Nice work Dan! As long as long as you have 2 wheels spinning it's good to go IMO. Coming from a guy who loves dirt, I have so much fun with any style of riding. If I had to pick one, it would absolutely be mountain biking, but I plan to ride until I am old and if you don't have time to try different styles of riding you are truly missing out on the true capacity and potential of bicycles. Life is too short not to keep an open mind.
Vid: Dan Barham - Why #1
There are a lot of narrow minded people out there that cannot understand wanting to try something new or doing something else.
Get out and ride your bike, be a cyclist, not a mountain biker. Try it, you might just like it.
It's amazing how many people just don't get this.
Riding bikes = freedom. The less you have to rely on anything else, the more freedom you have. Road riding/XC from your house are amazing for that.
Couldn't agree more with Dan on road vs mtb. I bought my first road bike 3 weeks ago and have clocked 830 km on it so far. It's so smooth and fast! I was having chronic knee problems on my mtb, so I wanted to try road to see if it would help. So far it has. I'm not quiting mtb, but I'm never going to quit road either now that I've tried it.
It's amazing how many people just don't get this.
Riding bikes = freedom. The less you have to rely on anything else, the more freedom you have. Road riding/XC from your house are amazing for that.
this is the freedom I feel :)
I ride 2 miles from my house and I am in the woods, enjoying miles of great XC riding, same goes for road rides on my sports hybrid, straight up a big road hill and then plenty of fast road mileage
never liked the need to have to take additional transport to get somewhere to then ride my bike? when I have my bike itself :)
Great vid. I've been training on my road bike for the Ride to Conquer Cancer this year and have had to trade up primo mountain bike weather time for long, long road rides. But, I admit, I am starting to like it more. Not that it will ever replace mountain biking, but the hum of a road bike as you fly down the road or the rhythmic cadence of a continuous pedal is quite appealing. I like the distance I can cover on a road bike and the top speeds you can achieve while feeling absolutely connected with the bike and road beneath you. Banking a tight corner on a bike with no suspension at 70 kph is a pretty damn cool feeling IMO. However, as the mechanics at the bike shop can attest, I have a problem where I ride my road bike a little like my mountain bike when it comes to jumping on curbs and stuff on my commute to work :)
On a side note, a weird thing that I've observed while riding back and forth up marine drive and hwy 99 for the past number of months I've been riding road. Do the majority of roadies not understand shifting? I am stunned by the number of people I have encountered that try to hammer up the hill on a stupid high gear to only go slower than me cruising by in a low gear or I've seen sooo many try to shift aggressively at the last moment while they are on the climb, grinding the shit out of their gears and chain. Then they blame bike for not shifting properly?? What's the deal? I see the people on the niiiicest bikes with all the fancy gear in roadie packs doing this, they can't all be that novice. Is it because we shift so much more frequently as determined by the terrain on a mountain bike we don't mind dropping the ratio to help us get up the hill, whereas the road cycling culture is about hammering the shiz out of your pedals at red-line? … mind you, there are those guys that do this and pass me on the up hill as if I were standing still.
"You know what's wrong with Vancouver? You can't pee off of your own balcony without getting in trouble"
- Phil Gordon
road is awesome. If I lived in the valley I'd probably get back into it.
Is it because we shift so much more frequently as determined by the terrain on a mountain bike we don't mind dropping the ratio to help us get up the hill, whereas the road cycling culture is about hammering the shiz out of your pedals at red-line?
could just be a part of their training - pushing big gears to build power. Going slower to go faster.
could just be a part of their training - pushing big gears to build power. Going slower to go faster.
ahhh … okay.
"You know what's wrong with Vancouver? You can't pee off of your own balcony without getting in trouble"
- Phil Gordon
I don't have enough time to keep my legs shaved to really commit to road riding.
Not for me. The trees don't try to run you over, and a 4:1 ratio over the last 6 years proves it. Ride safe!
could just be a part of their training - pushing big gears to build power. Going slower to go faster.
