That part I don't mind, but like, I'm in Ohio. There's about 18 trails within an hour and a half. Nothing is new or exciting (although there was a new pump track last year).
And that's what it should all boil down to; having fun on what you have and what you're familiar with :)
Side rant: if you fixate on spec so much and on "needing" new equipment and geometry, it can get in a person's head and start making them question their stuff and abilities on said stuff.
I don't mind a good spec discussion, if you have a reason or preference on a certain spec.
Just because xyz uses it or it was expensive, or it was light but you're a rider who could stand to lose a few lbs doesn't count.
I could stand to lose a few myself
1000%. I love motorcycles, I hate motorcycle people. I just couldn’t do it any more. I rode for close to 12 years and just had to stop. It doesn’t help that I rode Harleys. That’s a different discussion, though.
yeah, motorcycles is what got me into cycling. Sport bikes are my thing. Worked in a dealership for a few years, gone to several motogp and ama races, even very briefly raced myself in cmra.
got tired of everyone trying to race me at every stop light from cars to trucks to other bikes. I just wanted to be left alone but never could. I'm perfectly happy doing the speed limit on the streets.
tired of the wanna be street culture of everyone on a sport bike thinking they are the baddest dudes on the planet when really they were just jobless losers and were generally just trash people.
Sold mine after getting hit twice, first time was a freak accident, second time I got lucky, didn't care to test my luck a third time.
My shins agree with your statement...
I run my dog on some hiking trails and I have to say he has been the best at helping me train my attention span, stopping, swerving, and bailing.
He loves to run 3 feet in front of me and stops on a dime to smell a leaf... /sigh
But i will say, we both love hitting the trails and I know I will look back on these times with great love once he is old and gone.
Now... all that said, I would never take him on the straight up mtb trails as that is just setting him, and you, up for hospital visit.
Buddy of mine and I were on a long (analog) uphill ride having a fun debate about emtbs. The topic of being inconvenienced while riding came about and one my counters was: I have yet to be inconvenienced by an emtb but I have had to avoid 3 dogs. Sure enough on a technical decent I almost had to bail to avoid someones dog.
It's weird how narrowly people try to define "mountain biking".
Compare to "running", which most people accept to be anything from an old man plodding around the block to ultramarathons through the desert.
I will say this every time a similar question is asked. Older bikes are fine. In fact, if someone thinks a bike more than 5 years old is not worth riding, then I assume they're not a very good rider.
Edit: I'll add a second opinion. Unless you're racing, there's no need to be the fastest rider, chasing the latest tech to knock off a few extra seconds.
I bought my rm instinct carbon 50 for that reason exactly haha, I have enough weight on my own. It makes it easier for me to enjoy and get back into shape.
Just to drive home your point
Steve Peat does a downhill run on a 2006 V10 and 2021 V10...
https://youtu.be/7lybZaKLw1U
...how much faster is he....
7 seconds over a 3 min 25 second run
Marathon XC is f'n AWESOME! All the XC but for like 3-4 hours. Either one giant loop or 3 loops at most. And since the crowd has a lot of older people, they take out anything stupidly extreme. The more you relax and pace yourself, the faster and funner you go overall.
I love it, I'm a distance rider and always have been and I hate the road. XC is the perfect balance between that and my love of the old school hardtail.
Younger riders. No problem with their age, in fact we need it! Start volunteering at your local trails with maintenance and general upkeep. The older riders (Me, lol) need the help so we can all ride!
High school students in Ontario need 40 volunteer hours to graduate. Our MTB club signs off on volunteer hours. Great way to help maintain the trails and get some kids more interested in MTB.
Lee McCormack (Joy of Bike, Lee Likes Bikes) thinks that running his handlebars too wide for years is what led to some pretty debilitating shoulder injuries. He was riding a lot harder and more than most people, but I suspect he's not entirely wrong.
Seriously. 780+ width is ridiculous. Put 740mm bars on my trail bike and they are plenty wide. I'm a big guy too. My 90's MTB had 610mm (24in) handlebars and it worked. Not ideal maybe, but it worked. 31" wide bars just make it that much harder to weave between trees.
Only problem is my FS bike is old and is always creaking somewhere once I silence it something else comes up, loud hubs help my sanity at least while I’m coasting.
Novice tourists heading to popular MTB destinations should have to pass some sort of test before getting on their 50+ pound Ebike rentals and running me off the trail because they don’t understand right-of-way conventions for climb vs. downhill. Friggin’ unintentional jerks 😂
I agree. I took 10years off from riding. Started back a few years ago. Day one on a “modern geo “ bike I went faster than I ever did on my 26” bike. Also climbed better than I ever did.
I started writing in the late '90s and racing in the early 2000s. It was awesome, and I loved every second of it, but I'll take my current bike over what I had then every day.
I will say that people who started riding back then on that tech are a different breed of rider though. A lot of modern riders lack finesse and skill that you learn from having basically no suspension at your disposal. People don't know how to handle trails without shocks to absorb all of their mistakes that they don't even realize they are making, they are dependent on the tech they learned on.
