What is similiar between motocross and downhill. Need Advice.

[DH - Rookie]

Hey guys, recently and without giving a life story, I'll say that motocross has given me a hard time. Maybe not the sport itself but my ability to cope with injuries. It is my neck that gives me grief, and this is because of the three kilo helmet (or however much). Besides I have figured that downhill is although still a great sport and every bit of respectable as motocross, it will be easier for me to keep on the bike since it the helmet is lighter, etc

So for someone like me who's used to motocross, how easy would downhill be to adapt to if I have previous MX experience, even though I am prepared and expect to learn a whole new ball game.

[For my first thread I hope I have put it in the right place and have said everything and make sense.]

 

[Ivan]

From what I have seen, guys with moto backgrounds seem to adapt pretty quickly to DH.

You can buy moto helmets that are just as light as DH helmets, so you won't be saving much in that area, although MTb injuries are generally less severe than MX injuries.

 

[harmonix1234]

I'd assume it would be great prep for DH.
I used to ride MX years ago (small 80cc and 125cc bikes as a teen) and a lot of the principals are the same.

Steering with your hips, leading with your shoulder and manouvering your centre of gravity to stay stable at speed. But a DH bike won't put you as upright as an MX bike, and you'll find yourself out of the seat a lot more on a DH bike.

You will soon find your feet will have a lot more affect on everything and become a real influence on how you distribute your weight.
Finding your chocolate foot (which foot you prefer to ride forward) rather than having them square like on a MX bike, you will find you don't have as much clearance so keep your pedals flat when not pedalling so they don't bang on rocks and stumps, and when cornering you will need to move the pedals either up or down to get the best grip for example.

But I reckon you'll be just fine. A duck to water. Welcome aboard mate

 

[Ryan H]

Gwinn came off an MX background, and after about 2 years of downhill he was racing WC.

 

[Spotty]

yeah, i reckon there great cross training for each other. Some bloke doing red bull romaniacs said that hed been racing downhill in prep for the race.

As said above, you should be heaps confident already.

 

[T-Rex]

Sam Hill rides MX as cross training in the off season, and he's 3 times world DH champion, so you would have to think there's some overlap.

The one thing I would say is that if you have dramas with your neck, DH may be harder on it rather than easier. On a DH bike you are standing up (or you should be) in your race run, and looking ahead, so you are craning your neck, whereas on a moto you are more often sitting more upright, so your neck and back are better aligned. Have a look at some photos of pinned DH riders vs MX riders and you get the idea.

The above is just speculation on my part, at the end of the day you won't know for sure until you give it a go.

 

[THE Manik Man]

As far injuires go, i think you will surprised although major injuries or deaths aren't as frequent, downhill has no were wear the numbers of mx. Also my personal opinion (I rode moto's for a few years) you crash alot more in downhill and I think shoulder and wirst injures are more prevalent because of the more frequent trips over the bars

Love both sports and hopefully I'll have a moto back in the shed soon

 

[iridedh]

Mate I don't want to be the old man, and tell what u should or should not do, but my experience racing motocross for over 6 years! I got hurt riding dh bikes way more than on my dirt bike!
I think u should always respect anything with two wheels because it can always hurt you!!! But by saying that I rather take the risk than stay home and do nothing! Pain shows that u alive!!!
Be careful when u first start because u will want to hit jumps thinking they little compared to mx, but it's different
Anyway welcome to the sport, im a newbie too only riding dh for 9 months

 

[DH - Rookie]

Thanks guys, hate to argue a little but I reckon on a motocrosser we stand up just the same. As to my neck, even though I may not jump that high on my hardtail, it shows a promising sign all the same, but its not like Im not used to crashing.

As to respecting anything that has two wheels (or anything that goes fast really) I really love my bikes and couldnt do anything without them. The problem is that with my neck, I get pain in the head for each jolt (jumps etc). I'm usually able to shrug off pain easily, but having this for months has really hurt me.

So I'm going to the track soon, and I'll see where I'm at with moto. If its bad then I'll go to the specialist doctor to have one last try at fixing things (I have tried believe me!)
and if that doesnt work, I'll have to do DH.

If things are fixed then I'll ride moto, and save up for a DH bike

 

[iridedh]

Mate I don't want to be the old man, and tell what u should or should not do, but my experience racing motocross for over 6 years! I got hurt riding dh bikes way more than on my dirt bike!
I think u should always respect anything with two wheels because it can always hurt you!!! But by saying that I rather take the risk than stay home and do nothing! Pain shows that u alive!!!
Be careful when u first start because u will want to hit jumps thinking they little compared to mx, but it's different
Anyway welcome to the sport, im a newbie too only riding dh for 9 months

 

[bk-19]

me and some of my mates recently crossed over from mx to Dh and there are some differences but it does really help.

 

[cam-o]

I ride both (did DH first though) and there is a lot of crossover. You're right in that when you are having a go on an MX bike you do stand up just as much.

For me, similarities are you already know how to move about on the bike, how to load up and trust the front wheel, how to shift your weight and little things like a mid air brake tap for postioning the bike for landing.

Differences, well you can't do a mid air throttle blip you will get less sore across the shoulder blades on a DH bike, you get your foot out less and momentum is more important.

 

[jjperko]

I reckon you stand up way more in DH. I try to have a no-sit-down policy in a race run (doesn't always happen) whereas in MX you corner sitting, on a flat straight thats smooth you're sitting (I don't own a modern MX bike, but its hard enough for me to stay standing on full power on an older enduro bike), as well as seat bouncing and stuff.

Whether you're crossing from MX to DH or vice versa, you'll have a massive head start on someone who's come in without any experience. Everything on a dh bike is lighter and happens quicker, but the same principles apply.

 

[retro racer]

After racing mx for approx 30 yrs, the hardest things to adjust to on a dh bike were the ride positions on a dh bike are way different, no seat to grip with your thighs on a dh bike and more arm pump for this old fool