For VI and other interested in Mountain Biking

http://nsmb.com/page/s/2678/fox-vid-from-rampage/

The above video is from this years Red Bull Rampage, which is a freeride/big mountain bike competition sponsored by, surprise, Red Bull. This competition featured some of the world's top riders from several disciplines (World Class DH racers like Gee Atherton and Cedric Gracia to Slopestyle champs like Darren Berrecloth, Cameron McCaul and Brandon Semenuk) creating and riding huge lines in the middle of nowhere in Utah, USA.

As well as being able to create any line they liked, there were a few pre-made courses for them to trick and style out, including a 60' canyon gap and several "drops" of 20+'.

Check out the vid, and for all the riders, we can make this our place to talk about the sport. Training, accomplishments, favourite mountain bike style or favourite places to ride.

 

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I bought a Specialized Rockhopper 29 Comp. I've put about 115 miles on it so far, but haven't really gotten it off road yet. I'm looking to take it out into the Santa Cruz Mountains eventually. I'm a bit new to the whole genre, so I have to start a bit slow

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Check out "Drop In TV" if you get the chance. It's a TV programme full of stuff like that.

I don't know what channel it is on or anything though.

 

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I'm not quite skilled enough to race yet, so no accomplishments other than injuring myself only mildly. I really want to get good enough to race, not least to drive up the number of girls/women. I was a marshal at a race earlier this year and ONE rider was a woman. I swear I died a little inside.

Style = Downhill.

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Nice thread Idle, and glad to not only meet another mtb-er, but one who knows what freeride is and is interested in it.
Freeriding is the type of mountain biking that I do. In fact, my friend Kenny and I have built several freeride stunts on his 2 acre lot here in Nashville.
Here is the link to a thread on MTBR.com that has some pictures of our stuff. My SN there is RMB_Mike.
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=354900&highlight=insane stunts
I'll post my two Youtube vids when I get home, as: work firewall > youtube

If anyone wishes there were more women mtb-ers, it would be me. Ideally, I would like to marry a woman who is interested in mtb-ing. There are a few around here but they are more geared towards the racing/cross-country side of it and they are ALL taken.
So do you do any downhilling yourself, or is that the genre that interests you the most? I think downhill is by far the most dangerous, followed closely by freeriding. Most XCers wear their little light 'skullcap' helmets. Most downhillers and freeriders wear full face helmets and body armor rivaling that of motocross racers.

 

I do cross country on either my BMX or my uncles 10 year old no suspension beast.
I like going down some big slopes at the quarry.
I've had a dabble on my BMX at north shore trails, including a big see saw and some long high log rides, but some pricks knocked it all down.
I like going to the bowls in the summer even though I'm no good at them, in fact the only thing I'm any good at is cross country.

That's about it.

 

XC on a BMX bike = hardcore.

How do your knees and tailbone feel after a few miles of BMXC? Haha.

How did you not bust your ass on the north shore trails on a BMX bike?

 

I never used to do any high drops, probably no more than two feet so the north shore wasn't that bad, it was my nerves that screwed me up more.

You've got to take note that I wasn't blasting around on the ladders and all, just having a go on them.

As for the cross country; yes my knees get a bit of bother, but my tailbone doesn't get that much bother as I've never had a bike with suspension, so I'm just used to standing up a lot.

The biggest problem I've found doing things on my BMX is not the size, lack of gears, or no suspension, but the fact that there is no front brake. It's especially bad when going down hills, as I have found through experience that the back break isn't that good for going down hill (been on my arse a fair few times).

 

I do indeed! You're right it is dangerous, but still loads of fun. My favourite source of adrenaline.

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Freeride and smooth, flowy single track is the way to go. I have enjoyed some "park" riding, with two ski hills in close proximity (including Whistler Bike Park) that have lifts. Those stunts look awesome! How much time did you put into them?

Steve100: Are you referring to Vancouver's North Shore?

V.I.: Downhill certainly is a lot of fun. Not much can replace the feeling of pure speed. I am looking to build up a full suspension bike next spring, which will allow me to do a bit more. I am currently riding a 2005 Norco Rampage, which is a burly hard tail designed for freeriding.

What does everyone else ride (other than Ben, of course -- nice bike, btw)?

Drop In is a great show, filmed mostly in BC and featuring many BC riders (including Dylan Tremblay from Parksville, Vancouver Island -- ~40 km North of where I grew up), and Steve Romaniuk who was supposed to ride in the Red Bull Rampage. They don't ride things quite as gnarly as in the vid in the OP, but they do some intense stuff, for sure.

 

I don't have my own full suspension bike, only a no suspension beast as Steve calls em, and you really don't want to use one of those for downhill, so the dude I go with lets me use his old one. I wanna get a full suspension bike for my 19th...hopefully...(Note to self....quit wasting money on metallic hair bobbles and other shit...)

 

I am seriously considering a bike out of Transition's line-up, and I'm very fond of the Bottle Rocket (http://www.transitionbikes.com). Depending on the build, they are $3499-$4199, so I will have to pick the package when I go to buy it, although I may just buy the frame (which is $1499) and build it up piece by piece. That way I can get things exactly as I want them and it will be unique.

Which bike were you looking at?

 

I like the look of this one! http://www.transitionbikes.com/2007/Blindside.cfm

I'm in Ireland though and that's a US site...

 

We have been working on that since September 2006. Since then we have redone the second wood berm of the Dragon.
We're also working on another drop that will be 13 feet off the ground, with about a 4 foot high landing ramp and about an 12-13 foot gap.

What kind of bike are you looking to get?

I started out with an '03 Rocky Mountain Edge. It was a fun little bike and it took everything I threw at it, but I decided to get a more well eqipped bike for this kinda stuff. So I got a Transition Bottlerocket this spring. I've used a lot of the parts from the Edge but I'd like to get some better components for it.

 

VI,

Did you see this one?
http://www.transitionbikes.com/2007/Syren.cfm
Transition designed this specifically for women.

 

*edit* This was for VI

Why did I think you were in Australia?

Yes, Transition is based out of Washington State. They do have UK distribution, however. They are a smaller company, so you could probably contact them and possibly work something out. But, there are other bike companies out there, of course.

 

Wow that looks pretty cool. Pretty much made for my morphology, too. I remember having to sit on the metal to get on while using someone else's bike, because though I'm not all that short, my legs are not long. Kind of embarrassing.

 

~13x13? That's a little big for my liking...I can't justify serious injury right now. I haven't ridden a lot the past couple seasons, but the biggest drop I've hit is just under 8'.

Transition Bottle Rocket is on top of the list, at the moment. But, the Blindside looks nice as well. Also up there are the Cove Shocker (more DH oriented though) and Specialized's SX Trail.

How do you like the feel of the frame, overall? How does it pedal?

 

All I can afford......
is a ....unicycle...

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That will be the biggest drop I will hit when we get it done. I can't wait to hit it. Although our 9 lives drop isn't that much smaller. It is the same motion of the bigger drop, you'll just be going faster and in the air a bit longer.

What is/will be your budget? My first recommendation would be the Intense SS, but those are $$$$.

Aside from being heavy (around 39-40 lbs), I love it. It is very stable on jumps. It pedals decently for what it is, but I didn't buy it for XC so I'm not concerned about that. As soon as I get new components for the BR(the ones I used from the Edge), I'm going to repaint the Edge and use it as my XC (with some all-mountain) bike.