MTB: Who's into Mountain Biking?

Zascar

Who's here is into mountain biking? The cycling forum is extremely active but I don't really see many mtb posts. I think it would be good to get a bit of mtb chat going... I used to do loads of mountain biking when I was younger, I had a GT Zaskar which funnily enough I got my boards.ie username from. I'm just about to get a new bike next week, a Giant Trance X2 - can't wait. I know the Dublin mountains pretty well but would like some recommendations for other good trails in the dublin/wicklow area.

Have there ever been any boards.ie mtb meetups?

kevvhayes

howya.
just getting into mountain biking after a good few years off the bike. pretty new to boards too but really enjoying the chat and advice. would love to see more from MTB users. training tips, products. etc.
have a Lapierre hardtail myself but not really got it dirty yet!!!

Bluefoam

Hey guys, there's loads of mountain bikers on here. I'd be sure any threads will get the attention they need and the more mtb threads the better.

Morgan

Vile pasttime. Wouldn't touch it.

c montgomery

Ya i love MTB too.

Usually go to ballyhouras once or twice a week. Go to tracton in cork from time to time as well as a local forest which has a nice 25 min loop.

Going to ballyhouras this wednesday for a spin, if anyone wants to join me there more than welcome.

thebouldwhacker

Plenty of truffle hunters about these parts, some pretty good ones too. I would love to do more but I end up squeezing it in instead of going out on the road bike these days which is a shame because mtb really is more fun. I havnt been up the hills in a few weeks now... hmmm, now you have me thinking, maybe time for a hunt soon.

kakee

I think that mountain biking and road/race cycling should have seperate sections within the cycle forum as they are very different and many people are interested in either but not both.

kakee

Usually go to ballyhouras once or twice a week. Go to tracton in cork from time to time as well as a local forest which has a nice 25 min loop.

Going to ballyhouras this wednesday for a spin, if anyone wants to join me there more than welcome.

Just started going to ballyhouras ourselves. We were there friday and again on sunday. What a class place. I am so glad i gave up the smokes and got a mountain bike.

Alkers

I'm into it also but since moving out of home haven't been able to get out as much as I don't have a car and my mtb is a killer to cycle on the roads.
Do you've a car as well as the monster Zascar or do you cycle up to the mountains?

Lumen

kakee wrote: »

I think that mountain biking and road/race cycling should have seperate sections within the cycle forum as they are very different and many people are interested in either but not both.

Discussed here.

Zascar

Simona1986 wrote: »

I'm into it also but since moving out of home haven't been able to get out as much as I don't have a car and my mtb is a killer to cycle on the roads.
Do you've a car as well as the monster Zascar or do you cycle up to the mountains?

Yes I have a car too - I'm far from fit I'd barely make it up the mountains but as kakee said I also want to give up the smokes and get fit again. Really looking forward to it. Picking up my bike this week, can't wait!

Gavin

We dominated the trails that day

Vélo

Gavin wrote: »

We dominated the trails that day

It's about time we did this again.

I've only been up in Ballinastoe twice so far this year, I'm heading up Sunday if anyone's interested.

Karma

Vélo wrote: »

It's about time we did this again.

I've only been up in Ballinastoe twice so far this year, I'm heading up Sunday if anyone's interested.

I will go, I can bring some people with me in the broom wagon. meet at Joe dalys in dundrum at 10/11?

kakee

Discussed here.

Yes but what page is it on if I just enter the cycling forum. There are seperate sections for cycling adverts and training logs. Good luck and god speed to all those who cycle on the roads or do tours or races. I have no interest in these at all and it would be easier for everyone if the user could just choose road/race biking or mountain biking.

Lumen

kakee wrote: »

Yes but what page is it on if I just enter the cycling forum. There are seperate sections for cycling adverts and training logs. Good luck and god speed to all those who cycle on the roads or do tours or races. I have no interest in these at all and it would be easier for everyone if the user could just choose road/race biking or mountain biking.

