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Unanswered Nerves
- Thread starter Farmernz
- Start date
Obv you don't know much about racing super bikes Ha ha.... If you ain't crashing you ain't trying ?
You should try it some time. Live a little lol
Nah, much more exciting in a mankini
KeithR
Well-known member
An odd thing to take pride in: boasting about falling off motorbikes doesn't strike me as a skill transferable to this discussion, to be honest.
It's good to be good at something, I guess.
I do know a few people who have been hospitalised by fucking up on mountain bikes though...
Do you wear a helmet when you're out on your ebike? If you do - well, y'know...
Besides, in your rush to come across as a badass, you're ignoring the point we're making, which is that body armour is about the confidence to come back for another go when the first go goes wrong.
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I'm not boasting, and certainly don't take pride in it. But it's been a big part of my life I don't expect you to appreciate or understand. I'm just trying to explain everyone has a different perception of risk. Which affects their attitude to how they tackle a high risk activity. In this example. MTB. Which I 'feel' makes it relevant
I'm much better at staying on a super bike than crashing. But it happens...
All I'm saying is armour or no armour shouldn't be the answer to confidence 'in my opinion' and reducing nerves.
Practice and improving skills should be. In my opinion.
- Thread starter
- #37
We’re very lucky to have so many different types of trails nearby but I’d have to travel an hour to them and this is so convenient as this terrain is on my doorstep.I probably watch some experts here over the years, and a lot I have impressive skill and commitment. More than I can muster up at the moment!.
I found this vid of someone going well and it gives more of an idea of the terrain, I hope to get some where near this capability one day!.
Muzza
Well-known member
How lucky are you if that's at your back door. Alot of it would be too tech for me at this stage of my riding but man would it be fun slowly getting the nerve to take on the different obstacles as your skills improve.
KeithR
Well-known member
And - indisputably, unarguably - you'll get there more quickly and effectively (and you might otherwise not get there at all) if you wear the kind of protective gear that allows you to deal with screw-ups without buggering yourself - and your confidence - up, to the extent that you bottle sticking at building up the skill-set.
There's just no disputing this: other things (like experience) bring equal, the ability to deal with risky situations is directly correlated to the perceived harm the situation implies; and anything that mitigates the risk increases the likelihood that the individual will see it through.
It's not rocket science. Even
QED. If you wear stuff that will look after you, you're more likely to keep doing it...
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Rusty
E*POWAH BOSS
OK, I will put my 2 cents worth in.
Personally, riding shitty rock gardens is no fun for me so I just ride elsewhere .... soooooo - don't ride there and you won't have to worry
To be fair, crashing doesn't really bother me too much, and have a suitcase full of past X-rays and scans to go with a lot of bones broken in my MX/SX days, however, being of an age that injuries take months and years to heal I pick my trails and obstacles carefully.
If I do come across something that worries me a bit I will see if my riding buddies do it. When they do it, I observe what they are doing a far as body position, braking etc then if they seem to make it easily I will give it a go - if not I will walk the section.
I am riding some sections now that I used to walk. Elected for my MX helmet and body armour, as well as a couple rugby shirts for padding then had a go. If I failed I would try to figure out why I failed and then decide if I was going to try again. Once I have cleaned an obstacle I usually walk back around and do it 4 or 5 times more until I feel comfortable.
Personally, riding shitty rock gardens is no fun for me so I just ride elsewhere .... soooooo - don't ride there and you won't have to worry
To be fair, crashing doesn't really bother me too much, and have a suitcase full of past X-rays and scans to go with a lot of bones broken in my MX/SX days, however, being of an age that injuries take months and years to heal I pick my trails and obstacles carefully.
If I do come across something that worries me a bit I will see if my riding buddies do it. When they do it, I observe what they are doing a far as body position, braking etc then if they seem to make it easily I will give it a go - if not I will walk the section.
I am riding some sections now that I used to walk. Elected for my MX helmet and body armour, as well as a couple rugby shirts for padding then had a go. If I failed I would try to figure out why I failed and then decide if I was going to try again. Once I have cleaned an obstacle I usually walk back around and do it 4 or 5 times more until I feel comfortable.
Flatslide
E*POWAH Master
ok Keith you are right. 100%. There is no dispute. No other opinion. No argument.
I mean. How could anyone have an opinion that doesn’t mirror yours.
the fact you have completely missed my point is Quite amusing.
but I wouldn’t expect anything else from what I’ve seen from your small minded blinkered responses ??
Muzza
Well-known member
Your original point mate is good, I too only wear a helmet & knee pads & just love technical trails. I'm not a jumper & would probably go full face if I was inclined to doing such tracks at speed but feel at the speed I take on the techy rocky stuff my hands will do plenty of saving should my face be heading somewhere it shouldn't be?
