LazyTrailRider Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 Many obstacles on National level XCO courses are the same difficulty as obstacles on local enduros, but in XCO you have to ride them while you are close to max heart rate. It is an awesome experience, and some of the best training for marathons and enduros. Very true. My thinking is obviously biased, having learnt to MTB in the late 80s on what were then proper XC courses (now tame, although still much harder than the average marathon course). We called it mountain biking back then, because we rode up and down scarcely groomed hiking trails in the mountains. Dirt road riding is not mountain biking, it's dirt road riding. We confuse the two too often in the name of political correctness and "being nice". niterider 1
marko35s Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 IMO the school guys would want to get more technical and go for the rush of getting better on rock gardens, jumps and so on. So I reckon the focus will shift over time to one more focused on xco type events. Makes sense as well - less organizational fuss (land access etc) and faster racing. Fields of 200 plus would be fine, as long as there are suitable places for passing (like there are on xco events) and the support increases.Makes sense.I know my youngster is very keen on the tech stuff and really enjoys the single track , rocks, drops etc.He doesnt mind pedaling a long distance but looks forward to the fun stuff on the way down. Thats a crucial difference.
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 The joke of it is that now the enduros are being dumbed down to introduce more riders, so even without the mistakes that come with riding in the red zone-xco is becoming more technical than the enduros. Have you seen the how technical EWS is? Madness... Yeah. It's awesome, isn't it? Enduro here needs the numbers for sure. But also remember that it's trying to change a mindset. A mindset geared towards XCM, where people think that anything more than a 5% grade on a hill is a technical challenge (generalisation) As it progresses, and as people get used to the format, it WILL become more technical (I hope) and therefore people will see that they need to skill themelves up in order to ride it to their full potential. I really hope there's an Enduro at Jonkers & Tokai soon. Tokai can do it now but is lacking the technicality that will be there once the burn has come and gone, but Jonkers has it NOW. LazyTrailRider 1
Sidewinder. Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 I would like to see XCE growing in SA, now thats an xc format I would do. KERMIT THE UBOAT 1
LazyTrailRider Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 He doesnt mind pedaling a long distance but looks forward to the fun stuff on the way down. Thats a crucial difference. Exactly. I get mocked by my brothers (both technical aces) for riding a hardtail at the moment, but I ride it because I like the best of both worlds. I love grinding up a long climb Mont Ventoux style, but then I love ripping berms on the way down and getting incredulous looks clearing tables on my 29er. That, to me, is what mountain biking is all about. It's riding both up and down the mountains. BigDL and RocknRolla 2
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 BTW, Graves won with a busted fork. Edit:damm your fingers mayhem! BAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I got you, AGAIN!!!
TheV Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 Don't know about you (actually, I know you share my sentiment but you know what I mean) but I ascribe "fun" to blasting down a technical section barely holding on far more than miles and miles of jeep track boredom. it's because your dik and lazy Captain Fastbastard Mayhem 1
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 Exactly. I get mocked by my brothers (both technical aces) for riding a hardtail at the moment, but I ride it because I like the best of both worlds. I love grinding up a long climb Mont Ventoux style, but then I love ripping berms on the way down and getting incredulous looks clearing tables on my 29er. That, to me, is what mountain biking is all about. It's riding both up and down the mountains. Indeed. Having said that, I LOVE my bike. It's helped me get over the fear of going fast on technical sections and taking bigger chances. Yes, on my HT it WILL be more difficult, and I'll have to take a while to get used to it again, but I honestly believe that it will better my riding even more. And yeah - up to get down. Down to get back up again. I like earning my turns.
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 it's because your dik and lazy LOL. No contest. You win. 10 points. For now though. Down 2.8 in 2 weeks. Something's working. And I'm on the way again!
Sidewinder. Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 Yeah. It's awesome, isn't it? Enduro here needs the numbers for sure. But also remember that it's trying to change a mindset. A mindset geared towards XCM, where people think that anything more than a 5% grade on a hill is a technical challenge (generalisation) As it progresses, and as people get used to the format, it WILL become more technical (I hope) and therefore people will see that they need to skill themelves up in order to ride it to their full potential. I really hope there's an Enduro at Jonkers & Tokai soon. Tokai can do it now but is lacking the technicality that will be there once the burn has come and gone, but Jonkers has it NOW. I get what you're saying but I really don't think the local enduros were technical enough to require dumbing down.If people can train for the physical requirements of a race, why can't they train their tech skills also? I've been looking for any excuse to visit jonkers...an enduro would be perfect!
Lord Catapult Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) Oops Edited January 20, 2014 by minion me
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 I get what you're saying but I really don't think the local enduros were technical enough to require dumbing down.If people can train for the physical requirements of a race, why can't they train their tech skills also? I've been looking for any excuse to visit jonkers...an enduro would be perfect! No, they weren't. But then neither was the XCO Masters world champs course too technical for the WORLD CHAMPS. But that got edited in sections. I mean ffs, it was World.Champs. You kinda HAVE to be technically proficient for that to work, or at least be man enough to take the B line.
Lord Catapult Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 I love the long rides, did my first over 80km ride. It was hard, but fun. But when then jeep track and dirt roads become single track, and the going got more technical, I could not help but smile. I love pushing the limits of my fitness, but I love pushing the limits of what I can ride even more. I think that there is space for both. As long as we don't start building ski lifts to get the guys to the top so they can blast downhill. If you want to come down, ride up first, BigDL 1
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 I love the long rides, did my first over 80km ride. It was hard, but fun. But when then jeep track and dirt roads become single track, and the going got more technical, I could not help but smile. I love pushing the limits of my fitness, but I love pushing the limits of what I can ride even more. I think that there is space for both. As long as we don't start building ski lifts to get the guys to the top so they can blast downhill. If you want to come down, ride up first, There are only a few places in SA with enough vertical for that. But people on DH bikes would definitely benefit from a shuttle type arrangement in places. Walking up, pushing a 20kg bike with 10kg kit presents its own fitness challenges.
Ratty Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 Problem in Cape Town is that it is so hard to find info on the XCO races. I love them, but every time I went to the website, it hadn't been updated so you didn't know when the next one was. (This was about 2 years back so it might have changed). I love the courses I did, my favourite being Zevenwacht (just love the one rock that you get to ride down). Danger Dassie 1
Flowta Posted January 20, 2014 Posted January 20, 2014 Yeah. It's awesome, isn't it? Enduro here needs the numbers for sure. But also remember that it's trying to change a mindset. A mindset geared towards XCM, where people think that anything more than a 5% grade on a hill is a technical challenge (generalisation) As it progresses, and as people get used to the format, it WILL become more technical (I hope) and therefore people will see that they need to skill themelves up in order to ride it to their full potential. I really hope there's an Enduro at Jonkers & Tokai soon. Tokai can do it now but is lacking the technicality that will be there once the burn has come and gone, but Jonkers has it NOW. Tokai doesn't have enough trails for a proper Enduro, Jonkers on the other hand!
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