You're basically saying that the shape of the forum should be dictated by your needs to the exclusion of everyone elses.

I might have no interest in cycle lanes, or driver-cyclist accident forensics, or leisure cycling, or utility cycling, or commuting, or audax. Should I create subforums for all of those to make my life slightly easier?

What about all the culchies who have to put up with endless bloody "Saturday spin" threads from Dubs who assume that Ireland=Dublin? Should we have a Dublin cycling subforum?

The end result of excessively subdividing the forums would be that each one would lack a critical mass of traffic, and in the absence of a more metadata-oriented forum product we all have to live with the mix.

In any case, the reality is that the MTB post traffic is so low because the few mountainbikers capable of using a computer can only type with their fists.

:pac:

Chips Lovell

kakee wrote: »

...it would be easier for everyone if the user could just choose road/race biking or mountain biking.

But this assumes the two are mutually exclusive. While you might not, there are plenty of people on here who do both.

Gavin

Lumen wrote: »

In any case, the reality is that the MTB post traffic is so low because the few mountainbikers capable of using a computer can only type with their fists.

:pac:

fdsalfdsksl;mds;lkm\sm

zil

Lumen wrote: »

In any case, the reality is that the MTB post traffic is so low because the few mountainbikers capable of using a computer can only type with their fists.

ME MOUNTAIN BIKER, ME LIKE MUD, UGGGH

kevvhayes

i've just learned to type with my thumbs!! us MTB users must be evolving. i hope to be able to use words with more than two sylables soon

kakee

I might have no interest in cycle lanes, or driver-cyclist accident forensics, or leisure cycling, or utility cycling, or commuting, or audax. Should I create subforums for all of those to make my life slightly easier?

In fairness Lumen there are more mods than you. If you ask the others maybe they could moderate it.

By the way, why did you feel the need to insult people just because they ride mountain bikes?

Zascar

I'll happily moderate it.

kakee

Good man Zascar.

I think it would be good and positive addition to the cycling forum.

kakee

Quote:
Originally Posted by kakee
...it would be easier for everyone if the user could just choose road/race biking or mountain biking.

But this assumes the two are mutually exclusive. While you might not, there are plenty of people on here who do both.

Yes so wouldn't it be easier to just select which one you wish to look at. If you want to look at both you could.

Zascar

kakee wrote: »

Good man Zascar.

I think it would be good and positive addition to the cycling forum.

I think it might be better in its own separate forum

Chips Lovell

kakee wrote: »

Yes so wouldn't it be easier to just select which one you wish to look at. If you want to look at both you could.

The point is that people are rarely interested in just one topic. With this level of traffic, it's more hassle to visit two forums than one main one. Even if you have no interest in one discipline, there are plenty of threads that crossover and have relevance to more than one community, e.g. maintenance, nutrition etc.

This forum covers plenty of topics, whether its mountain biking, road racing, track, commuting or whatever. Do we need sub-forums now for every single one?

kakee

This is the current menu Sports>>Cycling>>Cycling adverts
>>Cycling training logs


Is this too hard to do Sports>>Cycling>>Cycling adverts
>>Cycling training logs
>>Road Biking
>>Mountain Biking

niceonetom

kakee wrote: »

This is the current menu Sports>>Cycling>>Cycling adverts
>>Cycling training logs


Is this too hard to do Sports>>Cycling>>Cycling adverts
>>Cycling training logs
>>Road Biking
>>Mountain Biking

It's not that it's difficult, it's that it's pointless and unnecessary - or at least the need for it has not been demonstrated.

It's all a bit unilateral in here too... Between yourselves, Zazcar and kakee have decided on the need for a separate forum and decided who shall moderate it. That strikes me as a bit presumptuous.

