Read that before you read this.
Once again PinkBike goes out on a limb and tries to be edgy by writing opinion articles,here at TEAM DUMPED! we have a little feature of our own we go to from time to time,and it's called "What we think of the shit in this article."So join us,won't you?
Talent vs. Travel-
Now i'm gonna somewhat agree with Mr. Levy here.I do believe that most folks should start out on a rather basic bike,but starting out on a hardtail won't necessarily make you a fucking awesome rider on a full suspension bike.Jumping headfirst into a downhill bike isn't the key to making you a shitty rider,either.You could just outright suck on any bike.I've seen plenty of people who think they can just plow through any section on a trail soley based off of how much money they spent on their bike.That's just today's cyclists for you.It's 98% bike,2% rider.You can suck on a $500 hardtail,you can suck on a $6,000 hardtail,and you can suck on a $10,000 downhill bike.
You're not a pro-
Yeah,i'm not a pro,but that doesn't mean I don't want nice shit.That lawyer over there isn't Michael Schumacher but he drives a fucking Ferrari.I'm not Aaron Gwin,so I can't have 8'' of Kashima covered suspesnion all held together with carbon and shiny alumnium?Spending $600 a month to have some washed up ex-weight lifter who occasionaly throws a leg over his Trek road bike from 2002 e-mail me pages out of Men's Health is a better way to make me faster than taking that money and putting it towards a fucking sweet bike and a season pass?I think not.I'm not even going to touch the idea of buying Lee McCormack and Brian Lopes's book.I'm a pudgy Cat.2 who works on bikes all day and i'm pretty sure I can put the screws to Mr.McCormack and his 29er on my downhill bike on any given day.
Sorry,your trails aren't that burly-
You know what,Mike,you're right.They aren't.But you know what makes me ride faster?Confidance in myself,and you know what makes me confidant in myself?A slack ass headangle,a low ass BB,and a combined total of 16'' of coil sprung Watsonville goodness.Let me throw you knee deep into some regular ass trails on a 1996 Ground Control and you tell me you're comfortable.
Why short travel?-
You say none of us ride because we like going fast?You sir,are fucked if you believe that.I'd wager a dollar and say that most people are far more afraid of picking their way down a near trials level section of trail than they are cruising their way down a meandering set of Daytona berms.Speed is fun.That's why there's bicycle races.That "rear end breaking loose" and "pulling G's through berms" doesn't happen if you're going 7.It happens if you're hauling ass.I'm not out there to make memories with my bro's by doing manuals in front of the sunset and high five after we all clear that double.I'm out there to throw some roost,skip through some rocks and probably get in over my head a couple of times.Once again we come to this,what makes you haul ass?Being comfortable.And what makes you more comfortable?Slack and squish.
Skill not suspension-
I don't want to have a conversation with the trail.I want to find out where it lives,beat the shit out of it,than light it's front yard on fire.Aren't you fuckers always preaching that 29er's provide a more stable and forgiving ride and now you're trying to convince me that I want to get a hardtail and "hone" my skills out on the trails?It's not about skill,it's about that fact that you're simply too old to enjoy riding a downhill bike anymore.You want and need calmer terrain,less money spent,and more time to "bro out".Look,I made a graph to illustrate
Don't force feed me your flavor of the week.I don't want to exclusively ride what the bike companies are selling the most of,which in turn makes it the hottest shit this week,because the hottest shit the week before last was 29er's,last week's hot shit was 650b,and this weeks hot shit anything that isn't DH bikes.Good riddance,I say.Less people on my trails and less people in line for the lift.
All of this was brought to you in part by Mike Levy and PinkBike.
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| 2 finger rear brake smash,29'',freeride flick! |
