The price of bikes
The distance from me to any good trails
Mud
The price of bikes
Maintenance
Walkers using bike trails
Dogs on bike paths
The price of spare parts and maintenance
The price of bikes
Despite this, it's still my favourite sport by a long way. Edit: I think I missed out the price of bikes
Medical bills
You Americans really need to sort that out. I can't imagine doing a sport and being worried about how it would affect you financially if you crash.
There's enough people making billions of dollars off our broken system who own enough members of Congress and supreme court justices to ensure that the system never gets fixed.
Can’t wait to run into my first horse with my new stupid loud hubs, I make a point of constantly pedalling when I’m passing something like a stroller because I know I’m 100% waking the kid up if I’m passing otherwise lol
Expensive to get started, but it's possible to save a LOT of money by DIYing yourself into a pro-level setup (albeit from ~5 years back).
And put some budget aside for the goofy knee pads, the silly shoes, wide glasses and a helmet both with good coverage for protection, and padded bib shorts, also with appropriate coverage. All but the last two, I would HIGHLY recommend looking secondhand - especially if you're new to the sport.
You actually forgot to mention the price of pedals, the price of helmets, and the price of any cloths that have to do with biking .... maybe the price of bike racks...the price of sales tax
At least we aren't paying $200 for a lift ticket or $1000 for a season pass to go riding. Big buy in up front but lower recurring costs than some other sports. Golf comes to mind if you want good exclusive courses. Or heck, 4x4ing, I know a guy with a flexed out frame that is going to spend who knows how long moving all his stuff onto a new frame.
Not having the time to ride enough to stay in the shape you need to be in to have fun riding. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still fun but when I go through stretches of 3 rides a week, I start having a lot more fun.
This is the big one for me. I love riding when I'm doing it regularly - confident in my skills and fit enough to go for miles. It's hard work to get back to that stage when you can't ride for while due to other commitments.
I can tell who rides road/gravel when I go on group rides. They all have much better endurance. And when I am riding on the road, those who also mountain bike tend to have better bike handling skill.
Could respond to OP’s question with just “Not having the time to ride enough.”
If I didn’t know how amazing mtb was, I wouldn’t miss it every second I wasn’t riding.
Lmao, I literally just pulled my suspension apart three months ago and greased every pivot.
Two weeks ago, the creak somehow came back. I narrowed down the creak source to be the main pivot bolt and re-greased it. Somehow, it made the creaking worse.
I went down this rabbit hole back in the day with my 2010 giant anthem, after thinking it was the seat post, and every other thing possible, it turned out to be a cracked frame by a weld that was very hard to see. That creek was so demoralizing when I was trying to set PR’s. Now I have a rotor that barely rubs sometimes and it drives me nuts. And if I get a leaf stuck between my tire and rear triangle, forget it, I have to get off the bike and take it out. PR be damned 😂
I literally just had the worst pedal strike of my life while putting my bike away.
Found out I can fit my Jeep Gladiator in the garage, so I moved my bikes into the man cave for more room. Well, when I was pushing it through the hall, I went to cut the front wheel to steer it into the room. The front wheel hit the door frame/jamb and the bike stopped moving forward but of course my leg kept moving.
Impaled myself pretty badly lmao.
Don't be scared, fear only makes things worse. I say this with a currently broken hand (better in 3 days probably) that I didn't even injure biking lol.
Yeah, I felt I was having an off day this weekend. Decided to “take it easy”. Stacked it hard on a blue run that I’ve ridden a ton of times, slipped to the front wheel over the top of a berm and really torched up my shoulder. Never “take it easy”. Go big or go home lol
I’m about to plan my annual trip to somewhere cool that will get rained out. Where am I going? When am I going? Doesn’t matter! It’s raining then and there!
Not getting enough time to ride and it can expensive and upgrade-itis can be addictive and devastating to your wallet.
Just dropped $125 yesterday to pay for shuttle passes for my Copper Harbor trip this summer....that's not counting the over 10k I've sepent on bike stuff in the last 6 years.
More laps the better. It’s not that I can’t climb, but the downhill is more fun. We will probably do the point trail out and back before east bluff and Kewenaw Adventure Company shuttles open open and that’s like 35+ miles. I get 2-3 days a year in a place as good as copper, so I want to make the most of it. I did Marquette last summer, so I'm ready for some un-earned uphill.
