ALL MTN Racing ?????

[moorey]

What he said. Ride it up and down. Shuttling up, or not timing the climbs is lame if youre calling it AM.
FWIW, I come from a DH background. These days I consider myself a trail rider (who's trying to get back into a bit of DH at a lame level), mainly due to time/money/family commitments...and lacking the balls any more to hit any big lines

I don't see that an 'AM' race needs to be on a huge mountain, quite the contrary. Ride multiple lower altitude loops, make the climbs do-able for a longer travel bike, and the downs hard enough to make them a real challenge, but not requiring an 8"+ sled to survive the ordeal. Yep, its still going to favour the fit people on light bikes who can climb well...I don't wave a solution to that, but let them claim the podiums while the rest of us have a blast struggling up the hills and blasting down the other side, trying only to have fun (and maybe beat our mates)

 

[pharmaboy]

Surely the meg avalanche races are pretty much what we Ed call am ? Except we are pretty restricted for the altitudes here so there would need to be more cross the hillock ?

 

[retroenduro]

xcept we are pretty restricted for the altitudes here so there would need to be more cross the hillock ?

not so...some of the terrain in the high country could be used to make a 40km+ super d course. It doesnt have to be balls out 45 degrees all the way down. Last year i scoped up a 46km dh run...was put on the back burner tho...

 

[Trigger02]

What he said. Ride it up and down. Shuttling up, or not timing the climbs is lame if youre calling it AM.
FWIW, I come from a DH background. These days I consider myself a trail rider (who's trying to get back into a bit of DH at a lame level), mainly due to time/money/family commitments...and lacking the balls any more to hit any big lines

I don't see that an 'AM' race needs to be on a huge mountain, quite the contrary. Ride multiple lower altitude loops, make the climbs do-able for a longer travel bike, and the downs hard enough to make them a real challenge, but not requiring an 8"+ sled to survive the ordeal. Yep, its still going to favour the fit people on light bikes who can climb well...I don't wave a solution to that, but let them claim the podiums while the rest of us have a blast struggling up the hills and blasting down the other side, trying only to have fun (and maybe beat our mates)

Murray, this was all explained to you earlier now stop being a ladder goat like on the winter thread. Be serious and have fun!

 

[Dozer]

What he said. Ride it up and down. Shuttling up, or not timing the climbs is lame if youre calling it AM.
FWIW, I come from a DH background. These days I consider myself a trail rider (who's trying to get back into a bit of DH at a lame level), mainly due to time/money/family commitments...and lacking the balls any more to hit any big lines

I don't see that an 'AM' race needs to be on a huge mountain, quite the contrary. Ride multiple lower altitude loops, make the climbs do-able for a longer travel bike, and the downs hard enough to make them a real challenge, but not requiring an 8"+ sled to survive the ordeal. Yep, its still going to favour the fit people on light bikes who can climb well...I don't wave a solution to that, but let them claim the podiums while the rest of us have a blast struggling up the hills and blasting down the other side, trying only to have fun (and maybe beat our mates)

That is an XC race.

 

[eastie]

When I think AM I think alpine assault course for the top 2/3, crossing over to the top of Big Hill and on to the dh courses ending in Mt Beauty. Timed top to bottom, including the climbs.

 

[willsy01]

..... stop being a ladder goat

This thread cannot progress until I know what the hell a ladder goat is.

 

[Ivan]

Surely the meg avalanche races are pretty much what we Ed call am ? Except we are pretty restricted for the altitudes here so there would need to be more cross the hillock ?

According to Wikipedia ( :behindsofa: ) Megavalanche is a Super D race................:biggrin1:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_bike_racing

Super D - Super D (SD) is a blend of cross-country and downhill. Most of the race is downhill, on trails similar to the downhill segment of a cross-country race. There are also short (100–500m) uphill sections which make the use of downhill bicycles difficult, as a result, most riders use cross-country or 'trail bikes'. Depending on the trail and race venue, the start may either be seeded (riders start in short intervals), or Le Mans mass start (riders run to their bikes, timing is started when the riders start running). Probably the most famous of this type is the Megavalanche.

 

[No Skid Marks]

This thread cannot progress until I know what the hell a ladder goat is.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=Ladder+goat&button=&title=Special:Search

 

[MrCove]

Real AM racing should have a specific start time. ..............................................................

you forgot points added or taken off for anyone saying, "What's the head angle on that?"

http://www.nsmb.com/4942-vid-shit-mountain-bikers-say/

 

[andy]

I think the SuperEnduro series has what I think AM racing should be. Except off course we don't have the hills around here for the Time restrictions they have on special stages.

