I figured this title would get some attention and I had some questions. I went riding for the first time today in a long time. I've had a recent surge of interest in biking and today just fueled that. The thing in question is whether or not I want to get into freeriding as much as I did before. I was sorta scared to go off some drops because I had never tried before. I know a large part of riding is confidence and I didn't really have that on my old ass bike. My question is, how did you progress into freeriding? I'm on the verge of getting a bike and I'm debating between a Kona Dawg-Delux and a SC Bullit. I think if i rode ethier of those bikes I'd feel a lot more confident, but I'm not sure if I'm going to want to go big for a while. Any insight would be great.
Am I a *****?
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i ride a warp and i agree its about confidence. i would go for bullit so when you want to go big its ready for it.Gman said:
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The only advice i have is it takes time. Like anything else u want to excel in u just have to do it over and over. Just practice practice practice. Ur skills will improve w/ time. I've been riding 4 more than 12 yrs and only in the last 2 yrs have i been pushing myself. Ifonly i had the balls to push myself since day 1... In 32 now and doing stuff i couldnt even dream of as a 21 yr old. 14 ft drops at 32 r pretty cool. Anyway just keep at it. Getting over the fear is the challenging part. ride w/ people better than u to get u motivated. Just enjoy urself to.Gman said:
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Bullits can be built up to cover quite a range of riding styles, and can more than likely grow with you as your confidence builds.
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i find
i find i have more confidence on bikes that are small and flickable. i ride a small norco drop and love it im 5' 9" at 180# i also huck around a P2 with a JRT and a norco five hun.
its all in the head though some kind of suspention does inspire confindence. riding with ppl who have experince helps to cuz you can see them do the drop / jump n see how its done.
i find i have more confidence on bikes that are small and flickable. i ride a small norco drop and love it im 5' 9" at 180# i also huck around a P2 with a JRT and a norco five hun.
its all in the head though some kind of suspention does inspire confindence. riding with ppl who have experince helps to cuz you can see them do the drop / jump n see how its done.
in it's current setup its poised to be a very good free ride orientated bike, but ive been told i could make it more XC orientated by swapping things like wheels, tires, fork, and some other stuff. I like the bullit because i feel i wouldnt need something new for a while, versus the kona, i think i might outgrow in a year or so.
G
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·Going from the EXR comp on the p2, and then putting on the Junior T, huge confidence boost. I go 2 times as large.NRTH SHORE said:
what was 5 foot drops and 15 foot gaps is now 10 foot drops and 30 foot gaps.
would of never gone as big as I do now with an exr comp.
Get the bullit if you can afford it man. Whats the build on it? Once you get on a steed that has beef cake parts and suspension, it will just be a matter of a few months that you'll go from curb drops to 60ft red bull rampage hits.................................................well not really, but you get my point. If your considering a Kona, look at the coiler or stinky, but I say go for the bullit, those are sick bikes and you can lighten them up as mentioned or make them full on big hit bikes. Don't worry about what everyone else is doing, just ride what your comfortable doing, and push yourself as you feel comfortable. Small leaps and bounds in a summer can bring forth the confidence you need to achieve that next level that your seeking.Gman said:
Good luck man!
oh, i'd look into rockymountains or transitions....[email protected] said:
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The Bullit or Coiler would be a much better bike to grow with. Either one is not so heavy that you can't ride trails but strong enough for some serious action. The Dawg's not for freeride.
The Bullit can be built up or down depending on your skill level and type of riding. Get a lighter build first and as you go bigger swap parts as needed. It's a great frame that will last years.
If you're on a budget, or are unsure about commiting to biking, take a look some offerings from Iron Horse or Haro, among others.
A full suspension bike can take up a lot of slack from rider errors that a hardtail can't. On the other hand I believe that learning to ride a hardtail smoothly will make you a much better rider in the end.
I too recently got back into biking (last november). I'm no pro, but since I got my full sus (cuz I broke my hardtail) 3 mths ago, I have made a lot of progress. What I did was start small. Jumped off 2 steps, then 3, 4 etc. I found a 2' trail drop-off to slight transition and went for it, then 3,4,8 etc.(8's next for me, tomorrow) I practice riding on curbs or 2x4's to gain balance. Practice wheelies, etc. I don't know how big you've gone, but keep pushing yourself to do things your afraid of. When you do, you'll find that the only thing holding you back is fear, not skill.
