Realisation that I'm crap at mountain biking.

Reconciling what you really enjoy about mtb vs the marketing blurb about constant radness can be tricky, but it is all in your head.

Take what you enjoy from your ride experience and be damned the rest, because the rest of it doesn’t matter.

I'm not sure how an e-bike is relevant. Won't that just encourage/require more radical riding?

I've never been much good at MTBing and don't care. I enjoy riding on fairly straightforward trails. I'd rather get off than fall off.

Just ride stuff you enjoy. You're better than 99% of the population, don't judge yourself against professional athletes.

You don't necessarily have to do stuff that you don't enjoy.

Sometimes it helps, if you don't enjoy a particular type of obstacle or type of trail, making yourself do it can make it easier or at least make you relax more when you're riding it. Being comfortable and relaxed usually makes -whatever it is- easier. Practice makes perfect and all that.

You have to want to do whatever it is that you're doing though. I don't think forcing yourself to ride stuff that you don't want to ride is ever going to work. Making yourself do something just because you think you should be able to do it isn't going to go as well as making yourself do something that you want to be able to do.

So long as you're enjoying yourself when you ride then it doesn't really matter what you ride.

I used to be way too scared of steep trails. I'd just freeze and come to a stop, get off an walk/ slide down. I know they're something that I'm capable of and something I want to be able to ride. The more I make myself do it, the easier it gets.

More importantly for me I think is that making myself ride stuff like that reminds me how capable the bike is, how reassuring the suspension/ tyres/ brakes are. With confidence in the bike, riding scary stuff gets easier.

I can't ride narrow stuff on a steep traverses. Just too much worry about clipping the side and tumbling down. I'd love to be able to but realistically, it's never going to happen and I'm comfortable with that.

I'm crap at biking too, bit still love it. Just ride what makes you happy!

I’m still rubbish too as the scabs on my 64year old knees will testify!

Just ride what you like, not what everyone else is riding.

It's too easy to be drawn into a 'gnar' culture in MTB, but they who have most fun win....

I realised this thirty odd years ago when my then 10yr old passed me and disappeared going down the Beast on a rigid Kona while wearing velcro trainers and baggy joggers which were his normal school uniform!

Maybe time for a new bike, one with electric assist.

An ebike on blue flow trails (or any flow trails imo) is not as much fun as a proper mtb

I didn't think 'mountain biking' was defined by tech/gnar/skills progression etc anyway. It's no more about that than open landscapes, fitness or the path through the local woods imho. We get more tech trails because bike companies keep building more tech into the bikes. If all that was what people really wanted there wouldn't be gravel bikes.

Struggling with a black trail (trail centre or bike park) is emphatically not being crap.

The problem is the world of MTB we see through the media/social media is skewed by an imbalance of more skilled people because it makes better content.  This is entertaining but with the wrong mindset also dangerous.  As a parallel think about the way perception of body image has long been connected with what's in the media as desirable/attractive.

Biking is a passtime, a passion even but it is not less valid for being a cycle tour of East Anglian back roads vs. the ability to hurtle down the Fort Bill track.  The question is not how gnar are you but are you doing the riding you want to do and enjoying it.  If your skills don't match what you want to enjoy/ride then it means more practice, coaching and support.  If they do there's no issue that an attitude shift won't resolve.

I'm probably not as crap as I feel at times, just feel like I'm going through the motions a bit and finding technical riding a bit of a chore. It's probably no coincidence that my general fitness has recently taken a bit of a dive.

I've never actually had any mtb training, despite the general trail difficulty getting more over time. Maybe I should book some lessons.

Some great and humorous responses above. Cheers.

MTB is a broad church and not every mountain biker likes/enjoys/is proficient at all aspects of it.

Over time features have got harder, steeper & gnarlier. What we thought of as radical on rigid bikes with rim brakes in the ‘80s are now nothing on a long travel full sus.