The Cycling Adverts subforum was set up because the constant linking to adverts.ie and to other poster-to-poster sales were clogging the main forum and the Training Logs forum was set up after it had been shown to work in the A/R/T forum (where people interested in different parts of their sport get on just fine). Other than good old fashioned sectarianism, what is to be achieved by splitting out mtb'ers from the main forum? and where should it end? Do we all get our own forum, free from those troublesome posters whose interests are not identical to our own? Should we all get to moderate our own trafficless ghost-town sub-sub-sub-forum? Or does it make more sense (and fun) to have a general forum where people from all aspects interact?

Chips Lovell

kakee wrote: »

Is this too hard to do Sports>>Cycling>>Cycling adverts
>>Cycling training logs
>>Road Biking
>>Mountain Biking

Yes. For example, I want to know how to true a wheel, which forum to I ask in? The winter cyclocross league, which plenty of people here participated in, which forum does that go in? Track cycling threads, where do they go?

The more sub-forums you have, the less likely that people are going to click through on all of them, thus reducing the amount of information that's shared. For example, I want to know about hydration. With users split over two forums I'm only likely to hear the views of half the community.

zil

el tonto wrote: »

Yes. For example, I want to know how to true a wheel, which forum to I ask in? The winter cyclocross league, which plenty of people here participated in, which forum does that go in? Track cycling threads, where do they go?

The more sub-forums you have, the less likely that people are going to click through on all of them, thus reducing the amount of information that's shared. For example, I want to know about hydration. With users split over two forums I'm only likely to hear the views of half the community.

You can still post in the cycling forum, even if there are lots of other sub forums. If you want to make a post and it fall clearly into one of the subforums then post there, if your not sure then post in the main cycling forum.

As to whether or not there should be a mtb sub forum. Personally I don't really think there is enough traffic to justfiy that, however I think people have a very valid point in saying that road topics are sending other threads to the bottom very quickly. If anything I think it might be an idea to have a road/racing forum. If you want to talk about your new zipp's or how to prepare for a race post in the road subforum. If you want to talk about leisure cycling, mountain biking or anything that doesn't fall into road racing then post in the general forum.

petethedrummer

Good forums get ruined with too many sub forums.

kakee

99.9% of threads in the cycling forum are related to road/race cycling. Just look at the thread titles on the first few pages. This is brilliant if that is what you like but pretty crappy if you have little interest in it.

niceonetom

Why would we set up a sub-forum with 0.1% of the traffic?

Chips Lovell

zil wrote: »

...however I think people have a very valid point in saying that road topics are sending other threads to the bottom very quickly. If anything I think it might be an idea to have a road/racing forum. If you want to talk about your new zipp's or how to prepare for a race post in the road subforum. If you want to talk about leisure cycling, mountain biking or anything that doesn't fall into road racing then post in the general forum.

Here's the front page at the moment. It's hardly drowning in topics related to road racing:


MTB: Who's into Mountain Biking? - mountain biking
stopped by gardai! looking for advice - commuting
Setting up a new LBS - general
Cycle route to Allenwood - Grand Canal? - touring
Changing drop bars to hybrid type - maintenance
Essential Gear? - general gear advice
Etape Hibernia - road sportif
Cork - Clonakilty - the perils? - touring
cycle touring - touring
No tour of Ireland this year - road racing
Sundrive velodrome - track cycling
Rush hour in Utrecht - commuting
Documenting Dublin's cycle lanes - commuting
Wicklow 200 - 13th June 2010 - road sportif
FBD Insurance Ras 2010 - road racing
Recommend a light jacket - general gear advice
Sram Rival - road gear advice
Cycling condition are getting worse and worse - general
So that's where my punctures are coming from... - maintenance
Touring Ireland by Bicycle - touring

zil

el tonto wrote: »

Here's the front page at the moment. It's hardly drowning in topics related to road racing:

It's certainly not drowning However, from that small sample, you've highlighted almost a quarter as related to road racing, quite a significant number.

