Though I would not classify myself as a mountain bike purist, I disagree.

Please consider the viewpoint offered by Greg Randolph (aka "chopper") in the November 06 issue of Bike magazine:

You're allowed to use a multi tool?

06 Ellsworth Truth, ProPedal Shock, Fox Vanilla 100 RLC, SRAM 9.0 Gripshift, X-9 R. der, Crossmax Disc tubeless wheels, IRC Mythos Tubeless tires, WTB Shadow V seat, Forged & Splined Race Face cranks, Juicy-7 hydraulic brakes, Coda bar ends, Syncros low rise bar, Easton stubby stem, Ritchey seat post

Awesome, efficient trail bike that's XC race light. 26lbs

how do you get a nice full size picture uploaded on the reply?

those are nice.

Funny you brought that up, I read that the night I posted this.

You disagree that epic has it's own definition to everyone? So tell me, how long does a ride have to be to be epic? Where is this set defintion?

Not trying to pick a bone anywhere, but this argument comes up a lot of places. Inevitably one person will point to Websters, or the OED, while another will point to their own personal experiences, or a quote by someone who is recognized as an expert within the field.

In the most technical sense, epic evokes strong images of heroism and long poems (think Homer's Iliad and Odyssey.)

The argument that has arisen here is something like 'Ulysses was soft, I get caught by 15 cyclopses and 18 witches that turn people into pigs, and that's just on my ride to work.'
The presumption all of this falls under is that the person using the language is aware of the connotations and denotations of the words they use. It should be noted, for the sake of discourse, that varying levels of comprehension exist and must be accounted for if this discourse is to continue.

Someone will always think that someone elses perception of 'epic' or 'hard' or 'X'. The role that must be taken by anyone who says 'that person has no idea what X really is' is that of an educator or tutor. Assuming the role of parole officer or admissions committee really only serves to exclude, and c'mon, more people need to know how to appreciate bikes, right?

Personally. Epic is individual. Epic (long short, technical/easy, stunning ugly) are all personal to me. I have had truly epic rides of 5 hours or the most technical single track *I* can ride...I went back 3 years later and the ride could no longer be epic. It didn't offer any challenge, cardio or technical. At the time, I almost fell unconsious, puked and bonked harder than in any other sport (the day I fell in love haha) I have also done 1 hour very technical and brutal rides or pure unadulteraded downhill that were epic. I could probably take a couple of people from here and they would enjoy it...it would be fun and challenging, but not epic...

If Randolph were 100% right than the only people who could truly define epic, would be the best. The elite. In that case no ride, no matter how hard or how brutal, would ever be epic as someone else would always be going longer and harder. How can a 'brutal' measly 8 hour ride (pathetic ) compare to the 6 days of the trans rocky (8 to 12 hours a day on single track or non existant trails)? Or the 7 days of the trans alp? Or a 24 hour race ridden solo (of a real trail)? Or the Downhill race in Golden which lasts, at full speed, almost 30minutes. Nothing would ever be epic, except for those elite riders that can loft the bar high enough.

regardless of the purety of its definition...epic is personal but still, meant to be used sparingly, for those moments that were truly achievements of the time.

Longer than 12 miles.

Even if you had to carry the bike 12 miles through a mosquito infested mud swamp uphill.

12 miles can't qualify, regardless.

I agree that it's personal so my definition? an all day ride that goes fifty miles plus. Of course that depends a lot on the terrain.

At some point you should be absolutely in the middle of nowhere , so that riding back to the trailhead takes the 2nd half of the day. Whether it's a huge loop or a long out and back.

So riding all day at a resort does not qualify to me, nor does riding the same 15 mile loop all day.

Broken bodies and bike, bonking , getting lost and / or running out of water and daylight enhances the story, but is just a side effect of a good epic ride, it does not make a ride 'epic'.

but anyway........more pictures in this thread less BS

I would say that I have never done an "epic" ride. The closest I have come was maybe 4 hours of riding, getting lost, then getting dark, magically finding my friend's aunt's house on the first road we found, and getting a ride back to our truck at about 9pm.

stupid expensive but I am able to ride it on really long rides & not get as beat up or tired as my friends

hey, how does one get full size pictures uploaded to a post? I have only been able to compress photos and upload as an attachment. I don't understand how to use the URL option? Is that the way??

Thanks...

You have to upload your pic to one of those hosting sites and then link to the pic from here using the [ IMG ] [ /IMG ] tags. Remove the spaces from that or use the icon that looks like a mountain with the yellow background.

To be epic i think it has to be 1) all day. 2) Far enough that without a computer, you couldnt even begin to guess the milage. 3) Over unfamiliar terrain, and 4) something interesting/different has to happen.

Overall though, and probably most importantly, it has to be worthy of a story that other mtn bikers would like to hear and be impressed.

Clearly there is something wrong when a thread requests pictures of Rigs and almost all the pictures are of bikes that assuredly are not Rigs. A Rig is a 29er singlespeed offered by the good folks who obviously know what's up(or else the Rig would not be in production) over at Gary Fisher. You all need to delete your posts and pics or else I will report this thread as off topic.







;p

you mean at that trek plant over in taiwan?

What is wrong with the Trek plant in taiwan? Really that is beside the point, Gary Fisher produces the Rig.

I would say the level of difficulty on a personal level would define how epic a ride is. If an overweight fat bastard who hasn't walked further than the car get's up and rides a bike up a hill or a few miles down the road, that is a considerable effort, and worthy of being epic. To that person of course.

My last day in mesa, I did a 50 mile trail ride. It was over 4 hours of riding. For me, that was epic.

That has nothing to do with it. Fubar was stating that GF makes a bike called the "Rig"...

RIGHT!!!


It bugs me that they didn't change the color as far as I can tell for '07.

you guys crack me up, you get your panties in a twist over something so stupid, lol

i may live if FL but the trail I rode is a national gold winner and the level of trails I rode 12 miles on was mostly double black diamond. Plus it had been awhile since I was on the trails, so yes it was epic and it was hell. get over it.

she does not look impressed at all

definitely not.

nice choice of crank and chain guide, my Bruiser in the same color also rocks the Saint crank and E.13

Still trying to figure out who's bruiser is going to last longer. Scibes or Blazinall91's.