Mountain Biking - its the rider, not the bike

as always this will be scattered and haphazard....

i am going to make a broad sweeping generalization here:

as long as the bike is set up properly and fits, there is no difference in bikes of similar levels, one bike isn't better than another, it's the rider.

why i say this:

i used to ride a turner 5 spot, loved it, that bike changed my life. i currently ride a trek remedy. i put all my turner parts on the remedy, so it's pretty much the same bike, except the frame. yes, geometry is different, but when it comes right down to it, the frame is almost irrelevant.

i admit, i never wanted a trek, and when i first started riding it, i wasn't too thrilled with it. i think this was more mental than physical. after riding it in sedona, i realized that bike kicked ass. it climbed, it handled techy stuff, it took drops, and it felt surprisingly similar to my turner.

i will be getting a rocky mountain slayer in the next few months. i have lusted after that bike since i first rode it. i will put my parts on the slayer frame, and yes, while the frame geometry will be different i'm not sure i will notice much of a difference.

i know each bike company has it's own geometry and feel, but i'm starting to wonder if, when it comes down to it, it doesn't really matter at all. i adapted to the trek, which i thought i never would. i wonder if, when i get the slayer, it won't be as magical as i remember it.

the more bikes i ride, the more i feel that a bike is parts and tires, and the frame is almost a moot point, and is more about style than actual performance. to a certain point.

I have had a few frames in the last 20 years. Not many really. But I soon realized that I like a shorter top tube, XL frame, but I don't want to be stretched out to far on the frame. I want to get behind the seat fast and far if I need to. I like my Scott, but I am realizing that the long top tube makes it hard to lift the front tire as quick as I used to. I need to preload to get a good lift.

I dont think so, i believe it does. If i switch bikes with a friend during a ride just for fun, i find that his has advantages that mine doesn't and the other way around as well. I see what your saying about getting familiar with a bike but i dont see how you can say frames of similar levels dont make a difference?

Differences in HTA/STA/TT are noticeable. Just because you don't notice, doesn't mean others can't. Good for you because you can be les picky. Why get a Slayer if you're happy with the Remedy?

....Why get a Slayer if you're happy with the Remedy?

for the simple reason the slayer is waaaay cool.

^ and cuz it's called a...
http://www.rockpic.net/images/slayer-8.jpg

I'm not saying otherwise fo sho. I'd take one.:thumb:

I think once you get to a certain skill level, mechanical changes can make a huge difference. For most of us though, it's just about enjoyability. I can't do anything on my FS that I can't do on my old fully rigid Wahoo, I just enjoy everything that I do more on the new bike.

I think when you get to a certain comfort level, or "zone"...subtle changes are noticeable. If I rode a certain section of trail over and over on the same bike...I would feel something just a little different when I move to another bike. Like Pablo says...it probably won't make you any more/less capable. Like Sam says...it's more about the feel of the riding experience.

There are obviously certain things that are more about the bike than the rider like the traction and floatation of a 2.5" tire on gnarly terrain over a 1.9" bone crusher...etc...

I'll take your Slayer...and raise you a throbbing gristle.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f12/scrublover/bike%20shots/IMG_0007-3.jpg

At least, that's what pops into my head for a name, and I don't name my bikes.

Plan: crush the smack talkers I run into on-trail who give me grief about a pink bike, you can't ride this stuff on a hardtail, OMG you're clipped in, and whatever else I can think of. Lycra will probably happen with this bike, considering it's the "xc" bike.

^Win:thumb:

Ghey pink, GHEY PINK! FRIGGIN GHEY ROADIE!

Plan: crush the smack talkers I run into on-trail who give me grief about a pink bike, you can't ride this stuff on a hardtail, OMG you're clipped in, and whatever else I can think of.

Ha! Troll bike.

Ha! Troll bike.

Maybe. I only hope to be man enough to rock the pink bike with grace and aplomb when confronted by douch-bags mid-ride.

I've never seen a pink bike in it's natural habitat. Just pictures. If I did...I wouldn't be douch€ enough to comment negatively on it.

I think when you get to a certain comfort level, or "zone"...subtle changes are noticeable. If I rode a certain section of trail over and over on the same bike...I would feel something just a little different when I move to another bike.I agree with this to a degree; yet at the same time, I have to agree with pablo as well.

I'm admittedly not the most subtle rider when it comes to 'feel' of a bike. I used to read Motocross Action and marveled at the testers being able to sort out and nitpick minute variances in handling, suspension damping/reaction and such. And I do the same now with bicycles. I wish I were that gifted.

I have now ridden - - a LOT - - 4 very different bikes on two very familiar local DH trails: a Yeti AS-X, Transition GranMal, Transition Blindside and now a Yeti 303R DH; and, to be honest, the 'ride' has not changed that much for me between them. The Blindside was poppy and felt probably more like the AS-X to me in how it behaved but better; the 303R (at least how I have mine set up) has some of the "plow" tendencies my old Gran Mal had. The bike I was probably most at home on was the Blindside; but I still feel like the 303R is the most capable yet - - and that it is my own limitations and maybe the way I've assembled it that are not allowing me to unleash its true potential.

On the flip side, I can certainly tell how vastly different the 303R is from the old AS-X. There is just no comparison, really. Yet the progression was so gradual, I suppose, that it's easy to overlook unless I really stand back and look.

I'll take your Slayer...and raise you a throbbing gristle.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f12/scrublover/bike%20shots/IMG_0007-3.jpg



MY EYES, MY EYES! Warn us before you post something like that again! And the frame clashes with the red thingie on the r. derailer. SHNIKES! :lol: