At The Top.

If your legs are shaved, you are road biking, regardless of bike or terrain.

Hmm...guess I'll be sticking to road biking in that case.

Ex-boyfriend of mine used to shave his legs because he said it was easier to clean the dirt out of cuts when he fell. He did some road biking, but was a mountain biker at heart.

Fail,

Shaved legs are easier to get bug spray on easier to clean up cuts and a lot easier to check for ticks.

How am I supposed to evenly apply body lotion with hairy legs??

Yes, obviously I was being completely serious.

in my opinion (FWIW), it's a mountain bike ride if you need to use offroad techniques to get where you're going... the bike you're on isn't important, but it can sure make it easier if you use the right tool for the job.

I ride this one on our extensive local network of fire roads.




And I use this one for single track and other situations where the narrow cyclocross tires and limited gearing become a problem. The 42mm tires and Rohloff hub are perfect for anything short of bombing down steep, rocky singletrack.


It's copied from a French "muletisme" design of the 1930s, which was used for exploring the singletrack "mule paths" in the Alps and Pyrenees.

I don't know where to divide "mountain biking" from "road cycling". Maybe the Rough Riders have a pretty good handle on it.

I think there's a big gray area between in riding on smooth dirt roads/trails vs. letting loose with fat knobbies and suspension over roots, rocks, drops, jumps, etc.

Call it whatever you want, the most important part is that you're on a BIKE. Different strokes for different folks.

Where the blacktop ends?

Wow, all over the place with these answers... and I gotta say, shaving doesn't enter into it; other than that, it's pretty much covered, though -- defined by not being defined.

For ME, it's riding off-road in conditions a road bike can't handle without damage. THEN you are mountain biking. For CX people, I don't think there ARE limits, though I have yet to see a CX bike do Vancouver's North Shore. (Vid, anyone?)

I pretty much just RIDE; I can have ONE bike, too many other obligations to indulge further, and my ONE is MTB. I ride EVERYTHING, so I'm just riding a bike.

Actually, I like this. It is about how you are riding to get where your going.

Then again, there are so many variations of "mountain biking" that even this assessment is an unsatisfactory over-generalization .

Shaving legs is ghey crap. (Zeph aside) If you're riding a MTB and your legs are shaved...you're still a roadie. (zeph aside)

I stop riding the road around 45degrees and hit the woods and I stay there till spring

It's weird how alot of roadies hit the trail when the weather gets bad...and alot of MTB'ers hit the road when the weather turns bad.

Irony, eh?

Where it ends, you just untuck a bit and keep on shreddin'

Been a while since you broke that photo out, d.

^^ Call me at work and we'll talk about it.

I could get into a LOT of trouble on a bike like that...

I turned roadie over the weekend for the LV Chocolate Chase. Every stinking 8-10 miles we were stopping for Brownies of Chocolate shakes or cookies or donuts or eclairs. That's the difference between Roadie and Mountain biking. They have better snacks. I'm shaving my legs for this kinda stuff.

Pete seems you get in trouble a lot! Been buying anything new and really light?

Really?? I bring sandwiches on my mountain bike rides. Road rides get like...Gu. So my mountain rides get better food. But your rides give you brownies and chocolate? I feel like I'm missing out!

Maybe its the chocolate rush wearing off. I like packing my cooler with good bread, cheeses and hefty meats, pickles, lettuce and onions. A hearty sandwich is a great thing. So is a Negra Modelo mid ride.

so could your teeth.

The only things I've bought recently are some cones, ball bearings, and a seven speed free wheel (yawn).
As soon as I get out on the back country roads a bit more, I may be in the market for a mountain bike. I've read the stickies up top and have started looking around.