Get the right gear, helmets, protectors etc. and avoid clip-on pedals. And of course...go for it.
The Bullit can be built up or down depending on your skill level and type of riding. Get a lighter build first and as you go bigger swap parts as needed. It's a great frame that will last years.
If you're on a budget, or are unsure about commiting to biking, take a look some offerings from Iron Horse or Haro, among others.
A full suspension bike can take up a lot of slack from rider errors that a hardtail can't. On the other hand I believe that learning to ride a hardtail smoothly will make you a much better rider in the end.
I too recently got back into biking (last november). I'm no pro, but since I got my full sus (cuz I broke my hardtail) 3 mths ago, I have made a lot of progress. What I did was start small. Jumped off 2 steps, then 3, 4 etc. I found a 2' trail drop-off to slight transition and went for it, then 3,4,8 etc.(8's next for me, tomorrow) I practice riding on curbs or 2x4's to gain balance. Practice wheelies, etc. I don't know how big you've gone, but keep pushing yourself to do things your afraid of. When you do, you'll find that the only thing holding you back is fear, not skill.
Get the right gear, helmets, protectors etc. and avoid clip-on pedals. And of course...go for it.
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for me, i find that things are alot easier than i assume that they are and when i hit it and grease it, i'm kicking myself for hesitating.
just go out there and give it your best. it's a little more mental than the bike. i was doing 7ft. drops on my XC hardtail with only 100mm of travel. probably shouldn't have and it hurt alot,but it was worth it. didn't think and just went for it.
just go out there and give it your best. it's a little more mental than the bike. i was doing 7ft. drops on my XC hardtail with only 100mm of travel. probably shouldn't have and it hurt alot,but it was worth it. didn't think and just went for it.
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It's all about confidence, and there some things that YOU can do to improve it as you begin to develope your skills -
1.Get a decent bike. Yes you can do alot of things with a hardtail, but when i bought my Bullit, the bike itself inspired confidence. It feels like it wants to be hucked, so I comply
2.Get some pads. I never used pads, and used to come home with knees all jacked up, elbows banged to hell, and finally spent a few bucks on some armor, and haven't had to hobble around ever since. Pads WILL inspire confidence, and keep you from the docs office.
3.Ride with someone that knows how to do the stuff you want to. My first trip to N*, I had never ridden DH, and did OK. The next time I went with a friend who was great, and by the end of the day, I was doing stuff that I would have never tried on my own. So ride with someone and watch them to learn skills.
4.You can also get a video or some books that can teach you some basic techniques that will get you where you want to go. That's what I am doing now...
1.Get a decent bike. Yes you can do alot of things with a hardtail, but when i bought my Bullit, the bike itself inspired confidence. It feels like it wants to be hucked, so I comply
2.Get some pads. I never used pads, and used to come home with knees all jacked up, elbows banged to hell, and finally spent a few bucks on some armor, and haven't had to hobble around ever since. Pads WILL inspire confidence, and keep you from the docs office.
3.Ride with someone that knows how to do the stuff you want to. My first trip to N*, I had never ridden DH, and did OK. The next time I went with a friend who was great, and by the end of the day, I was doing stuff that I would have never tried on my own. So ride with someone and watch them to learn skills.
4.You can also get a video or some books that can teach you some basic techniques that will get you where you want to go. That's what I am doing now...
I think #3 is a big one. I went out riding yesterday and met some guys that were going off stuff and I wasn't comfortable doing a lot of what they were doing but it was still good to see that it could be done.bullit71 said:It's all about confidence, and there some things that YOU can do to improve it as you begin to develope your skills -
1.Get a decent bike. Yes you can do alot of things with a hardtail, but when i bought my Bullit, the bike itself inspired confidence. It feels like it wants to be hucked, so I comply
2.Get some pads. I never used pads, and used to come home with knees all jacked up, elbows banged to hell, and finally spent a few bucks on some armor, and haven't had to hobble around ever since. Pads WILL inspire confidence, and keep you from the docs office.
3.Ride with someone that knows how to do the stuff you want to. My first trip to N*, I had never ridden DH, and did OK. The next time I went with a friend who was great, and by the end of the day, I was doing stuff that I would have never tried on my own. So ride with someone and watch them to learn skills.
4.You can also get a video or some books that can teach you some basic techniques that will get you where you want to go. That's what I am doing now...
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