koine2002

So I went home to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas (Weslaco) for Thanksgiving and brought my KHS. I found a trail (thanks to MTBR) in Mission and rode it. I didn't last long though since I ended up riding right into a patch of Prickly Pear Cacti (it's a week later and I'm still picking stuff out of my skin). Anyway, I stopped by Bicycle World in McAllen to see what they had in MTB, out of curiosity, and my goodness, the area is flat as a pancake and the one trail in Mission is not all that hard (besides the cacti ), they've got DH, FR and DJ stuff there. My question, where in the world is one going to be using a bike like that there? An entry level Trek, Giant or KHS will do fine there. I guess 3 grand for a bike used once a year when travelling out to West Texas or something would be worth it to some people.

Maelstrom 

I don't know the area, but it is very easy to get "too much bike". Just use the chance to go somewhere where you can use it

koine2002

The area is flat, flat, flat. It's a roadie's dream , other than the 20 mph coastal winds that go 100 miles inland (flags are horizontal all day). The terrain is nothing but cactus, mesquite trees, citrus, banana and palm trees. The dirt is caliche (almost pure clay, little sand). The only hills are man made or levees. The DH sections of this trail are 10 foot 60 degree drops off of some levees. Like I said, not much to fight against.

LowCel 

Believe me, that is not a roadies dream.

wearyourtruth

here in lubbock it's the same thing (pretty much the same area) all we have are several XC courses and some dirt jumps people have made.

i don't think any of our bike shops actually STOCK any DH or FR bikes (maybe the one i don't go to very often) but that doesn't prevent people from wanting to own the bikes and special ordering them... for several reasons

1. some people have a bike that's "too much for the area" because get the heck out of town every weekend to go somewhere else to ride, or even if not that much, they want a bike that is more all around so it doesn't limit them if they travel. for our trails a hardtail with 80mm fork is ideal. it's their job, or school, that keeps them here.

2. a good number of people here have FR bikes they use out at a couple skateparks and just around town, don't need a lot of hills for those really

3. some people just want to look cool and will pay a lot of money to do that

i can't figure out why anyone would get a hardcore DH bike here though, and luckily i haven't seen one yet.

koine2002

I know, I was just being silly. I do a bit of road myself and I would take hills over a headwind anyday. Although, I do like the challenge of both.

LowCel 

Had a nice headwind on todays training ride, it sucked. 12 MPH wind, not sure how it managed to be a headwind in both directions though. Guess it was more of a crosswind. Anyway, at 30 degrees (real feel of 20 degrees) wind sucks, especially on a road bike.

free_pizza

i see people commuting in the city with DH rigs. this place is flatter than a pancake.. hilarious!

koine2002

That's a lot of bike weight for a commute. I'm not a weight weenie, by a long shot, but a 40 lb DH hulk with knobbies for a commute?

wearyourtruth

psh. today was 25mph average with gusts up to 40. bleh!

Gerst240

I thought to myself why would anyone want a dh bike in florida well last week i found out why. It seems like the north shore has made it to the south with a fury. Im sure that just about everywhere you go there will be places with some sort of hidden shore/huge kickers that a DH bike would feel right at home on.

Gerst240

Are they commuting or are they killing it on the big bikes?