How many lapsed mountain bikers on here?

[Globalti]

Singletrack forum regulars have been discussing the apparent slowdown in posts in the last few weeks and somebody has confirmed that posts are 5% down on the same period last year.

I was a fanatical mountain biker and scoffer at roadies from 1988 to 2009 then I got a road bike and now the poor old mountain bike is gathering dust. So is it true that mountain biking is flatlining while road cycling is growing? Did many on here come to the road through offroad having rediscovered cycling thanks to mountain bike comfort and gearing like I did?

 

[Mo1959]

Singletrack forum regulars have been discussing the apparent slowdown in posts in the last few weeks and somebody has confirmed that posts are 5% down on the same period last year.

I was a fanatical mountain biker and scoffer at roadies from 1988 to 2009 then I got a road bike and now the poor old mountain bike is gathering dust. So is it true that mountain biking is flatlining while road cycling is growing? Did many on here come to the road through offroad having rediscovered cycling thanks to mountain bike comfort and gearing like I did?

Not so much lapsed as never really got started. Bought a decent hardtail beginning of last year on impulse and have only used it about half a dozen times. Just doesn't do it for me the same as the road bikes.

 

[jonny jeez]

I'm an ex knobbly.

And so are many of my roadie pals. The last time we all ride on mud together was about 5 years ago.

 

[MrGrumpy]

Was a roadie for a while and then stopped cycling altogether . Off road MTB got me back into cycling again years later but suddenly realised that to go on the MTB you need to friggen drive somewhere to go off road half decent. Sorry cycle paths are just plain boring ! So bought the road bike never looked back !

 

[Milkfloat]

Same here, I still go out occasionally on my Giant Anthem X, but I don't live anywhere near decent trails and really cannot be bothered to clean the bike throughly after ever ride. I suspect I will still mud plug this winter as I am currently out of action due to an operation. I think I do 10x the miles on the road bike compared to MTB, plus all the bike porn I am looking at is road based.

 

[Mrs M]

I had a "racer" as a kid so the drop bars, etc are what I'm used to.
Didn't cycle for years then bought a mountain bike which I had for 18 years, then another after that, which I traded in a year later towards a new road bike.
Think I just prefer the road bike as I like a bit of speed (as fast as I go anyway)
I did hire a decent mountain bike in Tenerife a couple of years ago though and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[surfdude]

I use my hardtail as a winter ride as the disc brakes are better for the wet and it's more fun to ride in wet mud than dry mud . Can't imagine not riding mtb at the moment as they are a lot of fun

 

[Apollonius]

Severe shortage of mountains round our way.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

50odd mile MTB sportive tomorrow

 

[Racing roadkill]

I've never been a mountain biker. The bikes are too heavy, and you end up covered in shyte / dust / shyte. I kind of see the attraction, but it's never been my bag.

 

[DCLane]

My Whyte 805 hasn't been used since January. Does that count?

I've the GT Timberline but that's got slicks and is used for local errands, so I don't count it as an MTB.

 

[ColinJ]

It is a few years since I last rode my mountain bike. That is partly due to illness, but also due to a problem with the disk brakes which I never got round to sorting out.

I will fix it some time this year and get back on the bridleways, but I am soon*** going to buy a cyclocross bike and will use that for much of my offroad riding. I like getting out in the countryside away from traffic, but I am not really a fan of really muddy or gnarly bridleways so a CX bike will be ideal for most of my offroad riding.

Ideally, I would like to do 3 or 4 road rides a week and 1 or 2 offroad rides.


*** It turned out to be sooner than expected ... I spotted a bargain and bought it 2 days after this post!

 

[I like Skol]

The bikes are too heavy

Maybe you are too weak?

I mix it up on & off road. The majority of my riding is on road on a hybrid as I cycle commute as much as possible, but the rest of my riding is probably split pretty evenly between MTB knarly stuff and my roadbike.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Singletrack forum...its a terrible site..posts dissapear in 10 mins.


but im into mtb more than road.but i got a road bike as i just thought it would be good.
i liked my racer as a kid and all my bikes were doall back then.

id have killed for my commecal meta fs if these bikes existed then...wow the thought of all that dont care about the bruising and fractures and a bike to do it with..

 

[Racing roadkill]

Maybe you are too weak?

I mix it up on & off road. The majority of my riding is on road on a hybrid as I cycle commute as much as possible, but the rest of my riding is probably split pretty evenly between MTB knarly stuff and my roadbike.

That's probably right, I'm 9 stone wringing wet, I can't muscle a mountain bike around.