I'm not trying to marginalise road racing, it's just that I think people have a point about threads been pushed off the front page very quickly. In a matter of hours a new thread can be pushed onto the second page and yes it's very simple to say, read the second page but I think it's safe to say that most people don't bother. If the amount of traffic on the main cycling forum could be slowed down this would be less likely to happen (of course it's personal opinion whether you think the amount of traffic in the forum is reaching a stage where this is necessary. I believe it is but I'm sure people will have differing opinions)

As it stands now a significant portion of the regular posters on the cycling forum are interested in road racing so I suggested this as a candidate for a sub forum as it would, in my opinion, reduce the amount of traffic on the main forum and also create a sub forum which would have significant traffic (not a ghost forum)

Chips Lovell

zil wrote: »

It's certainly not drowning However, from that small sample, you've highlighted almost a quarter as related to road racing, quite a significant number.

By that dint, there's just as many touring threads, why not bump them into a separate forum. I never click on them and maybe then I'd find more threads I'm interested in on the front page? Indeed, there's the same amount of cycle lane/road condition/red light griping threads there, which Lumen said he's no time for. Why not shift them?

zil wrote: »

I'm not trying to marginalise road racing, it's just that I think people have a point about threads been pushed off the front page very quickly. In a matter of hours a new thread can be pushed onto the second page and yes it's very simple to say, read the second page but I think it's safe to say that most people don't bother.

Every kind of thread gets pushed off, which you may not notice if you're only interested on one thing. It's a busy forum, but subdividing it splits a community where there is no neat divisions.

Chips Lovell

I see there's a thread now on the forum requests forum.

@Mods, is there a case for merging given the duplication?

zil

el tonto wrote: »

By that dint, there's just as many touring threads, why not bump them into a separate forum. I never click on them and maybe then I'd find more threads I'm interested in on the front page? Indeed, there's the same amount of cycle lane/road condition/red light griping threads there. Why not shift them?

Well at this point I think your just been facetious. In the small sample of current threads on the front page there are indeed a lot of touring posts but that's not generally the case (as an aside, I think you have a brilliant idea to have red light rants in their own subforum ).

el tonto wrote: »

Every kind of thread gets pushed off, which you may not notice if you're only interested on one thing. It's a busy forum, but subdividing it splits a community where there is no neat divisions.

Every thread gets pushed off eventually but threads with more replies obviously stay on the forum longer, with the large amount of roadies we have on the cycling forum, related threads float to the top more often.

DirkVoodoo

Really?

What is stopping you just posting threads about mountain biking? Or using the search function? Neither of these are hard and I don't think a dedicated sub forum is going to do much. I have a mountain bike, I have done some mountain biking and I read the mountain bike threads that interest me. If there were a dedicated subforum I probably wouldn't bother checking it out, I already miss a lot of stuff in the cycling adverts unless it is the headline thread.

Motors is one of the busiest forums on boards, it makes sense to separate the content. I'm not sure that is necessary here and I can't see a good reason yet. All that is being put up is "I'm too afraid to talk about mountain biking here, I need a dedicated sub-forum". Just post the god damn topics you want to talk about.

Boards is full of forums split into sub-forums. This creates two problems:

1) Dead forums - Posting topics about Fringe in the fringe forum (random example) (Bad example, new forum -> Hmmm, I'll pick BSG and C&C, there is no shortage really. Most people just talk in either the "Games" forum or the console ones) will more than likely be met with no response. Posting in the main TV forum brings you to a wider audience and gets more conversation.

2) Linked to the above, but multiple posts across all the various forums. We actually already get some of that here ("help me with a new bike" in adverts or training logs?). This is a pain in the ass. Threads either get merged into confusing messes or people are linking across threads, discussing topics in tandem.

Awful, boo! A cycling forum oddly enough covers all types of cycling.

DirkVoodoo

el tonto wrote: »

Every kind of thread gets pushed off, which you may not notice if you're only interested on one thing. It's a busy forum, but subdividing it splits a community where there is no neat divisions.

We need neat divisions, damnit!