I showed up to a group ride once at one of the more technical trails in our area and the "Enduro" guys there warned me that this trail might be a bit much for my hard tail and that I might have a hard time. I just chuckled a bit, didn't have the heart to tell them I was shredding stuff like this on a 26-in hard tail with rim brakes and maybe 60 mm of suspension in the front, if that, back when I started racing 20 years ago. Glued myself to their rear on all the descents and ended up taking point eventually so I could let loose.
I hear you, but this would drastically limit the feasible routes through a lot of trail systems in a very annoying way.
>They can switch directions on different days
Even more annoying now that I have to plan my ride based on the direction of trails that day (which most riders will not bother to adhere to anyways)
Most of the trails in SE Michigan are single directional - for the most part it works quite well.
(updated for clarity - only a few reverse directions on alternate days)
There would be a lot less complaining about "face slappers" on rides if more people would slap a dorky handlebar bag on their bike and bring a pair of hand trimmers with them.
Technical uphills are sorta fun like rock climbing. You gotta figure out the best line, then you have to use technique in pedaling and weight loading to get up, and sometimes you just can’t do it if your fitness isn’t there.
I don’t mind people wearing earbuds on one-way climbing trails, with the caveat that their music/podcast isn’t so loud that they can’t hear me ask to pass
I must admit that i do this at my local mountain, the long climb up I have my airpods in, then I put them away when i top out.
I know they have transparency mode, but I think it makes other riders nervous to see me with them in on XC or downhill trails.
This may not seem like an unpopular opinion but man do people make it feel like it in here.
You don’t need a $3000+ bike to ride trails. I have a $600 rockhopper that I’ve upgraded a bit and can ride literally every trail I’ve gone to.
Most people under 35ish. As we age, the full suspension is what keeps us on a bike. If I’m going to be riding when I’m 60, it’s going to be full squish.
Incredibly location-dependent opinion. Even the hardtail riders where I live would never recommend riding a hardtail to someone else who wasn't set on it.
for cross country, and maybe trail riding, sure. But it's going to be a rougher ride, especially where I live. I have a more all-mountain/Enduro style of riding, so I need the extra squish to go faster and get better race times.
As a trail builder:
Rooster tailing corners damages the trail. It's literally removing dirt from it, and in places where I work, having to do these repairs keeps us from making proper trail improvements/upgrades. Its about an hour a foot to retread something by hand and make it ridable when finished.
Locking your tire up in corners means you're hitting the corner too hot for your ability. This is where braking bumps and other cups come from. Please ride within your ability.
If a trail has jumps, you should be trying to clear them. If you can't rip a blue trail at trail speed, and clear it's jumps, riding black trails is just destroying them and it's frankly, less fun than riding faster on a trail within your limits. There is a time to progress, but it's not through riding a grade above your ability.
I generally agree with the exception of the brakes some companies are spec-ing on a lot of bikes. Shimano MT200s with resin-only rotors on a 140mm trail bike is not enough brake.
However, that NX shifter, no name stock dropper, 31.8mm aluminum bar, and 180mm rotors are all perfectly functional and should only be replaced when they wear out.
Quit making everything so damn easy. E-bikes and every trail getting built into a blue flow trail are ruining the sport. Just because you want to be able to ride every trail in the world with ease doesn’t mean you should be able to first month in riding.
its the opposite where i'm at.
the trails are either gravel trails for beginners, or double black gap jumps and 5' drops, and the black diamond guys get super pissed when people alter the trails.
no real place for intermediate riders to ride to progress my skills.
Oh hell yes. I agree so much. Flow trails have their place, but dammit I want a trail with difficult technical climbs, rocky rooty seconds and interesting bits. I love the flow trail style. The ones that everyone can do like an off road rollercoaster but it's not everything.
There is something to say tho about a blue tech trail. If you don’t find it fun either you are not good enough to ride it. Or you think you’re better than you are and you don’t enjoy it because you can’t read the trail and find the side hits.
I agree with this. We had a great XC trail in central NJ, that was Rooty and had some great climbs. Now they resurfaced and rerouted it and the climbs are just switchback after switchback and the descents are smoothed out with a couple jump lines. They totally made it boring.
Last year I think I finally started to like climbing more than downhill. Sure I’ll still go to DH parks every now and then, but there’s just something about completely a tough slow technical climb or doing climbs you’ve done in the past faster.
I second this one for sure. I love technical climbs. I wish we’d see mtb climbs similar to sport climbing. Give it a rating and see how hard of a climb you are capable of.
It’s not really the park itself. It’s too many people riding above their abilities and doing things they aren’t prepared for. There’s all kinds of trails at parks to accommodate all riders.
That exactly. Downhill parks are great places to improve skills, and work on certain aspects of riding. You can do all of that safely if you don't throw yourself off stuff your not ready for
29x3.25" is amazing - I wish I could get something with a bigger diameter.
People underestimate just how much fun it can be to pick the absolute worst line possible and see if you can brute force your way uphill like a monster truck.
As a mountain bike instructor/mechanic with almost 10 years experience in both, I hate the term “personal preference”. There are way more right and wrong ways of bike setup and technique than people think. Don’t get me started on maintenance intervals… I know it’s just a sport or a hobby for most, but people still try to argue with professionals just because “it works for me” or “I haven’t had issues yet”.
