anyone mountian bike?
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Topic: anyone mountian bike?
Posted By: nickman98
Subject: anyone mountian bike?
Date Posted: 08 July 2010 at 6:20pm
| if so do you have any glove types you might recomend? also any tips for someone just starting out, other then start on the easy trails. anything i need to watch out for or worry about? |
Replies:
Posted By: tallen702
Date Posted: 08 July 2010 at 7:41pm
Wear a helmet. It will save your life. I always use fingerless gloves with copious padding in the palm so that I can feel the brakes and shifters better, while still keeping my palms from getting beat to hell. And if you break your leg, just make sure to pray a lot and it will be miraculously healed. ------------- <Removed overly wide sig. Tsk, you know better.> |
nickman98 wrote:Posted By: ammolord
Date Posted: 08 July 2010 at 8:49pm
|
Yeah, id go with tallen on this one. Get plenty of padding in the palms, and fingerless gloves. Also might want something with hard knuckles (thats what I use). Make sure you have a legit helmet so you dont end up in a coma on a trail. ------------- PSN Tag: AmmoLord XBL: xXAmmoLordXx ~Minister of Tinkering With Things That Go "BOOM!"(AKA Minister of Munitions)~ |
Posted By: nickman98
Date Posted: 08 July 2010 at 8:57pm
| first thing i bought was the helmet. after nearly cracking my head open as a kid i would be crazy not to. alright well i will see what i can dig up online. |
Posted By: choopie911
Date Posted: 08 July 2010 at 9:18pm
| How hardcore are we talking? Leisurely rides, or flying down a mountain off of wooden teeter totters? |
Posted By: nickman98
Date Posted: 08 July 2010 at 9:39pm
| not hardcore. mostly novice trails for awhile, we will see next summer. |
Posted By: tallen702
Date Posted: 08 July 2010 at 9:42pm
|
I highly recommend either toe-clips or clipless pedals down the road. When single-tracking, you tend to have a tough time keeping your feet on the pedals if you start getting into really bumpy stuff. Even a soft-tail bike will give you some problems. Personally, I always rode hard front and rear, or soft front with hard tail if I was doing a trail that would beat the crap out of my arms. ------------- <Removed overly wide sig. Tsk, you know better.> |
Posted By: nickman98
Date Posted: 08 July 2010 at 10:18pm
| i dont know what that means haha i have shocks in the front and the back. im not going to be doing anything to crazy, no hurtleing down mountians, mostly just winding my way through some woods and groomed trails. |
Posted By: tallen702
Date Posted: 08 July 2010 at 10:54pm
|
shocks in the front and rear mean you've got a "full suspension" or "soft front soft tail" whenever someone talks about a bike having a "hard" front, fork, or tail, it means that there's no suspension there, just a hard metal frame. Single-tracking is riding a narrow trail, usually downhill. Toe clips are little metal or plastic cages that keep your feet firmly on the pedals. They're ideal for groomed trails or tarmac. The problem you run into with the really rough stuff is that you may need to put your foot down faster than you can get it out of the toe clip. That's where "clipless" pedals come in which combine a special pedal with a special shoe that has the clip mechanism built in. Clipless pedals also increase your efficiency when pedaling as your up-stroke is converted into torque whereas it is wasted energy when using a standard pedal as there is no way to transfer that lifting energy to the pedals. ------------- <Removed overly wide sig. Tsk, you know better.> |
Posted By: scotchyscotch
Date Posted: 08 July 2010 at 11:04pm
| I use a pair of dye paintball gloves. |
Posted By: DaveEllis
Date Posted: 09 July 2010 at 12:28am
|
My first tidbit is chamois shorts, I have a pair of Fox Ranger's for casual rides, they are padded and no they are not skin tight so you don't have to feel like zee Europeans, they also have a zipper cargo pocket which comes in handy for storing things that you don't want lost. Other small things to look into would be a seat wedge so you can store a spare tube and whatnot (a flat will ruin your day). Other than that go out and ride, learn your gearings and just enjoy it. |
Posted By: tallen702
Date Posted: 09 July 2010 at 12:39am
Yeah, spare tube or patch kit as well as either a compact pump or a CO2 inflater are must-haves. A camelbak is nice to have too. If you get the Mule system or something similar, you can simply stow your gear in there. ------------- <Removed overly wide sig. Tsk, you know better.> |
Posted By: sporx
Date Posted: 09 July 2010 at 2:42am
|
nike weightlifting gloves.
i used them for paintball too. they're nice and cushie. :) ------------- 
|
Posted By: Hairball!!!