I gave up the gnar after fracturing my arm, dislocating my shoulder & ripping my rotator cuff apart in a crash on a relatively small drop off. Now far happier on XC rides, bike packing & riding blue flow trails. I’m now in my 7th decade and don’t bounce or heal as well as I used to.

Just do what makes you happy and you are confident doing.

Yea, I'm in the same boat OP. All confidence is gone because of it, but, I am slowly coming round to the fact that it actually doesn't matter. I love the Golfie for example, but I'm a NY NY/Right Side Clyde guy. Happy to do the 'easier' trails there. And you know what, when I do, I love it. I also realise that not being fast doesn't matter either. Remember that trails are more technical then they used to be, well at least there are much more of them. My favourite trails are not the steepest or the most difficult.

Gnarr is NOT compulsory .

Less .. nae limits, more.. know your limits 😉

My problem is slightly different, but I feel it’s closely related. As I get older, I find black trails more and more difficult. So perhaps at one time, there are trails I would have ridden. But I’m finding myself a little more cautious at 56, because I don’t want to break anything else.

I was riding in the Portes du Soleil this summer and came to the horrible realisation that I’m not really a black-trail-type-of-rider. I’m more a red trail rider. Sad face emoji.

The most fun I had yesterday at Tarland was the new blue.

Way more fun than the black or even most of the red....

I'm ****ing awful at jumping, I still enjoy having a go, as my son likes those kind of trails. But I'll never be a jumpy kind of rider.

We went Dyfi in June and was quite worried before we went , I actually thought about cancelling. I just thought it'd be far too much for me and worried it'd put my son off.

In actual fact we had an amazing time pushing ourselves and really surprised me how well we did. We were with guys that had been before and are good riders so that helped. We were no where near as good as some of the people there but we still had a great time.

I know I'll never be great rider but I love a good techy trail and I also love a pretty easy fast trail as well. I also just live riding a bike with good views, preferably with a pub at the end!!

Me and Mrs Fruitbat did the Green and Blue trails at Kirroughtree, Dalbeattie, Mabie and Ae recently. A few years ago I'd have been doing the Reds. We still call ourselves mountain bikers (both in our sixties).

An ebike won't stop you falling off!

I seem to spend more time under mine than on top of it!.

It will allow you to enjoy the uphills though whilst steadily emptying your bank account for the privilege.

A lot of the problem is how the level of gnar has increased greatly in the last few years, especially as bikes have become more capable.  I used to be considered pretty decent downhill but now I wouldn't even think about a lot of stuff.  OK I ride a 120mm downcountry bike and I'm 60 but I can still go down a lot of enduro style trails that 15 years ago would have scared the crap out of me.  My bike is definitely more capable than I am!

So to me, as long as you are out riding with a smile on your face then everything is great with the world :).

Aged 58 here and most of my riding is now gravel, road and indoor. My mountain bike, a Levo SL has been out I think half a dozen times this year, compared to my annual bike mileage now around 2500 miles.

I used to enjoy moderately tech stuff, now it’s all about xc, adventures and scenery.

I don’t think I’d miss the emtb if I didn’t have it, not worth selling though as hardly used, heavily upgraded and massively depreciated!

I've never been into the gnar scene. It seems to mostly involve speeding through anonymous, endless, dark forest and, frankly, looks a bit repetitive and boring. The "challenge" for me has been to be capable enough to ride (most of) any techie bits I come across when I'm out and about exploring the countryside. In order to do that, it's occasionally beneficial to take on, and repeat, a more technical section and trail centres are handy for this due to ease of access and the fact that the trails are graded for difficulty, so you sort of know what to expect and what you "should" be able to ride.

The point above about such trails becoming ever more severe is also true though, and since I've no intention of buying a "more capable" bike, I think many are now beyond what I want to ride.

I'm happy with this.

I've tried some races and finished bottom of the pack. To get better would require specific training, not going out for fun rides.

