r/MTB

I was wondering if anyone else has experienced what I’m going through, and if you have any tips. Long story short, I switched from flats to clips on my bike and I feel like just forgot how to ride.

I’ve been riding MTB for almost 4 years, but I’ve been riding clips on my gravel bike for the same amount of time. So I have the unclip motion committed to memory and don’t really have a problem unclipping or clipping in.

Last week I made the swap to clips for a variety of reasons. Mostly because I’m so OCD about where my feet are placed on my pedals that if I don’t get them in the right spot, I ride terrible until I’m able to replace them. I also wanted to avoid slipped pedals. I also wanted to have better stability through chunky trails. The CB mallet trail pedals seemed to tick both boxes. Anyways I went for a ride the other week on a familiar trail and everything seemed fine, no major hiccups. Today, I went on another ride and it literally felt like I forgot how to ride a bike. Getting bucked on every jump, not being able to commit to features, unclipping a foot way before obstacles, braking super earlier, and several crashes in loose berms.

I already determined that my cleats were probably too far forward, so I moved them a lot farther back on my shoes and that does feel better. To me, it seems mostly like a mental block that I just need to get over, but it’s still frustrating because it feels like I took 3 steps back in my progression. Does anyone have a similar story or have any tips to get over that mental block?

Hey all, looking for some input from people who’ve ridden both.

I’m coming from a Trek Fuel EX 7 and ride mostly in Colorado (Green Mountain, Deer Creek, etc). I demo’d an Ibis Ripmo at Maryland Mountain and rode Fast Money and Hard Money.

My thoughts on the Ripmo:

- Climbed really well, felt smooth and efficient uphill

- Cornering felt really good — super easy to initiate turns and move around

- Felt more nimble/playful than my Trek

- Downhill was solid, handled everything I rode, but didn’t feel quite as planted at higher speeds as my current bike

Where I’m stuck:

I’m also considering a Transition Sentinel. I’ve heard it’s more stable and confidence-inspiring at speed, but less nimble.

I’ve been telling myself for years I’d ride bike park more… but realistically I still haven’t lol! Would rather cry once on the purchase than twice.

What I’m trying to figure out:

- Is the Sentinel overkill for Front Range riding like Green Mountain / Deer Creek / dikota ridge?

- Will I miss that cornering/playful feel from the Ripmo?

- For someone riding mostly tech + trail (with maybe occasional park), which would you choose?

Appreciate any input from people who’ve ridden both!

I'm a college student and I want to start buy and working on bikes. I have access to a garage so I was wondering if anyone had gotten a good toolset online for bikes in general or even just mountain bikes. thanks!

Title says it all. I am looking at replacing my shock instead of servicing because there are a lot of them on Facebook Marketplace. I am wondering how I can tell, or if anyone just knows, if it will fit. On my 2018 stock Trek Remedy, it came with a standard Deluxe. Thanks for any info

Hello!
I'm kinda a beginner and I found at decathlon second hand the EXPL 540 at 480€, should I go for it?
Can I find something better in Europe (Italy) ?

alright so I wanna start mountain biking and I already now I am going love it. I am really Into skiing so I feel like this is a great summer version.

I am extremely eager to learn and If I don't get injured, I plan to get around 100 days in. I mainly care about park and downhill. My main goal is to do A line with most or even all the jumps.

I am 6'4 (194cm) so I guess I'll need a xl 29'. other than that, I have no clue what I am actually looking for. with skis, I know all the models and everything I need to know and care about, but with Mountainbiking I find it difficult to learn about it without having my own one, but I don't wanna mess up and by the wrong one.

so my budget is around 2.5k cad maybe like 3000 but not much more and I would like to buy used, but... I have absolutely no clue what I am looking for and how to determine how good it is. tried using ai, but thats kinda annoying and doesn't really help me at all..

I'm a male college student and I have a budget of like $1,000 USD MAX. I'm pretty experienced (crushing intermediate & some advanced trails in Sedona on a rented Ibis Ripley AF) and hope to get my own bike to take on a road trip this summer through Bentonville, Sedona, Santa Cruz, and Moab. I'm currently in North Carolina, so I also hope to get out to Pisgah here and there. I'm 5'9" and 160 lbs. What bike should I get that best fits my budget, experience, and terrain? I'm happy to buy used.

My bikes frame is a matcha green with black handlebars what color PNW Loam grips should I get?

Total beginner here & looking for my 1st bike. I’ve been scanning Market place & see a quite a few Trek bikes. 2 today caught my eye a Marlin 5 for $400 & a Caliber 9 for $350. I tend to see more Trek bikes than anything. Is this common or are they not that good of a bike? Being a new guy I don’t want to spend a ton of money on my 1st bike. I want to make sure it will be something I stick with before spend $2k-$3k on a bike.