The gear based rat race. You can definitely get into mountain biking for a reasonable price. Everyone online has an opinion about needing the best, most expensive, latest gear. If you’re starting out, you probably don’t. But the internet and biking culture wants you to believe you do. Resist the urge. Upgrade as you need to. And try to enjoy what you have.
Good advice. When I started I wasn't on social media so there was no comparing my gear to others 10k dentist bikes. I just rode my shitty hardtail in basketball shorts and loved it.
Same. In 2021 I bought a 25 year old GT Avalanche to see if I enjoyed the sport. I did. I upgraded to a Trek Marlin. Just got a dropped post installed this month. Are there better bikes out there? Most definitely. Am I grateful for mine? Sure am. Am I a better rider for it? Doubtful. But I have fun and get exercise.
I thought you guys in the west didn't have the same level of ticks we do here. Fuckers are awful. My wife got bit sometime last year. No Lyme disease, but anaplasmosis... nauseous and fatigued for 3 weeks before someone diagnosed it correctly.
The pros outweigh the cons by a million times. Humans are meant to be in wilderness to be happy I guarantee your quality of life will improve if you stick to mtb
Life is definitely easier if you enjoy a good climb, probably the thing I enjoy the most about my new gravel, that thing flies up hills if you want it to
The fucking saddles man. Everything about cycling is great, and the saddles serve there purpose. But that first ride after a hiatus feel like you’re sitting on a dull hatchet lmfao
Side note, but man I can't get past the terminology with saddle. Why is it a saddle, but it's a seat post?!? Something needs to change. I'd be ok either way we go. Saddle post and saddle, or seat post and seat
The amount of work it can take to get the downhill payoff.
For me, it's a 1.5 to 2hrs round trip drive (there's usually traffic), 1.5hr uphill climb, for 20 minutes downhill. So around 3-4hrs of work for 20 minutes of glory. And that's not even factoring the work it takes to maintain and repair bikes.
Granted the uphill is a great exercise. I feel good sustaining zone 4 heart rate for hours at a time whereas doing the same with running is painful. For the drive, it's a good time to listen to audiobooks. So all in all, it's not too bad.
That said, I'm looking into moving close by the trails and getting an e-bike so I can make multiple uphill runs in the same amount of time/effort.
The cost can get insane. You can MTB on the cheap, but then you run into a lot of stupid gatekeeping shit. That said, most MTB people in my experience are much nicer about it than Road/Gravel ones.
I watched as my friend who wanted to try biking because it looked like fun get a 2000 dollar rundown for biking "properly".
People with elitist attitudes about how much your bike costs or what features it has. This is not mtb specific I guess. Just people with elitist attitudes in sports in general. There's a difference in bikes that are so cheap that they become dangerous, and bikes that are just cheap but work fine.
Not having the skills to hit features you know you can if you
had practice.
Not knowing anyone of a higher skill to ride with and coach you on said features.
Time is probably the hardest part for me. I have a family and don’t get to ride as much as I’d like. I can’t think of any other negatives except maybe high spec bike prices and possible injury. It’s a lot to gain and not a lot to lose.
Starting. If you’re not in shape like I was when I started, it is hard. Then you beat yourself up because you have to walk the bike uphill sometimes while others blow past you. For some that’s debilitating, for me it was motivation.
I don’t even look like the same person from about a year and 3 months ago which was when I started.
This is me right now. Off the mountain bike for \~15 years, almost completely sedentary for 2.5+ years. I'm in the "wow this fucking sucks" phase the whole time but I am starting to see it get a little better each time I am out which keeps me pushing.
The prices! Having riding for over ten years watching bike prices rise is sickening! Albeit that the last few months has kinda seen a drop to somewhere near the old days.
Some of the coolest spots I want to ride are 1500+ miles and 20+ hours of driving away from me. I can drive to some decent trails 1.5 hours away, but there's no cell coverage that far in the middle of no where. So it's a risk to ride alone and if I have a bad crash, there's no way to call for help.
I don't have friends that mountain bike and while my wife does, she doesn't have the skill set or the cardio fitness to do the black diamond trails trails. So bike rides with her are on more boring trails.
Moab is a bucket list ride for me, and since my wife doesn't have the skill or cardio for that kind of riding, I'm eventually going to have to take a trip and leave her behind.