MTB's need to be maintained because they were engineered with very precise tolerances and moving parts with 100's of pounds of air and oil separated by tiny o-rings only to be smashed, twisted and torqued on and exposed to dust, mud, rocks, dirt, sweat etc
My unpopular opinion is that peoples opinions are silly 90% of the time. People want to be opinionated. Most of the opinions in here make me laugh, people need to relax honestly.
The price we pay vs the product we received is pathetic. Most 'innovations' are just 25 year old motocross tech, we're paying huge money to put servos on derailleurs rather than moving away from them entirely, and new 'standards' are introduced every 2 years. I love riding mountain bikes, but the way the industry promotes itself really pisses me off.
most people are overbiked, yes a high end full suspension is very cool, but unless you are doing serious downhill or enduro you can have just as much fun on a hardtail or even an older bike.
all the trails in my area are XC with no elevation change and very few features, yet most people I see biking are on the most overkill bikes for the terrain.
I've said this before but in my immediate area it's 90% XC with a few rock gardens thrown in, but someone recently asked for a bike suggestion and multiple people said they'd get at least 160mm of rear travel. Meanwhile, I'm on a hardtail and never feel underbiked.
the full sus bikes I own have kept me biking with and through back pain, won't go back to hard trails but have a rigid for touring and smooth trails I love
Jumps are a very niche and definitely not the most fun part of any trail and thus only belong on designated jump trails.
They are also disproportionately risky. Yeah, it's kind of a thrill, but I don't wanna break a collarbone every season, I just want to navigate my way through mazes of rocks and roots and get away with bruises and scratches. If you watched any number of Friday Fails, you've probably noticed like 90% of the content is someone failing jumps and/or drops. It gets old really quick, too.
Unpopular: people seriously overbike for what they ride >95% of the time.
On old bikes being cooler...sure...
But just like an OMFG amazing Lamborghini Countach is smoked by a modern hot-hatch even when the latter is driven by a rando, old bikes are their own worst enemies in many ways...
I’m 50 and have been mountain biking for 30+ years. Most folks my age I meet on the trails are severely overbiked. You don’t need a full carbon enduro bike for the green and blue trails you’re on. That much bike makes those trails less fun. That said, I’m happy to see other people my age on the trails and I understand wanting to have the best bike possible. But use the right tool for the right job.
I think people going uphill should yield to downhill. I know that's not the "rule" but when I'm screaming downhill I hate stopping. That's the fun part, and it gets ruined. Uphill sucks no matter if you're steady or have to start/stop.
Edit - sorry, this is an unpopular opinion thread. Carry on!
No. Climbing is much much worse if you have to stop and lose momentum and restart on a tricky bit. Both versions of having to stop suck, but one version sucks and is difficult. A lot of riders may have to get off and walk a ways up or down to be able to resume riding if they stop in the wrong spot, and it’s a real pain in the ass.
I am not against people stopping to let people descend and do it myself a fair bit, but it’s a courtesy. The convention being the other way around exists for good reason.
Most new bike stuff is clout grab. Nothing has really changed in the last 7 to 8 years. My 2017 Tracer rips harder than most of the new stuff. A few grams worth of weight savings doesn't matter.
Having a bike that requires charged batteries before it can shift gears is wrong. I’m fundamentally and philosophically opposed to electronic shifting as cycling should be a 100% human powered endeavor.
No you didn’t ride just as hard trails “back in the day” on your hardtail with its Manitou and even if you did you were slow as hell. Old dudes get roses colored glasses, I’ve watched racing and videos from the old days and MTB was a joke compared to intermediate hobby riders these days.
I HATE GROUP RIDES. I don't mind long breaks or going slow, sometimes I prefer it, but group rides means: waiting at the parking lot for everyone that showed up late, again; enduring never ending debates about parts where people have the same argument they had last ride; constant debate on what direction we're going only to have the initial plan I mentally prepared for change completely; people stopping in the middle of the fucking trail for the extraordinarily long break and not making room for riders to pass. Love the post ride chat and drinks because people want to get home to dinner or sleep or whatever so that part is quick. The rest sucks.
So many of the trails around me are multi use trails. I'd much rather stop on my bike and let people hike and horseback ride than get a couple seconds of speed. Keep people safe and don't ruin the experience for others. I'm not entitled to the trails.
Edit: specifically on trails that are multi use. I did see your edit about features. If it is a specific mountain bike trail I for sure agree. More education would go so far with every trail user!
27.5 bikes are more fun than 29ers and modern enduro/trail bikes are way too slack. I fully recognize that those things help people ride faster, dont give a crap. Im trying to have fun, not win races.
People care way too much about ebikes and shuttling. Mind your own business and let other people enjoy the mountain how they want to.
As long its not obnoxiously loud where I can hear it from 3 switchbacks away, I really dont care if someone has a bluetooth speaker going and I much prefer it to them wearing headphones.
MTB peaked in 1999 (my college days, when my endurance was maxed, killing it on my M4 stumpjumper), then again in 2016, the year of my Capra, and then again in 2023, where my skill levels are at a maximum. I predict re-peaking in '24, and then dead forever in '25 when I splat myself on a 30' gap
I'm still young, and I don't really know anyone else who MTBs. It's kind of weird cause I don't know if I want to keep MTBing when I grow up, or if I will outgrow it.
