MacRetro chat and rides thread
- Thread starter kaiser
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velomaniac
MacRetro Rider
Hi K, nice to know your still out there.
Well realised recently that for me MTB is over. Too strenuous for my unfit state and frankly scares the poo out me nowadays.
I just keep seeing what'll go wrong in my head when I meet a sketchy bit of trail.
However now that it has a simple name what I do still enjoy I'll stick with,...,..Gravel
Basically I'll still ride off road but on smoother single and double track and carry the bike over any obstacles. Similar style to Jamie and Brian but without the epic Highlands backdrop.
Well realised recently that for me MTB is over. Too strenuous for my unfit state and frankly scares the poo out me nowadays.
I just keep seeing what'll go wrong in my head when I meet a sketchy bit of trail.
However now that it has a simple name what I do still enjoy I'll stick with,...,..Gravel
Basically I'll still ride off road but on smoother single and double track and carry the bike over any obstacles. Similar style to Jamie and Brian but without the epic Highlands backdrop.
velomaniac":35fv914z said:
Ach, bollox to that mate.
Look at Pitmedden, it’s not that far back.
Were you chasing everyone’s back tyre on the downhills, no. Did you enjoy it, yes. Did any of us care you were slightly slower than us, no. Just like no one cared about having to wait on me drag my fat arse up the hills.
This current situation is crap. Fitness and motivation are difficult. Just ride. Doesn’t matter if it is MTB or “gravel” , which is just the MTB we used to do before the media and bike companies diversified (fractured) things.
In the grand scheme of things it’s all just bikes. Retro, modern, gravel, road, the only truthful thing that ever came out of Lance Armstrong’s mouth is that it really isn’t about the bike, but where it takes you.
velomaniac
MacRetro Rider
Re:
Let's not exaggerate, I was not chasing anyone's back wheel at Pitmedden. Most of time I'd lost site of you guys and the only time I ever caught up with anyone was when someone stopped or crashed.
Anyway it's not riding at a sedate pace off road I'm giving up its trying to ride obstacles, steep stuff and techy bits, basically the mountainy bits of MTB. I intend to dismount and walk carry through stuff more than I did before. I'm 50 but with my health issues I feel older. I'll still do Pitmedden but I'll always be the slowest. As for trail centres like GT no longer keen on grades red and upward unless done at walking pace
Let's not exaggerate, I was not chasing anyone's back wheel at Pitmedden. Most of time I'd lost site of you guys and the only time I ever caught up with anyone was when someone stopped or crashed.
Anyway it's not riding at a sedate pace off road I'm giving up its trying to ride obstacles, steep stuff and techy bits, basically the mountainy bits of MTB. I intend to dismount and walk carry through stuff more than I did before. I'm 50 but with my health issues I feel older. I'll still do Pitmedden but I'll always be the slowest. As for trail centres like GT no longer keen on grades red and upward unless done at walking pace
old_coyote_pedaller
MacRetro Rider
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velo I seem to remember waiting for you a couple of times at Pitmedden, aye OK I was catching my breath but at least it looked like I was waiting......... :mrgreen:
You might find that your bike has a lot to do with it. I was still using 20 y.o. bikes, my Cannondale F800 with 100mm Lefty and before that a Marin Wolf Ridge with 130mm front, 120mm rear travel but realised a few months ago that I was near ending myself trying to keep up with Keith and Kenny down trails on their modern hardtails, Cotics, that had way better forks than the 20y.o. 100mm Lefty and bigger/fatter/grippier tyres.
I'm a kick in the baws away from 67, in July, so I thought "what do I need with a modern bike", it wouldn't make a difference, I was wrong.
So I bought a brand new modern geometry 650b+ hardtail with a 150mm fork, jeez it's just no contest with what I was riding. The bike is faster and most of all the comfort of fat tyres and decent suspension has made a big difference to how I feel on a ride and more importantly afterwards. I don't feel as battered tae feck even though I've found I'm faster down some trails which had bits I used to bottle out, now I can ride them. Not saying I'm near keeping up with Keith and Kenny, I'm still probably just as slow uphill as I was, but I can enjoy going faster down the way than I did with the old bikes.
OK just going out and buying a new bike is easy for me to say, OTT even, they are not cheap but try and find a used bike/frame that was at least designed in the 21st century with a good fork and clearance for fatter tyres, you NEED comfort.
velo I seem to remember waiting for you a couple of times at Pitmedden, aye OK I was catching my breath but at least it looked like I was waiting......... :mrgreen:
You might find that your bike has a lot to do with it. I was still using 20 y.o. bikes, my Cannondale F800 with 100mm Lefty and before that a Marin Wolf Ridge with 130mm front, 120mm rear travel but realised a few months ago that I was near ending myself trying to keep up with Keith and Kenny down trails on their modern hardtails, Cotics, that had way better forks than the 20y.o. 100mm Lefty and bigger/fatter/grippier tyres.
I'm a kick in the baws away from 67, in July, so I thought "what do I need with a modern bike", it wouldn't make a difference, I was wrong.
So I bought a brand new modern geometry 650b+ hardtail with a 150mm fork, jeez it's just no contest with what I was riding. The bike is faster and most of all the comfort of fat tyres and decent suspension has made a big difference to how I feel on a ride and more importantly afterwards. I don't feel as battered tae feck even though I've found I'm faster down some trails which had bits I used to bottle out, now I can ride them. Not saying I'm near keeping up with Keith and Kenny, I'm still probably just as slow uphill as I was, but I can enjoy going faster down the way than I did with the old bikes.
OK just going out and buying a new bike is easy for me to say, OTT even, they are not cheap but try and find a used bike/frame that was at least designed in the 21st century with a good fork and clearance for fatter tyres, you NEED comfort.
velomaniac
MacRetro Rider
Re:
Currently I could just go out and buy a 2 grand bike thanks to a ppi payout. But I am unemployed and that cash is for emergencies. If dosh really was no object I'd buy an On-One Hello Dave monster 29er hard tail and I could survive modern trails but that's just dreaming. Mind you I am keeping my eye out for bargains in the 29er hard tail arena
Currently I could just go out and buy a 2 grand bike thanks to a ppi payout. But I am unemployed and that cash is for emergencies. If dosh really was no object I'd buy an On-One Hello Dave monster 29er hard tail and I could survive modern trails but that's just dreaming. Mind you I am keeping my eye out for bargains in the 29er hard tail arena
old_coyote_pedaller
MacRetro Rider
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Believe you me velo, I get where you are just now, I was more than a bit uncomfortable spending that amount of money on a new bike and at the moment I don't need to worry about where the pennies are coming from and more scary, going. It felt like I was buying something I didn't really need since I've got several MTBs to choose from albeit all retros, the new bike was just a luxury.
The On-One Hello Dave was one of the bikes I looked at when I was trying to convince myself to spend the dosh, decided, eventually I wanted to get a 650b+ which was a Sonder Transmitter GX Eagle from Alpkit.
I'll keep a look out for a possible "new", "improved" velo sized bike.
Believe you me velo, I get where you are just now, I was more than a bit uncomfortable spending that amount of money on a new bike and at the moment I don't need to worry about where the pennies are coming from and more scary, going. It felt like I was buying something I didn't really need since I've got several MTBs to choose from albeit all retros, the new bike was just a luxury.
The On-One Hello Dave was one of the bikes I looked at when I was trying to convince myself to spend the dosh, decided, eventually I wanted to get a 650b+ which was a Sonder Transmitter GX Eagle from Alpkit.
I'll keep a look out for a possible "new", "improved" velo sized bike.
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