I brought two bikes to slick-rock a few years ago. One was a fully rigid drop-bar steel mountain bike (which would have been ideal for the White Rim Road), and a 2008 Trek Fuel EX7, a 3X9 with "old-school" geometry. Of these, the rigid drop-bar steel mtn bike was easier on Slickrock. Marginally.

I was under-biked, and under-skilled.

Under-biked means you are in over your head

So - I only tried a modern (ie. suspension) mtb once. I rented one a whistler (not the downhill park). I went up a soft surface climb, over the top ..... and panicked, as I was going crazy fast into (what I now know is called a rock garden). I assumed that I was wrecking and going to be injured, because I was going way to fast to pick my way through it. I tried to absorb as much as I could with my arms and legs and.... there was almost nothing. The suspension took it all.
Suspension MTBs terrify me because challenging terrain is maiming terrain.

I'd rather try to get through the trails by the dog park on my road bike. I guess that's probably underbiking to the extreme. Of course, I've now been dragged into BMX racing by my kids, but that feels a lot safer.

Fully admit that I should not have been riding that trail blind that fast. That was stupid. And that I was in over my head. Except I wasn't, because I was so far within the bike's capabilities, even if it was beyond my capabilities on a rigid (my only frame of reference)

I think with a lot of discussions like this we forget the intent of the rider I love my rigid 29ers because when I'm out on the trail I'm there to be on the trail not to be fast or find the most technical thing I can do my fun factor isn't/wasn't improved with my more capable bikes.

I ride this bike every couple weeks on my normal route to stay grounded on how good we have it these days.

I think people are confusing what the term is used for. It's not a criticism about how or what someone chooses to ride in general. It has more to do with specific activities that (usually) require a more technologically developed machine.

I ride a late 80's rigid, 2 speed 26" mtb and enjoy it on the trails that I like to ride. I am not underbiked because I tailor the route to the bike. However, if I were to ride competitively, or with a group that wanted to stay together, on the modern technical mtb trails that are being built in my region, and I wanted to use that bike, it could be said I was choosing to be "underbiked". Maybe I want to, maybe I'm super fit, maybe I'm uber skilled, but for such a specific activity - that's where the term would apply.

Similarly, I occasionally ride both a 70's Apollo FG and a 69 Gitane SS. Both delightful bikes that I enjoy for their simplicity and pure riding pleasure (similar to my 2 speed mtb). I am not underbiked in that case because that's my intended way to ride. However, if I were to enter a road race, and wanted to be competitive, using the 69 Gitane SS might be considered choosing to be "underbiked". Of course, someone will say they ride SS or FG competitively, as the exception to the rule, but that's the general use of the term.

as someone else noted, we have a long way to springtime. (by that, I mean people are going to argue about stupid stuff.)

A member of a neighboring club is super strong.

He sometimes shows up for group (road) rides on a vintage mtn bike with knobby tires, and still out-rides the group.

I don't call it "over-biked".
I call it "under-trailed".

Bababooey.

I sure love my airplane.

My ex went to his wedding before she and I got together. His fiancé and she went to school together. Apparently a very nice guy. She later saw him at a book signing and he remembered her.

Warning - bad (off topic) joke. "Under-biked"? The sporting underwear of my high school days, half a century before Under Armour. Bike jockstraps (with cup for football, hockey and catchers).

thats funny.
i saw him 20-30 years ago at some csr dealer on rt 22 union area ...was fun yelled bababooey ..old school booey.

'It never gets easier... you just go faster."

-G Lemond

Where do mountain eBikes fit in this conversation?

Perhaps an eBike is beyond-biked; a kind of cycling heaven where there is life after death by slow, long, steep climbs?

I don't have an eBike. Probably I'll have one one day.

Where I ride they are sprouting up like mushrooms after the rain. Many of my old riding mates (and we are getting old) have switched permanently to the eBike. They are smiling more than they used to.

Last weekend my wife was almost ran over by a conga-line of eBikes! Same day, we heard another's wife in a different place collided with an eBiker and got scraped up.

Over-biked, as in ran over by a bike?

I've even seen eBikers doing shuttle rides!

How about: Uber-Biked?

Me, sawing away on a single speed, every time, I am being simply out-biked!

If I am so far into it; am I totally out of it?

It's all good until someone gets hurt.

Progress, onward everyone, it's all we can do.

At least we biked.

I have no problem with technology advancing a sport. Heck, in the earliest days of baseball the fielders didn't use gloves. I'm even ok with ebike users taking a few more cars off the road for their daily commutes. However, if you ride an ebike and call it exercise, I will have to call BS on your point of view.

As for the cost of cycling, it is what it is. To expand on my baseball example, a pro level custom fit glove will cost you over $500 or you can go to Dick's Sporting Goods and spend $50. They both will catch a baseball, but the details is where the cost comes in. It's just a matter of how deep into your pockets you want to go.

i ride the same...I feel that I am under biked when they land on top of me

Lol! Unfortunately been there done that.

John