Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Trips, adventures, bikes, equipment, etc.
Stevek76
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Joined: 28 Jul 2015, 11:23am

Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by Stevek76 »

I've found one sided pedals to be annoying, all too often the side you want isn't the one your foot lands on, though obviously less of an issue on a road bike than a mtb.

MTBing in flats will take a little getting used to if you're used to clips, consider multi-release cleats and dialing down the tension on the pedals as a compromise if you've not already done that.
offroader wrote: 27 Sep 2021, 11:03pm I don't know how weather conditions have been oop naarth but down in the New Forest it's become quite challenging. This is common down here after a prolonged dry spell
yea, same over here, went out yesterday and had to drop pressures a little and still had some slippy fun up some rocks. Autumn is always the worst time of year for traction I find (ignoring actual ice, but we don't get much of that down here), a summer's worth of moss & lichen plus falling leaves plus rain.
The contents of this post, unless otherwise stated, are opinions of the author and may actually be complete codswallop
Carlton green
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Joined: 22 Jun 2019, 12:27pm

Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by Carlton green »

I use traditional ‘toe shovels’ on my touring bike and flat pedals on my utility/green lane bike, I’ve used that arrangement for years and find no confusion. Toe clips can help you get the best output from your legs (well I believe so) but lack of them has never been particularly important to me and being able to put your foot down quickly has value. ‘Toe shovels’ and flats allow use of normal shoes and that has value to me; so that you can get your shoe into them ‘toe shovels’ need to be flicked around on the pedal’s axle - not so hard but sometimes a fiddly thing to do.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
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531colin
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Location: North Yorkshire

Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by 531colin »

Carlton green wrote: 28 Sep 2021, 4:27pm I use traditional ‘toe shovels’ on my touring bike and flat pedals on my utility/green lane bike, I’ve used that arrangement for years and find no confusion. Toe clips can help you get the best output from your legs (well I believe so) but lack of them has never been particularly important to me and being able to put your foot down quickly has value. ‘Toe shovels’ and flats allow use of normal shoes and that has value to me; so that you can get your shoe into them ‘toe shovels’ need to be flicked around on the pedal’s axle - not so hard but sometimes a fiddly thing to do.
.....Next to impossible if you are forging through the heather on a sheep-track.....toe-clips of any sort are always behind you dragging on the undergrowth.. Double-sided SPDs for me, every day.

And I agree.....if you can't ride up the steep bits, then walk up them. Why deny yourself access to the tracks beyond the steep bits? But then, I view "riding off-road" as a variant of touring
Carlton green
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Joined: 22 Jun 2019, 12:27pm

Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by Carlton green »

531colin wrote: 28 Sep 2021, 6:34pm
Carlton green wrote: 28 Sep 2021, 4:27pm I use traditional ‘toe shovels’ on my touring bike and flat pedals on my utility/green lane bike, I’ve used that arrangement for years and find no confusion. Toe clips can help you get the best output from your legs (well I believe so) but lack of them has never been particularly important to me and being able to put your foot down quickly has value. ‘Toe shovels’ and flats allow use of normal shoes and that has value to me; so that you can get your shoe into them ‘toe shovels’ need to be flicked around on the pedal’s axle - not so hard but sometimes a fiddly thing to do.
.....Next to impossible if you are forging through the heather on a sheep-track.....toe-clips of any sort are always behind you dragging on the undergrowth.. Double-sided SPDs for me, every day.

And I agree.....if you can't ride up the steep bits, then walk up them. Why deny yourself access to the tracks beyond the steep bits? But then, I view "riding off-road" as a variant of touring
Ah, if off-road riding is a variant of someone’s touring then depending on the type of off-road they might well be better off not using ‘toe shovels’ on their touring bike. I like a bit of green lane riding and I like toe clips on a touring bike but my touring bike so rarely sees overgrown tracks that the issues doesn’t really arise. So a matter of personal preference in terms of what the individual finds works for them - for their needs, their skills, their terrain, etc.

