The Next Step...downhill, dual crown, getting shreddy!

[ikkin]

Well, after moving to the PNW and experiencing the joys of Whistler in the summer, I felt it necessary to purchase this:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_mzb3ccEyNnQ/TM4-TY0JV3I/AAAAAAAABqg/QTB0HQ13Uns/s640/IMG_1410.JPG

It's a 15" 2008 Orange 224 with a Fox 40 and DXH 5.0. Used, but new to me. I'm not really sure how people afford new DH rigs...they are SO expensive.

Any other downhillers on the board? I'm new to DH but SO excited to get this baby built. Wheels show up tomorrow, which should allow me to finish the build. WHOOHOOO!

[jessmarimba]

I'll chime in with a big "Not it!!"

I'm cautious enough when I'm forced to go downhill. Thankfully my old bike was incapable of moving with any sort of speed :)

Definitely keep us posted though! Just b/c I'm terrified of it doesn't mean I don't like watching videos & hearing updates!

[Becky]

I live in Flatsville, so no DH for me, but I totally want to head up to the lift-served freeride park in New Jersey sometime, just to try it!

Awesome bike! Have fun building it!

[ikkin]

you should try it! it is SOOOOO fun. scary, but fun, and it makes you a much better rider! i'll keep y'all posted on the build...can't wait to ride it!

[Becky]

you should try it! it is SOOOOO fun. scary, but fun, and it makes you a much better rider! i'll keep y'all posted on the build...can't wait to ride it!

This is what I'm hoping. I can be somewhat timid on off-road descents, and this seems like a good way to push my boundaries on a gnarly bike with lots of body armor :D

[jessmarimba]

Haha, you both need to keep me updated then :)

After the damage I've already done, I don't think downhill is in my future. But I'm looking forward to getting back on the bike & hopefully taking some lessons to get my confidence at least where it was before!

[crazycanuck]

Ooo..downhill hey. YOu could follow in the footsteps of Rachel Atherton, Caroline Buchanan etc

If you're looking for downhill based boards...Pinkbike.com, mtbr, downhilldownunder.com

Have you seen the "Life Cycle" film yet? Awesome stuff! Saw it last night as part of a fundraiser for our mtb community.

[ikkin]

Thanks! Yep, I saw LifeCycles, it was amazing!

She's starting to look more like a bike...she needs a name...any ideas?

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_mzb3ccEyNnQ/TNDZiWsd7JI/AAAAAAAABq8/w1zW8kVk_j0/s640/IMG_1456.JPG

When I started riding XC I never dreamed I'd buy a DH bike someday...and yet here we are. Look what y'all have to look forward to! :D

[Aggie_Ama]

Will there be a new dog in the next picture? No downhill for me, I hear it is crazy scary and crazy fun. We have a new trail the local club is building with downhill potential. Can't wait to hear your stories.

[out_spokin']

Will there be a new dog in the next picture?

CRACKED me up! Handlebars, maybe, new dog, yeah!

Good luck with the build. Another non-DHer, but having vicarious fun.

[ikkin]

Alas, I am completely out of dogs! I will keep this in mind for future pictures, though. :)

Here she is finished, sans dog...
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_mzb3ccEyNnQ/TNo2zUdgzgI/AAAAAAAABro/iKLcTg6rDV0/s640/IMG_1458.JPG

First ride...we kept it pretty tame so I could get used to everything...SO FUN!!!!!
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_mzb3ccEyNnQ/TNo3xhTjzQI/AAAAAAAABrs/hZE0RnsqAaI/s640/IMG_1493.JPG

The effects of downhilling in the PACNW in November. :D
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_mzb3ccEyNnQ/TNo3_WGbocI/AAAAAAAABr0/YiHIbPf3hEI/s640/IMG_1486.JPG

Really, y'all should try it!

[crazycanuck]

That looks like heaps o fun:cool:

If i had the b---s, i'd do it! :o

[jessmarimba]

Hahaha looks like fun!!

[tangentgirl]

This looks awesome. Frightening, to be sure, but awesome.

The downhills (roads) give me particular trouble. I tend to walk the steep ones. At the same time, I would love to try this - partly as a way of getting over this ridiculous fear. Do they rent these types of bikes?

[Irulan]

This looks awesome. Frightening, to be sure, but awesome.

The downhills (roads) give me particular trouble. I tend to walk the steep ones. At the same time, I would love to try this - partly as a way of getting over this ridiculous fear. Do they rent these types of bikes?

are you talking roads as in pavement, or fire roads?

If it's pavement, you in in the wrong sub forum.:p

For mountain bikers, the geometry of your bike can make a huge difference on how stable one feels on the downhills. Second is your skill set. The first two affect the third which is your confidence level. I am a big fan of going to lift serve trails, even riding the greens all day long, to get comfortable with speed. If you are a beginner who's not interested in downhilling per se, renting a downhill bike is probably overkill... unless you take the time to invest in the skill set to ride a DH bike properly. If fireroads on your mountain bike are an issue, you need some skills coaching, not a downhill bike...

[tangentgirl]

My issues are on the pavement, and totally in my brain. Haven't tried offroad for a long time. This just looked like a cool way to face any speed/downhill intimidation.

[limewave]

Looks FUN! I wanna try!

