MTB Fun! First MTB ride in 15 years on new bike (pics & video)

[missjean]

Very nice! Those steep drop offs to the river would make me uneasy.

I was going to say enjoy the new bike, but you already are!

[luv2climb]

Thanks! For some reason those drop offs don't scare me. I don't know if it's because I used to ride that trail often or what, but once I got in the groove on that descent it all came back to me and my confidence increased.

[Reesha]

Very nice! Those steep drop offs to the river would make me uneasy.

I was going to say enjoy the new bike, but you already are!

I am the same!

Luv, you must have buns of STEEL! I am always impressed by the climbing you do!

[Artista]

Loved the video. Scenes like this are as close as I've come to technical riding since I broke my ankle last fall. The ankle has been strong enough for technical riding for about 6 weeks now but our trails have been too muddy and icy to ride. In the mean time, I've been living vicariously through mtb'ing videos like yours. Thanks for posting.

The last picture in your post is reminiscent of the hill that I broke my ankle on. I tried to ride it unclipped. My shoe slid off of the pedal on a really heavy down-stroke and my foot hit the ground at an ugly angle, breaking my ankle. I thought unclipping would be safer if I lost too much momentum. I won't try THAT tactic again!

The pic of the bike parked under the "No Parking" sign gave me a chuckle

[luv2climb]

Thank you. Artista, I cringed after reading your post! I'm glad you're healed up now.

Scenarios like that are why I have toe clips and straps on every bike I own. Pedals get very slippery when wet on road rides. On a technical mtb trail, I could just picture the disasters that would happen if I slipped off a pedal.

Some posters on another forum have suggested that I go clipless because toe clips and straps can cause injury, but I've never experienced that. When I had SPDs I had several slow speed crashes due to not being able to unclip in time. No injuries though.

[Artista]

I loved my SPD's in rock gardens and moderately steep hills. I hated them on steep climbs...which, of course, contributed to my broken ankle. I'm switching back to plain platforms. They seem to be the best compromise for my capabilities, the technical trail sections that I ride, and my confidence level.

The bottom line is that mtb'ing has the potential for injury regardless of the pedals we're on. I always recommend that people follow their instincts. What works well for one rider may not be best for another. Sure, you could experience an injury from toe clips but you'll never know how many other injuries you avoided by not using clipless on super steep hills, (and few people do hills better than you!). To each their own

[luv2climb]

+1! After many years of cycling, I have found that toe clips and straps work best for my needs, especially while mountain biking. I had fewer slow speed crashes on my road bike with clipless, but they still happened. The toe clips have saved my butt many times by keeping my feet from slipping off the pedals.

Since I like to ride technical trails and climb steep hills, I need to be able to unclip quickly and safely. Toe clips allow me to do that every time.

Now in the old days when roadies used cleated shoes with toe clips and straps, I imagine it was much more dangerous. I use regular shoes that allow me to quickly pull straight out when necessary.

[limewave]

Nice. Makes me want to try mountain biking outside of MI right now!

[Susan]

That trail looks great, and your weather looks great too (it's freezing outside here :/).