Date Posted: 09 July 2010 at 4:59am
Only if you're a wuss. My track bike has clips and straps, and all my other bicycles have platforms. Gloves: you may have to experiment here. Gloves that don't work well with your hands, grips, and position can make your hands go numb. Gloves that do work well won't do that, and will be comfortable. Depending on the terrain you're riding, you may want the extra bit of protection a full fingered glove will give you. Shorts: You can find great shorts that have an inner chamois and baggy outer, wear some normal tight cycling shorts under whatever, or just do without. You can also get shorts that have built-in hip padding. Extras: Absolutely bring a spare tube, tire levers, and a way to inflate stuff. Absolutely bring a multi-tool or some allen wrenches. You can fit all that stuff in a seatpost bag, or a bag on your back if you carry one. If you use a backpack/Camelbak type thing, I recommend a smaller, sleeker one, just to reduce movement. Waist straps too. Some people find it preferable to carry their water on the bike, some people prefer it on their back. Experiment. A growing trend among off-road helmets is to have more protection on the back of the head. I support it. |
Posted By: little devil
Date Posted: 09 July 2010 at 6:10am
|
*side note* glove tans suck, and look awkward. |
Posted By: FROG MAN
Date Posted: 09 July 2010 at 9:54am
|
Adjust your seat to the proper height, I would google it. If you know how, tightening the compression on your shocks is very nice for XC.
------------- <1 meg sig = bad> |
Posted By: Kopkins
Date Posted: 09 July 2010 at 11:11am
|
I love the giro remedy gloves. they have some rubber 'armor' on the knuckles and a cool rubber compound on part of the palm that hardens on impact. but there's not that much in terms of other padding on the palm or fingers on the palm side. Which is okay for me cause i like to be able to feel the bars and brakes well. Also adding to what others have said. Adjust your seat the the proper height. Ideally your seat height allows for almost full leg extension, so at the bottom of your pedal stroke your leg has a slight bend in it. If you aren't comfortable with the seat that high then that's fine. Just have it as close to that as you feel comfortable. Having your seat properly adjusted will make climbing much easier and you won't get tired as quick. Special pedals are very useful and help so much, especially on climbs. toe straps, clips, or clipless pedals allow you to pull up as well as push down, so you get much more power and don't rely on only one muscle group in your legs. Pedals are also a preference. A lot of people like flats so that they never have to worry about getting stuck in the pedals if they fall. Clipless pedals are a little bit better IMO than both flats and toe straps. They're still very easy to get out of if, but allow the extra power of pulling up as well. Because your shoe is actually fixed to the pedal you can pedal in a circle which means 360 degrees of power transfer, which is something you can't do with toe clips. Also, like others have said, the most important thing is a good fitting helmet. They've saved my life a few times, I never ride without one. edit: I also agree with everything hairball said. Kopkins |
Posted By: FreeEnterprise
Date Posted: 09 July 2010 at 11:25am
|
I ride.
watch out for sticks in the path. Nothing like flipping out because a stick went into your spokes and locked up the wheel.
I hate clipped pedals (unless I'm riding my road bike), and I ride my frame as small as possible with my seat low for ease of manuverablity, and jumping.
I find most mountain bikers think that frame fit is as critical as road biking... But, when you are going down a rough, rocky path, having your bike seat in your rear is the last place you want it... Especially if you are "clipped" in.
Course I ride my mountain bike like a bmx... ------------- They tremble at my name... 
|
Posted By: Magoo
Date Posted: 09 July 2010 at 12:16pm
|
I did a 10 mile trail a while back. Weak by many MTB'er standards, but I'm not quite physically fit, and it dern near killed me. But I really had a blast. Wouldn't mind doing it again. Actually, not too long ago I was looking into getting some good MTB equipment. A new bike, etc. I've got a Camelback M.U.L.E. system I won at a paintball scenario, so that would work. I wouldn't mind getting back into it (or into it for the first time, depending on how you look at it). I've got too many interests. :( |
Posted By: choopie911
Date Posted: 09 July 2010 at 8:34pm
| For the first time ever, I am going to say Tallen is wrong. You DONT want clipped pedals for mountain biking. Yes they are great for road biking for the reasons he listed, but you do not want to be attached to a mountain bike, especially like that. Just picture an average mountain biking bail, with no way of getting the bike out from between your legs. |
Posted By: tallen702
Date Posted: 09 July 2010 at 8:50pm
See, this is where the misconception over clipless pedals gets to me. Simply twist your foot and you're good. I always rode with toe clips, my buddies (who were far more wealthy than I) rode with clipless pedals and shoes. Go to any non-crazy race (i.e. ones that don't involve ramps etc) and you'll see the riders wearing clipless shoes and using clipless pedals. The extra torque provided by the use of toe clips or clipless pedals is a make or break situation when it comes to racing. I never had any problem, it's not like you're going to be in a situation where you can't quickly twist out of clipless pedals or pull out of a toe clip fast enough, unless you're Canuckistanian and have slow reflexes. 
ohhh! Citation! http://www.dirtworld.com/tipsandtricks/tipsstory.asp?id=492 - http://www.dirtworld.com/tipsandtricks/tipsstory.asp?id=492 http://mountainbike.about.com/od/buyersguideandreviews/f/Bike_Pedals.htm - http://mountainbike.about.com/od/buyersguideandreviews/f/Bike_Pedals.htm ------------- <Removed overly wide sig. Tsk, you know better.> |
Posted By: Kopkins
Date Posted: 09 July 2010 at 9:31pm
| Tallen is definitely right. I don't even have to think about getting out of my pedals when I have to bail. That's a habit but nonetheless is not difficult. I've gone over the bars before and been able to unclip and land on my feet. Again I think that there is a misunderstanding or lack of understanding about how difficult it is to get out of clipless pedals. IMO it's harder to clip in than out. |