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Noob mistakes


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I must have a high metabolism, because I have a keep a lot of calories in me starting with a hearty pre-ride snack, I bonk hard. however, I don't recommend eating something difficult to digest like leafy greens. everyone is different, so find out what works for you. if you happen to be Pop-Eye, then start with a can of spinach, but that does not work for most people.

don't let anyone dictate to you want kind of equipment will be best for you, but keep and open mind to trying new things. how the bike fits, what width tires you like, suspension or lack thereof, dropper seatposts, type of pedals, etc. try everything you can. I have been on group rides with riders on rigid singlespeed bikes and FS carbon wunderbikes on the same route and terrain and everyone was having fun riding the bike of their choice.

example: I started riding clipped in with Shimano SPD pedals very early on and it ruined a lot of fun for me. I was not very good at controlling the bike already, so being clipped in lead to a lot of crashes. I tried pushing a gear that was too hard for my legs to keep up and my body suffered. there's no obligation to be "hardcore" about anything because your peers are doing it. 

another noob mistake: spending your money on vanity bike "upgrades." if you're going to spend your heard-earned cash on the bike and you don't have an unlimited budget, buy stuff that will improve your experience, not make your bike look cool. I see bikes on the trail sometimes that are in terrible shape mechanically and obviously fight the rider for control, but I can also tell the rider when to a lot of trouble to color-match everything. function over form.

Edited by mack_turtle
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1 hour ago, TheX said:

Invest in one of these.

walnut-4-10-21-bell.thumb.jpg.6abd883835967c0194c97bd886141666.jpg

Thanks! I ordered a bell just now (sick pic btw)

I also picked up new pedals. The stock pedals I'm riding don't have near enough stick. As for other upgrades, I'm going to wait until I can "feel" the need. (I gotta watch the budget)

Thanks again for all of the advice, lots of good safety/practical tips here!!

Edited by Lacch
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1 hour ago, mack_turtle said:

Words to live by. What's the point of doing anything if there are no snacks? 

I'm going to eat all bad for me foods in Arkansas in two weeks. I haven't had  pizza in forever...and a cheeseburger...and fries, and whatever I feel like having.

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18 hours ago, Trailrider said:

 

3. Not going to a full suspension sooner.

I'll take the opposing side here.

A hardtail helps you develop skills that many FS riders do not have. FS tends to gloss over the finesse of riding and allows you to just plow over things instead of learning to pick your lines.

Additionally, a GOOD full suspension bike is way more expensive and new entrants to the sport tend to want FS right out of the chutes with limited budget. So you end up with a shitty FS bike that is too heavy or has terrible suspension. The best way to buy a FS bike is to know why you need it and be able to justify the purchase. How many times have you seen someone say they are looking for their first bike, they have a $1,000 budget and they want FS. Recipe for disaster. 

Learn on a hardtail and you'll be set for life.

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47 minutes ago, AustinBike said:

I'll take the opposing side here.

A hardtail helps you develop skills that many FS riders do not have. FS tends to gloss over the finesse of riding and allows you to just plow over things instead of learning to pick your lines.

Additionally, a GOOD full suspension bike is way more expensive and new entrants to the sport tend to want FS right out of the chutes with limited budget. So you end up with a shitty FS bike that is too heavy or has terrible suspension. The best way to buy a FS bike is to know why you need it and be able to justify the purchase. How many times have you seen someone say they are looking for their first bike, they have a $1,000 budget and they want FS. Recipe for disaster. 

Learn on a hardtail and you'll be set for life.

Good advice.

Buy the best hard tail you can afford with good components and learn your skills on that. I found my time on hardtails and gravel bikes taught me to pick better lines and improved my bike handling skills quite a bit.

Also, you can upgrade to a good FS frame when budget permits and just swap the parts over from the HT.

Edited by ATXZJ
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1 hour ago, AustinBike said:

A hardtail helps you develop skills that many FS riders do not have.

Whenever I hear this argument I ask what specific skills are you referring to, and the only answer anybody seems to be able to come up with is learning to pick better lines. From my perspective though, that is only important if you want to limit your line choices. Basic skills such as bunny-hopping and manualing are actually easier to learn on a hardtail, but if you choose to never own a hardtail, that doesn't mean you won't posses those skills, it just means that you will have to learn them on a FS. I rode a hardtail for several years before buying my first FS, and I can say with certainty that doing so didn't teach me any meaningful skills that I would not have learned had I gone straight to an FS. In fact, I would venture to guess that some of the most skilled riders in the world have never rode a hardtail, with the exception perhaps of a dirt jumper. If I had the chance to do it over again, and money wasn't a factor, I would definitely go straight to a FS simply because they are more fun and more enjoyable for the type of riding I like to do.

Skills are about the rider - not the bike. 

Edited by throet
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52 minutes ago, throet said:

Whenever I hear this argument I ask what specific skills are you referring to, and the only answer anybody seems to be able to come up with is learning to pick better lines. From my perspective though, that is only important if you want to limit your line choices. Basic skills such as bunny-hopping and manualing are actually easier to learn on a hardtail, but if you choose to never own a hardtail, that doesn't mean you won't posses those skills, it just means that you will have to learn them on a FS. I rode a hardtail for several years before buying my first FS, and I can say with certainty that doing so didn't teach me any meaningful skills that I would not have learned had I gone straight to an FS. In fact, I would venture to guess that some of the most skilled riders in the world have never rode a hardtail, with the exception perhaps of a dirt jumper. If I had the chance to do it over again, and money wasn't a factor, I would definitely go straight to a FS simply because they are more fun and more enjoyable for the type of riding I like to do.

