I am a MOUNTAINBIKER
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- Опубліковано 27 гру 2023
- After a mishap where I don't have a road bike, I take to the trails and learn to see what the MTB fuss is all about.
Thanks to cycleways.co.nz/ for the Stumpjumper loan!
The following companies (that you'll see in my content) support me either financially or with free stuff, so huge thanks to these guys for helping the channel thrive:
nopinz.com/
www.anexo-racing.com/
veloforte.com/
www.oakley.com/en-us
silca.cc/
www.specialized.co.uk/
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Loving the post-tour content Alex. Just finished your book... it's quite a story, brilliantly told. Congrats to you on all the bits, book, career, marriage and #2 on the way. Well played.
Thank you very much, very kind
I picked up mountain biking this fall and it's incredibly fun to suck at something but be fit enough to still enjoy it.
Congrats 🎉on the second baby. Time to do a training video with a tandem trailer pushing 400 watts and struggling to hold 30kph.
Alex, congrats to you and Chanel on your significant recent achievements. All the best going forward. I can't imagine a track as harrowing as some of the sprints you've led out lol. As for your previous 'on-bike' near-misses, join the club. "It's not what happens to you, it's how you handle it the matters." Best wishes always.
I was against mountain bikes for years but i was being very silly because they've been helping get through Scottish winters in recent years and my road cycling in spring/summer/autumn is all the better for it.
Good to see you on an mtb, Alex! Your descending and picking lines round corners and berms looks spot-on. It'd be good to see some footage of you riding, rather than just POV stuff.
As for going up the switchbacks, it's a matter of looking to where you want to go, not fixating on the corner; move your hips and body round to where you want to be and lean the bike round rather than steering it with the handlebars, as counter-intuitive as this sounds - this is something you won't do on a road bike (as drastically, at least), so takes some getting used to, having confidence in the tyres, etc. You should be able to continue pedalling all the way round.
Just like on a road bike, tyre pressure is vitally important on an mtb. If there's too much air in them, they're likely to slip more round corners and on dusty climbs, especially if your weight's not distributed correctly. And a Stumpy Evo is more of a trail bike than a proper XC bike, with trail tyres - you can see the four blocks of tread across them, whereas an XC typically has six smaller (and faster) blocks. It's not the SL8 of the mtb world, put it that way!
Mtb racing next year would be great and a real challenge. Good luck if you go for it.
I am *SO* pleased that you're back! Like others, I thought the negative comments had put you off posting to UA-cam but I am absolutely delighted to see you back after a few "minor" events like marriage, another baby on the way, book launches, trips to NZ and ... life in general. (I'm loving the Instagram updates)
I hope Adam Adam Duggleby is faster next year on the 100 but you are faster! Competition of that sort is massively important.
Babies and the beautiful Chanel etc may take precedence over training ...
Not shabby at all Alex, and you are right to avoid the black, I do the same because dentistry is expensive 😁
Kennedy's Bush area? Lovely up there. Haven't been on the Crocodile track in yonks
Great video and great intro. Congratulations on the new baby on the way. Pedal safe
Yeah i’ve done both a fair bit, they’re polar opposite ends of the sport. Sprint starts to gain position, high efforts through technical climbs and trying to not blow up by going to hard too early are the main challenges. Very different to the steady smooth TT effort. All the best training for that.
Looking forward to your venture in to MTB racing…😉
I'm trying out the watch as a bike computer/fitness tracker right now, it's actually not so bad. I don't like wearing a watch in general, but now I have my entire day's activities in ONE ecosystem. The head unit is superior for things like routing or if you are doing intervals, but if you're just out riding and don't need the data (zone 2 days), it's actually nice to just go ride and not think about it. Plus, one device for everything from sleep to training.
Congrats on Baby #2. Fantastic video. Cheers, Alex.
Deep inside every aero optimised roadie with silly long socks there lurks the undeniable desire to chuck on some baggies (Ground Effect preferably), grab any shirt you like, and hit some trails. May even end up with a visor on your helmet.
Love the MTB content!
If you are looking for technique pointers, there may be a skills coach in NZ who can help. They could also assist with suspension setup and tyre pressures. Switchbacks are tough, especially on a slacker-geometry like the Stumpy Evo. Stay seated, get your chest as close to the bars as possible and look through the corner. You'll be grand!
For MTB racing, it would be fascinating to hear your perspective. Super grass roots and out in Essex there is the Beastway series of midweek summer XC racing at Redbridge.
Southern XC run great events, and MTB Marathon do longer stuff.
If you want to try marathon stage racing then the La Santa race is not very technical, and logistically simple, but that is January so maybe best left for 2025 😉
PS devoured the book!
Got a Stumpy Evo as well, great bike, maybe a bit of overkill for flow, but better to be over biked when starting. Been mountain biking for 30 odd years, still learning stuff 😂
Have you considered the Strathpuffer? A challenging, but rewarding mtb race in Scotland!
Just googled it, nooooooo thank you
Just enjoy the riding Alex that's what MTB all about.
Hope to see you back here at the Gralloch gravel race in 2024 -
As a university and expensively educated forester, a colleague's first job was counting pine trees in NZ forests, and measuring their spacing. The utter boredom of the task may have led to him being caught having sex with the chief forester's wife on the boardroom table in ... well, the boardroom. Perhaps she was beautiful?
New Zealand is a wonderful country
Nothing wrong with them lines! You look like you enjoyed yourself, whicj apart from coming back in one piece is the most important thing. You need to hit Oakley up for some Prizm trail lenses though,
Good for you showing the mountain bikers that you should ride to the top of mountain first.
Bloody Minded
My Life in Cycling
Alex Dowsett (Author)
bloomsbury
Forgot to talk about how you're "stoked"😋
Race some British national xc in 2024! Would be interesting 😁
I am hoping we will see a custom Shiv build sometime in the near future.
P.S. I enjoyed the book.
Leadville beckoning ?
hit up bernard kerr, he's out in nz. he may teach you a thing or 2 about mountainbiking.
If you were forced to choose one Specialized MTB to ride, would you pick a Stumpjumper or an Epic?
You should,eat up with Chris Opie. He will help a roadie get into MTB XC
Don’t do it Alex! It’s not work it….😂
1. Look up "arm-pump.
29er wheels don’t go through uphill switchbacks very well it’s not you it’s the bike
Doesn't compare to Danbury