Pinkbike Poll: What Would It Take For You to Become a Faster Rider?
Greg Minnar is no stranger to going fast.
World Cup DH racing has returned after a too-long mid-season break, and the next Enduro World Series and World Cup XC events are on the horizon. That means a whole bunch of high-caliber athletes are out there spending serious amounts of time trying to figure out how to go even faster. If you've trained for months, or years, only to see the win slip out of reach by mere millisesonds, or maybe you're a former podium contender that's suddenly in the middle of the pack, I'm sure it can trigger some deep introspection in an effort to find that extra burst of speed.
It's not just elite athletes that find themselves scratching their heads either – plenty of riders have entered a race for the first time, convinced their natural abilities will power them to glory, only to be dissapointed when the final results sheet gets printed out.
Sure, going faster seems like it should be as simple as letting go of the brakes, or pedalling a little harder, but there's obviously more to it than that. I've seen ridiculously talented athletes crumble from the stress of the starting line, and we've all watched mechanicals prematurely end a winning run.
You don't need to be a racer to want to get faster – as the saying goes, fast is fun, which naturally means that faster is funner, or something like that. We all ride for different reasons, and I like goofing off on a bike as much as anyone, but there's also something addicting about trying to unlock the secrets of a particular section of trail, or figuring out how to keep up with that riding buddy who somehow always ends up in front.
For this week's poll, imagine there was a way to magically gain extra speed, no drugs or motors required. You can only pick one, though, so choose carefully – the fastest bike in the world won't make a difference if you have the reaction time of a sloth, or can't ride off a curb without crashing.
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332 Comments
The more centered on the bike you are the better it will feel, hanging off the back of the bike will just reduce the front wheel's grip and it will wash out.
Put more weight on the outside hand (Right in this case) if you can (like 55%R 45%L) but it's harder than it sounds.
The rest is having good tires, and the right PSI in them - and then the hardest part, trusting them.
Watch how Bryn does it, he's the master:
youtu.be/ErwKjU-P08k
This is a more violent movement, but if you see how his body is positioned in the middle of the turns, that's what you want to hold through the corner.
"...something something don't infringe on my freedom to be a liability to society...and anyone with young kids can go f**k-off..." Oh wow, thanks.
Covid isn’t going anywhere. Stop crying and accept it.
I’m vaccinated and wear a mask where needed, so don’t try and come at me with the “anti vaccine right wing” whatever just to affirm your opinions in your own mind.
If we were really serious about COVID, we would publicly try and reduce the #1 risk factor for being hospitalized from it- obesity. If we were really serious about preventing this from happening again we would look into how this virus formed in the first place- and the best evidence we have right now was that it was created by the very people and agencies trying to edict mask orders.
And no, masks are not f'ing up the kids. I have two young kids, they could careless.
the #1 risk factor is STUPIDITY....get vaccinated a*sholes. I as tired of this as everyone else.
Once again. This isn’t going anywhere. Accept it.
Once again, the #1 way to reduce the damage done by this virus is to be as healthy as possible, with a low BMI.
Personal experience is not statistically relevant evidence.
PS what twitter nonsense? What does twitter have to do with any of this? I think I have an account from 10 years ago, but I never go on that site.
Ordering people to wear mask that have the antibodies and or have been vaccinated, is Totalitarianism.
The bottom line is that all our data on this is very bad, new and had little time for peer review. The standards for gathering data from hospital to hospital and jurisdiction to jurisdiction is shockingly variable, and on such a flimsy foundation we are doing things to our children that we know are bad from decades of study.
So, we have hundreds of countries and their medical experts saying this virus is indisputably a natural occurrence, and then we have right wing clowns saying the opposite. Hmmm, who should we believe? Trump and Tucker or the people who have dedicated their lives to improving society?
I can clearly see who you have chosen to believe. I’ll stick with the professional medical society and you can stick with the racists and crooks.
And kids benefit from masks as much as anyone, they just don’t properly wear them as much as adults. And studies don’t exist YET because this is happening so fast, and it’s difficult to PROVE things (you being a Trumpet should understand that).
So take your politics somewhere else kid.
Masks work, social distancing works, vaccines work.