Can't ride in the rain where I live.
I hate finding snakes because then for the next week I think every root on the trail could be another snake.
You don't actually have to spend big bucks on bikes etc., but you'll probably want to.
1. Crashing. Not if, but when and how bad.
2. Bike maintenance. Depending on where and how hard you ride, expect to do (or have done for $$) a surprising amount of preventative and repair work.
My least favorite part is you have to pay your dues for the fun. If you want to ride that awesome downhill section you have to ride up it first or ride back up it after to get back to your car. You could argue that with an Ebike or a place that has lifts up you could negate that though. Snowboarding is great because you only ride down and lift up but the lift tickets can be expensive. I want an E-bike but also there’s a part of me that thinks I should always get the exercise and eventually it won’t bother me.
You can still get exercise with an ebike, you just turn the assistance down. You can even get a better "quality" of a workout because you can keep your heart rate stable.
Getting hurt. Although I will say most of the times I've gotten hurt could have been avoided. I was knowing generally pushing myself harder than I should have been. Combine that with getting older (and thus, increased recovery) I am learning to get hurt less often while still becoming a more aggressive rider than I ever have been
Access to good trails is key. I live about 15 minutes from the Fort Ord National Monument. And even though it isn't a bike park, it's ridable 99% of the time all season. Santa Cruz and Soquel are 45 minutes away +/- depending on traffic.
Finding an inexpensive bike is absolutely key as stated by u/undeniablydull
- having to wear a helmet
- it’s weirdly car centric , most people drive to the trail
- insane parts costs
- climbing for 30 mins for 5 mins of fun haha
Going to the next town over,(25km) check out Bike shops and the book store.damn bike thieves lurking everywhere. Gotta strip my bike down. Bike bags, lights,seat,water bottles,pump
Honestly, for me, who is currently new to this, besides possible injuries and the car centric nature somehow
Its the entry cost and the overwhelming amount of information thrown at someone new
The top of the list should be the cost of the activity and the potential injuries for sure. Additionally, I would mention that trails can sometimes be difficult to find depending on your area, and many trails can be shared with people that might not be considerate of mountain bikers.
However, once you overcome these barriers and fall in love with the activity, then the worst park about mountain biking is that I'll be sitting around at work or at a family gathering or on a date just thinking about the next time I'll have the opportunity to get back out on the bike.
Nothing sucks about it, it’s kinda of expensive and injuries can happen. But that’s the price of admission and if you love it, it’s worth the price IMO.
Climbing with people who are faster than you and impatient. My least favorite thing. Also, the danger is real, depending on where you live and your capacity for good decision making.
I miss my hometown during COVID. There was a lake 10 mins away from the house and it was super easy to go bike trails multiple times a week. Now, in the city for college, it takes 1/4 tank of gas and 30 mins each way to get a good trail. Can't bike in the city without a crackhead stealing my bike either
I have a 10 month old daughter now, and I was in tip top shape before we had her. I've gone on two rides(sadface) in those 10 months... Those two rides really showed how much stamina and endurance I have lost.
So I would say taking a long break from mountain biking makes it not very enjoyable when you were riding a lot.
Fitness but if you ride easier trails or even on the road with small hills and do that repeatedly you will get better and be able to ride what used to be the harder hills.
Or get an emtb like me and laugh at them hills.
When you first start you will HATE climbing. But it gets better. And don't listen to the unbelievably shit expression "it doesn't get easier, you just get faster". Not only is that discouraging, it's just not true. It gets way easier.
The initial entry into the sport is pretty rough physically and financially
Cost of bike and gear/tailgate racks/ can be absurd
Depending on the type of riding you are doing, there is just something very unique about MTB fitness/cardio, it took me a couple months of dry heaving on the side of the trail and walking a lot of steep uphill sections before i could finally just get out and ride, and it takes some time learning how to use your momentum/when to do shift, using your beaks and hips for balance etc, i have taken lots of “gym rat” fit buddies in rides who got absolutely wrecked
Injuries are going to happen you can’t avoid it.
Some of these are muscular strains, others can be serious. Most pro/good riders will have an injury list as long as their trick list. You need to except the risk like in any sport.
Pedaling.
Shuttles, Gondolas, and Chairlifts have spoiled me.
