I live I guess in an area where there are many affluent people - all with credit cards with unlimited power. So many of these people are now getting into mountain biking. Its amazing. I have ridden for about 30 years and up until about 3 years ago had many trails to myself. Now most are crowded. The point I am badly making is at one time, people in the sport knew something about bikes or riding. Now if you have a credit card, you are an "expert". I recently sold an extremely nice (and yes very lightweight) bike. The gentleman that bought it knew nothing of the great setup on the bike; the components, geometry etc. His first question was "is it lightweight? How much does it weigh?" I assured him it was light asuming he was going to use the bike to race. I took him on a test ride and the guy could barely negotiate an easy flat trail. Weight was the last thing he needed to worry about.
Sort of going the other way... I see all these noobie kids buying big hit, huge fork bikes 'cause I guess they think somedy they are going to do a Red Bull Freeride challenge but they can barely go down a local urban trail and no one is able to ride up a hill. This fat old lady cruises by all these kids walking those big rigs up hill.
OK sorry for my rant... I am happy people are discovering the sport.... I just wish people realized there is a learning curve and just because a bike is lightweight and fast or has a great bike fork, doesn't mean you are a good rider or anywhere close!
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Private docent led mountain bike rides through Limestone Canyon. Go to
letsgooutside.org and register today! Also available: hikes, equestrian rides and family events as well as trail maintenance and science study.