What is the best way to try out mountain biking?

I'm trying to figure out if mountain biking is for me. What is the best way to try it without a large financial investment?

Also, if you road bike and mountain bike, what do you like best about each? What are the things that you dislike most about each?

Thanks!

Ana :)

Find a local tour company. Rent a bike and take a tour. You'll get to try a decent bike (probably) on trails appropriate to your skills, and get some coaching in the process.

I think a tour is out of my budget right now but that is a great vacation idea :)

Thanks!

Ana :)

Many local tour companies will offer half-days.

I do both :)

Like-
Road ride-don't have to think, just put bike in straight line & go. Very boring at times.

Mtn bike-far away from traffic, no noise, great community, peaceful, tons o fun, keeps you on your toes depending on the trail, great scenery.

Dislikes-
Road-traffic,the bike path design, roadie attitude

Mtn bike-umm..roadies that stand in the middle of singletrack...:mad:

Mtn biking's great fun & much more exciting than being on the road. It takes not only physical skill but mental skill as well (duh..) but being at one with the trail is the best feeling :cool:.

Is there a local mtb club near you? Can you talk to a bike shop about trialling a bike? Also, what about posting on a local mtb board that you want to try a bike out if someone is willing to take you out & show you an easy trail?

Come and join the dirt crew :)

I've only biked off-road once, so this is a first impression.

Road - I can look around a lot. I get a good workout, but I can also relax. (I work on a lot of paperwork, so relaxing my eyes feels really good to me.) I look at the road down a ways, then close, then look at birds, or chat, or whatever.

Off-Road - I had to look down at where I was going a lot more. It was challenging in a really different way, but not as relaxing for my eyes. I could see getting a really good workout faster.

I do both. I was a roadie/triathlete for so many years I thought I just might hate MTB. But I was hooked so hard when I started MTB that I hardly rode my roadie for months! I thought I'd even turned into a bonafide MTBer. But then recently got back onto my roadie to do a metric century and ride the 40km leg for a team in a triathlon and I'm a born again roadie! I supsect my loyalties will flip-flop for the rest of my life!:D

Ways to try? Hire a decent bike for a day or borrow a test bike (Specialized dealers do this) and get a friend to take you for a GENTLE ride! No gnarly stuff! Or maybe do a women's training course (somebody must run one locally).

What I love about the roadie: It is light, nimble, fast, sings along the road. I get a good workout with a nice constant level of effort and heart rate. It burns loads of calories. You travel vast distances in an efficient way. There is nothing so sweet as an early morning road ride on one of those breathtakingly gorgeous early autumn mornings.

What I don't like about the roadie: Nothing really. Maybe knowing what I've spent on mountain bikes since I bought my roadie I would spend a bit more next time and get one with more carbon and a little less harsh ride? Oh - and I didn't like how long it took me to get my seat issues sorted out on the roadie!

What I love about the MTB: The sheer adrenalin rush of going over obstacles! It is the closest thing I've ever found to downhill skiing for that rush! I enjoyed learning new skills and improving my bike handling (helped on the roadie too). I enjoy riding in the natural environment without the aggro that cars bring. MTB racing has been a revelation - so polite and friendly! And lastly I find MTB is a different facet of fitness. I am by nature a constant effort kind of a person. Wind me up and I'll just grind it out and keep on going (probably a TT sort of person). Having to ride in a peaks and troughs (like gun it now or fall off!) kind of environment is like doing a strength session. My heart rate is all over the place and overall I actually burn less calories than on the roadie (hour for hour) because I spend some of the time at the top of the hills scraping my lungs up off the ground and putting them back into my chest!:p It has improved my anaerobic capacity and my lactic threshold and my climbing ability immensely. My legs are MUCH tougher and this has made me enjoy the roadie even more too.

What I don't like about the MTB: Hills! They say there is no mountain biking without mountains and they are not kidding! And I don't like wet races where it all turns to mud. But it is all character-building, and yesterday I had a revelation about a hill I have always hated. Yesterday for the first time it actually didn't hurt!:D


In short..... try it. It's great fun and it'll make you a better roadie too!:)

Well, don't do what I did, which was to spend $1500 on a mtb and then hardly ride it. Every time I start getting "into" it, I feel like I am ignoring the miles on my road bike.
I love the feeling of being in the woods, but I spend most of my time mountain biking screaming my head off and making sure I am not going to kill myself. I am sort of a weenie when it comes to risk, so I try to limit myself when it comes to the type of trails I go to. It takes so much "thinking" and concentrating, that it's a totally different experience. A few years ago I humiliated myself on a group mountain bike ride. Some people were riding 20 year old bikes, dressed in jeans. They were the ones who raced up the hills, while I pretty much walked 1/2 of the whole day. I know if I spent more time on my mountain bike, I would gain confidence, but I just feel the pull of my road bike.

Sadie has the best idea.
I was also going to suggest renting a bike from a GOOD shop, and hooking up with someone who rides. Preferably someone that is patient and doesn't zoom ahead on the trail, or take you on the most technical trail in the park.

I think they actually compliment each other. I was all mountain bike rider until my hubby broke his back and we got into road riding. I stopped so as not to drive him nuts with jealousy. Back then, you were either a roadie or a trail guy. I just last week got the Jamis out and dusted it off and took to the trails. Had a blast. Road riding gets a little same old-same old. The trails keep you thinking and looking ahead. I did alright after five years, just have to remember to look ahead and find my line, not look down at every rock and root. Now I want a new mountain bike. Oh lord! There are alot of shops with demo bikes. See what you can find. Have fun.