Interesting article about progression and it's risks

[intern]

Intern,what do you think KOMs are for?

 

 

There!

If only I could stick this above Duane's cheeky comment!

[jimmy hardtail]

Hmmmmm. Mountain biking, or any so called extreme sport, is as safe or dangerous as you make it. There are no rules. So if you wanna go 50kph on a dh single track do it. I do, i have a bit of skill so that speed is just inside my comfort zone. Sure its scary and i do think about the consequences, breaking bones, missing work etc. But the day you stop progressing and start backing off is the day you get too old for it. So at some point i will slow down (im 41 years old already) but at the moment i feel that i am riding as well as ever. Although recovery times are getting longer. And strava is for koms, up and down hill......

[Thor Buttox]

Every time I have watched a Rampage video I have thought some day it will not end well. But the human tribe has some people that left the cave to investigate far off valleys, some that stayed behind to turn berries into medicine for when the others came back mangled or dead, and some sold the disgusting berry mess at at grossly inflated prices to the Cave-world. (OK, so that's the riders, medics and Redbull part of Rampage covered....)

[JPD]

hell, it's cool to run with as little protection as possible, because pads and full faces at local enduro racers are for pussies. Unspoken bro-code, but it sure is understood by everyone

 

 

I don't agree with that. I've done many enduro's in KZN and a few in gauteng, and I've never seen anyone laughed or smirked at for the amount of protection they're using.

[JPD]

hell, it's cool to run with as little protection as possible, because pads and full faces at local enduro racers are for pussies. Unspoken bro-code, but it sure is understood by everyone

 

 

I don't agree with that. I've done many enduro's in KZN and a few in gauteng, and I've never seen anyone laughed or smirked at for the amount of protection they're using.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

I don't agree with that. I've done many enduro's in KZN and a few in gauteng, and I've never seen anyone laughed or smirked at for the amount of protection they're using.

 

Your sarcasm meter seems to need calibration

[Skylark]

The key for me is never throw caution to the wind when the consequences matter, always be in control or slow down.

 

Anyway speed is relative and fun is a perception not an outright reality, you can recalibrate your sense of fun to any speed. For me having a sense of flow over obstacles trumps outright speed or beating the clock, and when the section starts getting less sketchy or the terrain allows it it's a rush to get some solid speed, just as much as hanging on the brakes when the gnar approaches again and you move back into safety first mode.

 

How you ride is also relative to your experience and how well you know a trail, up the ante to the level that works for you, even walking too fast down a flight of steps can get you snapped hips...

[NicoBoshoff]

Strava's f*cked it for everyone.  It's all about speed now.  So every corner has a berm, because FLOW bro!!  Slow, tech trails are disappearing and avoided as being poorly "built" whilst everyone compares notes on the tyres with the best traction.  You're basically riding descending pumptracks with wallrides all the way down 90% of the time these days.

 

So excuse me if I say that I am Jack's complete lack of surprise that people are offing themselves when faced with trails that actually demand a measure of experience.  

[Duane_Bosch]

People have been destroying themselves looooong before strava came onto the scene. Bike racing started the moment the 2nd bike was built.

[NicoBoshoff]

People have been destroying themselves looooong before strava came onto the scene. Bike racing started the moment the 2nd bike was built.

Not my point.  My point is we approach trails these days from a Speed / Flow uber alle point of view instead of a challenge / rewarding point of view, and I point the finger at Strava.  So trail centres are now full of blue and green flow trails that are pretty fast AF, and then we are surprised when Oom Daan sees his wang when he drops in on something resembling a trail pre-2010.

[PhilipV]

Not my point. My point is we approach trails these days from a Speed / Flow uber alle point of view instead of a challenge / rewarding point of view, and I point the finger at Strava. So trail centres are now full of blue and green flow trails that are pretty fast AF, and then we are surprised when Oom Daan sees his wang when he drops in on something resembling a trail pre-2010.

I blame riding videos. Every shredit is packed full of berms and flow trails.

[Duane_Bosch]

Ok you 2 please just stop talking. I Looooooove Berms and Flow trails.

[Eldron]

Not my point. My point is we approach trails these days from a Speed / Flow uber alle point of view instead of a challenge / rewarding point of view, and I point the finger at Strava. So trail centres are now full of blue and green flow trails that are pretty fast AF, and then we are surprised when Oom Daan sees his wang when he drops in on something resembling a trail pre-2010.

Blue and green is the target market so of course the trails are going to match that.

 

Drops, gaps, rock gardens etc are top 1% stuff and will continue be the exception rather than the norm as long as MTB grows the way it is now.

 

Newcomers to the sport enter at beginner level and some/most/who knows arent too interested in taking flight.

[NicoBoshoff]

Blue and green is the target market so of course the trails are going to match that.

 

Drops, gaps, rock gardens etc are top 1% stuff and will continue be the exception rather than the norm as long as MTB grows the way it is now.

 

Newcomers to the sport enter at beginner level and some/most/who knows arent too interested in taking flight.

Also not my point.  I'm not asking for more black graded gnar.

 

I'm saying less and less people would even know an off-camber / flat corner if it slapped them in the goggles. Because slow and tricky (not dangerous, just hard) trails are a dying breed.  Like the ones at Lebanon (when they're maintained  ).

[Patchelicious]

Also not my point.  I'm not asking for more black graded gnar.

 

I'm saying less and less people would even know an off-camber / flat corner if it slapped them in the goggles. Because slow and tricky (not dangerous, just hard) trails are a dying breed.  Like the ones at Lebanon (when they're maintained  ).

Its not dying, its is changing, to what the majority of the people want.

 

You may prefer the more tricky technical stuff, obviously most others prefer the "FLOW".

 

Same goes the other way, most normal MTB races no just chase "single track", I don't like it, but seem the majority of the golfers do.

[Eldron]

Also not my point. I'm not asking for more black graded gnar.

 

I'm saying less and less people would even know an off-camber / flat corner if it slapped them in the goggles. Because slow and tricky (not dangerous, just hard) trails are a dying breed. Like the ones at Lebanon (when they're maintained ).

Who wants flat and off camber corners?

 

No carrying speed and having to pedal back up to speed after every corner.... Thats like riding a single speed Fat bike at Epic!