Black runs on fully rigid retro...?

[longun]

comfort and smoothness = full suspension modern with brakes that are less likely to let you down


spirit of mountain biking and having a bloody good laugh = retro

go for ,just dont get upset if you bend,brake hurt something lol.

i rode a downhill track last year on my pace and showed the youths how to manual and jump doubles on a 14 year old hardtail ,they didnt know what was happening,was ace



do it,and we want pics

 

[brocklanders023]

I think birdman's right. Black runs are never uber extreme and should be rideable no worries. Double black or a DH course might make me think twice but I'd happily ride any black run I've been on on a retro bike. As I said before, we rode them back in the early 90's. :roll:

 

[reanimation]

Dunno, Buuuut, I know psychologically you'd be happier and confidentish if it was all us lot going on retro bikes, but unless you have good relationships with your mates, and they understand your 'religion' you may feel out of it a little. Build the bike as tough as ya can, maybe shorter stem, fat and grippy as ya can get on the rims/in stock tyres, pedals ya trust (don't say SPDs!!) seat down a tad. and then use the force tat ya cooler and won't waste ya energy inbetween with all that extra weight. oh and a bit of practice wouldn't be bad.
I've done some seriously knarly terrain on me retro but certainly no drops or owt.

 

[gradeAfailure]

Well, I'm here and I survived! Did the Black Run, Windy Point and Darkside - of all three theblack run was the least punishing and the only one I did more than once! Though I did shoulder about 3m of the steepest bit near the end due to a realistic assessment of my riding ability.

The singletrack stuff was just hell though, with all the rocks, there's no let up at all. Buddy on full sus could just pick rough lines but fully rigid you have to ride every cm and it's just mentally draining.

So, it's been an experience, but I am looking for a modern FS now (sorry!)

 

[Stick Legs]

Awesome effort mate! Good work indeed. Shouldering your bike over the steepest bits, proper old school!

 

[legrandefromage]

Why dont you try and work on your skills instead of buying new and adding to global warming and Taiwan sweatshops when you could be mocking your friends instead?

 

[reanimation]

Well done on your survival, I feel like that when I hit the trails.

I've still got my 7inch full susser to be built and its still on the bottom of my list. Even though my modern is totally not a XC bike, and totally rigid at the mo, dead short, dead small, and now quite steep geo angles, it surprised the hell out of me do in the peaks, commanding down the rugged hillside was much more confident experience. TBH it leaves me wanting to try it again soon and wanting to build a HT with sus forks later on. I'm reckoning it was the clearance, wide bars, taller than retro front end, super rigid forks hubs and rims and wide tyre upfront that made it all better. I'll carry on with my experiments and report back! And one day see what all fuss is about with me FS...

 

[retroklein]

well done for getting stuck in

 

[gradeAfailure]

Why dont you try and work on your skills instead of buying new and adding to global warming and Taiwan sweatshops when you could be mocking your friends instead?

I'd like to think my skills are ok thanks, having done the Twrch XC trail at Cwmcarn today on the Marin and kept up with the FS boys... and I keep my friends by not mocking them!

It's more that riding the Welsh trails has completely opened my eyes to a totally different kind of riding, something I've never experienced before. Up till now, with the exception of the Leith Hill Retrobike ride a couple of years ago, I'd never really dome what I now classify as serious off-roading - it's all bridleways, commons, etc; nice, Surrey countryside. For that, the Marin is perfect and a joy to ride.

Cwmcarn today was a laugh on it, a chance to prove that an 18yr-old bike with a low racing position, cantilever brakes, skinny tyres and no suspension can still cut it - and I did that, and then some. Some of the Afan trails on it, however, were utter hell - not because of me, but because I was at the limit of what the bike could take without pringling rims, shredding tyres, or snapping aged alloy bars.

Whether us retro affictionados like it or not, trails have got harder as bikes have got better - I've never ridden this type of trail before, so of course I viewed FS as unnecessary. Now that I want to go back again and again, and ride harder and faster, the old steed just won't allow me to do that.

I have no axe to grind about retro biking really - I don't need to prove to anyone that they don't need FS, that it can be done on an old bike, because you know what? They don't care. Whilst I was getting hammered about, cramp in my fingers from constant braking, unable to build up any speed due to neverending rocky sections, they were all having fun.

Fun is what I want from my riding; it's something I do on my days off. If I don't enjoy it, I at least expect to get paid, and have to call someone "boss". If a FS bike enables me to have more fun, then so be it, I'll get one. I'm not really bothered that anyone might think I've sold out or gone soft, because anyone who thinks that, well, their opinion doesn't matter really.

The Marin isn't going anywhere, and hell, I'll probably take it back to Afan to complete the black run on it just to show to myself that I can do it! I love the style, elegance and nostalgia of the retro stuff; it takes me back to the heady days of being a teenager and building dream spec bike inbetween 6th Form lessons. For riding serious stuff now, I'm afraid I'll take the hydroformed, disc-braked modern please.

This post has ended up being a bit longer than I anticipated and it is in no way a criticism or dig at anyone or anything (as I really do love this place and the guys I've met through it), so please don't take it that way! It's just the ramblings of a tired and achy biker...

Cheers
GradeA

 

[retroklein]

Whilst I was getting hammered about, cramp in my fingers from constant braking, unable to build up any speed due to neverending rocky sections, they were all having fun

that is what I call fun !!!