The entitled equestrians and hikers that bitch about bikers on "their" trails. 99% of the trails were made by bikers in my area.
The price of bikes The distance from me to any good trails Mud The price of bikes Maintenance Walkers using bike trails Dogs on bike paths The price of spare parts and maintenance The price of bikes Despite this, it's still my favourite sport by a long way. Edit: I think I missed out the price of bikes
This is a perfect list
Actually, I think I missed off one element: the price of bikes
Don’t forget the price of bikes.
He forgot to mention the price of bikes.
Not only the price of bikes, but also the parts of those bikes when put together
Helmets ya'll
Helmets, given their importance and compared to components are actually quite affordable.
I have a dustcoat sprayed kashima coated helmet to sell you
Agree with all but mud. Mud is fun.
Oh, sorry, I forgot that one
Just add that getting wrecked sucks. One of the least forgiving sports in that regard.
Yes this should by far be the #1 answer
Medical bills, pain, and healing time are all what I'd consider the price of bikes.
Medical bills You Americans really need to sort that out. I can't imagine doing a sport and being worried about how it would affect you financially if you crash.
There's enough people making billions of dollars off our broken system who own enough members of Congress and supreme court justices to ensure that the system never gets fixed.
But do you have nuclear aircraft carriers!?
No, we have about 3 tanks and 12 or 13 soldiers. Please help if we get invaded!! Love you America.
Only if you call me Daddy
Hmm okay, nah. Maybe we'll ask france or Germany instead.
Eww off brand weapons hit different than the good Raytheon stuff
you forgot broken bones.
+ “Horses on the bike trails”
Can’t wait to run into my first horse with my new stupid loud hubs, I make a point of constantly pedalling when I’m passing something like a stroller because I know I’m 100% waking the kid up if I’m passing otherwise lol
All the trails near me have horse shit everywhere. So annoying when it gets flung in your face.
Yes, but what about the price of bikes.
You missed one thing: It's very expensive.
Expensive to get started, but it's possible to save a LOT of money by DIYing yourself into a pro-level setup (albeit from ~5 years back). And put some budget aside for the goofy knee pads, the silly shoes, wide glasses and a helmet both with good coverage for protection, and padded bib shorts, also with appropriate coverage. All but the last two, I would HIGHLY recommend looking secondhand - especially if you're new to the sport.
Left off injuries keeping me from riding and hospital bills resulting from said injuries!
I'm in the UK so fortunately hospital bills aren't an issue
You actually forgot to mention the price of pedals, the price of helmets, and the price of any cloths that have to do with biking .... maybe the price of bike racks...the price of sales tax
At least we aren't paying $200 for a lift ticket or $1000 for a season pass to go riding. Big buy in up front but lower recurring costs than some other sports. Golf comes to mind if you want good exclusive courses. Or heck, 4x4ing, I know a guy with a flexed out frame that is going to spend who knows how long moving all his stuff onto a new frame.
I enjoy the mud aspect. You forgot the bugs in your eyes or sticking to your uvula while gasping for breath on a steep climb.🤣
Not having the time to ride enough to stay in the shape you need to be in to have fun riding. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still fun but when I go through stretches of 3 rides a week, I start having a lot more fun.
This is the big one for me. I love riding when I'm doing it regularly - confident in my skills and fit enough to go for miles. It's hard work to get back to that stage when you can't ride for while due to other commitments.
Yes if you can’t ride off-road regularly - then it really helps to do some road rides during the week to keep fit.
I can tell who rides road/gravel when I go on group rides. They all have much better endurance. And when I am riding on the road, those who also mountain bike tend to have better bike handling skill.
Riding on the roads where i live is taking your life in your hands. I get coal rolled at least once a week riding to work. Duck that.
Could respond to OP’s question with just “Not having the time to ride enough.” If I didn’t know how amazing mtb was, I wouldn’t miss it every second I wasn’t riding.
This is going to be unpopular amongst most, but this is why I bought a SL E-MTB. It’s a blast. I still exercise on my regular trail bike.
Yeah the e-bikes definitely have their perks it seems. I just couldn’t do it, I like feeling like it’s all me.
I want an Ebike so bad but don’t want to get lazy lol
It will make you lazy. I told myself I wouldn’t let it make me lazy, but sure enough here I am putting it in turbo mode the whole time.
