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March, 2025

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Competition MTB (XC)

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FuckAllOfYou
Posts: 3864 - Karma: 2,518
Yo NS,

As the title states, I'm looking for some comp MTB riders (cross country) here on NS! I'm from MN, and we have a summer series/fall high school league, and I'm wondering how many of y'all also race.

I know there are a few on here, I've met some.

Also, If you don't already MTB you should try it because it's a great summer alternative to skiing and it keeps you in great shape.

I might be vastly underestimating the amount on here, but I'm just curious yknow
12 years ago
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last_tango
Posts: 2635 - Karma: 2,665
I'm too much of a fat ass and ride a DH.
12 years ago
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Tanner-D
Posts: 2061 - Karma: 4,116
I raced collegiate cross country and short track this fall at unr. We won the whole western conference as a team. Claim/ I love mtb riding. Best thing to do when I'm not skiing.
12 years ago
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stupendous-man
Posts: 8637 - Karma: 13,297
I go uphill slow and downhill fast.
12 years ago
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daannnnieel
Posts: 5163 - Karma: 4,293
I wish I could afford to hook myself up with a half deecent xc/am bike. The unemployed life doesn't bode well with mountain bikers.
12 years ago
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CheddarJack
Posts: 5203 - Karma: 7,380
yeah lifts are pretty slow
12 years ago
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,410
I just bike as a summer outlet and as a way to stay in shape. But I do ride with a race team on Thursday nights at my local inner city trail, and try to stay on pace with them. I just stepped up my bike game from a Norco Kat to a Trek Cobia 29'er and holy shit, what a huge difference. The bike crushes it on the uphills and for a hardtail, floats on the downhills. Having a ton of fun with it and its made it way easier to keep up with the race guys. If I can stay on the riding schedule I'm on now, and finally make the switch to clipless, I may look to go competitive in a few races next year for the challenge. Who knows? For now I'm loving the ride out there.
12 years ago
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james6345789
Posts: 4763 - Karma: 464
I'm glad that the bike is working out! 29ers are amazing.

And I really love racing.
12 years ago
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FuckAllOfYou
Posts: 3864 - Karma: 2,518
Dang, i was keeping up with you until my wheel fell off 3rd lap. Anyway, oh yeah, what bikes does everyone ride? I ride a 2012 specialized carve expert.
12 years ago
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stupendous-man
Posts: 8637 - Karma: 13,297
If only. Gotta earn your turns
12 years ago
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Linked
Posts: 325 - Karma: 216
I've got a Santa Cruz solo ordered, can't wait it to ship to NZ,
I've done quiet a few xc races for school but I don't really enjoy raceing xc, I would rather just go for a normal ride. I really enjoy the couple of enduro style races I've done but nothing beets a day of shuttles
12 years ago
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7-11_Slurpee
Posts: 1143 - Karma: 1,568
I raced last year in the cat 1/junior x catagory mostly in the wors series but did a couple point to point races. I took this year off though because im on vacation for 2 months. Ill probably train over the winter to hopefully race cat 1 again. I rode a s works stumpy 29er but sold it to help pay for my travels and I can just ep another next spring. Claim?
12 years ago
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james6345789
Posts: 4763 - Karma: 464
Here's my bike, a 2013 Giant XTC composite 29er 1.

[imghttps://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/1039576_646229578740343_1110290642_o.jpg[/img]
12 years ago
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FuckAllOfYou
Posts: 3864 - Karma: 2,518
Where? One of the NICA leagues? It's super fun.
12 years ago
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FuckAllOfYou
Posts: 3864 - Karma: 2,518
The wisco series is insane. i want to do couple of those races. Props on the santa cruz and racing
12 years ago
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MEDSKI.XXX
Posts: 312 - Karma: 403
I ride a trek 29er that some dick-hole made me pay 200$ for, what an ass. Lol jk, actually its a really good bike compared to what i used to ride and ive had a really fun time using it this summer. Mountain biking is cool!
12 years ago
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feihlination
Posts: 8356 - Karma: 1,083
i rode a lot more when i was around 17-19 or so. havent done too much racing tho, maybe 3-4 times a local race (which is one of biggest in europe tho).

its definitely fun and depending where you live you can experience soo many places and trails
12 years ago
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FuckAllOfYou
Posts: 3864 - Karma: 2,518
where in Europe?
12 years ago
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,410
That clipless game... What pedals? Everyone local swears by eggbeaters but all I ever seem to read for online reviews is that the needle bearings get beat to shit easily... Opinions? Stick with some shimanos?
12 years ago
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james6345789
Posts: 4763 - Karma: 464
Shimano. The shop I work at won't even stock Crankbros because of the durability issues. From what I've heard, if you hit the rails hard on a rock, they will bend easily.

