Mark Posted June 9, 2008 Share You find that MTB is more of a family thing. It caters from 75km to 5km all on the same day so the whole family goes to the race and the entertainment for kids after the MTB ride is way better than the road so mommy doesn't mind doing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canaris Posted June 9, 2008 Share best bit about MTB is that you don't have to enter races to ride your bike. MTB is bigger than the race calender. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaunh Posted June 9, 2008 Share I must confess, I have been badly bitten by the MTB bug!!!!Since Graham Cooper & Sybrandt van Dyk's untimely death last year January, I decided to give-up on cycling. In a huff-and-a-puff, sold my bike and started the Sign-Up safety Initiative. I also started a patrol vehicle out south to try and keep the guys safe, but sitting in a car behind a bunch of cyclists really made me miss the sport I really love. I bought a frame and built a new bike and started riding on the road again, but my nerves (or lack of it) got the better of me. Now I am the first person to acknowledge that our destinies are in the LORDS hands and I can just as easily be killed in a car crash or by an act of violence, but having two loving boys at home, I cannot put myself at risk and rob them from not having a fartherly figure to look up to. Again, I could be killed on a singletrack!!!So, I couple of weeks ago I decided to look at MTB and was pleasantly surprised that it was cheaper than road cycling. I was TOLD to be at the next nite ride and BAM!!! Why the hell did I wait ssoooo long before trying it!!!So ya, I now realise the passion that people had for MTB!! I can ride with my six year old and not worry if the next car, taxi or truck coming towards/behind us is going to mow us down!!! We are one with nature and it is not boring as road (except when you are racing flat-out!!). I AM HOOKED, HOOK, LINE & SINKER (not to mention MTB)!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
widget Posted June 9, 2008 Share I think Rroad is dying a quick death. If you speak to cycle shops you'll see they sell something like 8 mountain bikes for each road bike. People are scared of the roads. I agree and with good reason. However I am not sure its a fair comparison, mountain bikes have always been a sort of entry level bike, dont most cyclists start there and graduate onto either road or a higher end mountain bike?? I havent bought a bike for a while, but it used to be the norm. Never the less, the roads are becoming more of an issue than ever, although I guess you can fall just as hard on the gravel as the tar, it dos eliminate the traffic issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ox_Wagon Posted June 9, 2008 Share Go talk to your LBS, Road cycling is dieing. Some of the LBS has started to cut back on their road consumables like tire because they are not moving the stock. Some shops are going over to MTB only shops. Check how long it takes to sell Road bike stuff on the hub. <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> MTBKing, I was hoping for something faster but then again a donkey kart IS a lot faster than a ox wagon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iven Posted June 9, 2008 Share The problem is that in order to train properly for MTB you still need to ride on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagar Posted June 9, 2008 Share With the price of fuel as it is today for me to go to Cape Town to do a race on the road bike will mean i will have to travel at least 300km 150 in and 150 out. So my MTB will be used more this summer. Yes those stats of 8-1 for the MTB sound right i was talking to my LBS the other day and he says the do sell more MTB's as compared to the road bikes. I think its more sociable on a MTB and when I contemplate on which bike i am going to take for a ride the MTB seems to have the biggest draw in my life at the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keith Posted June 9, 2008 Share The thing about mtb is that if you crash its your fault cause you fell off or hit a rock or tree, but road involves taxis, trucks, cars. And I personally would rather fall off and hit a rock than get hit by a car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canaris Posted June 9, 2008 Share The problem is that in order to train properly for MTB you still need to ride on the road. Train?!! what is this conspiracy? "train" is a word invented to prevent grown-ups from having FUN. Can't say "I am going to have fun on my bike, I am going to play in the mud". We now say "I'm going to train." I cannot accept that FUN is part of winning ext. FUN is what we have when we enjoy ourselves. MTB is a way to get our youth back. To PLAY again. Don't spoil the moment with words like train and "on the road". It sounds so grown-up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Saint Posted June 9, 2008 Share I just think more people are doing both disciplines. I for instance cycle both road and MTB but for different reasons. Road is great it is fast and competitive and provides for varying conditions throughout a ride. MTB is nice in that it enables you to be able to train at night. I also feel a lot more self assured to go and ride my MTB when I am alone. However each has its fair share of dangers. Road the obvious cars and taxi's, MTB big undulating trails and far more chance of bailing than on your road bike. Incidently it is normally the slower falls that cause the most damage. Now I am not entirely sure when weighing up the risks which disipline is more dangerous to do on your own or even in a bunch for that matter. For example I believe 2 people died at this years Cape Epic albeit it for different reasons other than getting hit by a taxi but I would think you would see the analogy. I suppose we would have to do a death rate comparison of both disciplines to see which is the more dangerous, however I don't think that some guy who dies from hitting his head on a rock in some obscure Koppie will be reported as much as the guy who gets hit by a drunk driver - however it does happen. In short both MTB and Road have their fair share of casualties and to say that one is safer than the other is pure perception and definately not based on any proven facts or statistics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Saint Posted June 9, 2008 Share Not sure when this happened but just got it now....see it's all about perception. THIS is the horrifying moment a driver smashes into a bicycle race ? killing two and injuring 14. <?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />Bodies flew through the air as the car bulldozed cyclists in <?: prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Matamoras, Mexicoon>. Local reports said driver Jesse Lopez, 29, was drunk and had taken drugs. Two people remain critical in hospital. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Low Posted June 9, 2008 Share Hi Mux Ur gonna cop some flak for the pic. It's been re-heated a couple of times now with some ill-tempered reaction. Best to put on the one with the guy sleeping with his bike in the tent and the girlfriend outside. U riding on Saturday? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Saint Posted June 9, 2008 Share I should be riding on Sat but still trying to get over the flu......feeling like dog crap right now. Well I don't care to much about the pic being re-incarnated the point I am trying to make is that these are the things which get publicised and create the perception amongst the public that road riding is the pinacle of danger, but I can guarantee you the weekend that this happened a few MTB'rs also got into some difficulty which was never reported on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanJ Posted June 9, 2008 Share Best to put on the one with the guy sleeping with his bike in the tent and the girlfriend outside. Which one is that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Saint Posted June 9, 2008 Share Hi Mux Ur gonna cop some flak for the pic. It's been re-heated a couple of times now with some ill-tempered reaction. Best to put on the one with the guy sleeping with his bike in the tent and the girlfriend outside. U riding on Saturday? Well you asked for it!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
water bottle Posted June 9, 2008 Share Hi Mux Ur gonna cop some flak for the pic. It's been re-heated a couple of times now with some ill-tempered reaction. Best to put on the one with the guy sleeping with his bike in the tent and the girlfriend outside. U riding on Saturday? How about SBR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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