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Getting New Riders Into DH/FR

SuperKat

Monkey
Jul 3, 2005
413
0
New York
Just wondering how much success people have had getting new riders into DH/FR. :think: Doesn't have to be just women...

And yes....I'm bored. :dead:
 

mohshee

Monkey
Jan 31, 2006
222
0
MD by way of Austin, TX
I try to invite girls all the time to ride with me. But it never works. I think they are afraid or just not interested. At least where I live, the guys are a bit clicky and you have to be in their little inner circle to learn whats going on and who's riding where and what. It would be awesome to have women riding buddies especially for DH/FR. It gets lonely. We've invited new guys too, but if they don't already do it, few are interested in trying.

So, anyways, I have kind of just stopped asking/inviting people 'cause I'm tired of the same excuses.
 

geargrrl

Turbo Monkey
May 2, 2002
2,379
1
pnw -dry side
I would try it if someone had a nice loaner bike that fits me. I"m pretty tiny and with the exception of one larger gal, all I know is big guys. I did promise myself that if we went to Silver this year, I'd rent a Stinky just for grins. Partly I'm just cheap... why rent a DH bike when I've got three other mountain bikes already??!!

So, for me it's equipment and a little fear, but I do know that I only would have to go ask big as I felt like. I'm confident that I have the basic skills; I go downhilling some on my FS XC bike, and get told all the time I'm way out riding the bike. I've got some fear too, but as I understand it, the right bike makes a lot of it so much easier.

Ah, heck, it's a moot point this season since my neck injury, but it's fun to think about!

hot and bored here
geargrrl
 
Its so hard to find the right girls to convert or start to downhill. Ive found plenty of girls to ride with me, but none NONE have the motivation and adrenaline rush that I do to get a bike and huck it. Its really frustrating. So when Im riding with my buddies...I am just one of the guys, no female separation. I picked up freeriding and downhilling so easily. I am still scared to do a lot of stuff but I go out and ride 4 or 5 hours on a mountain by myself jus tthe same to have fun. I agree..It is getting really lonely.
 
maybe how we were brought up, out likes and dislikes, our surroundings. I love my conventional sports (track, hockey, swimming, soccer etc...) but the fact that I can get on a bike and it will kick my butt harder than any 2 or 3 mile run will, is amazing to me. Plus biking is giving you that work out that a run would with out the anxiety of working out, its fun as all heck, you get that amazing rush, and you meet amazing people.
 

altagirl

Monkey
Aug 27, 2002
160
0
Utah
We convinced a friend of ours to buy a Stinky, and he raced his first beginner race this weekend. So that was pretty cool.

But I've seen as many who do one or two DH runs and don't get the bug. And the biggest group are the ones I can't seem to convince to try it in the first place.
 

SuperKat

Monkey
Jul 3, 2005
413
0
New York
I will agree with you there Sunner...I have met some really awesome people. Not so much with snowboarding.
I remember going to Diablo for the first time. I went alone, got my a$$ kicked, but met some really cool people that showed me around and helped me out. I was beaten up but hooked.
Only a few people know how that goes...A lot of others stay away from something that could cause wicked pain!
Man am I rambling tonight! :looney:
 

zoey

Monkey
Mar 19, 2006
138
0
california
I'm having a lot of fun doing downhill. I'm still at the beginner level, so it's hard to find people who want a beginner to tag along on their ride.

My local girl bike club is great for finding girls who want to mountain bike. It's not so great for finding girls who want to go out and session drops and other stuff.
 

redFoxx

Monkey
Apr 15, 2005
319
0
Seattle
Maybe downhilling has the aspect of violence and alot of women are turned off by that. Maybe they think they get hurt easier than men. I've always been kind of rowdy so I love it and I like adrenalin sports. I don't mind playing in a guys' world - I don't feel inferior or at a disadvantage. I know I can be as good as them - I just have to be willing to work at it. Alot of the women into biking seem to congregate in their own girl groups so I never end up riding with them.

It's pretty impossible to convince someone to try and enjoy DH/FR though. They have to want to do it. Usually in my group a guy will bring a new GF to bike but they don't usually last. They last longer in XC and most have no interest in DH or they try it and don't go back.

Maybe another reason is it's so hard to get the proper fitting gear and bike to really enjoy it. I'm not small at 5'7" and yet at the rental shops, I have a hard time finding something small enough. So I end up with a bigger bike and it's harder to maneuver. I can't wait to get my own ride which is going to fit like a glove. :cool:
 

Frorider1

Monkey
Apr 28, 2006
241
0
When people start riding other say "you suck" and shizzle like that and that discourages a lot of people.
 

redFoxx

Monkey
Apr 15, 2005
319
0
Seattle
Are you talking about guys telling you that or who? I started with a group in which we were all at the same level and we remained friends - we went from XC to DH/FR.
 

zoey

Monkey
Mar 19, 2006
138
0
california
I would think that "downhill" is a natural progression in mountain biking. If you are out there riding, wouldn't you want the skills necessary to get you over the drops and down the hill safely?
 

starrbabes

Chimp
Jun 9, 2006
57
0
Puyallup, WA
Yes, I agree. In order to up your riding to the next level, you need to learn how to do jumps and drops and that will progress into being able to do more and more. If you want to ride some of the really good trails in the NW, you need to know how to get over a log and what not.
 