That is true. It builds strength in your legs which makes you faster both in climbing and in the sprints to the finish.
The other big difference is the learning curve is long. To carry the endurance to do 200 km rides well (in decent time) takes a long time, but put the effort in with long rides, lots of miles and it pays off. I love riding up hills with ease that I used to struggle with, or carrying high speed over the flats.
Not for me. The trees don't try to run you over, and a 4:1 ratio over the last 6 years proves it. Ride safe!
Half the problems with cyclists being hit are themselves. It is a two way relationship on the road. I ride lead for Steed Cycles on most of the rides and the first thing I tell everyone is be aware of your surroundings. Shoulder check, shoulder check, shoulder check. And hold your line, don't weave all over the place. Mountain bikers have the hardest time with this because unless you are playing tire buzz on ALine, you seldom have another rider/vehicle close, and you don't need to pick a line because the number of obsticles on the road is much, much less than on a trail. The number of times that I have been cut off by another cyclist is insane. But when you are on a bike, you are a vehicle on the road that has to observe the same rules that apply to all.
I am sick of hearing the arguments from both sides of the car/bike debate. Yes there are really bad drivers, but on the flip side there are a tone of really bad cyclists as well. Be aware of your suroundings! If everyone paid attention less accidents would happen in general. It just looks bad from the cyclists points of view because the result of the car plus bicycle equation never equals out.
I watched a guy on a bike almost get hit by a train at Gilmour in Burnaby the other day. I guess the lift gates on the road and the train coming down the tracks wasn't enough notifcation.
Not for me. The trees don't try to run you over, and a 4:1 ratio over the last 6 years proves it. Ride safe!
It's called natural selection..
no helmets, no signals, lane splitting, running lights/stop signs, etc.
I have no sympathy for that.
Is there a Vancouver in Taiwan?! I had no idea!!
Nothing sums up my life's achievements like my stuffed corpse, suplexing a cougar.
On a side note, a weird thing that I've observed while riding back and forth up marine drive and hwy 99 for the past number of months I've been riding road. Do the majority of roadies not understand shifting? I am stunned by the number of people I have encountered that try to hammer up the hill on a stupid high gear to only go slower than me cruising by in a low gear or I've seen sooo many try to shift aggressively at the last moment while they are on the climb, grinding the shit out of their gears and chain. Then they blame bike for not shifting properly?? What's the deal? I see the people on the niiiicest bikes with all the fancy gear in roadie packs doing this, they can't all be that novice. Is it because we shift so much more frequently as determined by the terrain on a mountain bike we don't mind dropping the ratio to help us get up the hill, whereas the road cycling culture is about hammering the shiz out of your pedals at red-line? … mind you, there are those guys that do this and pass me on the up hill as if I were standing still.
Kind of like mountain bikers that shift into their lowest gear at the merest hint of an uphill. Wouldn't want to strain a muscle eh. Just folks with limited experience. I see people spinning road bikes way too much as well. It takes time and experience to learn what works for an individual. I always try to start a significant hill in a gear I know I can do it in, then maybe shift up halfway to a higher gear to push over the top. Then higher yet after the road starts to drop because you can't spin right away after a hill push.
Debate? Bikes are made for riding not pushing.
Kind of like mountain bikers that shift into their lowest gear at the merest hint of an uphill. Wouldn't want to strain a muscle eh. Just folks with limited experience. I see people spinning road bikes way too much as well. It takes time and experience to learn what works for an individual. I always try to start a significant hill in a gear I know I can do it in, then maybe shift up halfway to a higher gear to push over the top. Then higher yet after the road starts to drop because you can't spin right away after a hill push.
heh … yeah, I guess I grew up mtn biking for fun and not the racing side of things so uphill was always a means of getting me to the downhill.
"You know what's wrong with Vancouver? You can't pee off of your own balcony without getting in trouble"
- Phil Gordon
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