Biking forums

[Toffermora]

So I used to do loads of mountain biking, then kids came along so my current bike has been gathering dust in the shed. Thinking I need to get back out on it lately and am thinking of upgrading the old girl! So I have been looking around online but I can't find a decent forum/ website such as this one that discusses biking. I used to like singletrack world but now it seems to be covered in adverts and annoying pop ups!! Anyone recommend one?

Currently riding my retro 26" specialized stumpjumper full suspension, thinking of going hardtail. Anyone got any recommendations? Been looking at the likes of Nukeproof scout, Sonder transmitter, Cotic Bfe.

If anyone is local to Calderdale could be up for a ride, would probably be short going off current fitness!!!

 

[drinfinity]

UKclimbing.com has a fairly active cycling sub-forum. I used to be on industrialfellbiking but that closed years ago.

A modern bike with 27.5 or 29 wheels, and longer slacker geometry will be a revelation compared to your Stumpy. A while ago I sold on my 26” 2002 Epic, and took it out for one last ride expecting it to be a nostalgic experience. It was terrifyingly twitchy, and whilst I have done some big trips on it I was happy to see it go. Me and the daughters are on Canyon Spectrals and a Neuron, and I have a Kinesis hardtail for more XC trips and races.

The bikes you suggest are all in a similar rowdy hardtail niche, and will be at home on the lines in Calderdale.

 

[Paynewright]

I’d just look to refresh your old bike - retro is cool!

I have a 2010 hard rock pro disc and an early 90s Raleigh Max Cromo II.

Getting out on any bike is a positive! (I need to take my own advice!!)

 

[TJH1985]

I have a Trek Slash 9.9 on 29” and a Santa Cruz 5010 on 27.5” but I can’t help but love my 26” Nomad from back in 2011 whenever I take it out! Properly nostalgic, don’t write off the old steed yet!

 

[ginkster]

I’d say get out on your Stumpy and get the biking bug back before spending anything on upgrades or new bikes. Give it a good check over, bleed the brakes (if hydraulic) and fit a new chain should get you going again.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with 26ers, it’s just marketing BS, although it can be a little harder to find some spares as many component/frame ‘standards’ have changed numerous times over the years. You will probably find that your Stumpy is lighter than any reasonably priced new bike, including hardtail and carbon, as modern bikes are massively overbuilt. Partially due to regulations and also fashion. It will be as great to ride as it always was. If you subsequently find your (possibly different after a few years off) riding style and location needs a more burly bike, or an e-bike, then at least you are making an informed decision. The growth of gravel bikes is partly down to people trying to get back to the light, nimble riding of the early 90s hardtail rather than the ultra stable but heavy modern bikes that only really come alive at high speed on techy terrain.

Singletrack is probably the best UK MTB forum and joining helps reduce the pop ups and adverts. MTBR in the States is another good source. If you want to do a bit of catching up on tech and rides then it’s worth considering joining Readly for a couple of months so you can access MTR and MBUK mags for some research. Just don’t get suckered into the crap written in the reviews! It’s amazing how a 1mm wider handlebar makes a bike 5mph faster!!

Thinking about this reminds me that I need to get back out there after far too long of the bike as well!

 

[drinfinity]

For fire roads and non-technical terrain, anything will do. As soon as it gets more technical, like the rocky descents into Hebden Bridge, a modern bike is a joyful experience as opposed to a sketchy rattle. Wide bars, short stem, proper suspension damping (instead of ‘elastomer’ suspension in my first Specialized), and a slack head angle let you keep centred in the bike and enjoy the flow. Bigger wheels and tyres roll over edges rather than throwing you into the wall.

For nimble riding on grass or blasting fire roads, I’ve got my cross bike, but I don’t have any nostalgia for my old MTBs.

 

[ginkster]

It really depends what your definition of joyful is. Some may just want to be out and about and enjoy picking their way through tricky terrain even if it’s slowly. Sacrificing some downhill speed/comfort for an easier life uphill and on the flat over big miles. Others may only want huge air, big berms and drops at warp factor snot. Some people may even only ride trail centres! Whatever the bike, it’s a compromise on varied terrain and having a ‘modern’ bike is absolutely not essential. Rider fitness and skill are far more important and just getting out there should be the aim. Once out there and riding regularly then one may decide that a specific type of bike may be more appropriate for their particular riding style or environment. Or more likely a fleet of bikes!! N+1.

