Mountain Biking - Why's everyone so down on XC?

So I went for a ride today on a XC trail today, I did about 15 miles and sure, there weren't any jumps, and the biggest drops were about a foot, but it was fun. The downhills are fast, the uphills are a challenge, the scenery is nice. Everyone on this forum seems to real big into freeriding and the whole "can this bike that I can't afford handle 8.6 foot drops?" urban poseur stuff (Ok some people do urban that aren't poseurs, I just had to make fun of some people ;)), but XC is still fun and challenging. Sure, jumps and drops are exciting, but most of the trails around here are mostly XC anyway, and they can be a lot of fun too.

Anyway, I had a good ride, did about 15 miles alongside a lake. Stopped at the end of the loop and watched a boat go by towing a wakeboarder. I thought "It's almost December and he's wakeboarding? Isn't that cold?" Then I realized I was wearing shorts... :) I love California.

I snowed last night..... the heater isn't working again:(

Because many fat fuchs on pig bikes couldn't climb 1,000 vertical,, let alone 4,000 vertical, if their life depended upon it.

It's a good thing though, since there is a ton of technical riding that is unreachable by "freeriders" and "downhillers" because they can't get a shuttle ride to the trails.

p.s. All you need in Norcal is a wetsuit and you can ride (the other kind) all year around.



http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/3183/200830.jpg

XC is all I ride--I never noticed that everyone's down on it. If there's a jump on the trail, I take it; if there's a climb, I ride it-I try not to worry about what everyone else is doin'.

It does bother me that I didn't ride when I was in Cali(Monterey to be exact)--wasn't even into biking then. Did a lot of nocturnal bodysurfing, tho--esp. @ Carmel. That was sweet!

but XC is still fun and challenging. Sure, jumps and drops are exciting, but most of the trails around here are mostly XC anyway, and they can be a lot of fun too.

Well, you have my sympathy... or admiration... or envy or whatever. I'm also a self-proclaimed XC geek. I prefer XC to other types of riding mainly because it gets me to more places. Sure, I love the really technical stuff and the big jumps and drops too (can't go really big though with only 4" of suspension travel) but I much prefer fast rolling terrain with a little sprinkling of the twisties. At the end of the day, it's all about just having fun.

I ride whatever. I just don't have a dedicated xc bike, and usually I ride xc to get to a section I wanna ride. But there is definately xc :)

But even for xc, I still had really strong parts, reason, I am a fat ass hack. I also can't stop myself trying stuff, so strong parts helps if I am riding xc and see a temping jump/drop etc...

I haven't heard anyone be down on XC on this forum. I'm an XC rider. I like getting out and doing long rides and seeing new scenery, and a lot of the XC trails I ride have some good drops and technical challenges if you're up for it.

I know most of us are UP on dh and freeriding..just the nature of the beast I suppose :)

I know most of us are UP on dh and freeriding..just the nature of the beast I suppose :)

This is the most peaceful cohabitation of FR and XC anywhere on the web probably. Most other forums are warzones between the disciplines. :fight:

Hahaha...generally yeah...I spend some time on a few other forums. Ironically where the kids play...nsmb.com gives tonnes of respect to xc guys, most still don't do it, but they understand the shore wouldn't exist with xc (seeing as an hour up the mountain is required for 30min down haha) Its a balance. I enjoy being on my bike, although, xc (anything pure endurance) gives me issues.

XC ROX YOU FREE RIDING NOOBS!!!!

kekekekekekeke

I do basically strictly free ride. Small drops, small air here and there, but xc is where it's at brotha. My city has like 80 miles or something total of XC Track (which is basically just gravel track) but some sections of it probably like 10 miles in total are twisty and mtb grade trails!

Like others have said, I don't think that people are down on xc, just prefer other types of riding over it. I love riding xc. I have a freeride bike and an xc bike. The freeride is fun but I definately like xc a lot more. Freeriding is growing so rapidly right now though that it may seem that nobody cares about xc out there anymore but don't worry, the xc geeks are still out there in full force.

I like XC, but I don't have a great opportunity to ride XC, and I must ride, so I gravitate towards FR/trials practice, which can be done nearby.

I do a little of both, light freeride and XC. My poor XC bike with 4x4 suspension gets beat to death when I try and do any jumps/drops:D

I race DH and do freeride, but I have to do XC to get to the trail heads most of the time, mind you on a DH rig it kind of sucks. Sometimes it's just fun to go for a nice long ride and not care about drops and jumps and speed though.

