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Motorbikes at Oxford Falls
Hey all
Have you guys even come across many motorbikes in Oxford Falls? I was doing a few laps around the XC course and nearly had 2 head-ons with motorbikes. Bit scary/dangerous in that narrow trail.
If not then let this be a warning 
Ben
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I have seen plenty of evidence of MX bikes there. But as far as I can remember, I have never actually seen a MX bike there. However, I have seen plenty more MX bikes at Red Hill.
Want to know why the trails are sometimes in crap condition? There's your answer.
they are there - usually three of them - they weeee weeee weeee past my place in the late morning and come back in the late afternoon - they aren't legal at Oxford Falls...
Red Hill on Sunday was a hive of them - they even brought more on trailers - we saw about 8 in different groups. Thing is, Red Hill is half crown land and half church land so it's harder to get rid of them there...
hate them!
I was speaking to some locals (in Elanora Heights) not too long ago, who reckon they first started riding (MTB) in and around Red Hill/Oxford Falls back in 50 BC, and they attribute the trails to the moto boys... I was quite shocked at that response and went on to brand them, the moto boys, trail destroyers & noise and air polluters (almost felt like I was picketing for the Greens!) to which they replied "The bikers have as much right to ride there as mtb-ers do..." It's the rev-heads in 4x4's that are illegal and apparently you can report them to the police.
I was just talking to a bloke who rides both MTB and dirt bikes.
Says he is regularly at Oxford Falls on the dirt bike and has spoken to the local constabulary about this - they said there is nothing illegal about riding dirt bike there.
Walkers think MTB riders are just as big a pain as MTB riders think of dirt riders.
Sorry guys, that's the way it is - share and share alike, esp. on crown land.
Well thanks for clearing that up Rob.
At least you can hear them coming from a long way away and can get out of the way in time I guess.
correct, mtb riders are dirt bike riders and vice versa. I myself have a yamaha xt600, kind of a half road/half trail bike with 600cc of dirt tearing power, lots of fun on the open fire trails, side ways out of corners and sweeping bends, mines a bit of a heavy bike for tight single track stuff (about 150kg) but heaps of fun everywhere else. Only problem is when you come off it hurts alot more. Mines registered tooso id ont have to trailer it anywhere, i just ride to the track.
Alot of dirt bike riders use mountain bike riding for training, ie endurance and too sharpen up on technical skills
Give them a fair go and they will in return. Generally you will hear them coming so be ready for it.
Don
as long as they are road registered they are allowed - you know, a friend of mine used to ride oxford falls and red hill but a man with a machete started chasing his mates off of red hill so he doesn't go there any more - he is the one who said as long as they are registered they are allowed - he is 'in the know'
yes, we do hear them, but they sometimes go so fast they cant see us!
I like Moto X and MTB,
I have no Idea what’s legal, but all I can say is:
Sharing is caring, no matter what, Horse, MotoX or MTB
Hard to archive, I know, but let’s try, after all we all would like to have some fun with our hobbies!!!!
Bernd
As some one who maintains a few MTB trails that get used by Motos I must say i don't mind sharing but often I do wish the motos riders would put in a bit more time helping to maintain the trails.
They seem to have a lot of fun squirting through the corners but this often lead to corners getting blown out. It also seems impossible to ride up hill without letting a rooster tail fly. That leads to erosion problems. Time and again it's the MTBers out there fixing the damage.
All that said a moto is one of the best (If not exactly IMBA sanctioned ) tail building tool for new trails out there
)
Im gonna organise a murder a motorcross rider day! Ive ridden mx bikes in the past but as an mtb rider too i have to say they're really begining to pee me off! We spend a lot of time at home looking out the window wishing we could ride in the rain but we cant. Part because we're pussy's but mostly because we dont want to wreck the great trails we cherish and whilst we're dreaming of sunny days some pr..k on a 450cc with tires like a giant cheesegrater churns up our trails at a rate of about 50 mtb riders per rev of his back wheel. And yes, they never think twice about fixing the mess they've made. I know im a pom and yes we are known for winging but i believe that ive got a valid point....... So who's up for murdering one of them them? Ha ha
at spaces wider than 75mm
Hmmmm
Just a thought
Greg
Hi all. I'm not that guy but have been riding in the area on both pushy and dirt bikes for the past 30+ years (yeah scary I know). And here's a couple of my thoughts on a couple of issues. Firstly, in respect to damage, the trails actually haven't changed all that much over this time. Sure there'd be areas that get rutted and worn, but turns out that underneath the rock is rock, and believe it or not the tracks aren't that much different than 30 years ago. If you've been riding there longer than me and have different information, let me know.
