mariano

I was browsing this forum and realized there is a biking world I have never known. Dirt Jumping? DownHill Racing? Dirt/Fire Road riding ? FreeRide? .......

Trails and roads are the only thing I knew for MTBs. Can anyone list all different kind of riding styles available to MTB? If possible add a brief description, recommended bike (FT, HT or rigid) and required experience level.

I'm hoping to try them all if possible....

EDIT: if this was discussed preciously, please link me to the post. Thanx !

MadMan2k

Dirt jumping is usually done on smaller bikes, with a shorter seat tube. Sometimes these bikes also have no front brake, as they aren't used often and just add weight. Sometimes these bikes also only have one gear, one that is ideal for jumping, since derrailuers tend to break easily when used hard, and chain dropping happens pretty often.

Downhill racing is usually done on full-suspension bikes with a lot of suspension travel to absorb the hits and rough terrain, which helps speed.

Dirt/fire road... Any type of bike really, a light one will be nicest though.

Freeride encompasses a lot of riding, but mostly I think its riding things and getting air off them, doing tricks, etc.


For starting out, one would want a hardtail usually.
After a while, a full-suspension can be a good idea.
Rigid seems to be what people go back to, keeping their FS bike as a backup.

mtnbiker66

You should try them all as your skill progresses. You will miss out if you don't.

Drunken Chicken

I think this is relevant:

What is XC?! I hear it all the time but I never know what it is... cross country? Isn't that CC?

MadMan2k

X = cross.

Yes, XC is cross country. CC is cubic centimeters.

Drunken Chicken

Oh... right. Thanks a lot for clearing this up, it was starting to fry my brain.

mariano

I forgot to ask in which ones you use toe clips, clipless or nothing.

I had my first fall with clipless today on my way home. I can't get the twisting movement in my mind yet.

I stopped in a street corner, took my right foot off, but my bike leaned left. It all happened in slow motion and I was lying horizontal on the street with my bike still clipped to my foot. That was embarrasing !! Now I can't stop laughing about it...

Anyway, when is it considered safe to use clipless and when not?

jburnsdo

You can use clipless anytime you want as your skill progresses. Trials riders and DJers generally don't use clipless pedals, and the pendulum swings back and forth for downhill riders. I love riding clipless, and as you progress, your speed and skills will improve noticeably.
The only true time that it is completely unsafe to ride clipless is when you're riding wheelies trying to impress the opposite sex. Your bike will end up riding you, and your A** and pride won't forget that one for a long time.

Maelstrom 

Most freeriders don't wear clipless either, especailly ones that spend time on stunts. I will never ride clipless.

J-McKech

I went from XC to Freeride/all-mountain and ditched the clipless. I feel WAY more comfortable and feel I can do so much more. I haven't lost much of my pedaling power, of course I can't pull on my upstroke but then again If I need to pedal effiecently I got a road bike with speedplays.

mariano

What about safety? I never thought of clipless as an efficiency increase but as an added safety to the ride. I had the unpleasant experience of jumping with my bike, slipped from the pedals and landed on the frame. -->

After this I went toe clip and now clipless. Did this ever happened to you ?? If so, do you still feel that clipless is not needed ??

Maelstrom 

Jumping is much safer without clipless. You just have to know how to jump, once you have that down, your feet don't fly off. To be honest, clipless is kind of like cheating, you aren't actually learning to bunny hop or dirtjump, your just using the clips to give a false sense of control. In reality the best jumpers are always those that learned on flats on a bmx style bike (now they ride clipless, imagine the control of pure skill and clipless, those guys are generally the best riders around) Also imagine being stuck in mid air on a bad jump you can't make, your chance of tossing the bike awkwardly is far more dangerous than mine (I watched one vid where a guy was racing clipless bikercross and the bike was stuck to him...that would suck) I don't see how being attached physcially to something is going to be safer.

mtnbiker66

I like riding trails clipped in but when I'm out jumping and just playing around I ride platforms.

jdoglike

CC is also Cross Country as in running.

DMN

I mate of mine used to swear by his clippless, untill he hit a jump at the wrong angle and the bike twisted in the air and landed on him becuase he was still attached to it.

a2psyklnut

There are other disciplines of mountain biking yet to be mentioned.

TRIALS (Not Trails) is for those with great balance and grace. These are the guys that do small little hops onto things, then up onto their back tires hopping in one spot then lunging from one obstacle to another. They do a bunch of crazy tricks one would think would be impossible on a bike.

