climbing, hopping, descending

[bounceswoosh]

Originally posted by Biking Kitsune
then is it a matter of pulling up *real* hard on the handle bars or something? I can't get the bugger more than about half an inch off the ground...

I've been to a bunch of women's clinics in the last few weeks. One thing Tonya Laffey said is that, while most men can get away with just yanking on the bars, women often don't have the strength and need to finesse it. Let me try to paraphrase what she described:

First, let your elbows bend so that you have somewhere to go. Then, pull up the bike. Your elbows will still be bent at the start of this move. It's really hard to pull dead weight with straight arms. (I'm really sure I'm missing something here, but making sure to compress your arms first is definitely the first step.)

Another thing the Lunachix suggested was to think of your arms as describing a backwards C. You can imagine your elbows bent at the start of the move, then straightening out to compress the fork and build up some spring-type tension, then elbows bending again as you pull the bike up.

I hope one of these two descriptions helps you a little bit and that neither of them are too confusing. It's hard to describe without physically demonstrating it.

[Irulan]

well I don't know about you guys, but unweighting skills are among the ones I find the most difficult to do. They are top of my list for things to work on at camp this year. I mean, if I can get *just* the front over something 3" I get all happy... forget the lifting the front AND then the back wheel. I watch these guys do that with 12 logs and I am just astounded. Anything bigger than 3" I either just try the old "bump into and ride over" method, or what the heck, dismount and remount. I'd really like to be able to do the unwieghting on stuff that I run into when climbing... but any attempt to unwieght while climbing tends to want to send the bike over backwards....

irulan

[Biking Kitsune]

I don't know that I do enough riding for hybrids to be totally worth it, and I would like to work on my mtn. biking etc.... do you know of any nice, light-ish (under 30#) and fairly inexpensive (under about $500) womanny mountainbikes or their manufacturers?

[Irulan]

what do you mean by womany? Don't get real hung up on that you need Women Specific Design, there are a lot of good bikes out there that don't have that.

I feel pretty stongly that hybrids are a compromise... they are certainly limited for a mountain biking experince, and I would imagine that you can only grow so far as a roadie on one, too. But for an occasional foray around the neighbor hood or bike path, they are probalby a great thing.

Specialized and Giant make some great entry level mountain bikes that would be very suitable. For your interest based on your posts, I think the "right tool for the job" would really make a difference in your trail experience.

just my 2¢ of course.

Penny

[Biking Kitsune]

Started checking out bikes... the Specialized Hardrock Sport looks like the best deal for the money, haven't seen any bad reviews of it online anywhere. I'm thinking about bugging my honey for it as a b-day present. *seriously wonders if she could somehow make up an important gift-type holiday between now and then that would warrant a gift like that...*
Have you heard anything good/bad about them? (Hardrocks)

[bounceswoosh]

Penny,

I definitely agree that anything involving purposeful separation of tire and ground is tough -- especially going uphill!

At one of the lunachix clinics, I mentioned this, and they made us ride up a hill and pop our wheels up over a two by four on the way, over and over again. It really helped.

I think the trick is to practice on stuff that's so small you would normally just roll over it. There's a bridge on one of my rides that has a little lip -- maybe an inch or two -- where it meets up with the dirt road. Whenever I cross that bridge, I make a point of lifting my front wheel over the lip, and then lifting my front wheel again as I come down off the bridge (it's one ofthe type that arcs over the stream). Then, at the top of the first real climb of that trail, there are a several water bars -- depending on how much "oomph" I have left, I try to lift my wheel over at least a couple of them.

The theory is that I will get comfortable timing the lifts on trivial stuff, and eventually get to the point where I will be confident enough to try it on bigger things. That hasn't happened yet, though =P

[Irulan]

Originally posted by Biking Kitsune
Started checking out bikes... the Specialized Hardrock Sport looks like the best deal for the money, haven't seen any bad reviews of it online anywhere. I'm thinking about bugging my honey for it as a b-day present. *seriously wonders if she could somehow make up an important gift-type holiday between now and then that would warrant a gift like that...*
Have you heard anything good/bad about them? (Hardrocks)

seriously, I have only heard good things about the entry level specialized and Giants. And with the bike-tech-parts guys I know, I hear about everything. Those Hardrocks have got a lot people started on the trails.

Early birthday works for me...

~I

[bounceswoosh]

When I was recently looking for tips on bikes, the "Specialized" word showed up all over the place. People with Specialized bikes love 'em.

Different price range than yours, but I'd think the principle would still hold.

[Veronica]

If you're going to ride a lot and you can afford the extra $ a Rockhopper Comp would be my bike of choice - better, more durable components, more precise shifting.

If $500 is the limit I'd go with a base Rockhopper rather than a Hardrock to get the better components.

Here's a funny thought - Rockhoppers cost now about about the same as they did when we bought ours 10 years ago!

V.

[Irulan]

I think Veronica has it right.

~irulan

[fultzie]

I was in the same situation as you a few months ago- tried riding a hybrid on some singletrack and did more damage to myself (namely my knee) than my tank of a bike.
I just bought a Specialized Rockhopper Comp, and it is awesome. Heck, just having front shocks makes a ton of difference!!
I've heard nothing but good things about Specialized bikes, and the guys at my mom's LBS adore Specialized, so the only debate was between the comp and the regular i tried both, but i haven't been riding long enough to have noticed a heckuva lot of difference in the feel of each, aside from the comp having more gears
either way, i'd agree with the other posters in that specialized is a great value.
good luck and have fun bike hunting!

[Barb]

I never hear anything about Kona. Any opinions out there? I was thinking of the Kona Blast for my fisrt MTN. I know, I knopw I jsut got my new road bike, but honestly....a girl can shop can't she?

[Irulan]

first thing always is FIT FIT FIT. I don't know much about Konas as a line... tho I do ride one of thier top end FS bikes. Got a link to the speficic bike that you can post? Again, I will reiterate that Giant has the repitation for the most bang for the buck in entry level mtbs. As I told Bounceswoosh somewere... If you stick with a reputable manufacturer and a real bike shop, there are probably no bad bikes. It's when you shop at Costco or Walmart or Gart ( or any non-bike specialty store) that you really can make a mistake.

irulan

[formicalinoleum]

Originally posted by Biking Kitsune
I don't know that I do enough riding for hybrids to be totally worth it, and I would like to work on my mtn. biking etc.... do you know of any nice, light-ish (under 30#) and fairly inexpensive (under about $500) womanny mountainbikes or their manufacturers?

I have always had Giants, and have been very happy with them. I first had an Iguana (was about $400 when I got it) and now have their top-of-the-line "recreational", the Ranier ($700-800). I think the Iguana is better now than the model I had (and correspondingly more expensive).

Definitely test ride a number of bikes, but I do suggest making sure some Giants are among those you try out.

p.s. both of those mtn bikes and my road bike have all been men's. I have short legs and a long torso, so women's-specific (WSD) bikes aren't for me. Try men's and WSD bikes and see what feels good for you.

[formicalinoleum]

btw, watching those trials videos really makes me wanna get out on my bike! I've been only road riding for the past couple of weeks and really miss my mtn bike now.

Oh, and I'm new. I'm Liz. I've been mtn biking for a few years (with a female friend) and just starting road cycling.