Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Who mountain bikes?

Been looking at MTB's and wandering if any of you Clydes ride off road.

Bdingers got a great story about a race he was in on his blog last year.

http://www.chubbysuperbiker.com/2007/07/i-always-win.html

Yes, will be doing a six hour race on Saturday.:twitchy: What was I thinking registering for that?

I rode mtb about 2 or 3 times a week in 05. Not as much the last couple of years since Gina started riding with me. Don't think I'd subject her to better odds of crashing!:D I rode more for the climbing aspect while training for climbing centuries. Continued in 06 but since I got more involved with forum riders, roadies seem to be the most common type of riding.

My Trek 8000 hardtail seems to be more than enough bike for the fireroads I use. 37 mph dirt downhills are more than I care to do so the climbing is my MO. Surprisingly the 24 rear wheel on my MTB is still going strong after a retension. I was expecting to replace the wheels but no problems, must be the dirt and big knobbies!:p



And no, not a photography trick on the hill. Camera is pointed straight down the trail, no trick angles. I've hiked up the trail before passing riders. It's that steep!
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/C.jpg
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/C2.jpg
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/C4.jpg
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/Trek8000.jpg

http://i300.photobucket.com/albums/nn1/johnhekl/CIMG1470.jpg

Trek 6500 '08 I love the single track, roots and rocks. It isn't as fast as the road, but i love the technical aspect of going over log pyrimids, skinny bridges, through streams, etc.

it is a much more laid back crowd...esp the races (my first and only race [2 months ago] i got my rear handed to me :) but alot of fun and IMO safer than a road race [i crased only once :) ])

BTW, a story about that steep hill pic. Once Gina and I hiked around the 5 mile loop and were descending this hill by foot. It was hot weather season. I carry a belt that holds 3 water bottles. On this section, last mile down we encountered a by far out of shape older guy. He was kneeling down next to his big heavy Labrador dog. He was nearly in tears as his dog was hyper ventilating and out of it! Another hiker was by his side, a very small petite lady. They asked if we had water so I glady gave him the bottle.

Next thing I know the old guy is begging me to carry his dog down the hill. Holy Smokes. I really had no choice it seems. Guy had no water and 2 other dogs, all looked pretty badly out of shape. I'm shocked he had them up there on a hot day.

I had them wrap the fat Lab around my neck then carried it down. Holy Geepers, one of the best workouts I've ever had. Much tougher than riding a bike up that hill! What added to teh workout was teh guy thought his dogg wa slipping off my shoulders so he'd push the dog back up while I was trying to walk down the hill. After he nearly pushed me down a 3rd time, I had to shout at him not to touch the friggin' dog!

I hate being a such a stud sometimes!:roflmao2:

mountain bike is the main thing i do ...

http://www.silenzzzz.net/bike/current_001.jpg

that is a weird seatpost devil...i don't recall the Raleighs i looked at having that did you add it for a better fit?

I know that thompsons setback is just at an angle, definatly like the unique look of that curve.

and shame on beanz for mismatched wheels ;)

Hi Tom,

I started about a year ago and though I ride mostly rural road routes, I have done the mtn bike trail thing a half dozen times and love it. It is really hard when you first start out, but as condition improves the fun does too. The first clip below is only about an hour from your home (man am I jealous of that) at Tsali in North Carolina.

The links below are from last summer. The photog sucks but the idea is there. Enjoy.

Jay

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3050897514182940667&hl=en (N. Carolina)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6479467628670556773&hl=en (Illinois)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1016576336058233808&hl=en (Illinois)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-9081426062470923125&hl=en (Illinois)

Sounds like fun. Any of you ever ride the Va. Creeper trail?

I wouldn't call it mountain biking here in oklahoma ...more like dirt hills :) but yeah....

and shame on beanz for mismatched wheels ;)


Hey, it's tough being a poor guy!:D

that is a weird seatpost devil...i don't recall the Raleighs i looked at having that did you add it for a better fit?

I know that thompsons setback is just at an angle, definatly like the unique look of that curve.

and shame on beanz for mismatched wheels ;)

yeah i added it, and the seat, and handlebars and stem .. and tires ...

i added it mostly, because i kept my seat slid as far back as possible on the rails and i kept bending them. so i measured and found a seatpost that would have the clamp in the middle of the rails where i normally keep the seat ... it is a titec el norte bent ... gives about 1.5 inches of setback ... which is a little bit more then the thompson one.

