the best type of biking shame all the bridleways are suffering from traffic with no works but millions of downhill runs on one hill are having all the shovels the peak district is a modern day show case of this such a shame
I wish there was more xc content. For me - having come up in the 90’s - mountain biking starts with XC. Now in my mid 40’s after decades of mtb experience I still ride an xc bike… albeit a modern xc bike.
XC is sick af! I was a DH fan boy... but gotta say xc is more exciting to watch and pushes your limits of fitness and skill when you try it. Dh is still cool obviously
Best thing about XC is riding it! There's no better training for short, hard and wildly fun workouts. Pretty hard to get an endurance ride on them bcs you want to go up and down the moment you're riding an XC bike, but that's what gravel is for.
XC's great because it combines bike handling skills with supreme fitness. Rubbing elbows with other riders is exciting and you never stop progressing .....and I'm an old bloke!
I’ve never really cared about any other type of MTB, XC is simply the original and best way to ride. The downhill stuff seems to me to be fringe. With XC you’ve got it all, and best of all excellent fitness benefits, and you don’t need to go to a ski hill. Outside of XC racing, XC riding allows you to travel and explore loads of countryside and trails, or roads.
I think modern XC has gotten more like trail riding because of more technical courses. That’s a good thing because in the past those who trained mostly on the road would have an advantage in fitness but less technical skill because of the easier terrain.
I just bought my first mountain bike a couple of weeks ago! I got a Norco Storm 1, and it's light, fast, and eats up rough terrain that my sister's Bushpilot had difficulty taking on. I admit I use it on pavement 70% of the time, but the ability of the thing to blow through almost anything is really great.
Wanna go fast? Ride a trail on a heavy duty trail or enduro bike, then ride the same trail on an xc bike. Free speed! (Minus the cost of an xc bike) 😅🤪🤪🤪
Can't say I'll ever ride anything other than a XC hardtail, except of course when snow calls for a fat bike but even still a XC hardtail works well in snow, the people who make the trails just don't like you on them on it
The true 'all round' test of a bike rider; fitness of a road racer but the skills of DH/Enduro riders........No good at one of them, and you will struggle to trouble the World Cup podium..... I know it gets a bad rap, especially here in the UK where DH/Gravity is the main interest, but I don't know why......
Glad XC is thriving, I could never get into watching it as I find it terribly boring to watch compared to other MTB biking disciplines. But kudo's to those that do it and love it as it absolutely does take exceptional skill and endurance to compete in at a high level.
Having raced and ridden XC for thirty years I get why you put so much attention on "racing". After all, XC is about pedaling efficiency and going fast both up and down. Yet one doesn't have to be motivated by competition to enjoy XC. Hmm... what does that look like?
And why is that? How are other forms of riding a bicycle in mountainous terrain less ‘proper’? Clearly see light in different colours is a thing… 🤦🏻♂️
Reasons why I don't like XC: - Bike: at 100 kgs (no, I'm not fat, I'm tall), it would take an extremely expensive bike to be light. Any mid-price bike flexes and breaks like no other. And no, I'm not going to buy a $10K bike in ANY discipline that I ride. - Terrain: There's no bike parks around where I like, and I'm not going to travel 6+ hours to go to one. Training has got to be frequent, and what I have around me is extremely steep and broken terrain, suited for a bike with 65deg or less HA. Every bike day out is an adventure on going slow up, fast down. There are some XC races which I find extremely boring, basically like road racing but on dirt. And the lightweight tyres just have NO grip here (yeah, crashed a couple times HARD on 20cm deep dust when my 2.3 XC tyre finally found a slanted rut and pulled my front wheel sideways. The terrain (and my weight) call for 2.6, enduro casing, full on blocks tyre like an Assegai, because if it's not dusty it's rocky, mossy, muddy or so many leaves that you don't even touch dirt. Oh yeah, there are some XC riders but they only touch the wider, compacted roads which I find extremely boring. For these reasons, a HCHT is the better suited. Some would argue a FS, but for my weight, they flex too much (yeah, I'm talking sideways). And if I want to get no flex, I would need to look at an Atherton and again that would make it prohibitively expensive, so HCHT it is. So, I'm a Trail rider, maybe an Enduro rider one day. But on a hardtail. Because I just refuse to spend more than $3K on a bike. By conviction.
Sound like a very specific “you” problem trying to be pinned on XC mountain biking. I”m 6’ 2”, love XC. Also don’t have dedicated “XC” terrain, but the beauty of XC is that you can make the best of whatever terrain is available to you (gravel, pavement, downhill), sure XC isn’t ideal for any of those, but you can do any of those.
Do you love XC?
love riding my sworks ht all over
Yes, more xc content pleasee
the best type of biking shame all the bridleways are suffering from traffic with no works but millions of downhill runs on one hill are having all the shovels the peak district is a modern day show case of this such a shame
Yes
I wish there was more xc content. For me - having come up in the 90’s - mountain biking starts with XC. Now in my mid 40’s after decades of mtb experience I still ride an xc bike… albeit a modern xc bike.
Today, my modern XC bike has about double the travel of my "downhill" MTB from the mid 90's! :)
@@doachs I totally believe it!
A hardtail xc is a weapon for all types of riding. Xc, city, bagpacking, exercise, etc. It's awesome and I love mine!
Pleased to hear it!
~ Will
XC is sick af! I was a DH fan boy... but gotta say xc is more exciting to watch and pushes your limits of fitness and skill when you try it. Dh is still cool obviously
Enduro/Trail/DH over XC when watching World Cup or CZcams videos, but for actual riding XC all the way!
Best thing about XC is riding it! There's no better training for short, hard and wildly fun workouts. Pretty hard to get an endurance ride on them bcs you want to go up and down the moment you're riding an XC bike, but that's what gravel is for.
