Off road history.

Trips, adventures, bikes, equipment, etc.
reohn2
Posts: 45159
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Off road history.

Post by reohn2 »

I've been riding offroad since I was about 9 years old and have ridden anything from Audax machines to touring bikes through to MTB's
My current 'stable's is:-
Salsa Vaya
Genesis Vagabond
Genesis Longitude

I've never ridden a suspension bike of any kind but the Longitude has a Crane Creek LT Thudbuster fitted.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
amediasatex
Posts: 842
Joined: 2 Nov 2015, 12:51pm
Location: Sunny Devon! just East of the Moor

Re: Off road history.

Post by amediasatex »

reohn2 wrote:I've never ridden a suspension bike of any kind


I'm curious, is that an active decision based on your requirements or a case of just not having had the opportunity to try one? (I mean properly, beyond a car-park style test).
reohn2
Posts: 45159
Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Off road history.

Post by reohn2 »

amediasatex wrote:
reohn2 wrote:I've never ridden a suspension bike of any kind


I'm curious, is that an active decision based on your requirements or a case of just not having had the opportunity to try one? (I mean properly, beyond a car-park style test).

It's a bit of both really,I've never found a need for suspension as I'm not particularly an adrenalin junkie,as I ride off road to get out into nature and reason that suspension adds weight,involves more maintenance and there's little provision for a decent mudguarding.
That's not to say I've anything against suspension but as I'm getting older keep taking a sideways glance that way at perhaps a hardtail MTB.
I was recently climbing a particularly rough double track on my Vagabond(drops & 2in Conti RaceKings)when a chap on a full sus MTB passed me and commented that I would "find it hard up here without suspension" and shot off,he was half my age(I'm 65).Little did he know I've been riding that that hill for 40 years without suspension and in times past on much a smaller tyre than 2inch too :) .

I enjoy the total concentration needed to pick path though really rough tracks rather than blasting over them letting the suspension smooth out the route.I have 700 x 2.4inch on my Longitude which I really enjoy riding at really low TP's,to each his own :) .
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
amediasatex
Posts: 842
Joined: 2 Nov 2015, 12:51pm
Location: Sunny Devon! just East of the Moor

Re: Off road history.

Post by amediasatex »

Thanks reohn2, I was just curious! As you might have noted from my earlier post I have quite a lot of experience on various suspension bikes, but I also have and enjoy some fully rigid machines.

I totally understand your thoughts about concetration, I've done several 12 and 24hr events on fully rigid single speeds precisely because it removes other distractions and annoyances that can be make-or-break factors when you're sleep deprived and fatigued, it helps you focus on the task at hand, although that swings both ways, sometimes a little extra talent bolted to the front and back of your bike can work wonders when you're too far gone to pick your lines properly...

I'm a big advocate of 'appropriate use' but also of 'deliberately inappropriate use' ;-). I have noticed an increasing trend with a lot of new riders finding the entire concept of a rigid bike alien, having started riding on full-sus and never having even ridden a hardtail off-road. I think many of them have missed out on vital skills as a result and continue to do so, even if you are into going fast nothing* makes you go faster on a suspension bike than knowing how to go fast on a rigid one!

*there are additional skills and techniques required to get the best out of bouncy bikes too but I still think you should learn on a rigid bike, and often for a lot of riding an appropriately tyre'd rigid bike is the best tool for the job.
peetee
Posts: 4292
Joined: 4 May 2010, 10:20pm
Location: Upon a lumpy, scarred granite massif.

Re: Off road history.

Post by peetee »

reohn2 wrote: i enjoy the total concentration needed to pick path though really rough tracks rather than blasting over them letting the suspension smooth out the route.


Absolutely 100% agree. As I have previously stated I still ride my 1990 custom MTB which is rigid front and back. I dabbled with suspension post and stem but took them off because I lost the feedback I enjoyed and i felt like I was going soft and cheating. Riding rigid hasn't stopped me from enjoying every second of my rides and the joy a properly thought out custom bike can bring. That includes a mad downhill from the summit of Helvellyn, hitting 43mph in Queen Elizabeth Park at Butser Hill, riding the North Cornwall coast path (years ago when you were 'allowed'). One of my most satifying achievements though was riding the full length of Carn Brea in Redruth without putting a foot down. It took so many failed attempts (I am not naturally gifted in the bike handling skills department) that I had a huge grin on my face when I did it. Riddled with granite steps it would have been so much easier on a full-suss, but where's the challenge in easy?
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
Tao
Posts: 48
Joined: 30 Aug 2016, 5:12pm

Re: Off road history.

Post by Tao »

:? :? :?
Last edited by Tao on 26 Dec 2020, 10:54pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
Lance Dopestrong
Posts: 1306
Joined: 18 Sep 2014, 1:52pm
Location: Duddington, in the belly button of England

Re: Off road history.

