The future of offroad?

[slippy]

Horses have fucked up many trails around here. The owners ride them in early spring when it's muddy, so there are permanent postholes for miles and miles all summer long. I want to break their skinny little legs!

Then there are those fucking mountain bikers, who now ride bikes that are basically dirt bikes without motors. Their speed on downhill singletrack rivals dirt bikers these days, but you can't hear them coming. So they scare the shit out of hikers. They should be regulated to dirt biking trails if they have full suspension, because they are not the same bikes as they once were!

And then there are ATV riders.....

And then there are dirt bikers themselves......




You guys are no different than any other whiners out there. Share the trail, and stop banning other trail users because you don't like the way they have fun. I don't dirt bike, but I respect their right to use multi-use trails. Sure I wish they didn't pollute as much, and I wish they were quieter.

Don't you remember how many trails mountain bikers were banned from when the sport started out? It sucked. We are no better than anyone, despite what you think. Y'all are going to put a stick through someone's spokes on a trail that they are legally allowed to be on? I'd like to see you try. These things might break some home-made stunts because they are so heavy, but if it's singletrack and legal, it's fair game. Better than any 250 on the trail by far.

Another random point: While not every mtber rides lifts and shuttles downhills, but if you can't bike up it, you're still using a motor to get to the top. I don't see using lifts or cars any better than using this bike, but I'm sure you'll debate that.

And these bikes will be a workout to use, like any dirt bike. Upper body strength will be increased, and you'll end up doing a lot longer rides than on a mtb bike. It's not like an ATV, you don't just sit on it and squeeze the throttle. Pro dirt bike racers are top 3 in the world for fitness, as sports go.

[wintermittent]

..........

I think people are forgetting how many of the most popular mountain bike trails were opened as MX or jeep trails, and are still MX or jeep trails.

Maybe so, but it would be equally remiss of you to assume that the Mountain Bike Universe begins and ends on MX and jeep trails in California, Utah, and Colorado. To reiterate, my big-picture concern is that lightweight dirt bikes will allow riders to acess singletrack trails not authorized or appropriate for motor vehicle useage.

The real problem here is that our current laws prohibit bicycles in wilderness areas, since the law outlaws "mechanical" recreation, not "motorized". So, there's no consistent legal way to specify that an area is OK for bicycles but not motorcycles.

Huh? Federal management guidelines for Wilderness areas clearly do not allow for motorcycles. Federal Wilderness regulations have always outlawed "motorized equipment." (43 CFR 6301.5) The inconsistency I believe you are referring to is the ambiguity surrounding the banning of "mechanical transport" as suggested in the original Wilderness Act of 1966. Subsequent addenda to the Wilderness Act in the 1980's banned bicycles, hang gliders, etc. by name. Whether or not mountain bikes or sailboats or alpine touring ski bindings or anti-shock trekking poles or wheelbarrows or chinstraps belong in designated Wilderness areas (as defined by the original Wilderness Act) remains up for debate elsewhere.

I think what will happen is: if these sorts of motorcycles get popular and start screwing up the trail, MTBers will get mad and make regulations happen -- just like when MTB was new and hikers got pissed off and banned MTBs from a lot of trails.

No, I would hope mountain bikers, hikers, and equestrians will expect land managers to enforce motorized trail use restrictions where motorized vehicles are prohibited. Such as high traffic urban trail systems or environmentally sensitive areas.

Spats, Mr. AG, Slippy, I hear ya. I have nothing against dirt biking, mountain biking, hiking, or horse riding -- when and where it's appropriate/legal. I'm concerned about the fringe element of dirt bikers, mountain bikers, hikers or equestrians that believe they can ride or hike anywhere anytime simply because they have the capability to do so.

All I'm asserting is that a mass-market, lightweight, hybrid dirt bike/mountain bike will potentially stress perpetually tenuous trail user relations.

Word to the pedalpushers, the throttletwisters, and to the mummyfuckers,
Ay-men.

[descender]

I think it is cool, but you would have to cary a shotgun on your back to fight off the hippy upber hammerhead climbing types.

[gravitylover]

I have a friend with an electric dirt bike that he rides on the trails around here. It has a Marzocchi double crown 8" fork with a fox dh shock in the rear and pedals to help when the batteries drain. It's a kick to ride and climbs way better than I do on a bike I've just about killed myself twice though coming around a corner with him going the other way. Other than that there really aren't many problems with motorized vehicles on the trails around here anyway. Hunters are another story though