I've been on Shimano pedals for a couple years now, and have had basically no problems. I have some play in my old m520s (entry level ones,) but I rode those things pretty hard. I have m770s now (XT, really nice) and they are fantastic. The bearings are super smooth, there is no maintenance, and they're crazy durable. You pretty much cannot break a Shimano pedal.

I would recommend that you look at Shimano m540s. It's a bomb-proof pedal that will perform very well. And as much as you should support your local shop, you can get them for like $45 bucks online.
12 years ago
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james6345789
Posts: 4763 - Karma: 464
Whoops,
Click for larger image
12 years ago
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FuckAllOfYou
Posts: 3864 - Karma: 2,518
As tranny_slammer said, shimanos. I had some crankbros candies, and they were nice but they definitely degraded badly. I just got some m520's (i didn't have a ton of cash) and they're great. They are BOMBPROOF.
12 years ago
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FuckAllOfYou
Posts: 3864 - Karma: 2,518
I disagree. I love clipless, and platforms to me impede my performance and i'm pretty serious about biking. I guess whatever floats your boat, try both ways.
12 years ago
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Brodo_Swaggins
Posts: 136 - Karma: 172
This. I ride flats cause they allow you to be able to move more and are supposed to be easier on your joints. Plus any time I ride clipless I hurt myself.
12 years ago
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feihlination
Posts: 8356 - Karma: 1,083
tirol, austria. i am from ischgl and mostly ride around here.
12 years ago
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YouAllSuck
Posts: 632 - Karma: 1,177
I have to agree with this. I ride shimano XT's and they are great pedals. If you are riding XC I would highly recommend clipless. They give you much more efficiency when pedaling compared to a platform pedal. They seem to scare some people because at first clipping out might seem difficult, but after a day are two of riding you will be able to get your foot off the pedal just as fast as with platform pedals.
12 years ago
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james6345789
Posts: 4763 - Karma: 464
Anybody wanna buy some Shimano m770 XT Race pedals for $55? I only used them for a month. They retail for $150 and are on ebay for about $90. I am only trying to sell them because I want to buy the m780s.
12 years ago
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CheddarJack
Posts: 5203 - Karma: 7,380
Eh, DH is a different sport than XC. You don't ski up the mountain, do you?

