[Closed] Be truthful, how much do you rely on your bike to bail you out?

Got annoyed at myself for doing this, so sold the full sus and went back to a hardtail. Still need to keep up with the mates on their bouncy bikes, so should be a steep re-learning curve!

No not even in the slightest, it was me that set up my suspension properly that I rely on. ;d

My full suspension, is far better than my 90's fully rigid MTB at doing downhill - cantilever brakes even tuned aren't great. I'm still crap downhill (spinal injury issues)

Quite the opposite actually. After some uncertainty over who was the major factor in staying upright I pushed my bike down a hill to see how well it did on its own and frankly it was embarrassing.

A lot of it is the bike these days.  Noticed it when I went from the Spitfire to the BFe with 150mm Revs, and then the BFe to the slightly newer BFe with a 160mm Yari.  I'm fairly sure I'll notice it going from the BBe to the HB160 when it eventually arrives.

Trails that are rocky and rooty , the Spitfire would soak up no problem, but on the BFe1 i was getting thrown about all over the place going noticeably slower.  BF2 slightly better.

Yes, loads.  It's why I spent so much money on it. I'd be bloody useless on my own.

Shirley you have improved Shirley

I don't.  I'm not a passenger, I'm in control.  I choose the line I know the bike will respond do.  I stared as an 18 year old on a fully rigid 26er with 1.9" tyres trying to go as fast as I could so I learned to read the trail well.

Constantly.... But it always gets me into the situation.

I completely rely on mine. I have as much talent on a mountain bike as Great Britain gets points at Eurovision, but since I got my (underused) Tarn, I have been able to ride like never before.

It is much much more confidence-inspiring than anything I had had before.

Oh, loads. Just the other day I did a stupid pedal strike that would have had me over the bars on lesser bikes. And there's loads of riding that I first figured out on a big bike, that even though I can do it now on the little bike or fatbike, I maybe wouldn't have made the leap.

I don't think I've ever ridden a trail that I couldn't ride on my xc bike. Sure I'll go faster on my downhill bike but lack of huge amounts of suspension and slack head angles don't make a trail unridable

The wrong tyres however will. I wouldn't do a rooty wet trail on xc tyres, regardless of the bike they are on.

There's a reason I've got 150mm of travel and it's not because of the sheer amount of gnarr I'm riding...

I don’t think I’ve ever ridden a trail that I couldn’t ride on my xc bike

I've done a few that I preferentially got off and walked on my rigid 29er, but it's really steep hairpin type stuff - the steep angles, low bars and lack of dropper make it unstable and whilst I might've challenged myself as a youngster, now all I can think of is how easy it would be on a different bike.

The more capable the bike is, the faster or more technical the trails you need to feel challenged.

The faster and more technical the trails, the higher the consequences are if you get it wrong. Presumably it's why people buy gravel bikes and put dropper posts on them, to increase the challenge without increasing the consequences.

What are you going to seek out next to replace the trail you've now conquered, OP....? Bwaaahahah maniacal laugh etc.

But yes, it's great to have a bike that genuinely makes your riding more fun, what's not to like?!

I don’t think I’ve ever ridden a trail that I couldn’t ride on my xc bike. Sure I’ll go faster on my downhill bike but lack of huge amounts of suspension and slack head angles don’t make a trail unridable

Having watched WC XC some people are just that talented :Swoons: 😉

Plenty I've ridden that the XC bike would have ended in either breakage or OTB probably

Most of the time the enduro bike when it does start to save me I let it and try and learn from it, next time I hit the trail I'm pushing it properly or committing harder, nothing wrong with having a plan B

Well my mate who is not particularly talented, in fact considerably worse than me (and I'm rubbish) got down Fort bill world cup track on a boardman no problems.. Albeit slowly. So I stand by my comments.

I take the point about droppers however as I have one on my xc bike it's a non issue. And if I didn't noone said anything about not just lowering the saddle like we did in the old days.

Disclaimer.. My xc bike is a pretty capable full susser rather than an all out xc race hardtail.. Which admittedly I probably would not take down some of the trails I have ridden!

Nice lack of heroism.....apart from one!

The more capable the bike is, the faster or more technical the trails you need to feel challenged.

No - the faster you need to go on the same trails.

Riding my rigid 29er is a different activity to riding my 7" travel bike even though the trails are the same.

I don't think there's a bike out there that would get me to hit gap jumps....

Probably about 85% relying on the bike. I just barrel down things with no finesse and there comes a point where I’m just along for the ride and it could go wrong at any second. The bike always sees me through though. Keep thinking of giving full suss another go, but the shear scare factor on a HT can’t be beaten in my opinion.

I'm going back to a FS my main bike so I'm hoping it's going to pay off. I'll still have my rigid MTB as a second bike as a reality check.

 I’ll still have my rigid MTB as a second bike as a reality check.

What reality is that? How rigid pings off stuff?