Being relaxed is very important and body position is key to that when it comes to more techy stuff and there is much to said about the adage “ speed is your friend””. Having confidence in the bikes capabilities is something that’ll come with use.
TheRealPoMo
Active member
OK, I will put my 2 cents worth in.
Personally, riding shitty rock gardens is no fun for me so I just ride elsewhere .... soooooo - don't ride there and you won't have to worry
This 100%
Well said Rusty
Fair comment......just ride to enjoy ?
Flatslide
E*POWAH Master
My buddy, Dwayne, drives for Allens. He knows many of the landowners around there due to the nature of septic tanks
The wave track is pretty brutal as it drops into the gully from up in the hills.
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
Yep, it has since folded!
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
I agree that knee and elbow guards will not prevent serious injury (broken legs, dislocations etc), but they will prevent a lot of minor and very inconveniencing injuries (cuts, gravel rash, chipped bones, puncture wounds etc). That means discomfort while you heal and maybe downtime. By itself, that alone is worth wearing protection.
For me it is not a matter of feeling braver, I just want to be able to keep riding after I have fallen off. When I was new to MTB and should have been wearing guards, I didn't. My reason was stupid and foolish! I thought people might think I was one of the "all the gear and no idea" crowd. "There he goes, all armoured up like he know what he's doing except it's obvious he doesn't!" (I said it was stupid and foolish).
But after a full superman onto cinders at speed and then not being able to wear trousers for a week I learned. Slowly, I learned. But it wasn't until I chipped a piece of bone from my kneecap that I actually bought some knee guards for the first time. Elbow guards swiftly followed. With the knee&shin guards and the elbow guards that I now have, I have had some proper crashes, long sliding skids, ricochets off trees and walls, ploughed through thickets of brambles etc and after a brief pause to get my breath back, I was able to just get up and carry on.
The guards I wear have increased my riding time by reducing my downtime.
I also agree with your point about upping skills and tuition. Money spent on a skills course is seldom wasted. Ever since I started MTB I have had at least one skill course per year (not last year, or the one before). But I noticed that I have reached peak skills. I don't mean that I have nothing left to learn, far from it! It's just that I have reached MY peak skills. I seem to have plateaued on the skills base. It doesn't seem to matter what I do, I don't get any better.
I now spend my skills course money on my grandson, who definitely does benefit.
I agree that knee and elbow guards will not prevent serious injury (broken legs, dislocations etc), but they will prevent a lot of minor and very inconveniencing injuries (cuts, gravel rash, chipped bones, puncture wounds etc). That means discomfort while you heal and maybe downtime. By itself, that alone is worth wearing protection.
For me it is not a matter of feeling braver, I just want to be able to keep riding after I have fallen off. When I was new to MTB and should have been wearing guards, I didn't. My reason was stupid and foolish! I thought people might think I was one of the "all the gear and no idea" crowd. "There he goes, all armoured up like he know what he's doing except it's obvious he doesn't!" (I said it was stupid and foolish).
But after a full superman onto cinders at speed and then not being able to wear trousers for a week I learned. Slowly, I learned. But it wasn't until I chipped a piece of bone from my kneecap that I actually bought some knee guards for the first time. Elbow guards swiftly followed. With the knee&shin guards and the elbow guards that I now have, I have had some proper crashes, long sliding skids, ricochets off trees and walls, ploughed through thickets of brambles etc and after a brief pause to get my breath back, I was able to just get up and carry on.
The guards I wear have increased my riding time by reducing my downtime.
I also agree with your point about upping skills and tuition. Money spent on a skills course is seldom wasted. Ever since I started MTB I have had at least one skill course per year (not last year, or the one before). But I noticed that I have reached peak skills. I don't mean that I have nothing left to learn, far from it! It's just that I have reached MY peak skills. I seem to have plateaued on the skills base. It doesn't seem to matter what I do, I don't get any better.
All fair points mate. And agree with what you are saying
Never said don't wear armour. Its obviously sensible to up armour if the risk of injury increases. And the level of challenge rises. As long as the armour itself isn't a hindrance of course.
My original point was simply, if you are struggling with a certain terrain / jump / drop etc. Heading back to the van, throwing on armour to feel invincible and then going full send isn't the most sensible of approaches. IMO. Particularly if you are someone that asks advice on nerves as the OP had.
Because as you say, it will help minor injuries but it wont prevent snapped arms, busted collar bones etc. Which will be more likely if you try something outside of your skill set and it all goes pete tong!
That's all I was trying to say. Obviously i'm not as articulate as others on here!
Exactly.