So I'd suggest going out for fun rides for you. Whatever fun for you is and not worrying about what others are doing.

I raced one race of a series and was going to do a second. At the race I just didn't have the legs to pull away from or catch people. tricky Down or tricky uphill I could catch people, but just didn't have the legs the other riders had. The idea of going out to hurt myself, so I could hurt myself in a race wasn't particularly appealing.

I thought I was fastish and tried some enduro races. Turns out I am not fast compared to enduro races. To get faster would require pushing my comfort and skill and would require crashing as I found the limit of grip and my talent. Which wasn't particularly appealing.

I've never been into Gnar, never felt the need for more than 140mm of travel and until relatively recently I only had 100mm. I'll ride anything at Coed-y-Brenin or Nant-y-Arian but that's about as far as I want to go. My favourite trail is probably Mark of Zorro at NyA. Just getting out on a bike into the countryside/hills/forests is great.

Same as @tall_martin really. Been there, tried it, raced DH, Enduro and XC but I'm distinctly poor at all. Weirdly against average blokes I do fine, but average blokes don't go racing

I've got a decision in 2 weeks as to whether I ride Dyfi again or take the Eeb and explore the local woods and Chlimax trail, I'm leaning towards the latter currently. Dyfi is fun but mostly out of my skillset there

Forget the gnar, embrace the potter.

Just keep riding, its good for you.

Doesn’t matter how good or bad you are as long as you’re enjoying it.

It's all risk and reward, i loved BPW, Wind Hill, FoD and so on but when i got my new hip that part of my life was over, just XC and mild stuff now, one bad fall or crash and i'm in serious trouble for the rest of my life, so the level of risk has definitely lowered.

I'm shit at MTB, like proper shit. Always at the back on a mate's spin.

But it gives me so much fun just drifting along, weaving around trees and the like why would I ever stop?

There's always a sniper riot or two to set a new benchmark on my skill, give a shit as I'm always improving? for my age.

Riot is probably root tbf

I have been riding MTBs for 33 years and I really can’t jump at all and don’t even mention drops.
I have to get some coaching next year before next trip to mountains - it seems that there are jumps and drops just about everywhere these days so I can’t avoid them anymore

I’m finding that I’m enjoying the technical climbs and blue flow descents more. Even a pan flat gravel/cx ride is more enjoyable than riding at the Golfie

The simple answer is ride those bits then, just have fun.

Personally, I think of myself as a pretty decent MTBer, (well, before I got long covid) although I'm an endurance racer and keep my wheels on the ground, or not too far above it. Despite it not being my discipline I can do almost everything at the Golfie, but it's local and I've practiced a lot and I'm still nowhere near the fastest, on the downs at least.

Anyway, there are a lot of sports I'm utterly hopeless at, pretty much everything apart from biking and maybe trail running, but i actually quite enjoy being rubbish. As long as I'm competent enough not to hurt myself doing it does it matter? I like being so hopeless that there is no expectation of a result and can just do it for the fun of it, no pressure, I can laugh at myself and so can everyone else. I stood up three times last time I went surfing, which I'm calling a win, but I had a great time getting chucked about in the waves. I lose almost every game of badminton I play but I've met some really nice people doing it. I get a massive sense of achievement completing one of the medium difficulty routes at the indoor bouldering place.

Anyway, my point is there will be stuff you're good at, and stuff you enjoy. For me there is some crossover on one sport but that second category is far, far bigger. You will have your own stuff in each category, do the stuff you enjoy and don't worry about being good or not. You might improve if you keep doing it, you might not, if you're having fun it doesn't matter.

I'm in a similar position. Confidence is low at the minute in any case due to a crash the other week. But, for a long time now, I've struggled with sustained technicality / steepness / challenge. I've got one particular party piece that most of my riding buddies haven't tried yet (75+ degree roll down a rocky embankment) and numerous other 'set piece' features I'm OK with - but they're just that - roll to the point of no return then a maximum of 2-3 things to do then roll out and stop. Fine.