Don't get me wrong I'm happy to push things on the gravel bike but it highlights how annoying it is to head down certain stuff unless you are Danny Mac just sucks the fun out of things

What reality is that? How rigid pings off stuff?

That I'm not suddenly a riding god and line choice matters! To be honest it's not bad for rigid, plus tyre up front helps.

Exactly what Northwind says.

I'm happier pushing my limits on the big FS bike as I know the bike can handle more than me and will usually get me through as long as I don't do anything too silly. Knowing you can ride something makes it easier to commit to it on the little bike, though there are trails or features at the upper end of what I can ride that I'm only comfortable doing on the big FS bike. However now that my little bike has now gone from old school 26 HT to new school 150mm HT, there is less of a gap between bikes, just 150mm of rear squish.

I just have a 29er hardtail and I don't trust it much. 🙂

I ride a rigid, brakeless, fixed gear bike off road.  I will never be relying on my bike to bail me out.

None...I'm so crap it screams abuse at me due to not using it like it should be used.

Quite a lot. I take my bike on the train so I can ride at both ends, and when the trains are messed up, I can ride home from whichever station we've been chucked off at.

EmmTeeBee wise, I don't know.  Local trails are steep and rooty, but no high speed rocky stuff, so it's all enjoyable on a rigid 26er, apart from some of the bigger jumps and drops.

I swear the front end of the Jones has helped me get out of trouble when things have got a bit off-line, it's so quick and "safe" to steer.  But then I've stacked it more on that bike in the last 6 months than I have on anything else, so who knows!?

Depends on where i'm riding. Somewhere local, never...But if i go to Afan/BPW then without my bike being so good, i'm either crashing, or riding a load slower. My bike gives me the ability to ride things i couldn't ride on many bikes.. I'm often astounded for example in Andalusia when i get to the bottom and the bike and me have got down without issue... it's just remarkable.

After my bikes got nicked I spent 6 months riding every thing on my crosslight and I'm still alive 😀

Wasn't as fast of course, but made it down stuff that I probably should have walked. So I suppose the question is, how capable is a crosslight and was it saving my arse 🤣🤣

Well, after last weekend, I’d definitely say yes.  I’ve spend the last few months riding longish travel FS 29ers with modern geometry, then last weekend I borrowed a short travel XC/Trail 29er - major wake up call on the descents that I normally blast down without noticing, and I had a couple of close calls.  Gosh, I’d forgotten you have to pick lines and stuff on these things😏

As none of us are either pro DHers or Brandon Semenuk, I would say all of us rely on our bikes to a greater or lesser degree. And to be honest, without their bikes set up by pro-mechanics, neither would DHers or Brandon by able to do what they do  for that matter! There are some routes around where I live that the average mtber would "need" at lest a fork, doubtless there are some very talented riders who could get through some routes on sheer talent and timing, but those guys are are few and far between.

IME "A bad workman blames his tools" is a uniquely weird British attitude. I don't think I've ever come across it anywhere else, coupled with the usual alpha male bulshit, that we're probably all guilty of at some point, we end up with this mad attitude that to be a "proper" mountain biker you need to have KOM'd Rangers on a unicycle. see also "It's not a proper bunny hop if you're clipped in" and other bollocks.

Never.

If I was to just roll my bike down the trail, it'd either fall over, or hit the first tree, really needs me on it to get it down to the bottom...

I reckon a lot of it is mental attitude - not that the bike does it for you, but that you think "my bike can do this" and it makes you ride stuff better.

I had a moment last weekend, going over the steeper drop off line than I intended - and going far too slowly (and forgot to drop the post!). Never did it enter my head that I wasn't going to make it down, or that I was going over the bars - if a split second of that type of thought had done, I would've been in a heap on the floor.

My old Scott Voltage had Boxxers and adjustable shock mounts with up to 180 mm travel at the rear. Everything about it inspired confidence. It had strength, suspension and brakes in the bank.

I knew that it was capable of riding anything (cf. Kyle Norby) so if there was a problem, the problem was me.

Using it as a massive safety net I learned to ride pretty much anything I wanted to and now, riding the same stuff on what you might call lesser machinery, it's not actually that different

It's all in the head.

150/150 all mountain with 2.6 inch rubber makes me lazy - and maybe too fast - as well.

I love to bike those trails with different bikes - and on my hardtail I need to be in a much better shape on those trails.

Generally - if the trails are dry: I go too fast and the bike will do the Job

If the trails are wet: think there the skill kicks in? No matter if 150/150 or hardtail? In winter time I work harder than my bike - in summer time the bike does the Job?

Or similar.

Sometimes I just close my eyes and hope for the best....

Just took on a Chromag Rootdown BA, whilst it is an excellent bike and chunders through the rough stuff I found some of the jumps/drops a little more unsettling mainly cos I had forgotten how much I relied on the full sus to bail me out with my lack of technique.

Took the Chilcotin out recently and normal duties were restored.

