There seems to be a growing subset of people who ride what Higbee recently (and appropriately, I think) referred to as monster 'cross bikes. These are bikes that land closer to the cyclocross bikes than 29ers, but still sport bigger tires than you generally see on a true cyclocross race bike, and manage to do a fair job at anything but the most technical singletrack. Several examples below.
I'm curious about how this all came to be. Surely Matt Chester had a bit of influence, as well as the other contributors to the 63xc.com site.
More importantly, I'm curious why the people who ride setups like this don't ride a conventional mountain bike or 29er. What is it about skinny(ish) tires and little crotch clearance that rings your bell? For my part, the answer is easy. I came to offroad riding by way of "something to do inbetween touring". Fat tires went on the crosscheck (seen below) and I fell in love. I'm also always trying to keep my bike count to a minimum, so having a commuter, offroader, and touring bike in one was a very attractive notion.
I haven't ridding a true "mountain bike" since I was a kid. It seems like most people who choose a setup like this have a bit more experience with a variety of frame styles, so it can't ALL be ignorance, as in my case.
(I take it as further evidence of Matt Chester's influence that all of the pictured bikes have midge or dirtdrop bars.)
I'm curious about how this all came to be. Surely Matt Chester had a bit of influence, as well as the other contributors to the 63xc.com site.
More importantly, I'm curious why the people who ride setups like this don't ride a conventional mountain bike or 29er. What is it about skinny(ish) tires and little crotch clearance that rings your bell? For my part, the answer is easy. I came to offroad riding by way of "something to do inbetween touring". Fat tires went on the crosscheck (seen below) and I fell in love. I'm also always trying to keep my bike count to a minimum, so having a commuter, offroader, and touring bike in one was a very attractive notion.
I haven't ridding a true "mountain bike" since I was a kid. It seems like most people who choose a setup like this have a bit more experience with a variety of frame styles, so it can't ALL be ignorance, as in my case.




(I take it as further evidence of Matt Chester's influence that all of the pictured bikes have midge or dirtdrop bars.)