But anything involving sustained rooty, rocky steepness and I'm absolute jelly. All perspective goes out if the window. All ability to break the trail down into easy/hard bits etc... gone. And I'm walking, feeling like a failure and hating it. I'm at a point now where certain trips my riding group go on are a waste of time for me.

It is just the way it is. I'm too old now to change a whole mindset.

I'm crap at a lot of mountain biking. I've always struggled to into get a flow or rhythm on flat or undulating pedally trails and a lot of trail centre type rides. Just feels like a constant stop-start and not whole a lot of fun. By the time I'm halfway round somewhere like Cannock I'm ready to get home. Like the satisfaction of cleaning a techy climb but generally wouldn't say I enjoy climbing, it's just a means to an end. Tech/rooty DH is ok but again not my favourite.

What I like most is DH flowy jump trails that aren't too gnar or massive. Basically Crank It Up at Whistler (and similar blues there) is my idea of a perfect trail. Thinking of trading my road bike for a DJ to get more into that stuff since there's loads of good spots locally where a 29er is too much, and big bikes/knobbly tyres aren't allowed on the pump track etc at Woburn.

What I used to think were challenging MTB trails locally have been sanitised and I now ride on a gravel bike. I've never liked the idea travelling to get a ride in so never really got beyond the red at Sherwood Pines anyway, and haven't done that since Covid.

I quite like the idea of some coaching, some pads, and a full sus skills compensator, but I'll never get beyond a blue/red bimbler.

I grew up skateboarding and BMXing so you'd think I'd naturally gravitate towards the freeride side of things but I just like riding a bike. Doesn't matter if it's the road or MTB, I just like being out and about and pushing on. Don't enjoy trail centres and get stressed riding difficult trails, black routes and the like. I'd rather a big adventure in the wilds, exploring new places. Do the stuff you enjoy and don't succumb to the pressure to ride certain features, it's your enjoyment and your journey.

Don’t enjoy trail centres and get stressed riding difficult trails, black routes and the like

I like trail centres for the ability to just ride. No gates, no random bits of unrideable boggy moorland, no arsey walkers... However I stick to red and maybe some of the easier bits of black at most. Anything that has diamonds, double diamonds or orange jump line/freeride signs stuff is right out!

I've only been at it the last 20 years but my local trails are completly unrecognisable these days from a techy point of view. Maybe its  not you thats got worse, maybe its the level of gnarr that has gone through the roof 🙂

MTB is a broad church

And

Ride what you enjoy

sums it up nicely.

Think it helps that I avoid social media stuff and really only use YouTube for mtce tips/advice.

If you're okay with it, carry on. If you're not okay with it, carry on. If you don't want to continue, stop. HTH! 😀

If you're smiling you're doing it right.  The rest of the shit doesnt matter

I never rode black and still don’t. Blue and wheels on the ground. On the road it seems I’m technically an excellent fast descender. Off road… I’m a happy mincer. Still fun though. I just don’t like getting hurt.

Back in 2010 by some miracle I bagged a season in Whistler at 53 years old as a chalet maid ? The number 280 has lived long in my memory, it's how many laps I did in the bike park, It used to really  bother me that they were mostly Blues , Crank It Up Samurai Pizza Cat , Heart Of Darkness etc etc , occasionally I'd stray onto Blacks and do the smaller GLC drop but honestly they weren't my favourite and I was crap at them .

Now looking back I think " not bad for a bloke who a year before was diagnosed with Osteoporosis and was told never to ride off-road again "

Comparison is the thief of joy old chap.

Ride for you, it's really that simple. That's the secret.

Love going fast downhill, but definitely wheels mostly on the ground, have a good few KOM's - you'd probably describe anything I'm any good at as old school mtb riding - fast with some mild tech

Rode all the Blacks in the early days of BPW, but a few of them are beyond me now - don't do jumps and seriously steep tech scares the living daylights out of me.