I now am hankering after a full sus 29er!

really needs me on it to get it down to the bottom

😀

Not enough - when you are as cautous as I am its easy to forget how capable modern mountain bikes are, even 100mm travel xc hardtails. My mindset is still stuck in my youth with 58mm of elastomer travel and tyres pumped to 50psi, I have to contantly remind myself if I just let the bike roll it will be fine.

I think it's more of a confidence giver than a bailer out most of the time.

Alternating between the two I've taken a few lines for the first time on FS but then HT has been fine once it's not a leap into the unknown.

There is one section of trail that is an exception, not sure if I'd take the HT down it, and I would almost certainly wuss out on a 100mm HT, and not even try it on a rigid. In fact there's plenty that I'd stay off on a rigid bike.

It's good to know that it is generally more forgiving, but I did worry about the "less crashes at higher speeds" thing being an overall increase in risk, however it's fun and still a lot safer than strapping an engine in the frame.

Bloody loads!

I'm dyspraxic and have the hand-eye co-ordination of Helen Keller after four double whiskies and the grace of a well greased baby elephant.  There's a reason why I ride bikes towards the burlier end of the scale.

Irrespective of which bike I’m on, if I can visualise myself riding it successfully then I’ll usually give it a go but if I can’t visualize myself succeeding then I’ll pretty much always walk away... So I’m the limiting factor. There’s a very, very steep short section of goat track near me (in Greece) which, although I’m 95% certain I could ride it, I’ve never quite had the nerve to try and I don’t think that I ever will as, in this case, I can easily visualise the consequences of failure and no change of bike would alter that.

I almost never assume that “ the bike will let me get away with it” - there lies pain, I reckon.

100%.

The last time I tried to run down a rooty rocky track at 20mph+ I really hurt myself.

If you mean charging blindly down trails without thinking of the consequences and expecting my bike to miraculously save me, then the answer is not at all.

On new trails which are blind, my bike is always cashing cheques for poor lines choice or poor application of skill or not having the skills yet. For trails which I know I'd say the bike still helps, but as I understand the lines more its more me.

I'd def say though that without my BMX background and being able to bunnyhop and jump I'd have been far more injured!

er... dunno.

I ride a hardtail, so feel like I have to do more work than those fancy dans with their FSes with eleventy billion inches of travel that are like a monster truck in soaking up all the technical stuff. Certainly when it's steep tricky stuff I tend to mince.

But then if I was riding a CX bike, I'd be even worse at it, so clearly there's a fair degree of confidence and ability stemming from the bike.

On anything remotely technical I pretty much just hold on and hope.

So I’m the limiting factor.

Very much this. I said earlier in the tread I could get down any route I have ridden on any of my bike. That doesn't mean I could get down any route! If its going to take 200 mm of bounce and the bike to bail me out then I'll not attempt it as if that was the case the trail is outside my comfort zone.

One of the reasons Im trying to sell my down hill bike is that ill never take it anywhere near its limit, because basically I'm a pussy. If I fall off on an xc bike on a technical trail I'll be going pretty slowly. I'm fine with that. If Im exceeding the limits of what I can do on a down hill bike then I'll be going far faster, and it'll hurt far more.

I demo'd 3 bikes last weekend at the Malverns thingy, after 14 years of riding my trusty NRS with 75mm of travel, which whilst being an advantage still requires a bit of line picking - modern geometry/plusher travel/dropper seatposts made up for the lack of skill at speed.

I'd a shot of a rigid bike for a day a while back, put paid to my ideas of a gravel bike. front suss is a must! 😆

Still never really tried full suss, so can't comment on that.

Defo for me, especially on the 29" full suss. I find myself often realising I'm going faster than I really should on the downs but it always bails me out. Scared myself a few times and that never used to happen.

Less so on the hard tail although I'm sure it does.

The bike should bail you out.

If it doesn't, it's the wrong bike for the job, or a bad design.

Or you have deliberately accepted handling compromises for any of several reasons, eg full rigid, want to race, etc...

I wouldn't say my bike "bails" me out as such. I ride to my skills however limited they might be. Faster on a bike suited to the terrain, slower on something not so suited.

My riding has always been some what performances related, I hardly ever bimble. If I'm on a good bike riding easy terrain I'll just go faster, it doesn't always end well !!

I’ve been pondering this all day.

My honest answer is not really, or perhaps I don’t understand the question?

Does my bike let me ride things faster (or at all) over say a 90s rigid? Of course it does.

Is it possible for ME to ride my bike faster or over harder terrain than I do? Dam straight I could. Fear and to save my ego a bit ‘responsiblity’ means I’m rarely more than 9/10ths pace.

Is it possible that a better rider could ride my bike faster? Oh god yes.

I do very occationally run out of ‘bike’ a few weeks ago I tried to make a turn racing a mate and just ran out of grip, wasn’t braking, my position was good (for me) I just ran out of bike, big slide, caught it, shat pants.

I run out of talent much more often.

But, really over the last god knows how many years my skills have grown, my fitness (by and large) gets a tiny bit better and my bikes get better and all these things mean I get faster and more capable.