Originally Posted by cyccommute
I already read the forum and post in it but, and maybe this is what is bugging me, mountain biking is developing it's own brand of snobbishness. It kind of Balkanizing which I don't think is good for the sport in the long run. Just look at the list from Jeff Williams. Used to be that all of that fit under "mountain biking". Now it's just a confusing mishmash of different techniques and equipment. Look at the confusion that reigns about what is an all-mountain bike or a XC bike or a free-ride bike. The differences are slight but the confusion is large. With the possible exception of full on downhillers and XC racing, all three of those bikes could be used for the same thing without the world coming to an end.
I don't see the snobbishness( is that a made up word) around here. I just ride. I love to be in the woods on a good trail with some friends. A typical group that I ride with will have a couple of freeride go big types,some XC racers and some rec type trail riders. We just go out and have fun.As far as what the different bikes do and the differences being slight,try to race XC on a freeride rig or huck a 20 pound race bike. The difference is huge. Sorry, I said huck.
