LHawes

Just got back from my first ride on the Trance and have to say it was WAY more fun than I thought it would be. I have a small park I ride to for exercise and it has a few hills and single track areas that are perfect for a beginner.

The ride over is hilly road and I locked out the shocks and was really impressed how it rode on the road. Sluggish of course but nothing overwhelming at all and nothing like I thought it would be on the road, even fun and climbed pretty well. Love the cushy tires.

First mistake I made was I thought the front shock was a bit stiff so I tried to let a little air out and quickly let out too much. Not a disaster at all but the front shock was a bit soft for most of the ride. We have a disc golf course at the park with some pretty steep trails between holes and a large grass/dirt hill leading down to one trail. I let it go down the hill and was really impressed with the stability.

Got to the the trail and it was medium steep and medium tight/rocky but the Trance just cruised right through. Really stable and confidence inspiring. Wanted to go right back and do it again.

I'm sure there's a head angle and chain stay length dissertation I should be giving or even a discussion of trail versus XC bikes but I have nothing to compare it to so I can't tell those who would understand these things much about the ride characteristics. It was just plain fun and can't wait to get back out there.

So...I guess I'll answer my own OP with a resounding yes, there are older mountain bikers out there. And thanks for all the responses they are quite inspiring.

Meant to add that the 2 x 10 gearing is really great for me as the low gears are really nice.

LHawes

Forgot to mention the dropper seat post - SWEET - when I remember to use it.

spokes5678

68 yr. old here, I enjoyed the dizzy heights of racing sport class until around 59yrs. old.
It was great racing the same people all year and either getting pummeled or extracting revenge every couple of weeks.
When you don't get the tingle on the start line it's time to haul your decrepit body off to the scrapyard and quit.
We still ride all winter out here in the wilds of central arkansas on some of the finest trails around.
I have a 26'' santa cruz superlight, ( the second one ) tried 29 went back, would try a 29 hardtail again.
I broke my ankle in a race I was leading by a mile**********???!!!!! go figure, broke ribs, hands fingers, ride way inside my limits now.
It's just a beautiful part of our sport.

Terex

My wife and I are both in our mid-60's and have Specialized FSR Stumpjumper 6Fatties. 27.5 wheels, 3" tires, dropper seat posts, lots of travel. My buddy is 71 and in the last year quickly bought 3 nice bikes and ended up modifying his Stumpie to as close to 3" tires as he could. For anyone going into mtn biking in the 50+ group, I'd highly recommend a bike with 27.5 wheels, 3" tires and a dropper post. The wheel and tire size appear to have hit a sweet spot for performance and stability. The dropper post helps me descending, and helps my wife just get on and off her bike.

The 26" wheel is quickly becoming passe', and the 29'er, although a very fast and capable roller, doesn't afford the same overall competence of the 27.5+ combo.

Oh, forgot to add that our bikes are 1x11. The gearing works for me and my wife loves it. The woman's bike is called the Rhyme, and is basically a man's frame with a little different component set.

LHawes

These stories are so inspiring to me and those are beautiful bikes. I just got back from my first official trail ride at a local and well known MB area. Again it was way more fun than I thought it would be. Got there fairly early with some dew on the ground and an early morning sun and just wandered around trying to get to know the place. Softened the suspension a bit more and cruised some fairly easy XC type terrain till I met up with a couple MB'ers out for a morning ride.

I followed them for a while till we came to a steep rocky uphill section and asked, "Are you going up that?" They said, "Yep, Up up and up." and off they went led by a young man of about 13 up a crazy steep rocky trail.

I thought what the hell and actually got about 3/4 of the way up and then walked the rest. Now I have a goal for next time - make that hill.

The trail winds around and above a lake and the morning views were very cool. I think the best part was that I had no idea where I was going and every turn had a new surprise.

I would say easy riding with one or two difficult (for me) downhill sections and two sections I had to walk up but overall very, very fun. I was out for about an hour and decided to call that a success with no injuries to report - nice.

One thing that surprised me was how much harder some the skills are in real life versus the videos I've been watching but the Trance seems like a good choice for my purposes and ditto on the dropper seat post - such a cool feature.