There’s always a time for getting off and walking; that was counterintuitive to me but I’ve found it to be so and I’ve found that it actually adds to my enjoyment of my travels. Never flog yourself up a hill, stop a while and enjoy the view, and never risk injury by riding across surfaces where it would be much safer for you to walk instead. Well that’s just my experience and method.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
busb
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Joined: 28 Sep 2017, 10:10am
Location: Berks, UK

Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by busb »

I've been using double-sided SPD pedals since the huge fat original ones. I set both my current pairs to near minimum tension. I've never had an issue with accidently disengaging - expect when I've fallen off.
Most times I've had an accident, my confidence also took a tumble for a bit. Choosing a route to suit one's mood or weather seems like a plan.
FREDO
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Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by FREDO »

Today was my first ride using SPDs since my off last Sunday while MTB on Cannock Forest. In the week I fitted my V8 flat pedals that were on my bike before changing to SPD and went for a ride and found that my pedalling was all over the place, foot slipping on pedals, could not get a comfortable position on pedals and the ride was not comfortable at all. Today I set the tension at the lowest point on the SPDs and did a ride on trails and roads, no rough stuff and found everything okay although after an off I was very careful to unclip way before I needed to do until I get back into it with confidence. With flat pedals I seem to angle my right foot out on the pedals where with SPDs by adjusting the cleats my foot is in a straight line while pedalling due to being clipped and feels more secure, so I will continue with the SPDs and be extra careful when unclipping in the future although I am sure I will have some scary moments in the future.
Jdsk
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Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by Jdsk »

FREDO wrote: 3 Oct 2021, 1:52pmToday I set the tension at the lowest point on the SPDs and did a ride on trails and roads, no rough stuff and found everything okay although after an off I was very careful to unclip way before I needed to do until I get back into it with confidence. With flat pedals I seem to angle my right foot out on the pedals where with SPDs by adjusting the cleats my foot is in a straight line while pedalling due to being clipped and feels more secure, so I will continue with the SPDs and be extra careful when unclipping in the future although I am sure I will have some scary moments in the future.
Sounds good. If you end up with habitually unclipping only one side watch out for low-speed manouevering and obstacles, including the moving type.

Jonathan
half cog
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Joined: 10 Mar 2009, 11:23pm

Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by half cog »

I am 75.Dont go all negative. You can allways walk a few yards or stop and have a moment and dont let anyone say what do you expect at your age. Now have arthritus in one knee soon to be injected and a doctor did the what do you expect thing to me. He wont be doing that again.I have a friend who fell runs.Goes up the 600 foot side of the valley every morning for training. He is 84 this year.There is nothing to be gained from becoming negative so back on the bike and simply pace yourself. Yes we both have limits but we are not racing anyone so why make a thing out of it. Walk a bit,ride a bit enjoy it all
Airsporter1st
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Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by Airsporter1st »

Carlton green wrote: 26 Sep 2021, 9:30pm Sounds like the OP is struggling a bit on some sections, might be wise to see a Doctor though I wouldn’t happily accept ‘what do you expect at your age’. I am reminded that an older local guy, who had always been as fit as a fiddle, died of a heart attack whilst out Mountain Biking.

I suggest a couple of changes:
# I don’t clip myself into pedals, to my mind it’s too restrictive. Toeclips and straps can allow feet to quickly detach from pedals but (IMHO) clips can be a hazard.
# What I can’t reasonably ride up I walk up, sometimes I don’t even bother pushing myself at all and get off early (it’s allowed :wink: ) .

No one has suggested lower gearing and I don’t know what’s possible for the OP so I won’t suggest it either .... but the OP could investigate. Electric Mountain Bikes are, I am assured, wonderful. They sound like cheating to me and aren’t cheap; pragmatism is a wonderful thing, just don’t run out of charge and don’t spend what you can’t really afford.
When you are simply riding for pleasure, how can an ebike be "cheating"?
Carlton green
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Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by Carlton green »

IIRC the comment was ‘tongue in cheek’. I’m of the view that if you use a motor without really needing to then to some extent you cheat yourself of the exercise and of course there’s the expense and the additional weight to consider too - you need the motor to help you move all the extra weight. If you ride with (motor less) others then you (with motor) arguably have an unfair advantage, cheating if someone cares to call it that.
Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you.
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Cugel
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Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by Cugel »

Carlton green wrote: 27 Jun 2022, 4:57pm IIRC the comment was ‘tongue in cheek’. I’m of the view that if you use a motor without really needing to then to some extent you cheat yourself of the exercise and of course there’s the expense and the additional weight to consider too - you need the motor to help you move all the extra weight. If you ride with (motor less) others then you (with motor) arguably have an unfair advantage, cheating if someone cares to call it that.
You've got that all wrong, you have. Yes.

