Watch the video, and note how stoked Marc Beaumont is to rip the tires off an XC bike with a seat up his ass.
Have you ever noticed that good bike riders like Marc welcome a challenge, and enjoy riding undergunned bikes on technical terrain? Like "how small of a bike can I get away with?" "How sketchy can I get in this turn?" "How fast can I ride this piece of junk?" "How fast can I go on a horrible dorky tall-seat XC bike with halfway road bike tires?"
Have you ever noticed that the average mountain bike buyer views this whole question from exactly the opposite perspective?
Every plus-sized bike purchaser agreed "I love fat bikes, they go so slow that I can't crash and the tires are so big I can't feel any bumps at all."
We also call these people "typical Avalanche suspension customers."
Sounds like I need to get some Avalanche products toot sweet
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't ever had an Avy tune you've never felt suspension perfection.
ReplyDeleteFirst thing I do now every time i get any new suspension product. ...Send it to Avy! Stock suspension is garage, once you Ghandi o Avy you'll always be savvy.!
True story; went to whisler in 06 beginning of season, a guy on the lift let me 'in the know' about Avy suspension upgrades after I was complaining about bad armpump pain. Got both my front and back shocks Avy'd after that trip and headed back up to Whistler later that summer. Couldn't believe the difference. . I was hitting jumps that I wasn't hitting on the previous trip and there wasn't any armpump. Avy for life. It's a small price to pay for the biggest improvement you can ever make to your mountain bike. If you ride stock, your a dumb jock.
If you can't ride whis on normal suspension, you should ride on pavement...
DeleteKind of like how clipless pedals saves you the trouble of being good at doing adequate weight transfers and suspension saves your ass when you can't land anything smoothly to save your life.
ReplyDeletenext they need to have a race where you're not allowed to use tires. BARE RIM RACING ENDUROROOOOOOOOOOO
ReplyDeleteEveryone who spends money on Avy or PUSH has to convince themselves that it's FAR superior to stock suspension. They still suck at riding bikes but now their damping feels SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT!!!
ReplyDeleteXC riders trying to ride fast downhill = cringe
ReplyDeleteIf you dare to hit bigger jumps because of another tune in your suspension, you
ReplyDeletea) can't ride
or
b) can't ride and had a completely useless suspension setup!
On the actual article:
I'm really okay with 29" and 27,5" wheels, and understand their benefits, but I really fail to see that in all these weird plus sizes.
I mean everyone had 3" Gazzaloddi tires at one time in DH history, until they realised it was really heavy and sluggish.
Now they sell the same thing for AM/Enduro bikes, until they probably realise the same thin in a couple of years.
I had my Fox 34 PUSHed and now, it has really good/stiff damping, which makes me a faster rider.
ReplyDeleteHow ever, the point is: Do you try to improve your skills, or are you more someone, who thinks, that skills are something, you can buy for money.
You're starting to sound like Mike Levy.
ReplyDeleteGot arm pump? Try pulling your brake levers position in towards your bars, Joey. There, I saved you $400. Please send it to 123 Anystreet, Anytown, USA 12345. If that don't work lay off the brakes.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome.
No more world cups for Marc Beaumont?
ReplyDeleteAs someone who does endurance xc races and can't beat all the shit-handling roadie-turned mtbrs from the start line to the first section of singletrack...yes, your typical amateur xc racer sucks balls at technical riding. But the pros are probably a whole different story.
ReplyDeleteAnd being underbiked kicks ass.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why XC racers don't use dropper posts.
ReplyDeleteRide a Honzo, Chromag, etc. for the first month of the season, then move to your FS with better skills.
ReplyDelete