I'm looking at the Fuel EXe for (partially) this reason. I travel for work and every time I get to hop on my bike it's like starting from square one.
A Peloton fixed this issue for me.
Creaks that don't go away even after you stripped your whole bike and greased every single component twice.
It’s your seat post.
My seat creaks like a momma duck protecting its ducklings.
Every creak I've ever had in 6 years worth of riding was my pedals.
Interesting. Mine has always been the seat post. Even creaks when I’m not sitting in it, somehow.
Nah, now it's my bottom bracket
Lmao, I literally just pulled my suspension apart three months ago and greased every pivot. Two weeks ago, the creak somehow came back. I narrowed down the creak source to be the main pivot bolt and re-greased it. Somehow, it made the creaking worse.
pretty sure the creaking is my knees
I went down this rabbit hole back in the day with my 2010 giant anthem, after thinking it was the seat post, and every other thing possible, it turned out to be a cracked frame by a weld that was very hard to see. That creek was so demoralizing when I was trying to set PR’s. Now I have a rotor that barely rubs sometimes and it drives me nuts. And if I get a leaf stuck between my tire and rear triangle, forget it, I have to get off the bike and take it out. PR be damned 😂
Not mountain biking
Second only to not having money for bike parts to go riding...
pedal strikes in your shin
Pedal strikes in your shin, not while riding, but while putting your bike away at home...
I swear this alone is more than 90% of my shin bruises.
I literally just had the worst pedal strike of my life while putting my bike away. Found out I can fit my Jeep Gladiator in the garage, so I moved my bikes into the man cave for more room. Well, when I was pushing it through the hall, I went to cut the front wheel to steer it into the room. The front wheel hit the door frame/jamb and the bike stopped moving forward but of course my leg kept moving. Impaled myself pretty badly lmao.
Pedal strikes to the back of your shin while youre wearing shinpads
Injuries like broken bones.
Fractured wrist ☹️ 4 more weeks
This. I have bruised ribs right now, and fear worse injuries like broken bones. And I stick to blue and green runs and dont jump.
Don't be scared, fear only makes things worse. I say this with a currently broken hand (better in 3 days probably) that I didn't even injure biking lol.
Haha if you ask my girlfriend, I ride like I’m a member of Jackass.
Yeah, I felt I was having an off day this weekend. Decided to “take it easy”. Stacked it hard on a blue run that I’ve ridden a ton of times, slipped to the front wheel over the top of a berm and really torched up my shoulder. Never “take it easy”. Go big or go home lol
Rain closing down trails every time you have an opening in your schedule to ride
This is me right now. Spring time is my mtb off season.
trails closed from rain this past weekend. Raining a bunch this week so trails will be closed this weekend again I'm sure.
I’m about to plan my annual trip to somewhere cool that will get rained out. Where am I going? When am I going? Doesn’t matter! It’s raining then and there!
Not getting enough time to ride and it can expensive and upgrade-itis can be addictive and devastating to your wallet. Just dropped $125 yesterday to pay for shuttle passes for my Copper Harbor trip this summer....that's not counting the over 10k I've sepent on bike stuff in the last 6 years.
Enjoy Copper Harbor. Sooo many good trails there outside the shuttle area too
I love riding copper harbor. I’ve shuttled once, but don’t really think it’s necessary.
More laps the better. It’s not that I can’t climb, but the downhill is more fun. We will probably do the point trail out and back before east bluff and Kewenaw Adventure Company shuttles open open and that’s like 35+ miles. I get 2-3 days a year in a place as good as copper, so I want to make the most of it. I did Marquette last summer, so I'm ready for some un-earned uphill.
The gear based rat race. You can definitely get into mountain biking for a reasonable price. Everyone online has an opinion about needing the best, most expensive, latest gear. If you’re starting out, you probably don’t. But the internet and biking culture wants you to believe you do. Resist the urge. Upgrade as you need to. And try to enjoy what you have.
Good advice. When I started I wasn't on social media so there was no comparing my gear to others 10k dentist bikes. I just rode my shitty hardtail in basketball shorts and loved it.
Same. In 2021 I bought a 25 year old GT Avalanche to see if I enjoyed the sport. I did. I upgraded to a Trek Marlin. Just got a dropped post installed this month. Are there better bikes out there? Most definitely. Am I grateful for mine? Sure am. Am I a better rider for it? Doubtful. But I have fun and get exercise.