People like you, making cowardly assumptions that Fauci caused this virus doesn’t work. Jan 6 didn’t work.
Hysteria doesn’t work.
Masks work. Vaccines work. Tons of evidence to support that.
This clown is half-ass saying “no evidence@ masks on children are effective, which is a recurring talking point of the bat-shit crazy right wing, and particularly Tucker Carlson.
You say, "we have hundreds of countries and their medical experts saying this virus is indisputably a natural occurrence". This is not true. The proposed vector under the naturally occurring hypothesis is a bat that has a range over a thousand miles away from Wuhan (its too cold in Wuhan). Its true, many experts initially thought this was a good hypothesis, but that has changed as more data has come to light.
Character assassination, what you are doing to me, is a very effective way to persuade someone, its true. But it isn't honest, and it isn't a good way to try and discover truth. I don't have cable, and I don't think I've ever listened to Tucker a single time on youtube either.
This is an opinion piece in the WSJ, a left leaning publication. The authors, Dr. Steven Quay and Richard Muller, lay out a strong case for the lab leak hypothesis.
www.wsj.com/articles/the-science-suggests-a-wuhan-lab-leak-11622995184
To quote myself again, "The bottom line is that all our data on this is very bad, new and had little time for peer review.". I never said its "likely" or "conclusive" that the virus's origin is gain of function research funded by Dr. Fauci, but that there is enough evidence that we should investigate, and as Dr. Fauci has a clear conflict of interest he should "recuse" himself, so to speak, until we know something more concrete.
I beseech you to find other sources of information pointing out the facts not just statics that create fear.
1.) Social Distancing Works!
2.) Masks Work!
3.) Vaccinations Work!
4.) Um.. Vaccinations and Masks Work!
5.) Wait ... Vaccinations, masks and Social Distancing Works!
6.) Damn... Vaccinations, masks, Social Distancing and a Boosters Works
7.) Vaccinations, masks, Social Distancing, Boosters and double masking Works!
8.) Ah F it.. Just send it
"Personal experience is not statistically relevant evidence."
...said the guy that didn't post one single scientific paper supporting his thesis. now, before the internet i thought everyone had a basic grasp on science. turns out, i was wrong. go figures.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33431650
i repeat: WALL STRETT JOURNAL, not the Pravda, eh.
There are thousands of wet markets in China, just so happens this virus appears in one 2 km from a laboratory that spends its time looking into bat corona viruses, and allegedly manipulating them, interesting coincidence, would you not agree ?
Easiest solution for that....everyone needs to get vaccinated! And for parents sending their kids to school to with no masks....that's fine so long as all those parents are vaccinated and the teachers are vaccinated. Just get the damn shot so this can all be over. The virus is not going away, we need to live with it; but we cannot live with it if my local hospital's ICU has only one bed and cancer patients are foregoing treatment b/c Billy-Bob thinks the vaccine is somehow worse than a pandemic but now thinks otherwise as a ICU nurse is shoving a hose down his throat and his hospital bed could be better used for someone who actually needs it.
that's it for my rant...I'm going home to bike
Nearly all studies on the transmission rates for minors is "we can't find anything, we need more studies", like this one
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34335145
"(they are both double vaccinated)... They were both sick enough to be stuck in bed for multiple days....the #1 risk factor is STUPIDITY....get vaccinated a*sholes."
Do you see the problem there?
Also, when the political leaders who preach the loudest about masks, shelter in place, etc, are blatant hypocrites (Nancy Pelosi, Gavin Newsom, the Mayor of Chicago, the Mayor of Austin, etc), despite the fact that they get daily briefings on the raw data, its easy to see why people are so skeptical.
"new and had little time for peer review"
apart from the fact that this phrase doesn't mean anything (little time for peer review?) the same can be said for your sources, if logic applies. Children breath in the same way adults do. The fact that the study you posted ends up with basically "we still don't know for sure, we need more data" should be an additional reason to make kids wear their masks, unless you're telling me that is ethically acceptable to use maskless kids as control groups for the rest of the world.