I want:

- A cycling fashion forum (Commuter/road/MTB sub-forums)
- A Bike Maintenance forum (same subs)
- A Fixie forum (delightfully titled "the hipster cafe" - it will cross link with commuting fashion and commuter bike maintenance but with more of an eye to "bike bling")
- Cycling adverts
- Cycling training logs (But I don't like not being able to search or read, so if you could break it down into Goals (Racing, fitness, Event).
- Cycling diet
- Cyclist ranting and raving
- Ranting and raving about cyclists
- Commonly asked questions forum
- Help me select a new bike (regular and CTW subs)
- The Knights of Tim Allen (weird forum, you can stick it in your sig and people will think you are part of a secret society, maybe we can make this a subscribers only forum)
- Cycling and the Law (More legal debate, but might link to a few of the ranting threads).

The beauty of this is everyone gets to be a moderator, no one will have a clue what is going on and any sense of community is removed because everyone is in their own little corner, free from interaction with no more than 3 or 4 people.

Lumen

kakee wrote: »

In fairness Lumen there are more mods than you. If you ask the others maybe they could moderate it.

It's not an issue of moderation effort.

kakee wrote: »

By the way, why did you feel the need to insult people just because they ride mountain bikes?

It was a joke, please don't make me explain it.

Chips Lovell

zil wrote: »

Well at this point I think your just been facetious.

I'm not being facetious at all. I truly have no interest in those kind of posts.

Lumen

@Zascar, since you started the thread...

I'm genuinely impressed at the amount of spontaneous support on this thread for a separate MTB forum. The fact that the MTBers found your post in amongst all the roadie threads and decided spontaneously to contribute without any sort of prompting or coercion indicates that there is no problem to solve.

Also, there were also about 12 replies to kakee's "what MTB" thread in the first hour even though he posted it around midnight.

Bluefoam

I think zascar got the hump when he saw my response to his PM... he wasn't expecting me to oppose his plan.

I have still to see a good argument for segregating the forum though. The only points made so far have been:
It would be good
&
There are no mountain bikers on boards

Lumen

Bluefoam wrote: »

I think zascar got the hump when he saw my response to his PM...

There was a PM? I must have missed it.

Surely a mod wouldn't be that sneaky? :pac:

Bluefoam

Didn't everyone get one?

Zascar

I see your point about segregation and yes its not good to have dead forums etc - I just thought it might be a good way to grow the mtb userbase. I can see now that it's not going to happen - fair enough but it was worth a try!

May I make a suggestion that if applicable, we ccould prefix threads that are specifically aimed at Mountain Biking threads with "MTB:" like I have done with this one? It would make the threads stand out a bit and make searching easier also.

P.S. I totally did not intend this thread to get into another forum debate - perhaps when it has dies down maybe some cleaning might be an idea, and continue the thread on as originally intended?

Lumen

Zascar wrote: »

May I make a suggestion that if applicable, we ccould prefix threads that are specifically aimed at Mountain Biking threads with "MTB:" like I have done with this one? It would make the threads stand out a bit and make searching easier also.

You can use tags, like this:

Vélo

Bluefoam wrote: »

Didn't everyone get one?

I got one but don't like the idea of a Sub-Forum.

As stated already I would miss alot of the info and when looking for advice, which forum would I post my questions?

I have a Road Bike, MTB, Touring Bike and a couple of Fixies. I just like to ride my bikes, so I never really class myself as a certain type of cyclist.

kakee

Ok lads, ye win.

Just keep the forums the way they are so and we will all post away. It was just an idea proposed by someone to have seperate sub-forums. Somewhere along the line we all got excited, fustrated and annoying. I for one am sorry for any stupid, fustrating or annoying posts I added to the various threads and will hopefully refain from making those mistakes again.:):)

kakee

Going to ballyhouras this wednesday for a spin, if anyone wants to join me there more than welcome.

What time will you be going at. There are maybe four of us going, hoping to be there for 7 o clock or so.