I 've been using a motor recently (for about 2 months now) although I don't need it. The effects so far seem to be to make me try even harder, as the ladywife on her e-bike turns up the power even more than heretofore, so I occasionally have to have a bit of power too. But I try not to. On a longer ride she'll use up 9/10ths of her battery whilst I'll use only 1/10th of mine. And she weighs 4 stone less than I do!

The nature of the e-motor is such that you only get power out of it if you input power at the pedals yourself. The motor can be set so that you have to input the full 250 watts of your own power to get the full 250 watts out of the e-motor power. Otherwise you get power on a sliding scale (125 watts from me, only 40 watts from the motor, in the least-help setting, for example).

In fact, all the settings on mine are such that I have to put in 180 - 250 watts to get 75, 150 or 180 watts, respectively, out of the motor in one of it's three settings. If I put in less, I get proportionally less from the motor. And none of my settings get anywhere near the full motor power of 250 watts.

Anyroadup, I seem to come back feeling more worked-out and tired after an e-bike ride. But I'm going around our habitual routes faster; or I'm going further; and often both.

***********
As to "cheating" if riding with friends, well - it's not a race is it? And if it is (as in chain gang) you'd only be cheating yourself, eh, since the "prize" is improved fitness. On the other hand, if the e-motor means you can stick on with the chain gang (just) you'll still be having to work very hard - harder than if you had no e-motor so dropped off the back after the first mile then went home.

So there. :-)

Cugel
“Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence are usually the slaves of some defunct economist”.
John Maynard Keynes
Milfred Cubicle
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Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by Milfred Cubicle »

Hey...you are still out riding, that's what matters most! There are 20 years olds out there, sat on their bums, who wouldn't dream of riding what you are doing. Don't be too hard on yourself.
Seriously...the electric option is worth thinking about. I used to be dead set against them. But having joined a club that has sprightly riders in their prime, riding alongside 'veterans' on electric bikes, it's just a happier atmosphere...and often the veterans hold the upper hand in reading the trail and general experience anyway.
djnotts
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Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by djnotts »

I think a trip to GP in order. Could e.g. be COPD, one of the least diagnosed common conditions in over 65s, who grew up in pre-clean air times.
At almost 74 my mtb days long over - chronological age in many ways irrelevant, my lung age is mid-90s! I have kept copd at bay i.e slowed it's onset by very regular cycling, 4, - 7,000 miles p.a. for last 15 years or so. 12 years ago I was told maybe 2 years before I would be reliant on supplementary oxygen.
Very mild covid has I think accelerated lung deterioration. I can still manage tow paths etc but this is unlikely to last long.
I have to accept that cycling any terrain soon a physical impossibility. Compared with the state of many 5-10 years younger than I that I see on too frequent visits to hospitals (prostate cancer) I reckon I've done pretty well!
E-bike a solution no doubt, but the cost beyond my means.
For those of you who have the readies, just do it!
Biospace
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Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by Biospace »

djnotts wrote: 4 Aug 2022, 8:44am
E-bike a solution no doubt, but the cost beyond my means.
For those of you who have the readies, just do it!
While we know it's possible to spend thousands, if you've a suitable, good bike to begin with (or can source one for very little, which anyone with a decent knowledge of bikes should be able to) then kits for £500-600 are very simple to fit. I know that's still money which isn't always to hand, but it's 'only' 4 or so tankfuls of petrol.
djnotts
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Re: Today I realised my true mountain bike rides are over

Post by djnotts »

Biospace wrote: 6 Aug 2022, 3:20pm
djnotts wrote: 4 Aug 2022, 8:44am
E-bike a solution no doubt, but the cost beyond my means.
For those of you who have the readies, just do it!
While we know it's possible to spend thousands, if you've a suitable, good bike to begin with (or can source one for very little, which anyone with a decent knowledge of bikes should be able to) then kits for £500-600 are very simple to fit. I know that's still money which isn't always to hand, but it's 'only' 4 or so tankfuls of petrol.
Probably a more realistic proposition and one I have vaguely pondered. I must research more!
And I have no car, so already saving much expenditure.
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