Bleh, we all ride bikes with knobby tires off-road.




I consider myself to be an agressive XC rider for lack of any better term. I like to physically push myself, but I also like to test my technical skills as well. Last week I descended several miles of extremely steep, rooted, water-barred downhill.... extremely punishing terrain. My wrists and arms were constantly being pounded and it basically took all the strength I had to control my descent and pick the best lines. But I wasn't riding a bike with 10 inches of travel front and rear. I was riding a hardtail with 3 inches of travel.


Every cross country course must have several steep climbs and downhills.... otherwise it wouldn't be mountain biking.


My point is... who gives a damn? Ride what you like, where you like, however you like... I could care less as long as you enjoy it. XC riding will never, EVER die.. it's what we started with. Not everyone wants to go hucking off 10 foot cliffs or taking massive jumps. Some of us consider shredding some singletrack and clearing steep climbs to be just as extreme. Personally I enjoy climbing, and find a downhill 100000000 times more rewarding if I climbed in order to earn that downhill in the first place.


But do as you please. Freeriding has mass appeal because it's extreme and new, but many downhillers were riding things just as technical on bikes way less technologically advanced years ago.