I've got a road ride planned with a buddy tomorrow but can't wait to get back out on the trail and would really love to plan a longer camping type trip into the local mountains but a busy schedule may dampen those plans a bit.

Again thanks for the posts, it's really great to read us older folks getting a bit dirty on the MB's.

Terex

In addition to the bike, clothing can really help your riding by minimizing the nature and severity of injuries. There is a lot of protection available that has spun off from down hilling. Knee and elbow pads are really light, breathable and provide a lot of protection. Also, hip and tailbone pads that fit under baggy shorts can keep you on the bike and out of the emergency room. The number and severity of impacts I was willing to take in my early 50's is no longer acceptable, so having some protection in case I do fall is a good thing.

This site provides a pretty comprehensive listing of pieces parts. Bike Body Armor | Competitive Cyclist

OldsCOOL

And useful for other endeavors....

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Mountain Mitch

Glad to have you join us old guys on mountain bikes.

When I first saw a dropper post I thought 'what a rip'. Then I tried one and I was hooked! They are the best accessory since gears.

As for 26 v 27.5 v 29 a lot depends on where and how you ride (and whether you are addicted to the "flavour of the week"). As a 26er rider I ignore the bs and just ride! I've had fun on 26 inch wheels for the last thirty years and find they suit me to a tee! I've ridden the others but for my steep tight turning trails I'm happy with what I got.

The real issue is getting out and doing it - not what you are doing it on!

LHawes

True that!

Terex

My wife getting out on the easiest of trails in northern NM (we don't have any MUP's to speak of) necessitated much more of a bike than I originally thought she needed. When she came home and said she wanted to get a Rhyme, I was like . Then, upon reflection and further analysis, I realized that her selection would allow her to ride with me. When I look at my Racer-X next to my 6Fattie, they are really different but more and more it's the old Racer-X that looks odd to me now.

Pinkbike did a good review of my bike, but in conditions with real dirt, roots and rain. It's posted here : Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Expert Carbon 6Fattie - Review - Pinkbike

Again, these are just the observations of three increasingly old people in the wilds of northern NM.

ddeand 

I started mtb riding when I was 65 - never rode one before that. My bike is a Cannondale Trail S1 29er that does well on the technical stuff and on the less demanding trails. I'm now 68 and have had to back off the technical stuff because of shoulder surgery (non-biking injury). I'm a little reluctant to do much technical riding right now because of the surgery and the tendency to tip over on my mountain bike - that's mostly a function of my lack of years on a mountain bike. I don't crash on my gravel bike or my road bike, so as my shoulder heals, I do more of that. But mountain biking is definitely the most fun and exciting!

Pamestique 

I have been out riding my mountain bike almost every day so don't post here much anymore. Pretty much began transitioning from my road bike to a mountain bike about 5 years ago (although I have been riding mountain bikes since the 80's). I am 65. Most of my riding buddies are around the same age but some are now in their 70 and one friend, one very strong and incredible friend, just turned 80!!!

For me, unfortunately, there have been a series of nasty accidents since April 2015 (broken ankle, fractured wrist and now torn rotator cuff) so I've decided to stop doing anything hairy and just stick to fire roads and flowy singletrack - fortunately there is alot of that around here.

I have 3 bikes I rotate depending on the ride: a 2006 Santa Cruz Superlight, a 2010 Superlight and now a 2012 Juliana Origin (ie Superlight) 29er. I love my 29er and find it hard to go back to the smaller bikes.

LHawes

Great story and hope to have a similar story to tell minus the injuries. I have, however, already over done it a bit and have a very sore hip that should probably have a couple weeks to heal but I'm sure I'll be out abusing it in a week or so.

Curious where in SoCal you are located? If you look in the OP I have video of where I've been riding (not me riding). Pretty easy but there are a couple of places where I've been over my head and chose to walk. Still going slow and sometimes too slow if you know what I mean and can get in more trouble in slow doubt than fast decisions but am learning fast. I made it up 'the hill' the other day after 3 days trying and tried an entirely new trail and made it but it was close.