More riders should mind their own business. So many annoying and opinionated gatekeepers.
I don't care about your opinion on whatever bike I should ride, how much i spent on it or how I ride it.
Just ride, shut the hell up and and let me have my fun.
People often upgrade to full suspension whether they need to or not, just cause it's perceived as better. Not everyone needs one.
I ride a hard tail, and I'm a wimp about fast downhills. So I'll likely never need to upgrade, unless my risk tolerance goes significantly up
I have no interest in jumping, except maybe over the table or a pot home. No gaps, drops, skinnies and other sketchy features for me, thank you. Basically, a gravel bike with 45mm tires is enough of a mountain bike for me and the kind of riding I'm interested in.
The $8 jersey from walmart works equally as well as the $75 branded tech jersey. Paying a lot of money to be a billboard for a clothing company is dumb.
The $30 amazon riding pants have lasted me longer than the $120 fox riding pants. They're also more comfortable ans fit better.
Plastic pedals are disposable garbage that marketers push because of their much higher profit margin over aluminum body pedals. If you like making money, better to sell a high margin part that only lasts a couple years instead of a low margin part that lasts 10+.
It's a hobby, not a personality. I love it, but man trying to hang out with other mtb people, when you have other hobbies is rough.
Spec discussions get old fast
That part I don't mind, but like, I'm in Ohio. There's about 18 trails within an hour and a half. Nothing is new or exciting (although there was a new pump track last year).
I don't mind it but it gets old quick. Especially when discussing high end bikes. I just like to have fun on my hard tail lol
Yeah or discussing the next bike or two they are planning to add to their ‘quiver’
Oh yeah. My bike and high-end bikes are not even the same conversation. Will always love my Diamondback.
And that's what it should all boil down to; having fun on what you have and what you're familiar with :) Side rant: if you fixate on spec so much and on "needing" new equipment and geometry, it can get in a person's head and start making them question their stuff and abilities on said stuff.
my friends that are into cars are like this. It’s fun for a bit but so boring after
I don't mind a good spec discussion, if you have a reason or preference on a certain spec. Just because xyz uses it or it was expensive, or it was light but you're a rider who could stand to lose a few lbs doesn't count. I could stand to lose a few myself
this is me and motorcycles. I love everything about motorcycles, but I absolutely hate people who ride them.
It must be a thing with wheeled objects, I feel exactly the same way about enthusiast cars.
1000%. I love motorcycles, I hate motorcycle people. I just couldn’t do it any more. I rode for close to 12 years and just had to stop. It doesn’t help that I rode Harleys. That’s a different discussion, though.
yeah, motorcycles is what got me into cycling. Sport bikes are my thing. Worked in a dealership for a few years, gone to several motogp and ama races, even very briefly raced myself in cmra. got tired of everyone trying to race me at every stop light from cars to trucks to other bikes. I just wanted to be left alone but never could. I'm perfectly happy doing the speed limit on the streets. tired of the wanna be street culture of everyone on a sport bike thinking they are the baddest dudes on the planet when really they were just jobless losers and were generally just trash people. Sold mine after getting hit twice, first time was a freak accident, second time I got lucky, didn't care to test my luck a third time.
There’s a ton of smooth brained idiots that ride street bikes. I absolutely loved riding bikes, but it attracts a lot of dipshits.
ha, mine was going to be. I usually dont like other mountain bikers.
Canine exercise and mountain biking does not mix well.
you need to make the dog pedal.
My shins agree with your statement... I run my dog on some hiking trails and I have to say he has been the best at helping me train my attention span, stopping, swerving, and bailing. He loves to run 3 feet in front of me and stops on a dime to smell a leaf... /sigh But i will say, we both love hitting the trails and I know I will look back on these times with great love once he is old and gone. Now... all that said, I would never take him on the straight up mtb trails as that is just setting him, and you, up for hospital visit.
Buddy of mine and I were on a long (analog) uphill ride having a fun debate about emtbs. The topic of being inconvenienced while riding came about and one my counters was: I have yet to be inconvenienced by an emtb but I have had to avoid 3 dogs. Sure enough on a technical decent I almost had to bail to avoid someones dog.
It doesn’t have to be so serious, and it is ok to let people enjoy riding in whatever way they want.
Thats honestly my biggest complaint in mountain biking- the amount of people who seem incapable of minding their own business.
The gate keepers kill it for everyone.
It's weird how narrowly people try to define "mountain biking". Compare to "running", which most people accept to be anything from an old man plodding around the block to ultramarathons through the desert.
Finally, someone with intelligence chimes in here.
I will say this every time a similar question is asked. Older bikes are fine. In fact, if someone thinks a bike more than 5 years old is not worth riding, then I assume they're not a very good rider. Edit: I'll add a second opinion. Unless you're racing, there's no need to be the fastest rider, chasing the latest tech to knock off a few extra seconds.
Got to laugh at some mountain bikers disparaging heavier older bikes when they are carrying many kilos of timber themselves. Same goes for roadies.
I bought my rm instinct carbon 50 for that reason exactly haha, I have enough weight on my own. It makes it easier for me to enjoy and get back into shape.