Riders need to wear what they feel THEY need and stop preaching to others.
Same with skills courses.
Anyone who's ridden mtb since the 90s will have noticed it turning into a similar type of middle class/middle aged man "hobby" as Golf/Skiing and attracting a very similar audience. But there's absolutely nothing to stop you not following that route.
You can still have just as much fun sneaking onto the council golf course, park or playing field with a cheap ball and your Grandads old 7 iron and the same is still true of mtb.
Most 14yr old kids you see riding around the streets on £300 Carerras who don't even own helmets have tons more bike handling skill than your average £5k Ebike rider with all the "required" gear and a skills course "budget".
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
I didn't even own an mtb until I was 57, back in 2008, so the developments you refer to were already in place by then. I had a bike before then for several years, but it was very much one bought for exercise on the streets around where I live and I wasn't aware that "skills" needed to be developed. I was just glad to be getting fitter and riding faster. But then I got bored and discovered that MTB was a thing. After seeking advice, I bought a Kona Kula hardtail. I didn't even have a helmet! Riding MTB was a shock to the system - so much to learn!!!. I had to get up to speed skills-wise very quickly, because I had none at all. I very soon started falling off and not being an average14-year old, I didn't fall gracefully, nor roll and leap to my feet with a cheery "I'm alright!". Instead, without any warning at all, I would fall to the ground like a sack of wet sand and stay there while I did an inventory of my parts to see which were broken, it usually felt like all of them. After a bewilderingly long time I wised up and started wearing knee and elbow guards. The helmet had been bought as a requirement for my first skills course - ,"An Introduction to MTB" two weeks after the bike purchase. There was a guy on the course with a knackered long travel DH bike he'd bought off a mate ("perfect starter bike" he was told); there was also a young woman with a basket on her rigid step-through; also two young lads with hardtails, and me. I was twice as old as anyone else, but I loved it! I could understand what they were teaching and why, and I got it!
The thing is that not everybody comes to the sport with the same built in skills from years of stunting about on two wheels, pedal powered or otherwise. Some just have to learn from scratch and it can seem daunting, especially when the only useful reflex you appear to have is to flinch! (OK, I admit it, that is me).
My grandson has been riding two wheels since he was 2-years old and he's now 13. To him, riding a bike is like breathing. Ask him how he does it and he's not sure. He can't remember not being able to ride a bike. I've stopped teaching him because I'm holding him back. Instead I pay for a skills course now and then, but he still needs coaching. He is a naturally better rider than me, and when he was fitter he was faster than me. What he lacks is experience and sometimes confidence.
Can I ask you something Steve?
How often do you just get on your bike for a play with no intention to go for an actual ride?
That's the real difference between your Grandson or the 14yr olds on Carerra'a and less skilled £5k bike fully geared up riders.
Not age.
How often do you just get on your bike for a play with no intention to go for an actual ride?
That's the real difference between your Grandson or the 14yr olds on Carerra'a and less skilled £5k bike fully geared up riders.
Not age.
I thought the idea was to buy one and then argue post about head angles and chain brands rather than ride the bloody thing?
steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
That's a good question Gary, because it made me think.
The difficulty I have in answering is that I always enjoy riding my bike, so I always see it as play. I haven't had a bike for that long compared to many, so it's still a source of great fun and pleasure to me, it just never gets old. I have never competed in an organised race, and my living does not depend upon riding, so I've never had to take it seriously.
I do go to my local trail centre with no clear plan before I get there of exactly where I'm going to ride because I mostly make it up as I go along. Is that what you mean? Hmmm, I suspect not.
I believe I can see where you are coming from. My grandson will take his bike out for a tool about, no specific plan as where to go. He might bump into a few mates, by accident or arrangement, but that's as far as it goes.
But when he comes with me, we are going for a ride. We are going somewhere specific, we have agreed in advance roughly where we are going, what we will be doing, and roughly when we will be expected back. So I guess it is structured as opposed to unstructured. But we still have a great time.
a better explanation of where I'm coming from might be if I asked you how often do you just get on your bike in normal clothes and ride it with the dropper post fully dropped going nowhere in particular?
also, if you walk to the shop for a paper do you spot every single kerb drop, wall hop, transition to pop off, smooth area to manual/wheelie and wish you had grabbed the bike instead of walked.
tooling about works tho
I still do tool about on mine all the time but Ebikes are shit compared to normal bikes in that respect
also, if you walk to the shop for a paper do you spot every single kerb drop, wall hop, transition to pop off, smooth area to manual/wheelie and wish you had grabbed the bike instead of walked.
tooling about works tho
I still do tool about on mine all the time but Ebikes are shit compared to normal bikes in that respect
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