[ikkin]

try! you wouldn't believe what the loads of travel and really slack geometry of a downhill bike will do for you in terms of confidence with steeps, terrain and speed. obviously there's a bit of an adjustment period, but i'll do stuff on this bike that i wouldn't remotely consider doing on my XC bike. it's almost like the downhill bike does all the work for you...all you gotta do is hang on and feel comfortable letting it move beneath you.

most lift-served resorts rent DH bikes. like irulan said, skills development is important, and i wouldn't recommend a pure beginner hit a resort and start riding all the black diamonds right away, but i bet most of you are MUCH better riders than you give yourselves credit for. i was intimidated, too. and then i went to whistler, rode, went again, rode some more, and had enough fun that i bought my own "big rig".

i started riding my XC/AM bike faster and more confidently immediately after my first trip renting DH bikes at whistler. they are super complimentary skill-sets. and both really, really fun!

[Irulan]

I'm not a road rider... other than the confidence issue and braking, is there any crossover from road technique to mtb dh technique? As I understand it, the body positions are totally different, and any dynamic riding on a road bike is going to be much more subtle than a MTB...?

[Becky]

I'm not a road rider... other than the confidence issue and braking, is there any crossover from road technique to mtb dh technique? As I understand it, the body positions are totally different, and any dynamic riding on a road bike is going to be much more subtle than a MTB...?

For me, the crossover comes from reaction times and an improved ability to anticipate. Even though I'm going faster on the road bike (usually), my brain is better tuned to react if I've been spending time on the MTB.

Just my two cents...

[jessmarimba]

Becky, makes sense to me. It works in the same way that (for me) trail running and mountain biking are complimentary. But I'm not much of a road rider (or an anything rider at the moment :) ) so I can't really relate to that. Next year!

(My SO joked about getting training wheels for me for Christmas. At least, he'd better be joking).

[ikkin]

i'm sure there's some crossover, but generally i feel like they're pretty different.

as you said, body position is not at all similar, the bikes FEEL completely different, etc. i think road riding helps with cadence and spinning on a mtn bike, and mtn biking helps with general comfort on a road bike (and vice-versa), as well as overall strength and fitness. they're pretty different though. for example, i'm a total weenie on mellow, predictable (and SMOOTH) road declines, and yet i'll blast down steep slopes littered with rocks and general instruments of death on my mountain bike.

to me, road riding is infinitely scarier than riding DH or XC. my road bike is so light and the tires are SO skinny, and i feel like i'm constantly fending off traffic, potholes, sticks, etc., etc. i'm not saying one or the other is better, just different. and also pointing out how scared i am on my road bike compared to my cushy, squishy and forgiving mountain bike for the benefit all you more competent road riders who think mountain biking is scary. :)

[bathedinshadow]

I'm not a road rider... other than the confidence issue and braking, is there any crossover from road technique to mtb dh technique? As I understand it, the body positions are totally different, and any dynamic riding on a road bike is going to be much more subtle than a MTB...?

My roots are actually way back in BMX riding, but I've been into MTBing for years now. This past spring I started road biking for the first time because I had a major knee surgery and smooth peddling/roads was ideal for recovery. I get far more nervous about riding my road bike than I do DH MTBing. That is 100% because of cars. They scare the life out of me. Anyway, I really don't find much crossover at all other than cardio. I will continue road biking simply because it improves my cardio more than MTBing does. That makes climbing technical section on my MTB far easier. But other than that, everything feels different and I have different focuses. Road biking is fairly predictable and I feel like improvement on a road bike is mostly due to fitness. However, I've grown up on bikes and am naturally comfortable on them. So perhaps that would be different for somebody who is newer to the sport. I also don't ride clipless on my mtb, so that was an adjustment. So not much cross over in my opinion - apart from the obvious - that I'm riding a bike! ;)

[bathedinshadow]

i'm sure there's some crossover, but generally i feel like they're pretty different.

as you said, body position is not at all similar, the bikes FEEL completely different, etc. i think road riding helps with cadence and spinning on a mtn bike, and mtn biking helps with general comfort on a road bike (and vice-versa), as well as overall strength and fitness. they're pretty different though. for example, i'm a total weenie on mellow, predictable (and SMOOTH) road declines, and yet i'll blast down steep slopes littered with rocks and general instruments of death on my mountain bike.

to me, road riding is infinitely scarier than riding DH or XC. my road bike is so light and the tires are SO skinny, and i feel like i'm constantly fending off traffic, potholes, sticks, etc., etc. i'm not saying one or the other is better, just different. and also pointing out how scared i am on my road bike compared to my cushy, squishy and forgiving mountain bike for the benefit all you more competent road riders who think mountain biking is scary. :)

I definitely agree with this. Except I do say that MTB is better. :P

[limewave]

I am a weenie on the road bike too. There's a big hill by us and if I think it may even be remotely slick, I suggest an alternative route. I'll sit up and brake on the descent.

. . . but on my XC bike, I'm a totally different person--especially when I race. I'm a machine. I don't think about the obstacles, just the finish line. I've been having flash-backs to sections of the race I just did and it freaks me out thinking I did some of the things that I did. I never would do that in "real-life."

:)

I hate when I've been doing too much road riding and then get on my xc bike. I end up riding the first few miles like I'm on a road bike and that is never good.

I'll have to give DH a try. I don't think there's any place near us that we could rent bikes, but if we make a trip out east or west, I'll have to look into it.

[bathedinshadow]

I won't even bother riding my road bike if it's at all wet out. I just have images of those skinny little tires slipping out from under me going around a corner at 30mph and that's enough to keep me off of it. I also get speed wobbles on my road bike once I hit like 38mph. I feel far more stable on my MTB.