DEFINITION
•Superenduro is an emerging discipline in the world of Mountain Bike competitions.
•The Superenduro race is not a cross-country nor a downhill competition.
•The Superenduro race takes place on circuits marked by a variable number of special stages (PS) that are mostly downhill and constituted by pedaled uphill stretches of no more than 10% of their total length and a course that favors all-condition racing skills.
•Each contestant’s ranking is obtained from the sum of the travel times in the special stages added to advances or delays at the Time Control (TC).
•Transfers from one special stage to another are not timed. However, there are time limits within which each contestant must complete the transfer. In addition, the judges will set a maximum time delay that will be announced before the start of the race. Contestants that arrive at the control points beyond the maximum time limit will be automatically disqualified from the race.
•To avoid any short-cutting, surprise checks may be performed.
•There are two kinds of Superenduro races:
•SPRINT: sprint races have an average height difference of 1000 meters and total sum of the travel-times of the special stages must not exceed 30 minutes, with a minimum total time of 10 minutes.
SPRINT races must comprise at least 3 Special Stages that take place on at least 2 different routes.
•PRO: have an average height difference of 1500 meters and total sum of the travel-times of the Special Stages of 20 minutes.
PRO races must have at least 5 Special Stages that take place on at least 2 different routes.

 

[trailburner]

I know it's early days, but you only need to look at the turnout for Rocky Trails rollercoaster series this year to see that the potential is there..

Shameless plug:
We decided to bring you a Rollercoaster Championships! September 1, Stromlo
http://www.rockytrailentertainment.com/events/Rollercoaster-overview.html

Everyone loved the format and a lot of people said that they simply didn't know what it was all about beforehand and enjoyed it a lot more than they thought. Now with riders knowing the format and ridden the track and photos + videos to show it it's time for another round of fun at Stromlo.

 

[benmwatkins]

All mountain vic race series

Theres alot of interesting thoughts and comments in this thread. I guess "all mountain" has alot of definitions, but isnt bike riding supposed to be "fun", so if riders enjoy it, does it need so many labels/restrictions/definitions???

ALPINE GRAVITY SHUTTLES is about to launch a five race "all mountain" race series in Vic. Starts in October. This first year/series will be an experiment, and any race/event organiser/promoter would be silly to not listen to what the actual competitors thought/want, so what ever happens, it will be the opinions of the riders themselves that shape what that series is/becomes in the future.

 

[Yarrahappinni]

from my experiences, I would say Hot X Buns onto Dragons Tail in Rotorua is the best definition of a AM track. Our tracks (in NSW at least) need to harden up. How about Coramba (B lines only) as an AM track?

 

[bikeyoulongtime]

Theres alot of interesting thoughts and comments in this thread. I guess "all mountain" has alot of definitions, but isnt bike riding supposed to be "fun", so if riders enjoy it, does it need so many labels/restrictions/definitions???

ALPINE GRAVITY SHUTTLES is about to launch a five race "all mountain" race series in Vic. Starts in October. This first year/series will be an experiment, and any race/event organiser/promoter would be silly to not listen to what the actual competitors thought/want, so what ever happens, it will be the opinions of the riders themselves that shape what that series is/becomes in the future.

sounds ace! I'll keep an eye out

 

[retroenduro]

Theres alot of interesting thoughts and comments in this thread. I guess "all mountain" has alot of definitions, but isnt bike riding supposed to be "fun", so if riders enjoy it, does it need so many labels/restrictions/definitions???

ALPINE GRAVITY SHUTTLES is about to launch a five race "all mountain" race series in Vic. Starts in October. This first year/series will be an experiment, and any race/event organiser/promoter would be silly to not listen to what the actual competitors thought/want, so what ever happens, it will be the opinions of the riders themselves that shape what that series is/becomes in the future.

Im in too! should be back by October.

 

[No Skid Marks]

from my experiences, I would say Hot X Buns onto Dragons Tail in Rotorua is the best definition of a AM track. Our tracks (in NSW at least) need to harden up. How about Coramba (B lines only) as an AM track?

I agree. Most DH tracks in Oz could be done on a 6" bike, so why not use them but add some pedaling suffering to deter the use of DH bikes. Most DH tracks have B lines also.
I'd like to see the play it safe trail building style for legal tracks here change. Catch up with the rest of the world. Stuff can be big, or technical, and still be designed to cater for noobs. Spice it up.

 

[Yarrahappinni]

I agree. Most DH tracks in Oz could be done on a 6" bike, so why not use them but add some pedaling suffering to deter the use of DH bikes. Most DH tracks have B lines also.
I'd like to see the play it safe trail building style for legal tracks here change. Catch up with the rest of the world. Stuff can be big, or technical, and still be designed to cater for noobs. Spice it up.

Thredbo would be a great AM race.

 

[No Skid Marks]

Thredbo would be a great AM race.

Guessing you're taking the piss, even though there's no smiley. Thredbo will have a much longer less hardcore top to bottom B-Line next season. I think in an AM race at Thredders a run on the DH track, and part of one of the XC tracks as well as a few on the new B track all on the same bike would be great. Probably would be discouraged but. Even though the old A line has B Lines around anything to techo.

 

[Bikes Bats New Tatts]

Shameless plug:
We decided to bring you a Rollercoaster Championships! September 1, Stromlo
http://www.rockytrailentertainment.com/events/Rollercoaster-overview.html

Everyone loved the format and a lot of people said that they simply didn't know what it was all about beforehand and enjoyed it a lot more than they thought. Now with riders knowing the format and ridden the track and photos + videos to show it it's time for another round of fun at Stromlo.

Stoked! I'm keen for this!