JasonALap

What a great program! This is embodies everything good that mountain biking has to offer. As a mountain biker who started using indoor cycling as a training tool, I understand how effective it can be. So many of us have busy lives, so fitting in a quick 30 minute or hour long lung bursting session is easy, but we all need to stop and smell the roses once in a while. Mountain biking is a way to have fun while reconnecting with the outdoors. Personally, I prefer to not stop, but smell the fir and pine trees while I ride.

@thenotoriousmic: fat bikes are great for their purpose, but too many people jumped on the bandwagon that had no real use for them. They work great in the snow! A 26"x5.0" would be aired down to 1 or 2 psi for fluffy stuff. Groomed trails you can get away with higher pressures or narrower tires. It's a different experience. Slower, but more peaceful. It's like a magic carpet ride in the woods. Honestly, some of my most memorable rides have been in the snow on my fattie.

I'm probably there with you. Are we allowed extra wheels and tires? If I can switch to plus for the summer that's probably what I'd do. I'd sacrifice some speed, comfort or capability to be able to ride year round.

How was drag compared to a conventional bearing?

@hllclmbr: absolutely! XC isn't "cool" so everyone's overbiked so they can claim they ride enduro, when in reality the majority of their rides are on par with a modern XC course. Now, this definitely varies region by region. If you live in the Pacific northwest where Pinkbike is headquartered or any other mountainous region, you may do a larger percentage of gravity riding, but for the average mountain biker it's XC trails.

I'm with you... 1: road bike 2: fat bike/mullet+ rigid 3: overbuilt trail bike (150f/140r) And yeah, roads scare me more than mountain biking, but I'm learning which ones are safer than others.

As some other people have said, it's a compromise that you're never going to get perfect. I think the idea of being underbiked is more appealing if you have a bigger bike available to you for when you want to ride gnarlier stuff. Ideally you find your goldilocks bike that does it all, but I think for most riders with one bike, it's more practical to be overbiked than underbiked. You CAN ride flat XC trails and most climbs with a bigger bike even though it won't be ideal, but there are plenty of trails and features that you CAN'T ride an XC or lighter trail bike down. Ultimately it's a balancing act that will be different for every rider. That said, I'm hoping my new Guerrilla Gravity Shred Dogg will be that Goldilocks for me, and if I find myself underbiked too often, there's always a Smash or Gnarvana seatstay kit for a whole lot less than another bike...