B-Lines??

nspud

Squid
i started racing at 30yrs old (2 years ago) i found you need do the b lines untill you build expirience. its all about progression, one step at a time.
 

FINX74

Likes Dirt
A+

I can totally relate to everyones comments thus far..... but still find myself wanting to do more A - lines than B lines. I have just started DH this year and is my first year of racing bikes also. Not coming from a BMX background I find is hard however at 36 I have just started the A -lines at Ourimbah and although they are not what I would call A+ lines they are fairly nerve racking for a newb to build up to. After putting down my best time and hitting all the A-lines last race - I feel I can only get faster.... just need to turn off that self preservation chemical release in my head somehow. :p

Big Bad Brett - I met you last race - your times will improve dramatically when you stop doing trail maintanence on your race run........see you at the next race.:rolleyes:
Adrian.
 

ezrider

Likes Bikes
I can totally relate to everyones comments thus far..... but still find myself wanting to do more A - lines than B lines. I have just started DH this year and is my first year of racing bikes also. Not coming from a BMX background I find is hard however at 36 I have just started the A -lines at Ourimbah and although they are not what I would call A+ lines they are fairly nerve racking for a newb to build up to. After putting down my best time and hitting all the A-lines last race - I feel I can only get faster.... just need to turn off that self preservation chemical release in my head somehow. :p

I have learned from riding with other better riders that once you learn to flow ,get smooth pick better lines and start to float over and around the rougher terain the speed just comes without you even thinking about it.
learning to relax and let the bike go over the bumps ,brake in the smooth bits and get some advice on suspesion set up ,rider /body posistion and you are almost there.
One good thing about being older its never worries me to ask someone better (older or younger) than me what i am doing wrong or how to ride a section or how to set up for a place i have never riden.

cheers and beers ez
 

Cooch

Likes Dirt
I have learned from riding with other better riders that once you learn to flow ,get smooth pick better lines and start to float over and around the rougher terain the speed just comes without you even thinking about it.
learning to relax and let the bike go over the bumps ,brake in the smooth bits and get some advice on suspesion set up ,rider /body posistion and you are almost there.
One good thing about being older its never worries me to ask someone better (older or younger) than me what i am doing wrong or how to ride a section or how to set up for a place i have never riden.

cheers and beers ez
How true!

I've learnt a lot riding and training with one of Qld's best U19 'kids' ... going to the pump track with him has just blown my mind away and my riding ability / bike skills have gone to another level. Better bike skills = more control = more confidence and A lines :eek:.

You can teach an old-dog new tricks! [hmmm, maybe a new forum topic? ;)]
 
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Mobywan

Likes Dirt
Topic we constantly talk about in my riding circle. I'm 40, been riding mtb for 2 years, Dh for 1 and I'm managing to slowly progress every time I get out there. Did the Rennie clinic at Illinbah a few weeks back and it was money well spent. Most of what I got out of it was about preparation though and not trying too hard. Spent some time at the top of the drop of doom with him and he talked me through it and I hit it for the first time... super pumped to achieve that. Seems like nothing to a lot of riders I'm sure but for someone who hasn't been on a bike since 20 until the age of 38 I'm happy to cross that one off safely.

Hit the B-lines when I'm not confident but always willing to try and step up when I feel I'm ready.
 

nskz

Likes Dirt
I think as almost everyone here as said, once you hit 30+ you don't really have anything to prove to anyone anymore...you're just in it for the fun/social aspect. It's all about risk/reward and you become pretty good at assessing these things. I raced the NSW state DH series for the first time this year (I raced expert not masters though) and hit most of the A-lines but there are certain places where I just said...nope.

The triple treat at Stromlo for example I hit jump one no problems because you can carry a lot of speed into it and it's fairly smooth, jump two I never attempted because I thought the time gain/loss was minuscule compared to scrubbing the B-line and I saw a lot of people case it savagely. I tried jump three over the rock once after eying it out for ages, crashed, and decided the B-line was the safer option. Likewise the triple triple right at the bottom, I never even attempted to triple triple it because messing that up was a one way ticket to a broken collar bone so a more measured double, double, double was the order of the day.

Moral of the story at our age (i'm only just a vet btw :p ) we become much more adept at calculating the risk/reward and are far less likely to just huck off something because everyone else is.
 

andy

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Generally I would say I do mostly A lines. But the next round of our state series I will be making myself do at least ONE B line. Last year I DNS'd the Toowoomba round. There is a largeish gap half way down that doesn't have much of a take off. Half way through the air, I pushed the bike forward as I thought I was going to tag the landing and my right shoulder dislocated. I majored to land pretty much sweet and rolled out to a stop a hundred meters away where my mate behind me reduced my shoulder back in.

As Couch said, I find that at 36 I am still getting slowly faster and more confident in my riding. I just have to learn to listen to my body more.
 

VK2GOM

Likes Bikes
Nearly 39yrs old here... incidentally. An oldie - or at least I'm beginning to feel so :rolleyes:

Is it true to say all 'C' lines should be 'rollable' and only B's introduce gaps/jumps/drops? Can there be gaps/jumps/drops on a 'C'? I notice Stromlo Worlds DH C line is meant to be all rollable.

Still early days here, just building a DH capable bike, but the plan is to have a go before I get too old!

Cheers - Rob
 

SuperSix

Likes Dirt
Duhhh... wut is A-Line, B-Line, C-Line, D-Line?

Is it a path of bikes to follow or some sort of cable transmision line for telecoms?

My head really hurts from the last fall so I can't think straight like a line at the moment.
 

spyderman_au

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Duhhh... wut is A-Line, B-Line, C-Line, D-Line?

Is it a path of bikes to follow or some sort of cable transmision line for telecoms?

My head really hurts from the last fall so I can't think straight like a line at the moment.
If there is a choice of line on a track the hard 'route' would would be the A line, the easier one, eg. safer one, would be the B line and if there is a really easy one it would be the C line.
 

samjam

Likes Dirt
Well im a B-line man.i have no issue admitting it or doing it around my mates (some are over 20 years younger than me).....i have nothing to prove and like to be able to get up and go to work the next day.
i ride a Nomad and do mostly trail stuff but will take on anything other than big jumps.i tried a log drop here 2 years ago and popped my shoulder.i didnt fall off but the impact did it.it was then that the realiseation set in that at 40 y/o i should just take the B-lines.
i also have a Norco A-line and will take it out some times for DH runs and will even do the smaller jumps but stay well clear of the big ones.
my general riding group are 15 to 61 y/o....hope i can still do this in 20 years.
 

C.H.B

Likes Dirt
nothing wrong with doing a b-line if you dont feel right about it,I never feel pressured to hit
anything and thats partly to do with the guys i ride with(you guys rock!).that being said I
dont mind hitting more chalenging stuff that ive worked up to and are more familiar with.
 

C.H.B

Likes Dirt
If there is a choice of line on a track the hard 'route' would would be the A line, the easier one, eg. safer one, would be the B line and if there is a really easy one it would be the C line.
i think SuperSix is just messing with us spydy;)
 
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