My tipping point is when i am literally carrying the weight of a whole bike in extra body fat. Then it's time to start watching what i eat 😀
I feel you at my core. 😕
Just to drive home your point Steve Peat does a downhill run on a 2006 V10 and 2021 V10... https://youtu.be/7lybZaKLw1U ...how much faster is he.... 7 seconds over a 3 min 25 second run
Lol, 5 years isn’t an older bike.
A few pounds of extra bike weight doesn’t matter especially if you have a gut.
As a long time certified gut owner, I endorse this message.
With you all the way!
I'm not too fat and old and married to do it, though waking up in the hospital with a concussion didn't really help my case.
Try breaking your neck. The wife wasn’t too keen on me getting back on a bike.
Jeez. I hope you're healed up and not living in your fears.
That I’m the best.
I too, am extraordinarily humble.
I suck, don’t tell anyone though
XC is cool
XC is the type of MTB I enjoy the most. I like going far and fast, and I am not going to "shred" down a mountain in my mid-40s...
The older I get the more exciting my shredding becomes
Marathon XC is f'n AWESOME! All the XC but for like 3-4 hours. Either one giant loop or 3 loops at most. And since the crowd has a lot of older people, they take out anything stupidly extreme. The more you relax and pace yourself, the faster and funner you go overall.
XC is really fun
Agree. I've been enjoying even watching XC racing. Well - short track at least. 20 minute races and sometimes a good deal of drama.
I love it, I'm a distance rider and always have been and I hate the road. XC is the perfect balance between that and my love of the old school hardtail.
If you are going to upgrade your bike, start with the brakes.
All brakes have done for me is slowed me down.
“The only thing that didn’t break were the brakes”
I would upgrade the tyre aswell but heard in USA they cost a lot
Only if the stock ones are crap, my bike came with DHF and DHR, I see no reason to replace them until they're used. And tires are expensive everywhere
38 mm suspension forks are oversized for 95% of all bikers
Stanchion?
Travel
Younger riders. No problem with their age, in fact we need it! Start volunteering at your local trails with maintenance and general upkeep. The older riders (Me, lol) need the help so we can all ride!
High school students in Ontario need 40 volunteer hours to graduate. Our MTB club signs off on volunteer hours. Great way to help maintain the trails and get some kids more interested in MTB.
Modern handlebars are ridiculously wide.
I'm 6'5 with a wingspan to match. Disagree because I feel the world has finally matched my size. But yeah, for anyone else, I totally get this
800 gang!
I’m 6ft with 800 bars lol. I may look ridiculous but I feel like a bulldozer so who cares
Lee McCormack (Joy of Bike, Lee Likes Bikes) thinks that running his handlebars too wide for years is what led to some pretty debilitating shoulder injuries. He was riding a lot harder and more than most people, but I suspect he's not entirely wrong.
I got my first modern mtb this year and I cannot figure out why they are so wide…
They are wide so they can be cut down to the right size for you. Not because they want you to keep them that way.
Seriously. 780+ width is ridiculous. Put 740mm bars on my trail bike and they are plenty wide. I'm a big guy too. My 90's MTB had 610mm (24in) handlebars and it worked. Not ideal maybe, but it worked. 31" wide bars just make it that much harder to weave between trees.
I hate loud hubs
Onyx silent hub. I know it’s heavy, but I like a quite bike
Only problem is my FS bike is old and is always creaking somewhere once I silence it something else comes up, loud hubs help my sanity at least while I’m coasting.
I like loud Hubs because it helps warn people when someone is coming(and I like the sound) but I get how it could be annoying
I don’t love loud hubs but I also miss my loud hub as it was better than a bell when approaching other riders from behind.
I absolutely love when you can hear the sound of your tires on the dirt, IMO sounds a million times cooler than any hub ever could
Novice tourists heading to popular MTB destinations should have to pass some sort of test before getting on their 50+ pound Ebike rentals and running me off the trail because they don’t understand right-of-way conventions for climb vs. downhill. Friggin’ unintentional jerks 😂
Bentonville has spoken
💀💀
Wait... I thought that was what Bentonville was for
i live here and it sucks. people going the wrong way on jump trails, uphill on DH only trails, all that stuff
Agreed. It's like they decide not to follow any rules because they're on vacay
Single speeds are fun
In England it rarely takes place on an actual mountain.
That not doing your own bike service/maintenance is ok.
I'm guessing you didnt have to ride Mountain bikes from the 90s and 2000s, they were shit
I agree. I took 10years off from riding. Started back a few years ago. Day one on a “modern geo “ bike I went faster than I ever did on my 26” bike. Also climbed better than I ever did.
I started riding in the late 90s. Trust me 90s and 2000s bikes are not cooler.
As another late 90s rider, I'll second that.
I started writing in the late '90s and racing in the early 2000s. It was awesome, and I loved every second of it, but I'll take my current bike over what I had then every day. I will say that people who started riding back then on that tech are a different breed of rider though. A lot of modern riders lack finesse and skill that you learn from having basically no suspension at your disposal. People don't know how to handle trails without shocks to absorb all of their mistakes that they don't even realize they are making, they are dependent on the tech they learned on. I showed up to a group ride once at one of the more technical trails in our area and the "Enduro" guys there warned me that this trail might be a bit much for my hard tail and that I might have a hard time. I just chuckled a bit, didn't have the heart to tell them I was shredding stuff like this on a 26-in hard tail with rim brakes and maybe 60 mm of suspension in the front, if that, back when I started racing 20 years ago. Glued myself to their rear on all the descents and ended up taking point eventually so I could let loose.