If you want to see what damages the bush, get an aerial photo and take a look at where development has destroyed bush. I guarantee you'll see a lot more bush destroyed by houses than the 0.001% of bush space that the trails take up. Any rational argument on environmental damage will come back to development, not the 75mm wide piece of rubber. If you're still not sure take a look at maps.google.com of the area, you won't pick the trail damage, but you'll see where the development has destroyed heaps. 30 years riding hasn't done as much damage as a single house. Trouble is, once the house there everyone forgets that was bush.
As far as MX bikes go I'm pretty annoyed with unregistered, unlicensed, disrespectful,2-stroke riders and people that ride at inconsiderate hours. They are the one's that ruin it for us guys. We will always slow down around riders or horses(and turn off engines) treat the tracks with respect and avoid any tracks, and especially jumps, ramps etc, that have been made for the bikes. The tracks are definitely not 4wd width so no 4wd's should be in the area.
So all, both riding pushies with my son up there and trailriding with my mates I guess I have a foot in both camps. Don't tar everyone with the same brush and take a rational look at the factors impacting the area.
I agree that land development for housing has been deterimental to the area. They certainly don't need any more housing estates around Beacon Hill / Oxford Falls. Soon there will be nothing decent left to ride on.
But despite housing developments ravaging the environment, the MotoX bikes do too. I appreciate that the damage is minor compared to housing, but it is still damage nonetheless. Far more than push bikes are managing. I reckon you would have to run 50 pushies through a section of trail before you damage it like a trail bike does. Especially in the rain.
What gets me about rain riding is that MTB riders will rarely ride in the rain. If not completely, then at least usage drops off markedly. Thereby saving the trail from overuse when it's in a vulnerable state. Doesn't stop some damage of course - I am no idiot - I see MTB damage on trails through overuse in the rain.
But run some MotoX bikes through there and the ruts will form very quickly. Not just a few cm, but can end up 30cm deep. Like, do they have to run in the same rut all the time? Why keep churning up the same piece of trail? Could they not use the trail that is not heavily damaged, thereby spreading the impact on the trail more evenly (so it recovers faster)?
Although I hate forcing an opinion on others that aren't involved with MTB'ing... ban them all, I say.
i would hazzard a guess that at oxford falls there probably are 50mtb for every mxb given that most replies say they have seen some evidence yet not often if ever seen them and yet i see huge groups of mtbs there. we had 20 odd there the other weekend and our groups are relatively small compared to the farkin users.
i completely understand what liam says about the rain though, although i took the piss out of him being soft for cancelling his ride due to rain, it does come down to the destruction of the trails we ride.
however i still maintain that the mxb have just as much right to be there even though the sound of 2stroke is just the most irritating thing on this planet. (4stroke i can live with if no racing exhaust is installed)
and arguing a house? well physical argument in regard to damage but how many of us can say we dont own a house that may have once knocked down bushland? very few indeed. those people in those houses near oxford falls are indifferent to where any of us live.
I guess my thinking is around the fact that i think that it is good for people to get into the outdoors. People enjoying the bush is good for all of us it ultimately puts pressure to keep these areas for us all to use. (Having said that ofcourse ya gotta look after it & not be a d!ckhead stuffing it up).
I have lately been riding mostly in the DH area at the falls & the XC only once a week. I cant remember seeing any motorbikes on the XC single trail, although i have seen a few guys on the DH area recently. They seem to be doing trials type stuff. They pretty much keep to themselves and stay off the main DH line. I guess 50 Billon car loads of MTBers to every motorcross rider encourages this? So not too much of an issue from a DH point of view as they stay off the main jumps/drops. On the firetrails i guess this could be a different story as they would tend to open it up with a bit more speed there?
I have no issue with MotoX riders using fire trails. Just the single tracks.
Iv been riding my dirtbike here for a few years now
And have a few older mates who do the same n
One in particular his dad who's about 65 used to ride
His dirtbike up there when he was a kid and said
There were never any mountain bike riders there.
So I guess those trails started with dirt bikes so to all
U asshole pushy riders who just can't seem to share and
Just whinge at everything remember who was there
First and made 90% of those trails. Stop trying to kick
Us out, we arnt that bad try saying hello next
Time u ride past some guys instead of being a dirty snob
you've taken 7 years to come up with that illiterate response?
Please wait while I go and grab my popcorn.
His name says it all!!!