Why do you have a quiver of mountain bikes?

[crgildart]

Yes, but aren't they also pretty broad compared to an indoor ski area?

Aha! Now you see what i did up there?

 

[Monique]

Aha! Now you see what i did up there?

I picture an indoor ski area as having all the picturesque beauty and aroma of an indoor hockey rink, just tilted a bit.

Caveat: I've never been to an indoor ski area.

 

[Tom K.]

Hardtail with rigid fork (Fisher Superfly -- very old): For epic gravel road rides. Far better than any "gravel" bike. Also, everybody should have a hardtail. Also-also, with installation of the suspension fork it came with, it can function as a "just in case" race bike.

120 mm FS 29er (Fuel EX): Endurance racing and trail riding. Also, I think this class of bike covers more "range" than any other. If I had to choose only one mtb, this would be it.

140/150 mm FS 29er (Remedy): For the local rougher "moto" trails, and trips to Moab and similar. So smooth and fast everywhere flat and slightly down, and only a smidge slower going up than it's shorter travel brother.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

ummmm N+1

Downhill bike, road bike, dirt jump bike, trail bike

And don't be dissing downhill if you haven't done it. It's the best!

 

[Monique]

And don't be dissing downhill if you haven't done it. It's the best!

He said he's done it, but there's not enough suffering for his taste.

 

[trailtrimmer]

Pugsley - Winter commuter and groomed trail fun

Kona Big Kahuna - trail fun, long exploration rides and an occasional race

Redline Monopig - Single Speed, tough as nails trail work bike and trainer. Shoot some lube on the chain, air up the tires and abuse it. Toss it down while working, run straight through sticks and branches, don't stop for debris in the drive line. Best $350 I've spent on a bike.

 

[scott43]

He said he's done it, but there's not enough suffering for his taste.

What can I say, I like pain!

 

[Jersey Skier]

What can I say, I like pain!

Try crashing. Works for me.

 

[scott43]

Try crashing. Works for me.

I never crash. Maybe I'm not trying hard enough...

 

[newfydog]

I understand having a MTB and road bike, but I'm only interested in MTB for this discussion.

There is no black and white, it is a continuum . There are road bikes with flat bars, mt bikes with drop bars, "comfort bikes", gravel bikes etc. My quiver starts with a road bike with sew-up tires, goes to a road bike with 32c tires, cyclocross bike with 40c tires, hard tail mtb with 2.0 tires, fs mtb with 2.35 tires, and ends with fatbike with 4.0" tires. Rides go from smooth roads to crappy roads to mixed dirt- paved rides to smooth single tracks, rock gardens, and finally wallowing in snow and sand.

 

[Tom K.]

I never crash. Maybe I'm not trying hard enough...

Begging the universe to strike us down, now, are we?!

 

[scott43]

Begging the universe to strike us down, now, are we?!

I don't believe in the universe balance thing!!

 

[Superbman]

3 Bikes now:

1. Norco range (27.5)-used this as my full time ride for Trail and DH (20 plus days per season..) for two years until I bought,,,

2. Commencal DH Supreme V4.2 Race. 'Cause after a while, using an enduro rig for DH gets costly and abusive. I figure with 20 plus days of lift service a season I ought get a right an proper DH bike...it's way better.

3. First generation Banshee Paradox Hardtail set up with faster rolling tires. Great around the towner, Cape Cod Mountain bike (ToT, Nickerson, Otis NOT Rail Trail...hough it's fine for that too), and back up when Bike number one is down.

I would love Add a Trek Stache 29er Plus...'cause Jersey Skier is right about tires never being too big : )

DH biking is way, way, way more physically demanding than DH skiing-still not the cardio crushing of XC skiing, of course, but the best riders are jacked up fitness monkeys (similar to MX riders).

 

[at_nyc]

I don't have many mtn bikes. But that's only because I spent so much time riding road that I don't have enough time to ride my mountain bikes.

The reason for multiple bikes is the same as multiple skis: GEOMETRY!

Downhill bikes have much slack head angle and long travel suspensions. Basically "slow down" the jittery at high speed over rough terrain. It's usually overbuild to sustain the roughness the terrain it has to deal with. That makes it heavy.

XC bikes are minimalist, light as one can make it. All of it for climbing efficiency. But if you have to climb in rough terrain, a decent suspension means better traction. So a balance of weight vs suspension to achieve maximum climbing efficiency.

In between the two extremes, you can fit many bikes with different balance point of weight vs ruggedness.

Beyond functionality, mtn bike technology has improved quite a lot. Many of us "old timer" mtn bikers also have left over bikes with outdated technology. I have 2 perfectly functional bikes I rarely use these days. They were pretty good for their time but now really behind the curve. Sure, I can ride them. But I would have more fun riding the newer bikes.

I still have a pair of straight skis which I've never used for 10 years too. ;-)

 

[Crank]

No quiver here just 1 FS XC bottom of the line aluminum Kona Hei Hei and a Giant Defy road bike.

 

[DoryBreaux]

Commencal meta v3 - I didn't think I wanted to get back on a gravity bike until Commencal had a demo weekend at Northstar. Rode the Supreme 4.2, and totally remembered why big bikes are cool.