Cross Rutted! Pro MTBers on Motos - Video

Nov 8, 2016 at 9:49
by Pinkbike Staff  

Engine or no engine... These Professional Mountain Bike athletes have style for miles but how do they benefit from their high-octane winter season? Husqvarna Motorcycles UK took them to Apex Motocross Worcester to find out.

Danny Hart, Taylor Vernon, Phil Atwill, Joe Smith, Zach Peters, Rhys Evans, and Sophia Paull twist throttles and get sideways on their MTBs too.

MENTIONS: @PROPAIN-Bicycles / @trek / @Nukeproofinternational


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68 Comments
  • 82 1
 They should do the opposite and put a few moto guys on a DH bike and send them down a hill, would be interesting to see how well they could adapt
  • 22 6
 Digthehill@ seriously? Our pro downhill circuit is littered with motocross guys!
  • 19 64
flag Badger24 (Nov 8, 2016 at 10:27) (Below Threshold)
 My first day on a DH bike I was hitting nearly everything at Winter Park. DH is much easier because the bikes are so light!
  • 37 2
 @Badger24: Hitting Jump lines at winter park is a little different than racing World Cup, or competing at rampage.
  • 113 0
 this one guy named Aaron adapted ok
  • 17 1
 @MX298: yeah it takes moto guys like half a season to bring their A game on an mtb. I've seen pro level moto guys get a dh bike, start racing and end up on pro podiums in a season. Makes me curse my parents for not putting me on a moto at a young age haha
  • 21 2
 They should put a few downhill guys on motos and send them down a WC DH track
  • 1 0
 @hamncheez: and Shaun Palmer
  • 6 75
flag viatch (Nov 8, 2016 at 12:05) (Below Threshold)
 saw atwill and immediately closed the video.......
  • 6 0
 @trialsracer: remember MX racers start at four years old so their skills by teenage years are well developed. My son's grew up racing MX till it died locally and now race pro DH. I do see the next generation of DH kids will be raising the skill bar, we are seeing the start of it with Finn Iles !
  • 4 1
 its really not that different. only difference is motobikes weigh about 200 pounds and can go about 90 mph. but other than that, handleing is about the same. if you know one, the other is very easy to learn
  • 10 1
 @viatch: ? He's a sound lad!
  • 3 1
 @hamncheez: yeah.... and that other guy need "Danny" too.
  • 3 0
 The thing with the top mx/sx guys is their sponsors generally wont let them do anything dangerous unless its training on the moto. They can't go risking a crash on a dh bike when their pay relies on them racing. (Unless you're James Stewart, he can somehow keep a contract while only going to half the races).
  • 4 2
 @hamncheez: Aaron who?
  • 2 2
 @Muckal: GWIN
  • 2 0
 @hazbazmtbmonkey: I think he may have been joking
  • 52 3
 Trying to sell you on a moto for offseason training because it's cheaper than MTB
  • 16 11
 dude a 2013 m9 fro costs about 2000 american dollars. a 2013 kx250f would be about 6500 american dollars. and you have to pay for gas on a moto. trust me i have one. moto is more expensive. look it up.
  • 6 5
 you can downvote my comment as much as you want, but its still going to be true. like i said, look it up. i have a moto and i ride mtb, involved with both worlds. im not saying moto is better, im saying its more expencive
  • 7 1
 @FrozenTreads56: Anyone paying 6500 usd for a 13' kx250f is getting ripped off hard, mine cost 5000 aud (~$3200 usd) last march. You could easily get a 2016 model with a few hours for that much
  • 1 0
 @velociraptor-clintthrust: eh maybe in Australia...
  • 1 0
 @FrozenTreads56: in Germany too Smile
  • 6 0
 @Muckal: well maybe its just in america. idk. its kinda pointless to argue about it how much something costs on the internet with people ive never met and never will. nobodys convincing each other
  • 1 0
 ah ah great comment!!
  • 2 0
 @FrozenTreads56: preach
  • 1 0
 @FrozenTreads56: especially since the original comment was made to point out how expensive MTB is, in an ironical way...
  • 6 0
 The only trouble with dirt bikes, at least around here, is that you have to load them up and drive to the next state to find a public riding area. That's actually why I got into MTB in any seriousness. Awesome vid, though, now I'm dying to ride either bike.
  • 8 0
 Yeah, but you're in tiny vermont. You can fart and New Hampshire can smell it.
  • 1 1
 @scottzg: yep, where i lived you could fart in new york and could smell it from across Champlain, or in canada.
not very many riding areas at all. i say become a roadie. vermont is perfect for that. you wont be dishonored if you become a roadie in vermont
  • 9 0
 They break your body 10x easier,too.
  • 5 3
 I rode moto and free ride moto for many years before getting into DH mountain biking. My only issue was it had been about 10 years between riding moto and getting into DH on a mountain bike. I definitely see the benefit, however riding free ride or even moto on a track is wildly different than DH racing or even enduro MTB racing. Free ride moto, you're generally in a wide open space, like sand dunes or something similar (I can see how that would translate to doing something like Red Bull or other freeride MTB events.) Most moto tracks (at least one's I've ridden, including pro tracks like Red Bud here in Michigan) are pretty wide tracks as well. The difference between moto and DH is that you're pinned going as fast as possible with trees, rocks, roots all within a handlebars width at times. That's way gnarlier than going wide open to send a big a$$ jump across some dunes. Or even going hard through a whoop section on a MX track. Not saying any one discipline is easier than the other. I've crashed hard on both my moto and my DH rig. Either way, a crash is a crash and they all end up hurting like hell if you're pushing yourself.
  • 7 0
 If you like motocross but find yourself missing all those chances to hit trees at 40mph, try a hare scramble. It's like XC racing in terms of cardio, but also, you know, fun. Razz
  • 1 0
 GNCC puts dirtbikes through rocks, roots, trees, etc.... The Snowshoe race is even through a bike park.
  • 1 1
 @ryetoast: yeah, during the time I was into moto, all my buddies and I wanted to do was send it through some dunes trying to go big from one dune to another, or hitting moto tracks on the weekends. We were just a bunch of punk teenagers hyped up on the original Crusty Daemons of Dirt, and classics like No Respect ahahaha
  • 1 1
 @hatfield44: I'd be into that stuff now for sure! But back in the early days we just wanted to hit jumps, and go bigger than one another. But unfortunately I haven't owned a moto since 2004. :-(
  • 6 1
 Should put Lacondeguy on a moto, his never done that before..... never ever
  • 6 1
 awesome i should watch a few crusty demons of dirt or terrafirma videos like back in the days...jeremy mcgraw ftw
  • 1 0
 McGrath is in one of the vids in the MOTO series... 4 I think? Fairly recent video
  • 1 0
 Don't forget about No Respect.... that's a classic of those old cult classic moto vids from the 90's ahahaha
  • 13 10
 Moto is cool, and I appreciate it, but it is like the less attractive of two beautiful twins...Mountain biking is just so, damn, sexy.
  • 6 4
 haha there is defently something very captivating about mtb. keeps me hooked after i got into moto
  • 6 2
 You sir are completely incorrect. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ou2h5dZuPw
  • 10 3
 @seanrallison: I don't think I am completely incorrect... Like I said Moto is Beautiful (I enjoyed the link you shared). But I am wooed by the design of bikes, artistic geometry wars, expressive trail building, the wilderness experience, and unification with natural environments. I love riding Jet Skis, but there is nothing like sailing a Catamaran...bending to the will of the landscape, not just traversing over it.
  • 2 1
 @seanrallison: man its just opinion, i ride both and enjoy both, but nothing can beat the sheer simplicity of bicycles. and moto is hard to beat to. maybe there equal... but thats just my opinion. i agree with twhart for the most part.
  • 2 0
 @FrozenTreads56: It's all good mate most people just can't handle the prolonged intensity that moto constantly throws at you so they opt for the more relaxing easier pedal bike rides. Different strokes for different folks.
  • 2 0
 @twhart20: dude you that jet ski and catamaran comparison isn't even in the same ball park.. you have to bend even more with a motorcycle because it's a 230lb fire breathing monster trying to rip its way out from under you. If you're not in perfect unison with it and the landscape sh*t goes south quickly.
  • 5 1
 @seanrallison: I grew up on Dirt bikes. I love Dirt Bikes. I want to buy a Dirt Bike again, when I have the means for one. For myself I find Mountain biking to be a philosophically rich activity in all of it's disciplines. Not to say that anything involving high-octane is not. But I haven't seen any Moto Bike videos with the title "Builder" or have seen an event as in sync with the landscape as Redbull Rampage, choosing and building lines, comprehending the natural forces of gravity, and choosing a paths that results to something more than "Gnar", leading to self expression. I also appreciate the schizophrenia of mountain biking, riding up, is such a different decision than riding down.
  • 3 0
 @seanrallison: that was awesome! Except for the ridiculous vice-over in the beginning of course.
  • 3 0
 @MegaMonkey: Fack right! #getvoiceoversoutofmotomovies All we want to hear is that 2-stroke sing!
  • 5 1
 disappointed it's not a chainsaw competition
  • 1 1
 Back in the day, I rode MTB then switched to MX/SX for about a decade and have now returned to MTB.
I struggled converting to the Moto, ride positioning etc, now having trouble converting back lol