redFoxx

Monkey
Apr 15, 2005
319
0
Seattle
zoey said:
I would think that "downhill" is a natural progression in mountain biking. If you are out there riding, wouldn't you want the skills necessary to get you over the drops and down the hill safely?
Now I think of it as being downhill vs Downhill. downhill being the natural progression of XC riding. I thought the thread was referring to Downhill lift-assisted type riding and not so many riders care about doing that kind of riding...and in downhill, there's usually go-arounds that some folks are just content doing forever.
 

geargrrl

Turbo Monkey
May 2, 2002
2,379
1
pnw -dry side
redFoxx said:
Now I think of it as being downhill vs Downhill. downhill being the natural progression of XC riding. I thought the thread was referring to Downhill lift-assisted type riding and not so many riders care about doing that kind of riding...and in downhill, there's usually go-arounds that some folks are just content doing forever.
downhill vs Downhill.
Interesting point. I know a lot of XC riders that think it's one and the same, and don't realize how many of the skills crossover when descending, lift serve or not. They won't go lift serve, equating it with Downhill riding. Or, they think they will turn into a freerider just by putting the saddle down. I know for a fact that learning downhill/descending specific skills, and going lift serve even on my XC bike has made me a better overall rider. Even one day going lift serve will teach you a lot about speed and control.
I will still never be really fast, but I am confident on many kinds of technical descents.
Or at least what would very techy xc descents...:cool:

gg
 

925hell

Chimp
Mar 20, 2006
51
0
SLC, UT
This last weekend my friends and I went to Brainhead to race, one of our party was a strong female XC rider, we convinced her to race super d but not the downhill, she was interested in DH but scared, so instead one of our party loaned her his DH bike, a little big but it worked so we took her on blowhard, if you haven't ridden it, the starting elevation is 10,700 it decends roughly 4500 feet. There are some steep techy sections, we bracketed her as we rode she cleaned the whole thing, the tech part at least, she took one good digger, and finished the ride smiling ear to ear. As we loaded the bikes up to return to the condo all she was asking about was where could she get armor and a new bike.
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
17,669
1,847
Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
redFoxx said:
Maybe another reason is it's so hard to get the proper fitting gear and bike to really enjoy it. I'm not small at 5'7" and yet at the rental shops, I have a hard time finding something small enough. So I end up with a bigger bike and it's harder to maneuver. I can't wait to get my own ride which is going to fit like a glove. :cool:
Good point here. I am 5'4" and most of the guys I ride with are quite a bit taller so it was tough for me to borrow a bike, gear and try DHing. I wasn't ready to drop a lot of $ for a big bike and lots of gear when I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it. Now, I value my bike and gear so I can pretty much rationalize purchasing most anything :D
 

TreeSaw

Mama Monkey
Oct 30, 2003
17,669
1,847
Dancin' over rocks n' roots!
geargrrl said:
downhill vs Downhill.
Interesting point. I know a lot of XC riders that think it's one and the same, and don't realize how many of the skills crossover when descending, lift serve or not. They won't go lift serve, equating it with Downhill riding. Or, they think they will turn into a freerider just by putting the saddle down. I know for a fact that learning downhill/descending specific skills, and going lift serve even on my XC bike has made me a better overall rider. Even one day going lift serve will teach you a lot about speed and control.
I will still never be really fast, but I am confident on many kinds of technical descents.
Or at least what would very techy xc descents...:cool:

gg
Definitely!!! I learned SO much from Downhilling and it made me a much more confident XCer. I now ride faster and don't even think about small drops or techy dh sections on my xc bike.
 
i ride solo alot because all my friends who ride just ride and thats boring. I mob and rip-it up their way back cruisin along. and they all have nice bikes, Maverick and a Cannondale Prophet. maybe there to old. Im 35 feel 25 but i cant find to many people who want to commit to riding. And i live in seattle #1 bicycle friendly city in the states.
 

ButtersNZ

Monkey
Jun 6, 2013
176
10
I've been trying my hardest to get my girlfriend to ride bikes with me. We took a trip with our bikes for a weekend and I didn't think she enjoyed it much, she was worrying that she was holding me back etc.. then a few weeks later I find out she's been taking her bike to the local trail when she finishes work early. I am so proud! She's still dismounting to take her bike over a large root or anything remotely steep, but it's cool that she's doing it :)
 

kickstand

Turbo Monkey
Sep 18, 2009
3,441
392
Fenton, MI
I've been trying my hardest to get my girlfriend to ride bikes with me. We took a trip with our bikes for a weekend and I didn't think she enjoyed it much, she was worrying that she was holding me back etc.. then a few weeks later I find out she's been taking her bike to the local trail when she finishes work early. I am so proud! She's still dismounting to take her bike over a large root or anything remotely steep, but it's cool that she's doing it :)
Patience :)

My wife has been riding with me now for 5 years, it was one of our first dates years ago. There were times she hated it, times I hated it, and times she just flat out quit. But she wanted to mountain bike, she now races DH and we ride XC/trail together all the time. It's super cool to have a wife that wants to go ride and pushes you to go ride on the days you were thinking of being a lazy ass on the couch.
 

ButtersNZ

Monkey
Jun 6, 2013
176
10
Hey that's really cool man! I'm not going to give up, think I might try find her a better bike :)