Keep enough air in them and get fat tires (like most on the shore) and you won't pinchflat either.

Originally posted by Justen
What's with tubeless rims ? Are they any more durable or just a hassle ?
Correct me if I'm misinformed but people go to tubless mainly to save weight. Durability of the rim is dependant on the manufacturer, but all things being equal I don't think they are any more or less durable.

Originally posted by Jim311
That's what I do. Drops with transitions aren't impressive to me when I've dropped 8 feet to flat, hard concrete


On what bike.....your F900? hahaahahah

Way to go Justen! I'm also glad that you enjoyed your first ride :) :) :)

I'm still waiting for my new bike. Your story just makes me anxious to get the bike as soon as possible. There's a great slope near my place and I often see DH-riders there and it has same kind of effects.. But I have to wait for my payday...

So you have been on some course if I understood right. What kind of things they taught on it? I haven't found out what kind of courses do we have here.

anna

Hi Anna,

Yeah..It was so fun !!!! Basically, it was a 3 hour custom course. They had some basic stuff that they taught but I was able to tell them some specific stuff that I wanted to learn (i.e. bunny hops, different kinds of descents, balance stuff etc) and they just incorporated that into the clinic. One of the things they did was lay out two 2 X4 pieces of wood end to end that I had to ride over. Sounds easy but I had to ride over without sitting down and just use my body to control the bike.

They also taught me body position for decending, shifting, balance stuff, using your body to control the bike, handling obstacles on trails etc etc.

It was alot of fun....really helpful to have a private clinic. Cost more but I got one on one attention and immediate feedback on everything I was doing. Well worth the money !!!

I hope you get your bike soon. Which one did you finally decide on ?
You're going to love it !!

Justen

Did you take the North shore styles course. The one I recommended a while ago...how was it? What did you take. I am looking for a bit more advanced but would love to hear a pro tell me what I am doing wrong.

Hey Justen, let us know, what course did you take?

Was it through the WCSMB or did you do the one at Whistler? There is a good one at Whistler for women called Spokeswomen School of Mountain biking. I wanted to get my wife to do that one but she is carrying an extra package right now;)

Slainte:beer:

Dirtbikedude version 2.0?? :D

Dirtbikedude version 2.0??

Yep :D :thumbup:

Originally posted by dirtbikedude
Hey Justen, let us know, what course did you take?

Was it through the WCSMB or did you do the one at Whistler? There is a good one at Whistler for women called Spokeswomen School of Mountain biking. I wanted to get my wife to do that one but she is carrying an extra package right now;)

Slainte:beer:

I am thinking of doing the wcsmb at some point. Reasonable and the training is suppost to be good...

Congrats dbd !!!!! :beer: :beer: :thumbup:

You already new Mael. I think your mind is going:p

If I can find the time I am going to give their course a shot also. Once again, if I do I will let you know. Perhaps we could schedule a session together and save on cost.

:beer:

Originally posted by dirtbikedude
You already new Mael. I think your mind is going:p

If I can find the time I am going to give their course a shot also. Once again, if I do I will let you know. Perhaps we could schedule a session together and save on cost.

:beer:

Public congratulatory...;)...

That would be cool. If you can figure it out. I am thinking of doing it sometime in the summer. A 3 hour training. What I really want is to become good enough to get the trials training by Leech...

I would like to do the training with him as well. i was thiking more of an all day clinic or perhaps two.

wonder how much that would run...get enough people (4 or 5) and it would definately be worth it. I just meant the price for 3 hours...:)

The mountain offers clinics as well that go for a week. Includes place to stay as well I believe. :)

Justen It's going to be Kona Blast :) I don't need disc brakes as a beginner at this point. I thought many others too like Haro, Gary Fisher etc.. But finally I ended up with the first choice I had, Kona. It has the best components at my price level.

Maybe it would be best for me too to take a course. You must have had fun there :)