Mountain Cross or Four Cross - This is a relatively new aspect of the sport. It was adopted from BMX and Slalom racing. It's essentially a 4 Person race down a BMX style course with berms, jumps, rhythm sections...etc. The top two finishers advance the other two go home. Very fast, very exciting and good for spectators.

Slalom - Two riders, usually two seperate courses, timed runs. Riders race twice, (once on each side) rider with lowest combined time advances. This was fast and exciting too, but due to the popularity and number of racers, it took to long to finish a race.

XC Short-Track - Also relatively new. This was a stupid idea by the Organizers to create a Criterium type race (road race) for mountain bikers. The courses are shorter, near a lot of spectators, usually combine paved and un-paved sections, little climbing, nothing technical. Heck it's so NON-Technical one guy last year raced on a road bike and won.

XC - Long - This is your typical cross country race. Laps at courses over the hills and through the wooods....etc. type trails (where most of us ride). There are usually laps, 2, 3, 4, or 5 depending on the length of the lap and the skill level. If you've never raced, this is the type of racing you'll most likely encounter.

Free-riding - This isn't racing, but there are competitions. There are many definitions as to what Freeriding really is, and it's somewhat dependant on your location. This aspect was developed in the PNW and the North Shore. Riders in those areas developed elevated trails to protect the ecosystem (rain forest) as the riders got used to riding planks and fallen trees, the trails become more challanging. Teeter totters, drops and all sorts of stunts were created. To me, it's technical riding, jumping, hitting drops, pushing the limits of the bike and the riders.

Downhill - This is a timed race that starts at the top of a mountain and is a downhill course. Racer with the lowest time to complete the course wins. Bikes usually have 8 to 10 inches of travel, some berms, rock gardens, roots...etc. Very challanging, very fast and lots of air.

12 and 24 hour endurace events - These are endurance XC races that are usually done with a team, (some fools go solo) and last 12 or 24 hours. They race day and night. There is usually a baton that gets passed from one rider to another. Team with most laps and lowest overall time (if same # of laps) wins. Great time, festival type environment. I highly recommend doing one of these in your life.

Marathons - These are more popular in Europe, but getting more popular here stateside. It's a longer XC race, 25, 50 or even 100 mile races.

mariano

Great info here !!

When racing, how long are the competitions in miles and hours? Can you send me links to websites that sponsor these competitios? I would like to see a pic of the road bike that won the XC competition.

trekkie820

And, I will never ride platforms!

Maelstrom 

It was a race in texas. I doubt there is any pics, but it was a very popular report as the rider was getting annoyed at how one of your racing federations was making races toooo easy. So he came to the race on a xc bike.

Even on the shore there was a mixed race. Uphill and downhill with 2 riders passing the batton as it were. The xc guys (ones going up) were gonna show up on road bikes because they way up, while long, was really just going to be a fireroad. When the people putting the race together heard that they switched it up and made them climb one or two shore trails...man did that piss people off.

cryptid01

Here we go again....


Oh, alrighty then, never mind...

A lot of BMX racers and downhillers use clipless. I think that if you want to go fast, the consensus is that clipless is the way to go. You just need to make sure you feel comfortable with them.

Maelstrom 

I would say most dh racers on the WC level do use them, but I bet the learned on flats (that was really my point haha)

a2psyklnut

Most XC races are laps of about 7 to 10 miles (around here anyways). There are several levels for racing. There are your First timers (usually one lap) Beginner's (two laps) Sport (3 to 4 laps) and Expert (4 to 6 laps). Some of the bigger sanctioned events will also have a Pro class (6 laps +)

Figure begginers are riding with an average speed of about 7-10 mph and Experts are 14-17 mph. Depending on the courses.

Go visit your local shops and they usually have information regarding races in your area. Or, pick up an issue of BIKE magazine and in the back there is a regional update. Send an email to the writer in your region and they'll inundate you with info.

Also, in the back of DIRT RAG there is a calendar of upcoming events. Usually has contact info included.

Or maybe I got that wardsback between Bike and Dirt Rag.

jeff williams

XC, yes is cross country.
CX is cyclo-cross.

blue_neon

would you recommend HT or FS for cross country? Personally I would want something light, but is there any disadvantages to FS?

Maelstrom 

For non racing, there isn't much of a disadvantage. Its when you primary concern is pedal efficiency that duallies become a downfall