Post by Lance Dopestrong »

Been riding off road since the early 70s on a Chopper, and then a home made tracker bike.My steeds change frequently, but the 2 that never change are my 1996 Alpinestars CroMo rigid, which I love, and my 2011 Giant Trance X, which has had the shock and forks modified by RockShox to suit my weight (I'm a large, heavy gent). Carves, Lappieres, Speshes, BMCs have all come and gone since.
MIAS L5.1 instructor - advanded road and off road skills, FAST aid and casualty care, defensive tactics, SAR skills, nav, group riding, maintenance, ride and group leader qual'd.
Cytec 2 - exponent of hammer applied brute force.
Vorpal
Moderator
Posts: 20700
Joined: 19 Jan 2009, 3:34pm
Location: Not there ;)

Re: Off road history.

Post by Vorpal »

I rode off road alot when I was a kid. My friends and I built trails and jumps and used them for 'BMX' racing. I cracked the frame of a cheap toy shop bike doing that.

I didn't do much for years, but in '93, my brother and a friend and I toured Scotland, including the Great Glen, which was partly off road.

After that, I kept some slightly knobbly tyres for my hybrid, and rode occasionally off road over some years. After having kids, I rode pretty much exclusively on road, except for the few Sustrans facilities that tandem + trailer could get onto.

More recently, I acquired a mountain bike and have again done occasional off road riding, including a couple of forest routes between me and work.

Also, I've ridden Rallervegen between Haugestøl and Flåm, Norway several times. That's not exactly off road, as it's the navvy road for the Oslo - Bergen line, but it's rougher surfaces in places than some 'off road' riding I've done.

I don't really consider myself a mountain biker, and I don't do any race circuits, or downhilling, or anything. 99% of the stuff I use my mountain bike for, I could do on a tourer or hybrid. The mountain bike is just a bit more comfortable and easier with suspension forks and fat, treaded (small knobbles) tyres.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Bmblbzzz
Posts: 6261
Joined: 18 May 2012, 7:56pm
Location: From here to there.

Re: Off road history.

Post by Bmblbzzz »

Tao wrote:
amediasatex wrote:
colin54 wrote:What a fantastic selection of photo's, well done the archivist(s).


Agreed, excellent and I'm thankful they've taken the time to digitise and present them, there are thousands and thousands of pictures sitting in desk drawers and boxes in the loft that will liekly never see the light of day yet give us an amazing glimpse into the past, I can only hope more will surface as time goes on.


Even better news is that they're going to be published in book form by Isola Press. A Kickstarter is being launched in early January.

Might look out for that book! One of the things I like about those photos is their diversity in terms of what is "roughstuff". To take the first three photos (simply because there are three per line):
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsDjCrqlwqe ... _copy_link
Image
Looks very rough and pretty much unrideable. As in fact, they are pushing!

Whereas the next one
https://www.instagram.com/p/Br-JJDiF5fe ... _copy_link
Image
is a proper road. A rough road but a road!

And the last one on the line:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Brw42P5Fl4w ... hare_sheet
is somewhere inbetween. Rideable with effort and care!
Bmblbzzz
Posts: 6261
Joined: 18 May 2012, 7:56pm
Location: From here to there.

Re: Off road history.

Post by Bmblbzzz »

Not sure how to link images from Instagram, sorry.
Scunnered
Posts: 224
Joined: 11 Apr 2014, 11:23am

Re: Off road history.

Post by Scunnered »

peetee wrote:How long have you been riding off-road and what have you been doing it on?


I started in the early '80s on a 10-speed Dawes Fox.
I didn't have a car then and my bike was my only independent means to get to the hills for hiking.
I clearly remember cycling over Jock's Road for example.
I subsequently owned a "moutain" bike, but never really go into that scene.
Now I have a "gravel" bike which I use for the same purpose as the original Dawes, back to 10 speed but in 1x10 format!
zenitb
Posts: 832
Joined: 7 Aug 2018, 9:59pm
Contact:

Re: Off road history.

Post by zenitb »

amediasatex wrote:
colin54 wrote:
rualexander wrote:Roughstuff Fellowship have some great old photos on their instagram account
https://www.instagram.com/rsfarchive/

What a fantastic selection of photo's, well done the archivist(s).


Agreed, excellent and I'm thankful they've taken the time to digitise and present them, there are thousands and thousands of pictures sitting in desk drawers and boxes in the loft that will liekly never see the light of day yet give us an amazing glimpse into the past, I can only hope more will surface as time goes on.


Fantastic photos, some taken before I was born!! Looking through them I cant help thinking I missed cycling's golden age. I particularly love all the tandems in the photos ..
Tao
Posts: 48
Joined: 30 Aug 2016, 5:12pm

Re: Off road history.

Post by Tao »

:twisted: :twisted:
Last edited by Tao on 26 Dec 2020, 10:53pm, edited 1 time in total.
Richard Fairhurst
Posts: 2030
Joined: 2 Mar 2008, 4:57pm
Location: Charlbury, Oxfordshire

Re: Off road history.

Post by Richard Fairhurst »

Just backed it after seeing it mentioned on Jack Thurston's Twitter feed. Looks terrific (I'm a fan of the Alps book).
cycle.travel - maps, journey-planner, route guides and city guides
amediasatex
Posts: 842
Joined: 2 Nov 2015, 12:51pm
Location: Sunny Devon! just East of the Moor

Re: Off road history.

Post by amediasatex »

Same here, looking forward to the book!
Post Reply