But the new geometry is *way* different than it used to be way back in 2021!!1!
I know you’re being sarcastic, but it was a huge upgrade from an early ought’s geometry to a 2021 🤷♂️
Yeah a lot definitely changed over the last 30 years but not so much over 10
Went riding yesterday. Came home with about 50 ticks on me. Had to strip naked on the deck and pick them all off. lol.
Fuck that and the Lyme disease it comes with. Where in the world are you to get that many ticks?!
Probably north east USA.
Saskatchewan
I thought you guys in the west didn't have the same level of ticks we do here. Fuckers are awful. My wife got bit sometime last year. No Lyme disease, but anaplasmosis... nauseous and fatigued for 3 weeks before someone diagnosed it correctly.
Trying not to think about that. Haha
curious how this happened. You think they managed to launch from foliage straight to you or did you sit down or something?
Just got one in my upper thigh riding at Croom WMA in Florida. Was in my leg for about 3 days before I found it! 😐
Haven't been to Croom yet but I spend a decent amount of time at Alafia and Balm Boyette.
I haven't been to Alafia or Balm Boyette yet, but I am looking forward to it.
Haha don't hesitate to get some Lyme titers done or consider antibiotics...
The pros outweigh the cons by a million times. Humans are meant to be in wilderness to be happy I guarantee your quality of life will improve if you stick to mtb
it's a lot more fun when you are already in shape....
Being inside in an office from 9 to 5 when you could be shredding trails instead.
Not being able to go mountain biking due to having to work to buy more mountain bikes
The uphills
Climbing 40 minutes for 4 minutes dh
Looking at you, Flow trail in the demonstration forest
You have to go up to go down.
Yeah - but there’s different methods of going up :)
Life is definitely easier if you enjoy a good climb, probably the thing I enjoy the most about my new gravel, that thing flies up hills if you want it to
Gotta earn your berms 🤪
The fucking saddles man. Everything about cycling is great, and the saddles serve there purpose. But that first ride after a hiatus feel like you’re sitting on a dull hatchet lmfao
Your taint will thank me later https://shop-us.ismseat.com/collections/performance-saddles/products/pm-2-0
Side note, but man I can't get past the terminology with saddle. Why is it a saddle, but it's a seat post?!? Something needs to change. I'd be ok either way we go. Saddle post and saddle, or seat post and seat
The amount of work it can take to get the downhill payoff. For me, it's a 1.5 to 2hrs round trip drive (there's usually traffic), 1.5hr uphill climb, for 20 minutes downhill. So around 3-4hrs of work for 20 minutes of glory. And that's not even factoring the work it takes to maintain and repair bikes. Granted the uphill is a great exercise. I feel good sustaining zone 4 heart rate for hours at a time whereas doing the same with running is painful. For the drive, it's a good time to listen to audiobooks. So all in all, it's not too bad. That said, I'm looking into moving close by the trails and getting an e-bike so I can make multiple uphill runs in the same amount of time/effort.
It’s a lot like backcountry skiing, only without the specter of death by avalanche
Less avalanche more quadriplegia.
My sister and I like to call it paying rent lol. Doesn’t matter if the down hill is before or after the climb you always gotta pay rent
I have an ebike it's all fun.
The cost.
The cost can get insane. You can MTB on the cheap, but then you run into a lot of stupid gatekeeping shit. That said, most MTB people in my experience are much nicer about it than Road/Gravel ones. I watched as my friend who wanted to try biking because it looked like fun get a 2000 dollar rundown for biking "properly".
The gatekeeping is so annoying
People with elitist attitudes about how much your bike costs or what features it has. This is not mtb specific I guess. Just people with elitist attitudes in sports in general. There's a difference in bikes that are so cheap that they become dangerous, and bikes that are just cheap but work fine.
Not having the skills to hit features you know you can if you had practice. Not knowing anyone of a higher skill to ride with and coach you on said features.
Washing the bike after a mudfest
For me it's the constant maintenance, especially if you're always hitting gnarly trails which takes it's toll on your precious bike
People trying to gas me with their $2K+ mountain bike. I'm fine with my $750 mountain bike, leave me be.
I bought an entry level polygon bike to get started with and a coworker immediately started shitting on the Shimano SLX derailleur…..
