steve jobs' pancreas
Eats Squid
And then everyone, having rested, promptly rides off when you arrive, red faced and blowing a gasket.Annnnnd who wants to be that bloke that's always last and everyone waits for in the group.
or so I've heard.
Fitness or skill ?
- Thread starter outerlimits
- Start date
or so I've heard.
Ideate
Senior Member
If it's for general XC riding then I'd say 50.50 because sometimes you have the skill but don't have the fitness to pull off what you're imagining.
Ever come across a gap or hill and pictured yourself roosting off the top to a wall ride? Then you try and can't even make it up the hill to the lip?
If it's DH and gravity then more skill. I have a skill to fitness ratio of 99:1 and have no trouble keeping up with and/or passing fitter riders.
Ever come across a gap or hill and pictured yourself roosting off the top to a wall ride? Then you try and can't even make it up the hill to the lip?
If it's DH and gravity then more skill. I have a skill to fitness ratio of 99:1 and have no trouble keeping up with and/or passing fitter riders.
Flow-Rider
Burner
Life can be cruel sometimes but it's what makes you a better rider.
DMan
shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
It's always better to ride with someone who pushes you. I do ride for fun and don't want to be flogging it every time I got out, but I like the fact that the fitter I get the better I handle all conditions (riding in heat for example), the less I fatigue and the faster I recover.
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sufferthesinglespeed
Likes Dirt
I like the idea that XC is the mid point where fitness is as big a factor as the skill level.
Having seen some of the pro(ish) guys stage racing here is illuminating. The speed they go up a hill is crazy. And average speeds are mad too.
Their uphills was what really stood out to me but they all go pretty good down a hill as well though. Seems to me the longer you spend on a bike the better you will be with both but skills will plateau sooner if you don't work on specifics. Fitness will keep on coming the more you ride regardless. To a point I guess.
For me personally I have recently gotten a lot fitter and dropped a lot of weight. The added fitness makes my rides much more enjoyable and I find I want to ride more often. Plus I'm now stronger for longer so try to session a few trails and happily spin back up to do it again. Without blowing a gasket.
My skills are getting better because I'm riding more often. Which I can do because I'm fitter.
Having seen some of the pro(ish) guys stage racing here is illuminating. The speed they go up a hill is crazy. And average speeds are mad too.
Their uphills was what really stood out to me but they all go pretty good down a hill as well though. Seems to me the longer you spend on a bike the better you will be with both but skills will plateau sooner if you don't work on specifics. Fitness will keep on coming the more you ride regardless. To a point I guess.
For me personally I have recently gotten a lot fitter and dropped a lot of weight. The added fitness makes my rides much more enjoyable and I find I want to ride more often. Plus I'm now stronger for longer so try to session a few trails and happily spin back up to do it again. Without blowing a gasket.
My skills are getting better because I'm riding more often. Which I can do because I'm fitter.
Nautonier
Eats Squid
You'll need skill to manhandle 20kg+ of bike around corners and anything that requires finesse.
pink poodle
気が狂っている男
20 what? That's nothing if you owned a DH bike back in the day.
Nautonier
Eats Squid
My first DH bike probably was around 20kg, but it was a plough bike made exclusively for DH tracks. Put 20kg into a nimble 140mm trail bike and it'll handle like a piece of poo. Especially as the weight of the battery is way too far in front of the COG.
I wouldn't mind a 20kg 200mm DH ebike! As I've mentioned before, I actually saw one in Italy earlier this year, but haven't seen them anywhere else. Defo solves the shuttling problem.
Funny thing is my back in the day 9" bike was much lighter than 20kg...... then it broke.
link1896
Mr Greenfield
Great topic that's close to my heart. I've finally sorted my digestive issues, and am on the way to returning to my fitness levels of 3 years ago. At 39yo, I'm aiming to get the fitness back to where I want it in time when I turn 40 and into vets. Who doesn't remember racing as a 16 year old and being lapped by a fit as fuck veteran on a bike with XTR back in the day. I need to return the favour.
I'd agree on the 50:50 skills vs fitness for XC, from what I can tell, endooro is no different, it's just XC for cooler dudes. As ducky has said, the fitter and stronger I am, I can power up a hill and recover quick enough I'm not a dead soldier on the way down at the first obstacle , and can hound the guys in front of me.