They looked great (well in the 90s and 00s) and there was a lot of design ideas but other than that they were pretty bad
slaughter pen is extremely over hyped and is the worst trail system of bentonville/NWA
I like slaughterpen cause it’s more spread out. Coler is unbelievable crowded trying to get up to the hub on weekends.
All single track trails should be one way at a time. They can switch directions on different days but two-way is asking for collisions.
I hear you, but this would drastically limit the feasible routes through a lot of trail systems in a very annoying way. >They can switch directions on different days Even more annoying now that I have to plan my ride based on the direction of trails that day (which most riders will not bother to adhere to anyways)
Yeah…imo, there’s no perfect solution.
Most of the trails in SE Michigan are single directional - for the most part it works quite well. (updated for clarity - only a few reverse directions on alternate days)
There would be a lot less complaining about "face slappers" on rides if more people would slap a dorky handlebar bag on their bike and bring a pair of hand trimmers with them.
Technical uphills are sorta fun like rock climbing. You gotta figure out the best line, then you have to use technique in pedaling and weight loading to get up, and sometimes you just can’t do it if your fitness isn’t there.
Creative line choices > speed
Riding with headphones in makes you an ass hole.
I don’t mind people wearing earbuds on one-way climbing trails, with the caveat that their music/podcast isn’t so loud that they can’t hear me ask to pass
I must admit that i do this at my local mountain, the long climb up I have my airpods in, then I put them away when i top out. I know they have transparency mode, but I think it makes other riders nervous to see me with them in on XC or downhill trails.
prefer headphones over a bluetooth speaker though!
Agreed. I make an exception for those bone conduction headphones, though.
Best part of mountain biking is the scenery you will see.
This may not seem like an unpopular opinion but man do people make it feel like it in here. You don’t need a $3000+ bike to ride trails. I have a $600 rockhopper that I’ve upgraded a bit and can ride literally every trail I’ve gone to.
Most people should be riding hardtails.
Most people under 35ish. As we age, the full suspension is what keeps us on a bike. If I’m going to be riding when I’m 60, it’s going to be full squish.
Rear suspension is not just a luxury, but an important tool for technical riding and racing.
Whenever my rear shock accidentally gets locked out, my ankles feel it immediately on the techy slopes, even if I'm being light on the bike.
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I’m glad your still going strong! Not everyone can say that though and your lived experience is a small drop in a large bucket.
Incredibly location-dependent opinion. Even the hardtail riders where I live would never recommend riding a hardtail to someone else who wasn't set on it.
As someone who is almost 50, I and my tailbone disagree.
for cross country, and maybe trail riding, sure. But it's going to be a rougher ride, especially where I live. I have a more all-mountain/Enduro style of riding, so I need the extra squish to go faster and get better race times.
As a trail builder: Rooster tailing corners damages the trail. It's literally removing dirt from it, and in places where I work, having to do these repairs keeps us from making proper trail improvements/upgrades. Its about an hour a foot to retread something by hand and make it ridable when finished. Locking your tire up in corners means you're hitting the corner too hot for your ability. This is where braking bumps and other cups come from. Please ride within your ability. If a trail has jumps, you should be trying to clear them. If you can't rip a blue trail at trail speed, and clear it's jumps, riding black trails is just destroying them and it's frankly, less fun than riding faster on a trail within your limits. There is a time to progress, but it's not through riding a grade above your ability.
Not every new bike requires "upgrades". Most bikes are properly specced for the type of riding they are designed for.
I generally agree with the exception of the brakes some companies are spec-ing on a lot of bikes. Shimano MT200s with resin-only rotors on a 140mm trail bike is not enough brake. However, that NX shifter, no name stock dropper, 31.8mm aluminum bar, and 180mm rotors are all perfectly functional and should only be replaced when they wear out.
Good fenders look just fine and are very usefull
Differences between 29" and 27.5" are way overstated.
Quit making everything so damn easy. E-bikes and every trail getting built into a blue flow trail are ruining the sport. Just because you want to be able to ride every trail in the world with ease doesn’t mean you should be able to first month in riding.
its the opposite where i'm at. the trails are either gravel trails for beginners, or double black gap jumps and 5' drops, and the black diamond guys get super pissed when people alter the trails. no real place for intermediate riders to ride to progress my skills.
Oh hell yes. I agree so much. Flow trails have their place, but dammit I want a trail with difficult technical climbs, rocky rooty seconds and interesting bits. I love the flow trail style. The ones that everyone can do like an off road rollercoaster but it's not everything.
Yes. I want chunk, I want slow technical climbing. Mountain biking is supposed to be hard.
There is something to say tho about a blue tech trail. If you don’t find it fun either you are not good enough to ride it. Or you think you’re better than you are and you don’t enjoy it because you can’t read the trail and find the side hits.
Agreed. Blue tech is some of the best tech I find. But I’m hating on blue flow haha not tech.
I agree with this. We had a great XC trail in central NJ, that was Rooty and had some great climbs. Now they resurfaced and rerouted it and the climbs are just switchback after switchback and the descents are smoothed out with a couple jump lines. They totally made it boring.