XC for people that value fitness. All around I believe xc is the best discipline. Requires both fitness and skills
XC's great because it combines bike handling skills with supreme fitness. Rubbing elbows with other riders is exciting and you never stop progressing .....and I'm an old bloke!
I’ve never really cared about any other type of MTB, XC is simply the original and best way to ride. The downhill stuff seems to me to be fringe. With XC you’ve got it all, and best of all excellent fitness benefits, and you don’t need to go to a ski hill. Outside of XC racing, XC riding allows you to travel and explore loads of countryside and trails, or roads.
I think modern XC has gotten more like trail riding because of more technical courses. That’s a good thing because in the past those who trained mostly on the road would have an advantage in fitness but less technical skill because of the easier terrain.
Such a pity it’s not covered by Red Bull TV
I thought that Ashton Lambie was a track rider
I just bought my first mountain bike a couple of weeks ago! I got a Norco Storm 1, and it's light, fast, and eats up rough terrain that my sister's Bushpilot had difficulty taking on. I admit I use it on pavement 70% of the time, but the ability of the thing to blow through almost anything is really great.
ATB for the win!
Most mountain bikes never go near or up a mountain. 😊❤
Did Bike radar stop watching the racing 1/2 way through the year? Womens U23 XCO was not as described.
How low and out front are the handlebars mounted? I can't tell if there is 0 rise and mounted low, or mounted high with steep drop angle.
I do! I love XC! XC > Enduro > DH
Wanna go fast? Ride a trail on a heavy duty trail or enduro bike, then ride the same trail on an xc bike. Free speed! (Minus the cost of an xc bike) 😅🤪🤪🤪
Can't say I'll ever ride anything other than a XC hardtail, except of course when snow calls for a fat bike but even still a XC hardtail works well in snow, the people who make the trails just don't like you on them on it
XCO!
The true 'all round' test of a bike rider; fitness of a road racer but the skills of DH/Enduro riders........No good at one of them, and you will struggle to trouble the World Cup podium.....
I know it gets a bad rap, especially here in the UK where DH/Gravity is the main interest, but I don't know why......
You said it “fitness of a road racer” =training, training, training.
I wish xc was more popular in the UK
Glad XC is thriving, I could never get into watching it as I find it terribly boring to watch compared to other MTB biking disciplines. But kudo's to those that do it and love it as it absolutely does take exceptional skill and endurance to compete in at a high level.
Having raced and ridden XC for thirty years I get why you put so much attention on "racing". After all, XC is about pedaling efficiency and going fast both up and down. Yet one doesn't have to be motivated by competition to enjoy XC. Hmm... what does that look like?
What’s the future for hardtails 100mm or 120mm fork suspensions?
Amazing for climbing, low cost to maintain, and overall reduced weight; just remember that fs bike is more of a marketing item than a true need.
I've noticed a lot of xc bikes only have 100mm of suspension, is that enough to ride somewhat comfortably?
Wheels and tires can make the difference there, that means a hardtail with 2.4 tires could be more comfy than a fs with 2.2 tires.
@@javierflip89 that makes sense if it's tubeless
Yes it will work fine
30mm of travel on a gravel bike with 40c tires is comfy. 100mm is vunderbar
XC is the only proper MTB cycling
And this is why I will never care lol
I did not know I’ve been improperly riding my mountain bike for all these years.
And why is that? How are other forms of riding a bicycle in mountainous terrain less ‘proper’? Clearly see light in different colours is a thing… 🤦🏻♂️
Gatekeeper's are everywhere all throughout time
anything that involves lycra will never be considered the “proper” discipline 🤭
XC is trying to mtb
Man made trails are great but natural terrain is more environmentally friendly
Reasons why I don't like XC:
- Bike: at 100 kgs (no, I'm not fat, I'm tall), it would take an extremely expensive bike to be light. Any mid-price bike flexes and breaks like no other. And no, I'm not going to buy a $10K bike in ANY discipline that I ride.
- Terrain: There's no bike parks around where I like, and I'm not going to travel 6+ hours to go to one. Training has got to be frequent, and what I have around me is extremely steep and broken terrain, suited for a bike with 65deg or less HA. Every bike day out is an adventure on going slow up, fast down.
There are some XC races which I find extremely boring, basically like road racing but on dirt. And the lightweight tyres just have NO grip here (yeah, crashed a couple times HARD on 20cm deep dust when my 2.3 XC tyre finally found a slanted rut and pulled my front wheel sideways. The terrain (and my weight) call for 2.6, enduro casing, full on blocks tyre like an Assegai, because if it's not dusty it's rocky, mossy, muddy or so many leaves that you don't even touch dirt.
Oh yeah, there are some XC riders but they only touch the wider, compacted roads which I find extremely boring.
For these reasons, a HCHT is the better suited. Some would argue a FS, but for my weight, they flex too much (yeah, I'm talking sideways). And if I want to get no flex, I would need to look at an Atherton and again that would make it prohibitively expensive, so HCHT it is.
So, I'm a Trail rider, maybe an Enduro rider one day. But on a hardtail. Because I just refuse to spend more than $3K on a bike. By conviction.
What was that salad all about, pretty pointless comment.
Sound like a very specific “you” problem trying to be pinned on XC mountain biking. I”m 6’ 2”, love XC. Also don’t have dedicated “XC” terrain, but the beauty of XC is that you can make the best of whatever terrain is available to you (gravel, pavement, downhill), sure XC isn’t ideal for any of those, but you can do any of those.
No disrespect, but XC ain't for me. I don't like anything over 25mm rubber, flat top handlebars, riding on anything except pure asphalt.
xc is just using the wrong tool for the job