Pinkbike… ?

its pinkbike, and i've never heard mountain biking refered to as elegant

hows this for elegant

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Aaron-Gwin-Fort-Wil...

http://youtu.be/bUd0cPLgcM4

More middle aged dudes in Lycra with over sized wheels?

@mrlouis You sir, are an idiot.

sorry, but that clip was funny as!

Louis, you probably didnt mean it like that, you have to admit "mtb being elegant" is a fairly funny comment!

I don't see how you could think that he was on the verge of losing control of his bike Mr Louis. He looked absolutely in control to me. I am on the verge of losing control of my bike often, just wish I could do it as obviously completely in control as Monsieur Gwinn.

I ride xc, but if i'm watching a video i want to see something stupid - something that makes me go "Fuck!" out loud. trials, redbull event, megavalanche - Gwin going rediculously faster than any other human without seeming to.

Videos are for entertainment - what they are about is the extraordinary, pumping up at 15% hill at 18kmh doesnt look extraordinary on video - hell, look at the video as an example - 3% the climb, 97% the descent: tells you something.

/

there you go -how nice is that xc trail?

Nice one Pharmaboy. Check this

http://vimeo.com/26810156

I personally find watching DH as refined as it gets. Probably because I am more into technical stuff than fitness. I always fast forward XC.

Where else can you watch mountain bike atheletes in peak fitness race and win or lose by 100ths of a second?Bike technology is all at its limits as is the riders technical ability.

Not to knock XC at all. But the results are not often as close and it seems to be more about individual fitness, physique and endurance rather than technical (rider and technology) refinement.

No doubt others have views about refinement such as strength to weight and how light weight and stiff bikes help with endurance. I also have to agree this is refinement and perhaps elegant and also becoming important in DH. We do after all now use different bikes.

We all relate to things differently and do what discipline we do for a number of reasons. As such we see aspects that others may not in a video. I have not seen an elite DHer out of control but have seen many elite XC riders struggle with stuff many weekend DHers would think nothing of on an XC bike. However an XC rider watching a DHer in an endurance event may well notice problems with race strategy and perhaps climbing technique.

I also don't believe that anyone involved in the elite end of the sport could not be described as refined and elegant to us mortals.

I'm getting over seeing people criticize non XC disciplines on this site, especially given how much time and effort non XC riders have been and are contributing to advocacy partly through this site for all disciplines in NSW over the last 5 years.

Let's all remember why we ride a bike and appreciate that others of any discipline do so for the same reason. We enjoy it!

I'm quite enjoying this thread.

Any doubters of elite riders from other disciplines being able to ride XC really should check out the likes of:
Hans Rey, Danny Mack, Peaty, Lopes, Minaar and I'm pretty certain those Atherton lads (and lass) also do a fair bit of XC, just to name a few

I ride XC but love watching DH. I got a whole new appreciation for those boys after walking the World Cup course down at Stromlo (when my 'Home Boy' Peaty won!) a few years ago.

Happy trails folks

That DH is more about courage and stupidity.

Also your description of a fast descent and weight back is exactly the sort of riding position that will get you into trouble and out of control and would lead to bouncing over rocks and poor cornering. It's a very XC position that is difficult to avoid with a high seat post and steeper head angle. Dropper posts are helping in this respect. This riding position perhaps shaped your point of view as control is limited when you don't have weight on the bars through the fork.

Anyone who relies on courage and stupidity (in any discipline) to get down a track won't be riding for long and won't have anyone who wants to ride with them.

I personally enjoy DH for the greater technical challenge of firstly figuring out how to make it down in one piece and then putting it all together at speed. A bit like figuring out a route and doing it in rock climbing.

I can also relate to slow descents and trials. Great for balance and fun on more chilled days. Agreed there. DH is just the same but faster. It's also all about keeping light on the bike and minimizing the amount of time the suspension compresses. Anytime it compresses your speed gets turned into heat in the damper unit. A good DH run when you achieve this is like floating in a bubble the whole way down or the best powder day your have ever skied or boarded.

There are some great riders contributing to everyone's cause that ride DH at age 60.

I just find it funny that someone comes onto a predominantly xc site to complain that a predominantly DH?FR site doesn't have enough xc stuff on it.

Both sites are user driven. They are made up of content their members put up.

The whole DHvXC skill/fitness thing is a wank.

I ride both. Skill wise what is super easy on a DH bike 1min into a track is damn hard on an XC bike with the seat up at the 8km mark on lap 5. Fitness wise, I still maintain a day of fast shuttles on the DH bike leaves me more exhausted than a day pootling around on the XC bike.

{old fart voice} Back in my day we rode both on the same bike... {/}

Pretty much all of the top DHers are very handy XC riders and ride it regularly to stay fit. There doesn't seem to be as much cross over back the other way.

Notable exception I can think of are riders like Paul Rowney, who popped out of Xc retirement to go top ten at a Threadbo state( or national) Dh round a couple of years ago(Or did he win the master, I can't remeber). And the recent appearance of former junior world xc champ Lisa Matherson in this years national DH series.

At the end of the day they be bikes. Get on 'em

Most DHers ride XC but not many XC riders ride DH.

This leads to frustration when one 'group' comments on the other as generally only one group has experienced both. I am a little sensitive about this as its something that has taken a lot of time and navigation in meeting with OEH and NPWS during the development of the Discussion Paper and the new Mtb Policy and Strategy over 4 years and is ongoing now with other land managers.

There was an XC contingent which kept trying to write off everyone else and at one stage a deal was suggested where if XC riders pulled out some DH tracks then some new firetrails would be open for XC. We were strongly against this as it would have only created bigger issues between riders and also for NPWS(alienating user groups they needed to engage with and reducing the relevance of their new strategy). Furthermore the tracks were very much AM anyway which we managed to get included in the paper. We also audited one with IMBA and NPWS and demonstrated how sustainable it was and so far gained a couple of years reprieve until we can resolve some other issues.

The final outcome (policy and strategy), which has a strategy for all, we are very happy with and there is plenty going on behind the scenes to provide for everyone. NP's staff have been doing way more than we could have hoped for in coordinating efforts.

From a straight advocacy point of view we have had to put a lot of time into explaining that DH, FR and DJ aren't a bunch of yahoos. This is a big perception and it doesn't help when XC riders whom Councils and State Government also see as knowledgable about bikes perpetrate this image(especially when they worked for them). These statements are in general terms now and not a dig at anyone in this thread. I think everyone has now sufficiently qualified their comments so everyone is on the same page.

No rider wants to be injured, we all would prefer to be on our bike. An obvious statement but one we have had to explain many times to land owners/managers. Following this we then go into how risks are managed in terms of trail design and skill progression.

We are making great progress for all disciplines and we have a number of projects on the go. Hoping to able to announce some stuff real soon.

Very elegant