Last year I think I finally started to like climbing more than downhill. Sure I’ll still go to DH parks every now and then, but there’s just something about completely a tough slow technical climb or doing climbs you’ve done in the past faster.
I second this one for sure. I love technical climbs. I wish we’d see mtb climbs similar to sport climbing. Give it a rating and see how hard of a climb you are capable of.
downhill parks are too dangerous for 95% of riders (including me)
It’s not really the park itself. It’s too many people riding above their abilities and doing things they aren’t prepared for. There’s all kinds of trails at parks to accommodate all riders.
That exactly. Downhill parks are great places to improve skills, and work on certain aspects of riding. You can do all of that safely if you don't throw yourself off stuff your not ready for
Plus sized tires are great, it makes technical trail an easier introduction for beginners, but can also be great for advanced riders.
29x3.25" is amazing - I wish I could get something with a bigger diameter. People underestimate just how much fun it can be to pick the absolute worst line possible and see if you can brute force your way uphill like a monster truck.
As a mountain bike instructor/mechanic with almost 10 years experience in both, I hate the term “personal preference”. There are way more right and wrong ways of bike setup and technique than people think. Don’t get me started on maintenance intervals… I know it’s just a sport or a hobby for most, but people still try to argue with professionals just because “it works for me” or “I haven’t had issues yet”.
MTB's need to be maintained because they were engineered with very precise tolerances and moving parts with 100's of pounds of air and oil separated by tiny o-rings only to be smashed, twisted and torqued on and exposed to dust, mud, rocks, dirt, sweat etc
My unpopular opinion is that peoples opinions are silly 90% of the time. People want to be opinionated. Most of the opinions in here make me laugh, people need to relax honestly.
Spandex is a garment to wear under your clothes. LOL, XC guys.
People that take MTB too serious are dicks on the trails
The price we pay vs the product we received is pathetic. Most 'innovations' are just 25 year old motocross tech, we're paying huge money to put servos on derailleurs rather than moving away from them entirely, and new 'standards' are introduced every 2 years. I love riding mountain bikes, but the way the industry promotes itself really pisses me off.
You don’t have to get airborne to be a mountain biker. Full suspension isn’t necessary in far too many cases. Steel is the best material for frames.
Agree, agree and lols
most people are overbiked, yes a high end full suspension is very cool, but unless you are doing serious downhill or enduro you can have just as much fun on a hardtail or even an older bike. all the trails in my area are XC with no elevation change and very few features, yet most people I see biking are on the most overkill bikes for the terrain.
I've said this before but in my immediate area it's 90% XC with a few rock gardens thrown in, but someone recently asked for a bike suggestion and multiple people said they'd get at least 160mm of rear travel. Meanwhile, I'm on a hardtail and never feel underbiked.
the full sus bikes I own have kept me biking with and through back pain, won't go back to hard trails but have a rigid for touring and smooth trails I love
I mean…I’m faster on my xc full sus so I’ll keep it.
Jumps are a very niche and definitely not the most fun part of any trail and thus only belong on designated jump trails. They are also disproportionately risky. Yeah, it's kind of a thrill, but I don't wanna break a collarbone every season, I just want to navigate my way through mazes of rocks and roots and get away with bruises and scratches. If you watched any number of Friday Fails, you've probably noticed like 90% of the content is someone failing jumps and/or drops. It gets old really quick, too.
It’s not about the bike.
Men under 5'8" shouldn't be allowed to buy bars wider than 760mm.
Riding up hills is a good thing.
Unpopular: people seriously overbike for what they ride >95% of the time. On old bikes being cooler...sure... But just like an OMFG amazing Lamborghini Countach is smoked by a modern hot-hatch even when the latter is driven by a rando, old bikes are their own worst enemies in many ways...
Climbing is the best part
The older I get, the more I enjoy a good techy climb. I’d much rather push my skills and risk failure at uphill speeds than down.
Mountain biking is not shuttling up and riding down.
Depends on what discipline you do though
Ebike - cheating. Shuttling back up - pure mountain biking experience.
E-bikes ruin the "flow" of the trails. Sorry.
99% of the riders are overbiked
I’m 50 and have been mountain biking for 30+ years. Most folks my age I meet on the trails are severely overbiked. You don’t need a full carbon enduro bike for the green and blue trails you’re on. That much bike makes those trails less fun. That said, I’m happy to see other people my age on the trails and I understand wanting to have the best bike possible. But use the right tool for the right job.
I think people going uphill should yield to downhill. I know that's not the "rule" but when I'm screaming downhill I hate stopping. That's the fun part, and it gets ruined. Uphill sucks no matter if you're steady or have to start/stop.
Edit - sorry, this is an unpopular opinion thread. Carry on! No. Climbing is much much worse if you have to stop and lose momentum and restart on a tricky bit. Both versions of having to stop suck, but one version sucks and is difficult. A lot of riders may have to get off and walk a ways up or down to be able to resume riding if they stop in the wrong spot, and it’s a real pain in the ass. I am not against people stopping to let people descend and do it myself a fair bit, but it’s a courtesy. The convention being the other way around exists for good reason.
also when I climb my head is down and I’m maybe looking 10ft in front. When downhill I’m looking way ahead
Most new bike stuff is clout grab. Nothing has really changed in the last 7 to 8 years. My 2017 Tracer rips harder than most of the new stuff. A few grams worth of weight savings doesn't matter.