That being said, I love XC almost as much as I love DH. I so badly wish I didn't have to sell my XC rig to afford my DH bike.
12 years ago
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*TURBONERD*
Posts: 15098 - Karma: 9,306
I rode high school comps senior year, and entered two last year but I haven't been able to bike yet thanks to my re-torn ACL. I ride a KHS Yuma 29er that's stock except for tubeless tires. I love racing, but I'd recommend road biking as training at least a little bit if you've got the means to do so.
12 years ago
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egg.
Posts: 3231 - Karma: 3,477
I ride in the colorado high school league. Shits dope as fuck
12 years ago
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FuckAllOfYou
Posts: 3864 - Karma: 2,518
Word, mtb is the shit
12 years ago
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FuckAllOfYou
Posts: 3864 - Karma: 2,518
Yep. Road rides can be a pain in the ass but they're great for training. I should probably do more though.
12 years ago
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,410
So, I was going to go and ride my course and GoPro the track and record audio with some light commentary. But I have a wicked cold so I'd have a super slow time, and would sounds like a turtle... Hopefully I'll get it some time this week. It's a 6.34KM track though. Very technical me it has no flow so it's a tough ride. What's your guys most frequented trail like?
12 years ago
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FuckAllOfYou
Posts: 3864 - Karma: 2,518
About that length, choppy, and pretty technical. It's a long course stuffed into a small forested area. Luckily, there's a new trail being built, which is much flowier. It's pretty fun to help out
12 years ago
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Skibumsmith
Posts: 5462 - Karma: 12,273
Once I got used to clipless I couldn't stand flat pedals. You just get so much more power. But I'm a pussy and don't go downhill very fast.
I never had a decent bike until last year and I immediately fell in love with mountain biking. It's a new challenge for me. It's not easy like skiing. I get my ass kicked on every ride. oh and here's my rig.
Click for larger image
12 years ago
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FuckAllOfYou
Posts: 3864 - Karma: 2,518
wow, you could do some mellow DH on that hog!
12 years ago
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Skibumsmith
Posts: 5462 - Karma: 12,273
lol no it's definitely not a strict XC bike so it's a little out of place in this thread but i love it for technical single track
12 years ago
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FuckAllOfYou
Posts: 3864 - Karma: 2,518
where do you ride?
12 years ago
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Skibumsmith
Posts: 5462 - Karma: 12,273
It's my first summer in SLC and I'm rehabbing my knee so I actually don't know where's good yet but growing up I rode in Rossland, BC.
12 years ago
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*TURBONERD*
Posts: 15098 - Karma: 9,306
... I hate you.
12 years ago
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Skibumsmith
Posts: 5462 - Karma: 12,273
why's that?
12 years ago
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bigbromskier
Posts: 1175 - Karma: 330
clipless is the shit going up and da bomb going down. once you're confident going downhill in general and get used to the clipless it feels awesome being clipped in. you literally just feel like one with the bike. with that said, it's scary as shit doing bigger stuff, but in reality, a lot of the time you just gotta go for it and it's nice knowing you're not gonna slip off anyway. any sort of xc stuff they'll make you ride that much better though.

I have crank bros candy's. they have a little more platform than the eggbeaters so they feel a bit more stable and I've had them for almost a year and haven't had any problems. beat em off a few rocks and they're still good. I have the 5.10 hellcat shoes which are sweet cause they convert from flats to clips and are really good for both if you like both. highly recommend both.
12 years ago
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SkierX
Posts: 16253 - Karma: 538
I have to agree with this. I run Candies too. They have held up fine through two years of riding 3-4x/week, and in the end if I end up nuking the bearings, the replacement cost is quite minimal.

I love feeling of the connection with the bike. I feel the level of control is so far beyond that of flats. I never experienced ANY time when I could not get out of them in a hurry, even on an over-the-bar toss. Your heel naturally goes outwards in these occasions, releasing the cleat. I found there to be no actual learning curve and anything perceived is purely mental.
12 years ago
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*TURBONERD*
Posts: 15098 - Karma: 9,306
You've lived in amazing biking spots and I'm envious as can be.
12 years ago
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skiP.E.I.
Posts: 7918 - Karma: 22,733
My bike has been apart forever and I just put it back together yesterday!

12 years ago
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FuckAllOfYou
Posts: 3864 - Karma: 2,518
You're completely right, both of you. Clipless is so much fun, and I agree with that "one with the bike" feeling. Then there's the obvious efficiency bonus
12 years ago
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last_tango
Posts: 2635 - Karma: 2,665
porcupine ridge, moan in general.
12 years ago
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,410
Yeah, after I order materials for my next 5 skis, and binding inserts for those 5 skis; then I'm going to see where I'm sitting at cash wise, and make the jump on some pedals and shoes. Hopefully I don't kill myself.
12 years ago
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FuckAllOfYou
Posts: 3864 - Karma: 2,518
it's not that bad. you might forget you're clipped in occasionally and take a fall, but that never happened to me (luckily). when you first get clips, sit on your bike, grab onto a railing or wall or something and practice clipping in and out. it takes some getting used to but the muscle memory kicks in pretty quickly.
12 years ago
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alex=
Posts: 1738 - Karma: 2,835
I have a specialized hard rock that is 12 years old and don't ride much, but i used to to MTB everyday when I taught a class for it...

if i buy this bike for $500 do you guys think i'll start to ride more?
12 years ago
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illewminati
Posts: 195 - Karma: 115
I usually ride clips if im doing serious xc or a race, but anything other than those I prefer flats. Sure, popping out of clips really isn't that hard and people can do it fast, but when im hauling ass downhill and i start to slide out, there is no comparison. Plus if you get nice flats with long/replaceable pins and wear decent shoes it is nearly impossible for your feet to slip off.
12 years ago
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