Since this is a bike site and all....all the FF victims should have the ability to go to the hospital and get treated for their actual injuries rather than having EMS tell them to rub dirt on that broken leg b/c they cannot take them to the hospital for treatment b/c its too filled up with idiots. But sure....make this a political issue. I haven't...but you sure seem to think it is.
its obvious which pill you have swallowed
The Matrix
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE7PKRjrid4
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU
have a great weekend
This shit is comedic gold as far as scientific illiteracy goes.
rumble.com/vjxix4-there-is-no-variant-not-novel-or-no-pandemic-dr-david-martin-with-reiner-fu.html
This shit is really top material... do you do stand-up too, or do you only do comedy on pinkbike?
Are all these different medical agencies all colluding to hide from the general public that this virus was either purposely or accidentally leaked from the Wuhan Lab?
Natural viral outbreaks happen routinely and have throughout the history of manknd. The last significant one happened a decade ago. There is a chorus of disreputable people claiming this one is different . Until I find some reputable people saying this outbreak was purposely/accidentally caused by humans I will stick with the consensus of the experts
www.npr.org/2021/07/15/1016436749/who-chief-wuhan-lab-covid-19-origin-premature-tedros
The scientific community is nearly unanimous that this virus originated at the Wuhan lab at this point and a number of scientists have admitted that they prematurely ruled out a lab based origin because they didn't want to be associated with Trump who was promoting that story.
www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/lab-leak-theory-science-scientists-rcna1191
But, "trust the science" right...
"The scientific community is nearly unanimous that this virus originated at the Wuhan lab"
no, we are not. sources for what you say?
"a number of scientists have admitted that they prematurely ruled out a lab based origin because they didn't want to be associated with Trump who was promoting that story. "
again,source? name of the scientists?
i love how all of the science skeptics use the products that research gave them to cry their indignation over the internet, a network that was born so that universities could share their data and knowledge in a faster way. oh, the irony.
Look, trying to play the victim doesn’t suit you.
I read all your comments. You bring something to the discussion when it relates to racing, technical stuff, and general bike stuff. I learn stuff from you.
On the other hand, your politics are far to the right of mine.
I knew you were going for the “gain of function” BS in your original comment when you replied to a person who was bemoaning the lack of time due to school closings and babysitting. And your comment about masks is also a political football.
I can tell you definitively that masks are effective, and I clearly meant to dispute your wushu-washy attempt to say they aren’t.
I will still read your comments related to bike stuff and I will force myself to avoid getting triggered by your lack of knowledge regarding this global health crisis.
Masks work, vaccines work.
91% of those dying from COVID-19 in the US are unvaccinated. The only reason we still have mask mandates is because the right wing is using uninformed people in a political manner to discourage getting vaccinated. It sucks. The right is using dumb people to divide us.
"As scientists with relevant expertise, we agree with the WHO director-general (5), the United States and 13 other countries (6), and the European Union (7) that greater clarity about the origins of this pandemic is necessary and feasible to achieve. We must take hypotheses about both natural and laboratory spillovers seriously until we have sufficient data."
that is VERY different from saying "the scientific community is unanimous for the lab theory"
science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6543/694.1
The link clearly states "the head of the World Health Organization acknowledged it was premature to rule out a potential link between the COVID-19 pandemic and a laboratory leak" and it's well known among actual medical researchers at this point that covid 19 possesses a genetic footprint that has never been observed in a natural coronavirus.
And you might want to read the links you google while you try to pretend to be a scientist... that link is from researchers confirming that ruling out lab origin was premature and needs to be investigated, not denying the lab leak theory.
"The scientific community is nearly unanimous that this virus originated at the Wuhan lab"
neither i have ever said that the lab theory is 100% false. i wouldn't have posted that link, otherwise, i'm not so dumb to post sources that discredit my own argument. i change my thesis, if the data contradict my previous one.
but maybe with your extensive experience in epidemiology, biology and pharmacology you can educate me? please, do so.
Maybe this is the case where confirmation bias and reading comprehension collide in the worst of ways?
This is my point- we are still in the pandemic. We are still gathering data. We are still making mistakes. The data being used to force masks on children and isolate them socially is new (@Bruccio less than a year old in most cases), flimsy, and hardly conclusive. This isn't like engineering where you can measure fork flex, or log the number of warranty claims for creaky CSUs. You are trying to measure population data where most of your data is self-reported from those populations. This is why we have messaging from the CDC and Dr. Fauci saying "don't buy masks" two weeks before saying "we recommend masks". Why Facebook bans the mention of the lab leak hypothesis, then allows it again.