Hopefully I can be a John Tomac in my own little amateur world. Can't wait to get into the enduro scene and complete, I need to work on some upper body first, don't want to give safreak a run for his money but need to loose the office worker arms. I'm still a passenger on DH runs pretty quickly.
I've found a quite sick and perverted training bike. Hard tail with a kid in the kid seat, combined weight is at 38kg. 400m of climbing is brutal, but becoming less so. Kills many birds with one stone. Gets the training in, gets the kid hooked on bikes, we get to give the wife peace and quiet and stop to look at wildlife.
Timing is a bit unknown, probably next summer I'm going to have a crack at a race in quite a few categories, XC, enduro, DH and track sprinting at the velodrome.
Who needs drugs when you have a bike habit.
I'd agree on the 50:50 skills vs fitness for XC, from what I can tell, endooro is no different, it's just XC for cooler dudes. As ducky has said, the fitter and stronger I am, I can power up a hill and recover quick enough I'm not a dead soldier on the way down at the first obstacle , and can hound the guys in front of me.
Hopefully I can be a John Tomac in my own little amateur world. Can't wait to get into the enduro scene and complete, I need to work on some upper body first, don't want to give safreak a run for his money but need to loose the office worker arms. I'm still a passenger on DH runs pretty quickly.
I've found a quite sick and perverted training bike. Hard tail with a kid in the kid seat, combined weight is at 38kg. 400m of climbing is brutal, but becoming less so. Kills many birds with one stone. Gets the training in, gets the kid hooked on bikes, we get to give the wife peace and quiet and stop to look at wildlife.
Timing is a bit unknown, probably next summer I'm going to have a crack at a race in quite a few categories, XC, enduro, DH and track sprinting at the velodrome.
Who needs drugs when you have a bike habit.
Lazmo
Old and hopeless
At my age, I’m just trying not to blow a foofer valve (heart attack/stroke) in the climbs or hit something hard (tree/rocks/etc) by going too quick and stuffing up in the descents... at 60 your body takes a while to get it’s mojo back. Yesterday I nearly went otb on Cressy, so walked the second rock garden ... just couldn’t face the pain of binning it. I just want to keep riding as long as I can, so I couldn’t give a fuck about who’s the fastest uphill or who’s the main bro big jumping downhill dude ... whatever. I just want to keep riding. I don’t ride to prove anything to anyone... I just ride for fun as it’s my most mainest of things.
droenn
Fat Man's XC President
I said 50/50 at first, but I'm thinking that fitness is probably just that little bit more important. Having more in the tank to session different parts of track longer, or keep on the tyre of a good rider will get your skills up quicker than the other way around.
Fitness needs to be a good balance of cardio fitness and strength as well.
Fitness needs to be a good balance of cardio fitness and strength as well.
DMan
shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
I agree. My skill is also related to my attention span, which is related to fatigue, which is longer the fitter I get.
Mr Crudley
Glock in your sock
That is it overall. Also need to have some fun there too hence why I don't really like the 'training' word which to me sounds unfun drudgery with standing on a podium one day as the goal. I guess I should be more results-focused but just prefer to faff around and just have fun.
Be lucky to ride enough and you will get better at it. Fitness and more skills is a by product of riding.
Ultra Lord
Hurts. Requires Money. And is nerdy.
I dont think it's "unlucky" to be enjoyment focused with riding.
Training sucks, and turns riding into a job. I already have a job, why would I turn my weekends into more work? (When im not working that is)
Training sucks, and turns riding into a job. I already have a job, why would I turn my weekends into more work? (When im not working that is)
sufferthesinglespeed
Likes Dirt
This exactly.
Have headed out with intentions of doing hill repeats or or aerobic sessions. Not happened yet.
Have never managed to actually "train" on my bike. It always just ends up being a ride. Sometimes short and sharp after work or a long ride on the weekend or day off. Bikes are mint.:bounce:
And I always enjoy it.
When I started out I was riding with fitter and faster guys, which helped me get faster and fitter too.
Some days I was faster down the hill but never up. That still happens.
And I'm ok with that.
Doing other training has got me fitter and trimmed me down. Been a nice addition to the regime and I'm loving it but it's also a different thing to bikes.
Bike time should be fun time.