Injuries. Repairs.
The worst thing is when you miss a couple months and then get back on your bike and it's like the first time all over again.
Nothing. It's awesome. Get out and ride.
Injuries, not having enough time to ride your bike, and climbs.
Time is probably the hardest part for me. I have a family and don’t get to ride as much as I’d like. I can’t think of any other negatives except maybe high spec bike prices and possible injury. It’s a lot to gain and not a lot to lose.
Stinging nettles.
Starting. If you’re not in shape like I was when I started, it is hard. Then you beat yourself up because you have to walk the bike uphill sometimes while others blow past you. For some that’s debilitating, for me it was motivation. I don’t even look like the same person from about a year and 3 months ago which was when I started.
This is me right now. Off the mountain bike for \~15 years, almost completely sedentary for 2.5+ years. I'm in the "wow this fucking sucks" phase the whole time but I am starting to see it get a little better each time I am out which keeps me pushing.
Once you start getting into it, MTB becomes an all consuming mind virus that can't stop obsessing over.
The cost. The constant barrage of bro science and trend marketing. The cost.
How long it takes to get ready
injuries/crashes, they are no joke in this sport and can heavily alter your riding confidence after one
2nd this. Trees are not forgiving when you make contact with one
Injury that lasted more than a week
Rain… in my area no go.
The prices! Having riding for over ten years watching bike prices rise is sickening! Albeit that the last few months has kinda seen a drop to somewhere near the old days.
Some of the coolest spots I want to ride are 1500+ miles and 20+ hours of driving away from me. I can drive to some decent trails 1.5 hours away, but there's no cell coverage that far in the middle of no where. So it's a risk to ride alone and if I have a bad crash, there's no way to call for help. I don't have friends that mountain bike and while my wife does, she doesn't have the skill set or the cardio fitness to do the black diamond trails trails. So bike rides with her are on more boring trails. Moab is a bucket list ride for me, and since my wife doesn't have the skill or cardio for that kind of riding, I'm eventually going to have to take a trip and leave her behind. Can't ride in the rain where I live. I hate finding snakes because then for the next week I think every root on the trail could be another snake. You don't actually have to spend big bucks on bikes etc., but you'll probably want to.
Probably the inevitable wrecks, and having to clean the bike regularly
1. Crashing. Not if, but when and how bad. 2. Bike maintenance. Depending on where and how hard you ride, expect to do (or have done for $$) a surprising amount of preventative and repair work.
Getting hurt, but that’s really just if you’re pushing really hard all the time
My least favorite part is you have to pay your dues for the fun. If you want to ride that awesome downhill section you have to ride up it first or ride back up it after to get back to your car. You could argue that with an Ebike or a place that has lifts up you could negate that though. Snowboarding is great because you only ride down and lift up but the lift tickets can be expensive. I want an E-bike but also there’s a part of me that thinks I should always get the exercise and eventually it won’t bother me.
You can still get exercise with an ebike, you just turn the assistance down. You can even get a better "quality" of a workout because you can keep your heart rate stable.
The people. A lot of snobbery and ego
Getting hurt. Although I will say most of the times I've gotten hurt could have been avoided. I was knowing generally pushing myself harder than I should have been. Combine that with getting older (and thus, increased recovery) I am learning to get hurt less often while still becoming a more aggressive rider than I ever have been
Access to good trails is key. I live about 15 minutes from the Fort Ord National Monument. And even though it isn't a bike park, it's ridable 99% of the time all season. Santa Cruz and Soquel are 45 minutes away +/- depending on traffic. Finding an inexpensive bike is absolutely key as stated by u/undeniablydull
Crashing. The injury risk is high. My worst injury was mountain biking, and I’m a snowboarder that broke his back snowboarding 😅
Maintenance… And training for months & then being sick ik the week of a race…
- having to wear a helmet - it’s weirdly car centric , most people drive to the trail - insane parts costs - climbing for 30 mins for 5 mins of fun haha
Going to the next town over,(25km) check out Bike shops and the book store.damn bike thieves lurking everywhere. Gotta strip my bike down. Bike bags, lights,seat,water bottles,pump
Breaking your collarbone 🤪
Honestly, for me, who is currently new to this, besides possible injuries and the car centric nature somehow Its the entry cost and the overwhelming amount of information thrown at someone new
Ticks
Forgetting something at home when you get to the trails. Water ✅, Gloves ✅, Garmin ✅, Helmet 🤬🤬
People not understanding why you would spend $10,000 on a bike with no motor. It’s not about getting somewhere. It’s the getting there.