As I've got older, the local riding groups have got younger and they go for the steepest techiest stuff that's available - I don't like it. There are some guys my age that ride it without batting an eyelid, but one bad crash, self employment and recently a TIA all hold me back a bit.

Love MTB, love a bit of tech, but know my levels and don't feel the need to push them any more

I don’t think I actually enjoy the sensation of being scared riding stuff.

Feeling worried riding stuff will always affect how you ride, off road cycling is primarily a mental game. Session easier trails, riding progressively more aggressively, learn what the bike does when you push it in certain situations - corners, drops, etc. Apply the same to more challenging routes.

Don't talk yourself down. It's a ridiculous thing to be doing anyway. Enjoy it for what it is.

Come riding with me, I will make you look like Greg Minnaar.

Most of my riding is local trails/bridleways/byways, and whilst there is satisfaction in cleaning a technical section, I’ve always taken the view that if I don’t clean it, or I’m not ‘feeling it’, that section will still be there tomorrow. My son has adopted the same approach, which is something I’m quite pleased about.

I’ve entered my first races this year in my mid-50s (Northern Downhill) and had a blast, but that’s probably because I’m realistic about my abilities and not expecting to win. I am probably fitter than I was in my 40s though.

@relapsedmandalorian I love that ! The next time I attempt and fail The Chimney on the Quantocks in the wet I'll remember that!

For a long time I had the Osteoporosis written large in my book of excuses " I'd ride that but I don't want to break any bones they'll take forever to heal if at all "

I have found from experience though a lot of those who claim " they can't ride for shit " Are quite the opposite of you go riding with them ! So it's me that sucks !

Maybe mountain biking has just got too gnar these days, well for me, or maybe I’m just getting older and more fragile.

You can sort this easily, Sign up for Strava, title your rides stuff like: Awesome shredding of technical trails, feeling super strong for my age' and the new Athlete Intelligence (sic) AI feature will blow smoke up your arse accordingly. Stuff like:

'Well done, despite your advanced age, you made a series of stronger than usual efforts and shredded a number of technical trails adding to your already aweseomez performance over the past 30 days. Keep up the good work!'

Job done! 🙂

Approaching 40. Now a dad etc. Used to love Alpine DH / bike parks and trips to Finale.

Still do a bit of mtb but now the thing that really does it for me is an off camber bank in a cyclocross race!

I can't see myself ever going back to try sending any big jumps which was always a weak / stress point for me in honesty. Fun to consequence ratio not favourable enough!

Don’t beat yourself up @didnthurt, Black graded trails and features should be challenging/scary, that’s why they’re black. Black = expert.

I’ve always been a solid blue-dark red rider, but then decided I needed to push myself further, got lots of skills training, learnt how to tackle jumps and big drops, and technical features, but in the end I still prefer good blue and red trails, where you can have fun, without spending half the time worrying about the next risky feature up ahead.
Ride what you enjoy and enjoy what you ride.

P.s don’t worry about the sniper, happens to everyone, even our experienced and talented guide, on a recent trip, went down like a sack of spuds on one of those slippery little buggers!

I can second "don't worry about the sniper". My recent crash came on a benign section of trail, ironically as I was preparing myself mentally for a more challenging bit that was approaching.

"OK, nice and calm, relax, get low, stay loo.......".

BANG!

"Ohhhhh shiiiiiittttt!"

"Owwwwwwwww!"

After scraping myself up of the floor I looked back up the trail. Nothing was there that should have made my back wheel try to hit me on the back of my head and my balls to ride the stem.

My current acute, accident-caused lack of confidence is purely that I can't hold onto the bars properly as my hand hurts too much.

My chronic, long term lack of confidence is on sustained tech, usually steeper off-piste stuff.

My abilities are some what similar to the OPs. One of the things i say to myself is that walking is a popular hobby and i don’t think walkers sit around at home wondering about whether they are any good at it. They might worry about fitness but assuming you’re not on the scrambling mountaineering progression it’s just something to enjoy.