I raced MTB for many years. I was GA state Clydesdale champ two years in a row and have won a bunch of AMBC race accross the east coast (Al, TN, MD and 4th in the FL finals). I still ride off road but most of my time is spent on the road bike nowadays but I do plan on cutting it up at the MTB races again. I've done a bunch of 24 hour races and have broken many bones and bikes/parts on the trails.

http://members.tccoa.com/bigscott/Cougie/IF.jpeg

http://members.tccoa.com/bigscott/Cougie/Lake_trail.jpeg

http://members.tccoa.com/bigscott/Cougie/bull.jpg

http://members.tccoa.com/bigscott/Cougie/camp1.jpg
MOAB...go there. I found this cool campsite at 3am!

http://members.tccoa.com/bigscott/Cougie/colby.jpg
I took this pic buddy Colby at the Fontana dam jam race. I broke my crank arm in my race, I was in 2nd palce.

http://members.tccoa.com/bigscott/Cougie/fourth.jpg
World cup/4th place... I hit a tree the night before and got 15 stiches under my eye. My eye was swollen shut for the entire race... I figured I was good to go since it was singletrack! freaked out a bunch of folks that day for sure!

http://members.tccoa.com/bigscott/Cougie/eye.jpg
Lost some of my ear too..!

http://members.tccoa.com/bigscott/Cougie/svfield.jpg

Ride on!

-Scott

Since I bought a Miyata Ridge Runner in 1983. Since then I've been through 10 of them and thousands of Colorado miles.

Been looking at MTB's and wandering if any of you Clydes ride off road.

I did for a while, then I learned something interesting, mountain bikers have unplanned dismounts more often :bike2: then road riders,.

When your 20 something, you bounce, when your 30 something you bounce back (fairly quickly), when your 40 plus, you don't bounce, you break. If you go 5,000km on the road, you might have one unplanned dismount, off road, you have an unplanned dismount every 50km or so.....

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh223/joeslow/th_S5030272.jpg (http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh223/joeslow/S5030272.jpg)
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh223/joeslow/th_S5030268.jpg (http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh223/joeslow/S5030268.jpg)


I ride as often as I can. Lately I have been wanting to get a new MTB I can dedicate to the trail rig. My Diamondback is now the dedicated commuter with panniers, slicks, and fenders.

I ride both road and MTB. I live in an area with some world class trails. When I started MTB last fall I had just gotten shoes and clipless pedals the week before. Since I wasn't in the habit of unclipping I fell over over at least 20-30 times on that first ride. It actually taught me how to fall. Don't fight it just go with it. Tuck and roll. Since that time, my skills have improved, I can unclip easily, and I still fall once in while. Endos are fun. I get quite a rush blazing down a trail and getting air borne over logs and roots every now and then. I try to get out on at least 1 MTB ride a week depending on my schedule. I have an old Cannondale circa '94ish that a friend of mine built that has been serving me well. Only one major mechinical so far when a ripped a cog out of my rear cassette but it was a cheap $9 Forte. If I stick with it I may one day drop some cash on one of those new fangled MTB.

I road mountain bikes for about 8 years. Then layed off for awhile (and got fat). I still ride my Trek 6700 (which is my favorite bike I own) every so often, but right now I ride my road bike in an attempt to lose weight and build my strength up again. My favorite experience on the mountain bike was riding down the mountain at Wintergreen in Va. When I get my weight down some I do plan on getting back to mountain biking really hard. I also have converted my old Gary Fisher Wahoo into a singlespeed mountain bike which kind of reminds me of my old BMX racing days.

Most of my life I was a roadie but in the 80's I bought a Specialized Rock Hopper rigid and got the off road bug. I didn't take it up seriously until about 10 years ago and now I do almost all odd road, and only occasionally road. Getting a nice full suspension bike helped fuel my passion.

Since folks are including pics of their bikes I thought would as well. Feel free to chuckle of you like but it works for me and I am too cheap to buy a new one. The first pic is when I first got it and the 2nd is after a upgraded the handle bar and front shock(Quadra to a Judy DH). It has a 1" head tube which limits my shock upgrade.

World cup/4th place... I hit a tree the night before and got 15 stiches under my eye. My eye was swollen shut for the entire race... I figured I was good to go since it was singletrack! freaked out a bunch of folks that day for sure!


That is awesome man...great fortitude..While I do not finish on the podium..When I do trail ride I usually end up saying "It's OK, I landed on my face" at some point during the ride...

Rock On