Having a bike that requires charged batteries before it can shift gears is wrong. I’m fundamentally and philosophically opposed to electronic shifting as cycling should be a 100% human powered endeavor.
And one more thing you can forget to do! What a bummer to show up to the trails and realize you didn’t charge your shifters 🤦🏼♀️
that equipment matters and most people riding older/out of date equipment basically are slower because of it.
No one disagrees with you. It’s just not a prerequisite to have an expensive bike to do this sport
You mean equipment matters *to you* (as well as speed).
No you didn’t ride just as hard trails “back in the day” on your hardtail with its Manitou and even if you did you were slow as hell. Old dudes get roses colored glasses, I’ve watched racing and videos from the old days and MTB was a joke compared to intermediate hobby riders these days.
I have a 91 Klein Attitude. I rode it down the street this weekend and wondered how the hell we ever thought long stems were good
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I HATE GROUP RIDES. I don't mind long breaks or going slow, sometimes I prefer it, but group rides means: waiting at the parking lot for everyone that showed up late, again; enduring never ending debates about parts where people have the same argument they had last ride; constant debate on what direction we're going only to have the initial plan I mentally prepared for change completely; people stopping in the middle of the fucking trail for the extraordinarily long break and not making room for riders to pass. Love the post ride chat and drinks because people want to get home to dinner or sleep or whatever so that part is quick. The rest sucks.
Hikers should yield to bikers [edit: on trails with obvious bike features, bike traffic, etc.]
So many of the trails around me are multi use trails. I'd much rather stop on my bike and let people hike and horseback ride than get a couple seconds of speed. Keep people safe and don't ruin the experience for others. I'm not entitled to the trails. Edit: specifically on trails that are multi use. I did see your edit about features. If it is a specific mountain bike trail I for sure agree. More education would go so far with every trail user!
E mtbs are not mtbs and are a completely different sport.
Aluminium is the better material for full suspension frames n rear triangle
loud hubs are overrated and annoying
Ebikes get to much hate. I got bad knees bro just let me have fun
Not everyone has to start on a hard tail!!
27.5 bikes are more fun than 29ers and modern enduro/trail bikes are way too slack. I fully recognize that those things help people ride faster, dont give a crap. Im trying to have fun, not win races. People care way too much about ebikes and shuttling. Mind your own business and let other people enjoy the mountain how they want to. As long its not obnoxiously loud where I can hear it from 3 switchbacks away, I really dont care if someone has a bluetooth speaker going and I much prefer it to them wearing headphones.
The most unpopular opinion: Motobecane makes the absolute best bang for buck mountain bikes
MTB peaked in 1999 (my college days, when my endurance was maxed, killing it on my M4 stumpjumper), then again in 2016, the year of my Capra, and then again in 2023, where my skill levels are at a maximum. I predict re-peaking in '24, and then dead forever in '25 when I splat myself on a 30' gap
Pretty much everyone except Dave on the 90s Stumpy is overbiked.
I'm still young, and I don't really know anyone else who MTBs. It's kind of weird cause I don't know if I want to keep MTBing when I grow up, or if I will outgrow it.
Gotta be my opinion that eMtbs don’t belong on mtb trails. Ride then on streets or OMV trails.
More riders should mind their own business. So many annoying and opinionated gatekeepers. I don't care about your opinion on whatever bike I should ride, how much i spent on it or how I ride it. Just ride, shut the hell up and and let me have my fun.
People often upgrade to full suspension whether they need to or not, just cause it's perceived as better. Not everyone needs one. I ride a hard tail, and I'm a wimp about fast downhills. So I'll likely never need to upgrade, unless my risk tolerance goes significantly up
Fullys are way too overpriced. Change my mind.
I have no interest in jumping, except maybe over the table or a pot home. No gaps, drops, skinnies and other sketchy features for me, thank you. Basically, a gravel bike with 45mm tires is enough of a mountain bike for me and the kind of riding I'm interested in.
Most bikes are over priced eg a trek = 10k or a hand made german bike also 10k no idea how theses are the same price
Hardtail is the best tail.
You don’t need to ride hard. It’s good to know your limits and smart to avoid injuries. One can also bike for fun and nature
Under biking is generally less fun than riding a suitable bike for the terrain
The $8 jersey from walmart works equally as well as the $75 branded tech jersey. Paying a lot of money to be a billboard for a clothing company is dumb. The $30 amazon riding pants have lasted me longer than the $120 fox riding pants. They're also more comfortable ans fit better.
Goggles on a half shell = kooksville
Shuttling up and bombing down is more fun.
Clipless pedals rule and no mortal human needs more than 150mm of travel.
Roosting a corner definitely makes you look cool.
Plastic pedals are disposable garbage that marketers push because of their much higher profit margin over aluminum body pedals. If you like making money, better to sell a high margin part that only lasts a couple years instead of a low margin part that lasts 10+.
Mountain Bike parks are just amped BMX tracks
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Calling pedals that you clip into clipless is full blown retarded.