 

[Wokryan]

Pinkbike has a lot of forums and news etc

 

[Toffermora]

Thanks for all of the above! I do just need to get out and ride again as you all say! Get suckered into shiny new stuff!

 

[Nohands]

Agree Singletrack is still the best UK MTB forum. There's a fair bit of MTB stuff on Weight Weenies nowadays but it can be quite performance orientated. The forum of Escape Collective is also great but you need to be a paid up member.

 

[msim3011T6]

Buy a full suss e-bike and thank me later! I don’t pay much attention to the MTB forums preferring bike specific or local trail chat - usually to be found on FB.

 

[TallPaul_S]

Another STW member here, it's a fantastic forum, in its own, slightly dated and eccentric way!

How old is the stumpy? Bikes have reeeeeeally changed in the last 10 years or so, the top end has gotten ridiculous expensive but that does mean you can pick up extremely capable hardtails for a grand or so.

 

[ginkster]

Thanks for all of the above! I do just need to get out and ride again as you all say! Get suckered into shiny new stuff!

Haha, don’t we all! It’s exactly the same as T6 shiny bits! I’m currently eyeing up an e-bike, but really can’t justify it until I actually get out and do some riding having been off the bike with an injury. Maybe some new grips or tyres will give me the new bling feeling to get the motivation going again without killing the wallet!!

 

[Shaun Witts]

I have been mountain biking since 1991, and am still only on my 2nd bike! I was riding a GT Karokaram through the advent of suspension, and thought that the forks then were really weak and would twist according the rock your tyre had just hit. Suited some people but not me. However, I was jealous of full suspension on the last part of the West Highland Way, as you approach Fort William when a long flat stretch of rocky track meant I could not stay in the saddle. My current hardtail is about 15 years old, and even then I found the forks were the weak link and they were soon updated to Rock Sox SID that cost nearly as much as the bike! But it is still a capable bike even now and I thoroughly enjoy riding it.
My next MTB will be an ebike. My wife now has one and it enables us to enjoy rides together at a similar pace. I can see the appeal of being able to travel further with the energy to still tackle a tricky section that an ebike offers, but while I am still capable of managing under my own power, I will.
So take your old bike out and thrash it senseless and I am sure you will rediscover the thrill of the ride!
(Then get an ebike when you can no longer keep up with your kids…!)

 

[ginkster]

I have been mountain biking since 1991, and am still only on my 2nd bike!

That’s awesome. I was on my third by ‘91 but I still have that one (does that count even though I’ve had many, many others since?!). It’s a fantastic Specialized S-Works steel that weighs next to nothing and was treated to some serious bling (early Rockshox then Pace forks, Hope and XTR….). There weren’t all the niche disciplines then so it got used for everything - XC racing (badly!), big mountain hike-a-bikes, multi-day epics (early bikepacking I guess!), multiple alpine trips, Rockies, local bridleways to the pub…. A good hardtail is hard to beat. Who needs an e-bike? Me!

 

[ciderlad65]

I've been riding mountain bikes for longer than I care to remember, have all 3 wheel sizes in the garage and love em all, had been resisting an e bike for ages, made the mistake of having a blast on my father in laws new purchase, who needs an e bike? me too!

 

[Higgidav]

I’ve been thinking an e-bike for a while but I’ve always been a traditionalist. I remember when Mountain Bikes became a ‘thing’ so I’m showing my age. I’ve only had two both of which have been Orange hard tails. The first was a P7 and the current is an Elite Pro of which there are not many about.

 

[TallPaul_S]

Things have moved on massively in the last 5 years or so.

This is one of my bikes, in the Alps last year.

 

[Captain Mainwaring]

As a few others have said, MTB's have moved on so much in the last 10 years you would find it hard to believe how much difference a modern bike will make. Slacker geometry, 29" wheels, shorter stem, wider bars, better brakes, better suspension, wide carbon rims with wider tubeless tyres. You could go out and ride your old bike but IMO you are more likely to get serious enjoyment out of something much newer

The bike industry had a boom time during Covid but has now gone the other way, so there are lots of really good value nearly new bikes out there at the moment

Just for the hell of it, my big mountain Santa Cruz I sold last year, and the short travel Trek that replaced in

 

[VanDamMan]

When you get older and have a bad hip….an E-bike really helps….but had to buy the wife one so she can keep up….its still cycling …but easier