I hate to bring up the “g” word but i think the OPs post touches on one of the reasons for the rise of the gravel bike and the gravel route.

There really is nothing new in the modern gravel routes. But gravel  gravel route is a bit more appealing than old school non technical xc slog.

Lots of people here would say that most uk gravel routes would be better ridden on a hardtail. I think one of the reasons for choosing a gravel bike is that for many it’s a statement of intent. I’m here for the views but will be getting off for the obstacle. I’m not a rubbish version of the guys at Rampage…….

I realised a long time ago that I subconsciously calculate the penalty for failure of things as I approach them and so can never fully enjoy a lot of the black stuff.  I’m happy to add a bit more speed and risk to reds and off piste stuff, but my mind automatically knows the limit. it sounds like yours does too.  Its worth listening too when what you’re doing is only a hobby and doesn’t need to be pushed.

I’ve always been a solid blue-dark red rider, but then decided I needed to push myself further, got lots of skills training, learnt how to tackle jumps and big drops, and technical features, but in the end I still prefer good blue and red trails, where you can have fun, without spending half the time worrying about the next risky feature up ahead.
Ride what you enjoy and enjoy what you ride.

Same for me, I tend to stick to smaller jumps where you still get the fun addictive weightless feeling of being in the air, but I'm not stressing about being able to clear the big ones etc. I used to ride a lot of the bigger DH stuff at Woburn (worked up to the big gap that used to be before the bombhole on Transfer Line, did the big step down near Hip Line), rode every trail up to double black at Whistler Bike Park when I was there etc, but I don't fancy taking those risks any more. I always found it weirdly stressful and felt like I "had" to do those big features every ride otherwise I'd lose my progression.

If you aren’t being paid for it.
It’s a hobby.
The only point of a hobby is enjoyment.
Do it in a way you enjoy.

After a bit of reflection, I think I'm not feeling 100% right now, physically and a bit mentally which means I'm not able to put into mountain biking what I normally would. Add this to some work & home stress along with the shorter days and more challenging trail conditions and I can see why I'm all a bit down on myself right now.

This year I've managed to tick off so many things off my mtb/off-road wishlist that I suppose I should expect a bit of a low after such relative highs.

There was a thread on here a while back (probably more than one) about losing your spark for mountain biking, maybe I'm just going through that at the moment.

I'll try to improve my fitness over the winter and see if the spark returns, I'm sure it will.

Lastly, seeing the sad news about Chris Hoy (whose a similar age to me) helps me put my insignificant issues into perspective. Thanks for all the comments. Much appreciated. Ian

No one else is keeping count, so enjoy what you enjoy.

And when you're feeling a bit low, step out of the shade and into the sun figuratively speaking. Look at some pics you took while out on the bike from earlier in the year and enjoy that moment/achievement all over again. Keep doing that and you might find you're thinking about plans for next summer that winter training can build towards .

Good luck!

Reconciling what you really enjoy about mtb vs the marketing blurb about constant radness can be tricky, but it is all in your head.

I do wonder often when seeing MTB marketing who the heck brands are trying to appeal to.

Sometimes it helps, if you don’t enjoy a particular type of obstacle or type of trail, making yourself do it can make it easier or at least make you relax more when you’re riding it. Being comfortable and relaxed usually makes -whatever it is- easier. Practice makes perfect and all that.

This is also good for those occasions when you suddenly find yourself in something without a chance to get off. Some trail centre climbs have optional skinnies, I used to think meh not interested. Later one week I found myself doing about 15mph on a very long moss covered skinny in deep grass, I managed it but thought wouldn't it have been good to have some practice at my own leisure.

jam-boFull Member
If you aren’t being paid for it.
It’s a hobby.
The only point of a hobby is enjoyment.
Do it in a way you enjoy.

A thousand times this!