I found riding MX was safer when on the track alone as, obstacles jumps woops etc can be rolled if you're not up to it. However was much more dangerous with others on the track.

MTB is hard because it requires far more commitment when riding and generally it do or die.
  • 1 0
 from what i've seen, bmx & mx seem to have always produced solid all around skills.
my Z125 days helped my sorry ass lots!
  • 3 1
 Guess what? These guys rip on motorbikes too.
  • 2 1
 I love crossers but as my mate once told me about them.......do not pass go, do not collect £200, go directly to hospital.
  • 1 0
 a hus TC 125 would be nice to have right after I moved close to a MX Track.
  • 2 0
 Fender slap hoorah!!!
  • 2 1
 I want to see Loosedog on a moto!
  • 1 0
 Damn Daniel! Back at it again with the front fender slap!
  • 2 1
 this is an amazing idea
  • 7 3
 what? the thing they been doing on the off season since forever? only this time they have a camera and a bunch of close ups of the Husqvarna logo?
  • 2 0
 @fercho25: ok I will admit it, I said that before I even watched the video
  • 2 1
 @FrozenTreads56: lol its ok ive been overhyped by headlines before.
  • 1 0
 @fercho25: lol no big deal.
  • 2 1
 Palmer please
  • 1 1
 Fuck motos... If I never hear or see one again it'll be too soon







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