But back to my original comment- why is it so controversial to say "lose weight, eat healthy, keep your BMI low, the available evidence strongly suggests that this will greatly reduce your chance of hospitalization from COVID"?
i'm not conservative. I'm not right wing. I actively campaigned against Trump both times.
The "gain of fuction BS" is not BS. It is a viable hypothesis, that in my opinion is more likely than that the virus is of 100% natural origin. My original comment is saying that Dr. Fauci, who used the chaos of the Trump administration to funnel $ millions (through a shell company) into gain of function research for corona viruses in the same city as the origin of the corona virus (and then lied about it under congressional oath) should step aside or recuse himself, if only for the optics.
BTW I appreciate your comment about "You bring something to the discussion when it relates to racing, technical stuff...". I know not everyone agrees with me, but please be sure that I put a lot of thoughts into my beliefs, esp. politics & economics, where my college degree is in. I would also ask that we all realize that grown, educated adults can disagree on things without one of them being a retard or "sheep" or whatever.
Personally, now that we see significant numbers of infections in vaccinated individuals in addition to many people being re-infected already it seems blindingly obvious that this is never going away and we all need to figure out how to live with it. It will be a more severe version of the flu that we all dread but accept.
So when do you expect this to end? If covid never goes away, are you asking everyone to wear masks forever? If not, when should we go back to normal interactions?
And covid is never going away, and it's already killed most of the people it's going to. It'll be like the flu, we'll get new strains each year, some worse than others, and we'll live with it... and just like the flu, if you want to wear a mask and get a vaccine, go ahead and do so and leave those who don't want to alone to make their own choices.
The delta variant is droplet spread, just like the other variants. Period, hard stop. So is lambda. These are the same viruses with mutations on certain proteins that make them more virulent. They remain the same virus. If you are blocking droplet production (mask) they cannot become aerosolized. This is why masks precent SPREADING rather than CONTRACTING. ie me wearing a mask protects you, not myself.
As a physician treating COVID patients with four hospitals in my area at capacity currently and 95 percent of the ICU beds being taken by unvaccinated individuals, I feel pretty strongly about this. The vaccine works at preventing severe illness. In a city with 48% vaccination but 95% of the severe illness being unvax, there is a clear correlation. No, this is not a controlled study and yes it is anecdotal, but so are the benefits of a parachute when skydiving.
Long answer and yes my initial parallel was flawed, but masks (reduce droplet and aerosolization) and vax ( reduce mutation reservoir) have public health effects. Not individual effects.
Vaccines are increasingly shown to poorly impact covid transmission rates so, no, they're not reducing the mutation reservoir. In fact, their ability to mitigate symptoms in the infected but fail to stop infection is almost certainly leading to an increase in asymptomatic transmission.
For the record, I never questioned the curative potential of treatment, I just mocked your choice of words... though, in the larger scope, no one is dying of cancer because of scheduling issues being caused by covid at this point so I guess I was really just mocking your comment as a whole.
Now, to the point, if you actually do have a medical education than you know that droplet transmission isn't a significant vector of infection for covid in the public space and that masks only reduce aerosolization when properly sealed and of sufficient filtration capacity, which few of the masks commonly used in the public space are, and that low filtration masks like the neck gaiters people love to wear can actually increase aerosolization while poorly sealed masks redirect aerosols as opposed to filtering them... and as mentioned already, a vaccine which acts as a palliative with questionable prophylaxis creates a boom in asymptomatic carriers.
Go back on Facebook you wierdo qanon trumpeter
This is fun. What else u got kiddo?
Regarding the vaccine, I agree that at this point with the suboptimal acceptance by the general public makes it's usefulness questionable in preventing additional spread. My point was regarding severe illness resulting from COVID and the resultant effects on the health care system.
I do apologize for my lack of using big words. Once you reach a certain level of expertise in a field you stop trying to work over others to make yourself sound impressive. I tend to speak, and type, in simple terms my patients and other people can easily understand.
www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2021/08/15/carnival-cruise-covid-19-outbreak-27-vaccinated-people-test-positive-for-coronavirus
If the vaccine worked, it doesn't matter how much of the crew is vaccinated when 27 VACCINATED people get sick. The vaccine, by definition, should have produced an active acquired immunity that prevented them from becoming infected.