O.K everyone together "It's all good".Heck, I rode full steel no susp.on thursday and today 5&5for a long trail ride with some 3 and 4 footers.I saw a fella riding down the road on a Bighit the other day,now there's an over the top road bike.I'll have to agree,no xc,fr,dh bashin here.

Is free riding basically stairs curbs benches that sort of thing?

I never really understood it...

Its really not that hard.

Freeriding is like a mix of everything. XC, downhill, urban, BMX. Kind of hard to explain.

Freeriding is like a mix of everything. XC, downhill, urban, BMX. Kind of hard to explain.


but but but...all mighty maelstrom said it wasn't really that hard!

YOUR SARCASM BACKAMAFIRES!

:o :eek:

:)

ITs not hard to explain. You have shore riding - self explanatory, street/slopestyle - self explanatory, and balls to the wall go big - self explanatory. All 3 in any combination work.

The only reason xc might be included is because shore riders do a lot of pedalling. There is no lift on the north shore so they pedal up the mountain to the trails. XC is a required evil of the beauty of freeriding :)

XC = lycra under camo-shorts.

Freeride = everything you can do on a mtb except XC.

I mostly ride XC, fake it 'till I make it downhill.

ok, ok, not XC then. But everything else is good?

Dh is kind of specific too. Uses a different bike, I suppose similar types of terrain but the purpose isn't to be stylish or produce tricks. It is a pure speed thing. Where a freerider takes a spot and makes it more difficult by adding tricks or stunts, a downhiller looks for the best way to make a fast line through the rough stuff. Completely different mentality.

dang it. So I guess freeride is a whole different kind of animal. I guess my style of riding isn't really light freeride/aggro XC so much as it's ultra-light downhill/aggro XC. No fancy stunts or jumps it's all about how fast I can go.

I can see the difference. I can ride in a group of 5 or 6 and just by watching them all attack the same trail can get a feel for the type of rider they are. Especially with the new bmx kids, tricks are becomign even more integrated into the scene. This, thankfully, is making the differences more diverse. But really we are all riding, I do a bit of anything I can (except road)...I just enjoy being on my bike, riding up (ok maybe not ENJOY...but required evil), down, on my favorite stunts, or in the skate park. If I am riding and ripping I am loving life (damn winteR)

I live in Southern Cali, tell me what winter is again:D


But those BMX riders are crazy.... Backflips?!?!? I can't even do a backflip off of the bike let alone ON a bike! The "group"(basically anyone we pick up along the way) I ride with has a wide range of riding styles too. The two older guys have downhill backgrounds and you can see them picking the cleanest lines, riding the smoothest and generally going alot faster downhill than the rest of us. The other three have BMX/freeride background and their style is a little flashier.

I live in Southern Cali, tell me what winter is again:D


But those BMX riders are crazy.... Backflips?!?!? I can't even do a backflip off of the bike let alone ON a bike! The "group"(basically anyone we pick up along the way) I ride with has a wide range of riding styles too. The two older guys have downhill backgrounds and you can see them picking the cleanest lines, riding the smoothest and generally going alot faster downhill than the rest of us. The other three have BMX/freeride background and their style is a little flashier.
Winter is the thing that makes everything cold! It's the reason that I couldn't feel my feet after I fell off that log crossing into the creek. Kinda made me look like this> :eek:

But those BMX riders are crazy.... Backflips?!?!? I can't even do a backflip off of the bike let alone ON a bike! The "group"(basically anyone we pick up along the way) I ride with has a wide range of riding styles too. The two older guys have downhill backgrounds and you can see them picking the cleanest lines, riding the smoothest and generally going alot faster downhill than the rest of us. The other three have BMX/freeride background and their style is a little flashier.

I don't know how old the 'older guys' are but some of us old timers (I bought my first 'real' mtn bike in 1980) built our basic skills in the day of full rigid when picking the best lines on the fly was critical. I still carry a lot of that influence into my riding today.

The "older guys" aren't that old, one is 35 and the other is 38. They are just older compared to the rest of us who are under 25.

It's also been my experience that the older, more experienced riders who had to ride rigid all the time are really good at picking clean lines, they are also the ones who have the best overall bike handling skills.

I guess the whole issue is

XC racing
DH racing....

imho these are totally different to normal XC and normal DH.