Skills are about the rider - not the bike. 

Agree with some of this and that you can learn on anything. Will also say it's much easier to learn jumps (especially kickers) when you don't have to contend with the rear suspension bucking you. Also good for flat pedal riders to learn how to properly weight the bike on fast choppy trails etc. 

My kona HT and CX bikes are the only two I regret selling.

 

Noob advice resumed. Buy a good, comfortable helmet, like the new one from Troy Lee and some lightweight knee protection. Sam hill lite pads are nice for warmer weather. Crashing is inevitable but much less intimidating if you aren't distracted by barebacking it down the trail.

Edited by ATXZJ
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18 minutes ago, ATXZJ said:

Noob advice resumed. Buy a good, comfortable helmet, 

helmets, just like anything else you wear, need to fit your body. I can wear some helmets but others just don't fit the shape of my head no matter what size I buy. I owned a Bell helmet that I wore for a long time before I realized that I was getting headaches during rides because the helmet smooshed my head in the front/back.

the same goes for shoes, glasses, jeans, etc. if you buy a helmet online, make sure it fits your head before yo spend time riding in or or you'll regret it. otherwise, try a few on in a store to find out what works for your melon.

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7 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

helmets, just like anything else you wear, need to fit your body. I can wear some helmets but others just don't fit the shape of my head no matter what size I buy. I owned a Bell helmet that I wore for a long time before I realized that I was getting headaches during rides because the helmet smooshed my head in the front/back.

the same goes for shoes, glasses, jeans, etc. if you buy a helmet online, make sure it fits your head before yo spend time riding in or or you'll regret it. otherwise, try a few on in a store to find out what works for your melon.

Luckily, i can pretty much wear any brand helmet and not have an issue. Makes ordering online easy. My only current frustration is finding a full face/goggle combo that doesn't drive down into the bridge of my nose.

My wife on the other hand is almost impossible to shop for. Numerous brands of helmets and all seem to give her a headache. The only one she had that was comfortable for her was an older specialized road/XC helmet. That thing however would be useless in the event of a crash. 

Edited by ATXZJ
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try a few on in a store to find out what works for your melon.


When doing this, and we all do, make sure to buy something at the store. The store fronted the money to bring that product to you and they are taking the risk that you’ll try it on for free and then save $10 buying it online. Unless they are gouging the shit out of the price, I’ll usually buy it from the local store.


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12 hours ago, AustinBike said:

I'll take the opposing side here.

A hardtail helps you develop skills that many FS riders do not have. FS tends to gloss over the finesse of riding and allows you to just plow over things instead of learning to pick your lines.

Additionally, a GOOD full suspension bike is way more expensive and new entrants to the sport tend to want FS right out of the chutes with limited budget. So you end up with a shitty FS bike that is too heavy or has terrible suspension. The best way to buy a FS bike is to know why you need it and be able to justify the purchase. How many times have you seen someone say they are looking for their first bike, they have a $1,000 budget and they want FS. Recipe for disaster. 

Learn on a hardtail and you'll be set for life.

FS is just as technical, you just go a lot faster. That makes it more fun.

FS is easier on your body. I can ride six hours and only have muscle fatigue the next day.

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I rode a FS bike on occasion. It bored me. I won't waste my money on something that bores me, but that's me. I won't prescribe that choice for anyone else.

Just saying, it's subjective. Chosing a hardtail/ rigid/ FS/ singlespeed/ 1x- 2x- 3x!-, dropper/ rigid post, clipped in or flat pedals, xc, CX, dh, trail, Enduro, unicycle... whatever bike is a matter of personal experience. "Fun" is subjective.

Edited by mack_turtle
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  • 2 weeks later...

learned a new one yesterday..

If you're not lined up for a jump, don't force it.

I really wanted to gap a big wood-stack but needed more speed. I forced a few extra pedal strokes to get there and then didn't have time to line up the jump.

I hit it at a weird angle and went sideways... managed to save it, but it could have been bad.

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I seem to be making new mistakes just about every day... I'll keep adding them to this post, maybe the next noob will benefit.

- Wet surfaces are not your friend. I had my first proper washout on wet pavement this morning. It was on a fairly tame turn when riding at a slow pace, but apparently I didn't respect it enough.

- If/When you fall, don't brace with your wrists, roll out of the fall. Anyone with a lot of previous falling experience (like myself) will say "duh". But if you are new to falling off a bike that extra height is just enough where your old falling habits might go out the window. Time to re-learn how to fall. 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 6/4/2021 at 8:57 AM, Lacch said:

I seem to be making new mistakes just about every day... I'll keep adding them to this post, maybe the next noob will benefit.

- Wet surfaces are not your friend.

This should probably go without saying, but if the trails are more than "damp," stay the f__k off the trails! Stay on that pavement, which is probably what you were doing. The dirt around here turns into modeling clay and riding on that royally screws up the trail with tenacious ruts. That's reason enough for an ass-kicking from your fellow riders. It's also exceptionally destructive to your bike.

Edited by mack_turtle
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On 6/20/2021 at 8:49 PM, mack_turtle said:

This should probably go without saying, but if the trails are more than "damp," stay the f__k off the trails! Stay on that pavement, which is probably what you were doing. The dirt around here turns into modeling clay and riding on that royally screws up the trail with tenacious ruts. That's reason enough for an ass-kicking from your fellow riders. It's also exceptionally destructive to your bike.

Also the lime stone is slicker than ice when wet! Terrible combination!

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