Nobody said anything about them dying, dumbass... now you're just creating strawman arguments. The point is that the vaccine is mitigating symptoms in people who are infected, creating asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic carriers.
But bonus dumbf*ck points for not being able to stay on the discussion, comprehend clear English, and crying about Trump when that's not even remotely relevant. Troll somewhere else, clown.
It's cute that you think you used big words... and that you're trying so hard to sound like you have expertise to make yourself sound impressive while ostensibly apologizing for doing so.
If you wanted to come out and say you're joke that shouldn't be taken seriously, we got that from your first post trying to compare car accidents to covid... there was no need to elaborate. You should work on that confirmation bias and learn to study more than just the resources that support your ignorance if you're gonna keep trying to pretend to be a doctor.
You better get back to curing cancer, doc, people are dying while you're here debating!
If someone here is going to flex expertise that counters what I hear first hand from actual medical doctors (in virology/cancer/research) the it seems pretty reasonable question that persons credentials. For that same reason, you won't see me posting "I heard from a pediatric cancer research doctor...." or even better, posting the info as MY evidence, theory, or fact.
We are all sharing the same planet and if some people can’t stop being so selfish, the next variant of this may not be something we can engineer a vaccine for. And then mayor you’ll get say goodbye to someone you love over a f*cking iPad while they gasp their last breaths.
You, on the other hand, are illustration of the worst of humanity. You clearly think you’re intelligent, yet you hide your fear and ignorance with pseudoscientific bullshit and self-righteous BS about liberty. Everything you’ve said is inconsistent with science and basic human decency.
The fact is, you’re too stupid to know how dumb you are, yet stubborn enough to not shut up when it’s time. Go home, have a beer and find a better side of yourself.
Come back and try again when you've learned to read lil guy.
But really, the upsetting part of your little sookfest is knowing that you're passing your small minded stupidity on to three kids... truly tragic.
From the original post:
"cultural shift towards masking acceptance in daycare and schools"
I lost a family member too.
And we just found out our friend with breast cancer can't get her operation because the hospital is overwhelmed with Covid patients.
People need to wake up and just wear the f*cking mask and get the shots already.
On a completely unrelated note, @badbadleroybrown, any good Enduro, downhill, XC, or CX races you're entering soon? Curious if you're just a shitposter a la waki/dualcrownaddict or are actually invested in this hobby for real.
www.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomments/?threadid=231466&pagenum=1#commentid7036410
Nah, I don't race, I just ride.
Maybe you should. Then you'd have less time to be a proud A**hole Online.
And, for the record, being an a*shole really doesn't eat into my time. You and Danny boy spend way more time crying about me being an a*shole than I put into being one.
How has this continued this long?
Just a simple survey here folks.
Palos is way better!
Speed comes from time to train and discipline to train, not ride. Bike setup is really important, but past the threshold of an adequate bike, spending more on “upgrades” is a waste of money.
But I answered with the one thing that I feel most impacts my trail selection, and the thing that I wish most that I could fix with a magic wand.
If I could jump as well as many people I see "on the internet", I'd be much faster, but more importantly, more confident, and safer.
Fitness, and other skills I know how to improve (have had past success, so I know what I need to do to repeat that/keep it up). But jumping I've spent time on, and have seen marginal improvements... but nothing like what I've seen in other areas.
But I'll keep at it!
"Improved endurance. My technical skills are fine, it's my legs and lungs that hold me back."
seriously, just go to 28psi. more as you get faster. the pros are both ligther than you and run 32+psi.
And to all those out there who think it matters, I assure you it doesn't. Don't believe me? Try this - next time you do a race, go at half your normal speed. Then see if anyone likes you any more or any less than they did beforehand. Chances are that they'll still think just the same of you, so it obviously doesn't matter to them.
Just saying! :-)
My fast days are over and I’m cool with it. Kid, business and a mortgage and I don’t miss surgery and concussion.
I’d be faster if I was thirty years younger.
Pinkbike didn’t have a time machine option
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