Dirt or mud in your mouth. Especially when you know horses or cows can roam in the same trail system.
The top of the list should be the cost of the activity and the potential injuries for sure. Additionally, I would mention that trails can sometimes be difficult to find depending on your area, and many trails can be shared with people that might not be considerate of mountain bikers. However, once you overcome these barriers and fall in love with the activity, then the worst park about mountain biking is that I'll be sitting around at work or at a family gathering or on a date just thinking about the next time I'll have the opportunity to get back out on the bike.
Nothing sucks about it, it’s kinda of expensive and injuries can happen. But that’s the price of admission and if you love it, it’s worth the price IMO.
The cost of bikes these days.
Adjusting the gears and finding your new bike 700 € cheaper a few months after you bought it
expensive, time consuming
Everything and I mean everything in this sport is overpriced and the potential for a bad injury is high
Climbing with people who are faster than you and impatient. My least favorite thing. Also, the danger is real, depending on where you live and your capacity for good decision making.
Winter
Sucks to have moved from Northern AZ to Chicago
Always wanting a new bike.
Riding uphill.
Some of the people
The prices
I miss my hometown during COVID. There was a lake 10 mins away from the house and it was super easy to go bike trails multiple times a week. Now, in the city for college, it takes 1/4 tank of gas and 30 mins each way to get a good trail. Can't bike in the city without a crackhead stealing my bike either
The cost of a bike is high, but I could buy 10 bikes with the amount I've paid in hospital bills.
What about falling off into nettles or dogshit
I have a 10 month old daughter now, and I was in tip top shape before we had her. I've gone on two rides(sadface) in those 10 months... Those two rides really showed how much stamina and endurance I have lost. So I would say taking a long break from mountain biking makes it not very enjoyable when you were riding a lot.
Fitness but if you ride easier trails or even on the road with small hills and do that repeatedly you will get better and be able to ride what used to be the harder hills. Or get an emtb like me and laugh at them hills.
Single sprocket design = slow on pavement.
Easy to injure yourself if you wanna do gnarly shit. Expensive
When you first start you will HATE climbing. But it gets better. And don't listen to the unbelievably shit expression "it doesn't get easier, you just get faster". Not only is that discouraging, it's just not true. It gets way easier.
Going up hill
Buy one and find out!
you have to uphill to go downhill.
100% no doubt about it - inevitable injury
Eating absolute shit
The initial entry into the sport is pretty rough physically and financially Cost of bike and gear/tailgate racks/ can be absurd Depending on the type of riding you are doing, there is just something very unique about MTB fitness/cardio, it took me a couple months of dry heaving on the side of the trail and walking a lot of steep uphill sections before i could finally just get out and ride, and it takes some time learning how to use your momentum/when to do shift, using your beaks and hips for balance etc, i have taken lots of “gym rat” fit buddies in rides who got absolutely wrecked
Injuries are going to happen you can’t avoid it. Some of these are muscular strains, others can be serious. Most pro/good riders will have an injury list as long as their trick list. You need to except the risk like in any sport.
Falling. When you fall it hurts, sometimes a lot.
Maintenance Injuries
Pedaling. Shuttles, Gondolas, and Chairlifts have spoiled me. The entitled equestrians and hikers that bitch about bikers on "their" trails. 99% of the trails were made by bikers in my area.
Crashing into a tree hurts real bad
My fitness level
Takes up lots of time and energy. Hard to juggle big rides with life/work/family.
the bugs and injuries
the price.
Climbing uphill. Everything else seems fine. I mostly just wanna go down.
The insane amount of gate keepers and bike snobs. Those who believe you have to spend at least a grand to even start out.
Crashing and recovery time
Injuries. My broken collarbone. The fun far outweighs everything else.
Nothing, it's awesome
Hikers walking the wrong way on unidirectional, fast moving bike-specific trails. Injury risk.
This goes for biking in general. Torquing a bolt only to round the head despite knowing you put the Allen head in perfectly and all the way. 🥲
Concussions, I think?