I will actually back off now and get some more confident legs under me before trying anything too advanced. Again thanks for the story and appreciate your post.

Thought I had this posted here but it was in a different thread.

canklecat

One of my Facebook friends is an old school California downhill mountain biker from the Joe Breeze and Repack crowd. At sixtysomething, he just dug his old mountain bike out of the basement and started riding again after seeing my posts about resuming cycling after a 30-year I-hate-us. First day back on the bike he rode 10 miles. Took me a month to get in good enough shape for that. He's thinner too. Bastard.

OldsCOOL

From the "repack" days......

[IMG][/IMG]

Light, crisp turning, zippy acceleration and just plain fun on wooded single tracks.

jbenkert111

Amen, Amen, Amen. "For me" getting bogged down in the technical stuff takes time away from riding, not to mention costing a small fortune, which I have better thing's to spend what little money I have on.

jbenkert111

A lot of good feed back. I will just add my 2 cents. I am 75 and I race road TT and MTB races. Have been mtb'ing for 5 years and it is great. My best advice to you would be to not shy away from any trail. Always consider the risk and reward, and if the reward is worth it, go for it, if not get off you bike and walk it or run until you are past the obstacle. Kind of like cross racing. It will get you in great shape. Also, don't let other folks talk you in or out of what you feel comfortable with. As far as injuries, I always say, yes you may break something, but unlike riding road you probably won't die. I rather hit a tree then a car. :-).

canklecat

I'm trying to find tires cushy enough to let me try off roading on my Unibagel Via Carisma, but it'll probably need wider double wall rims first. I may just stick with the Globe Carmel for the suspension fork and fatter tires.

MN Jim

Still going strong at 64.

scrming

I'm terrible on a MTB... so I was riding at Specialized Fuse 6Fattie... the 27.5+ definitely allowed me to ride with more confidence... it also had me climbing up hills i never would have tried with just the standard 27.5 wheel (Giant Talon 27.5). I spent a lot of time in the summer working on my MTB riding... so in August i decided i wanted to try a full suspension MTB... so for my 53 birthday, i bought a new Trek Fuel EX 5 27.5+. One thing different beside being a full suspension bike, is that the Fuel EX has a 2.8" tire vs the Fuse's 3.0" inch tire... I expected the Fuel EX to be a bit slower than my hard tail Fuse, but all the data said the Fuel EX was faster across the board. Looking forward to November, which is going to be my first real race with the Fuel!

LHawes

Did you notice any performance/confidence decline with the 2.8 versus the 3.0 tire? I think I can get 2.8's on my bike and would love to try them.

Pamestique 

I live in Orange County. I have ridden most of the trails in Orange County, San Diego, Riverside/San Berdo. I used to do some technical/tough stuff but I just don't want to be hurt again. Last year I broke my ankle/leg and was off the bike (and walking altogether) for 6 months so... now my riding days are limited to easier trails mostly in Chino Hills State Park, Black Star/Skyline, Wood Canyon, Las Tiejas/Arroyo Trabuco etc. When I can, I do Marshall Canyon (La Vern) and my favorite, Laguna Mountain in San Diego. Also like to ride out of Angeles Oaks and Big Bear (not the Park but around the park). Never heard of Lake Calavera - will have to check it out.

EDITED TO ADD: OK checked out Lake Calavera - near Vista/Carlsbad... never been there. Looks similar to some of the trails in Aliso or Chino. Since you are down there...consider a trip out to Mt. Laguna; especially now. Weather should be perfect.

Daspydyr 

62 and 2/3s here. I ride anything with tires, but prefer some flowy single track and some wildlife now and then.

Daspydyr 

PAMMMMM, how have you been?

LHawes

Yeah I think a lot of the country around here is similar. Calavera has some easy trails that I'm getting to know and I live in Vista 5 - 10 minutes away. A few fairly difficult descents that stretch my current limits so it really is a perfect spot for the time being.

I need to get in better shape before I travel an hour to ride for an hour but will keep Mount Laguna in mind. Thanks for the tip.