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Dec. 19, 2024, 12:20 p.m. -  Justin White

Depends on the beginner. Beginner at excercise in general? Or just beginner at mountain biking? I taught snowboad lessons for a while, and there were folks who had never seen snow but had done lots of, say, martial arts, or biking, or football. They would not have benefited from the equivalent of a "slow, stable, comfortable setup", because they already know how to use their bodies to manage energy, and know much more of their own physical limits. A flexy dull-edged board and soft flexy boots (safe and comfortable) wouldn't really help them beyond the very first turns, because they'll find the limits quickly and be less able to progress since that setup won't be able to keep up with what they can actually do, and especially with what they're trying to do next. A passenger might like slow, stable, comfortable, like a limo. But a _rider_, even a new one, would benefit more from something they can put their energy into and push against. It's like telling someone getting into running to just start in Crocs: slow, stable, comfortable, yup. And if it's all they have, hell yeah, do what you can! But if there is a choice, then obviously stiffer shoes that they can actually put energy into is going to be better from the get-go. Not saying jump right to track spikes or Kipchoge's super-shoes, because that's like Gwin's old 0% sag fork setup: you need experience to know how to manage the energies going in and coming out; but beginners don't need couches, they need coaches.

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