You dont need to be skinny and have a 20lbs bike to go for XC, and you dont need a V10, superbody armor (ok you need armor) and huge stuff to go DH.

It is all about mountainbiking....imho, when we go to racing terms things get silly.

Hmm, I thought when FR started it was just about going off the beaten path(literally). Like I've always considered myself a XC rider, but in Germany we used to push ourselves to the limits our bikes and bodies could take. I'll never forget riding fire roads in the forest and deciding to just turn off and head straight down the side of the hill holding on for dear life. The most fun/dangerous was riding down over the fallen trees that had been cut for lumber. I don't know about skill, but it definitely took some noots.

I don't know how old the 'older guys' are but some of us old timers (I bought my first 'real' mtn bike in 1980) built our basic skills in the day of full rigid when picking the best lines on the fly was critical. I still carry a lot of that influence into my riding today.

I'm 39 and do dumb drops on a 14 yr chromoly ridged frame.

I've chucked the bike and grabbed trees......

Funs fun.

XC- fast over terrain.

FR- have a blast riding anything ('cept flats).

Urban- (bikes in the garage, I'm having sex with your mom.)

The "older guys" aren't that old, one is 35 and the other is 38. They are just older compared to the rest of us who are under 25.

It's also been my experience that the older, more experienced riders who had to ride rigid all the time are really good at picking clean lines, they are also the ones who have the best overall bike handling skills.
I'm 38 and ride with people from 11 to 60. Some of us hit the drops and stunts and some go around.One place we ride has a rock stuch out on a hill, bout a 5 ft drop. One guy a little older than me decided he would do it the other day.He hardly jumps anything so we were suprised. He totally missed it,drove the front wheel in the ground followed by his head.That led to a free pass to the emergency room. :( Us old guys still do stupid things too.LOL

Hmm, I thought when FR started it was just about going off the beaten path(literally). Like I've always considered myself a XC rider, but in Germany we used to push ourselves to the limits our bikes and bodies could take. I'll never forget riding fire roads in the forest and deciding to just turn off and head straight down the side of the hill holding on for dear life. The most fun/dangerous was riding down over the fallen trees that had been cut for lumber. I don't know about skill, but it definitely took some noots.

Started and where it has progressed are different things. Althugh riding down long steep chutes...still fun :)

I'm 38 and ride with people from 11 to 60. Some of us hit the drops and stunts and some go around.One place we ride has a rock stuch out on a hill, bout a 5 ft drop. One guy a little older than me decided he would do it the other day.He hardly jumps anything so we were suprised. He totally missed it,drove the front wheel in the ground followed by his head.That led to a free pass to the emergency room. :( Us old guys still do stupid things too.LOL

Oh the pain :( Was he smart enough to be wearing a helmet? I did a rather similar dumb thing the other day. I decided to ride up the small hill bordering the sidewalk (well a lot of sidewalks have hills bordering them :p) but on the way down I didn´t take into consideration the slight dip between the end of the hill and the begining of the sidewalk, so the front wheel gets stuck, I go over the bar and the bike comes falling on my back. I´m quite sure that if my helmet didn´t have the 'stupid visor' then my nose and mouth would have a lot more than scratches on them. So the lesson is, visors are good (and doing stupid things can be painful)

I was wondering the differences between the different riding styles as well so I looked on google, of course I ended up with an old thread from here. :p
http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-39318

As for my riding styles, I think I end up using one bike for everything, commuting, urban, XC, and whatever else could give me a challenging ride :p One really starts to feel the limits of using a Trek 4100 then :p But it serves it´s main purpose for me just fine :) (as a replacement to the bus)

Newbie here who rides xc. I'll probably try downhill next year when the Whislter bike park opens for the season again, when I have developed some skill on a bike!

I don't know how old the 'older guys' are but some of us old timers (I bought my first 'real' mtn bike in 1980) built our basic skills in the day of full rigid when picking the best lines on the fly was critical. I still carry a lot of that influence into my riding today.

I'm not sure I would call myself an old timer. I bought my first real MTB when I was a teenager. That was back in 1987. I didn't convert to suspension of any kind until just before the turn of the century (always wanted to work that phrase into a post... and to make me sound old :D) so I had a lot of experience riding full-rigid. Even now with a full-suspension bike, I still mainly ride as if on a full-rigid so some would say that I'm not utilising the full potential of my bike but I tend to pride myself on picking the cleanest fastest lines.