Originally Posted by
eubi
Congratulations to your son for a 6 MB COH! Keep that up and he'll be Eagle in no time!
Thanks for the congrats! I did sign up for a committe position. This will be one good way to be more involved in my oldests life!
(he lives with his Mom)
Originally Posted by
eubi
Your list is good, but I would take issue with items 2 and 3. I'm not sure why riding a wheelie would be useful. Educate me. As I think about it, a stoppie would be useful to reduce the panic reflex if one starts to go endo.
It's all about how well you can control your bike. Control & balance.
Useful in the uneven and varied terrain of mountain bikes.
#2, a wheelie. The precursor to a bunny hop when standing. Useful for going up or over obstacles.
Think trials riding.
Not the Hans Rey extreme trials, but I feel that you should be able to safely ride off of a picnic table with out damage to you, others or the bike.
(I once passed another rider at a MTN bike race when he stopped to climb down a small drop-off.
I just launched right off it and kept going!)
It's also a show-offy trick that requires precise fine motor skills to maintain. Riding a wheelie as opposed to "pulling" a wheelie, which is a short, unbalanced act. Once you can "ride" a wheelie, the next step is one handed. Like skating, requires keen balance & good control.
#3, the stoppie. Again, control & balance. If you come upon a steep, loose descent, using the rear brake is going to just be a long, fast skid! You have to lean back and use the FRONT brake to maintain a safe speed. And if your front wheel were to find a rut or hole, an endo is almost inevitable. But not guaranteed if you are good at stoppies and front brake control.
'Course I learned all that before suspension on bicycles was anything more than a 60lb Kawasaki bike!
So for me, suspension has taken away some of the finesse needed when off-roading on a rigid mtn bikes.
