# Things I've Discovered with Age



## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

Sometimes I'm a new adaptor. Something comes along and I see an immediate benefit and am quick to adapt the technology.

Other times I'm rather late to the show. Decades late in some cases.

This week I learned to stand and pump while climbing. 

For the past 60 years of riding, its been sit and spin. Period. No options. Sit and spin and you will eventually reach the top where ever the top is. Then I stood and pumped one day and for short spurts, climbed better and faster than ever before. It takes more energy and I doubt I could do it all the way up but it was a revelations.

I also discovered I like hardtails. That's not totally true, I always liked hardtails but own a perfectly adequate Santa Cruz 5010 V1 and have for the past six season. I always threaten to get a new bike but the 5010 keeps working.

Hardtails? Yeah, that's what I was talking about but got side tracked.

What I really discovered was lockouts. I've had lockouts on my suspension for probably 20 years but never even thought of using them. Then, when standing and pumping, I was getting too much bob out of my VPP suspension. After one climb a bell went off or a light bulb came on or, maybe, I just used my brain. Anyway, trying to kick myself and failing, I thought, "why the hell don't you use the lockout on your shock?" Why indeed. So I did and climbing became even more fun and efficient.

Then I thought, if locking out the shock was so good, why not lock out the fork too and so I did and it was good.

With age (I will be 71 in three weeks) you can learn new things and your riding can continue to improve just like a fine wine. One thing to remember though is that even though a fine wine will improve with age, it will eventually turn to vinegar. When that happens to my riding, I can experiment with an electric bike but not in the foreseeable future.

Stay calm and carry on ....


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## mudflap (Feb 23, 2004)

Well spoken Rev. But I have memories of pedaling, first one of my sisters' Sears hand-me-downs, and then my very own StingRay, in the standing position all the time. I bet you just forgot.
Meanwhile, keep on your path, it sounds like it's taking you new places.


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

You are probably right but from age 10 on, my bikes always had at least 3 Sturmy (sp?) Archer gears, fat(er) tires and rim brakes so who knows. 

We were certainly riding trails in the woods in the fifties but then people in California invented Mountain Bike marketing 20 years later and got all the credit.


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## Fuse6F (Jul 5, 2017)

great share!


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## Eric Malcolm (Dec 18, 2011)

Rev Bubba said:


> You are probably right but from age 10 on, my bikes always had at least 3 Sturmy (sp?) Archer gears, fat(er) tires and rim brakes so who knows.
> 
> We were certainly riding trails in the woods in the fifties but then people in California invented Mountain Bike marketing 20 years later and got all the credit.


So true......


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## Velobike (Jun 23, 2007)

Rev Bubba said:


> You are probably right but from age 10 on, my bikes always had at least 3 Sturmy (sp?) Archer gears, fat(er) tires and rim brakes so who knows.
> 
> We were certainly riding trails in the woods in the fifties but then people in California invented Mountain Bike marketing 20 years later and got all the credit.


We were doing it in the UK too, for example the Rough Stuff Fellowship formed in 1955 (I'm a member) but with a prehistory of 60 odd years of taking bikes over mountains.

However the British bike industry which was at its peak was hidebound, and full of the sort of posh twits who were ultimately responsible for its demise, did not see any need to cater for this market. The nearest they got was small companies like Dawes in the 1950s making a model* specially for Rough Stuff, but it was basically a light tourer with a little bit more space for a fatter tyre, about 40mm.

The irony was the UK industry was capable of making a proper mountain bike. They were supplying specially equipped bikes to the colonies with their rough or non existent roads. These had 2" tyres on 26" rims (different ERD to US 26") that were capable of handling the worst. A bit of development or imagination (not likely from those donkeys with their blinkered road emphasis) and we could have seen mtbs as early as the late 1930s.

So I am forever grateful to those lads in California who discovered hooning downhills was fun and developed what came to be known as the mountain bike. If they hadn't started making them, the rest of the industry would not have been forced into following suit.

*Dawes Windrush - I have one and did 68km on it yesterday. We'd probably call it a gravel bike these days. I like to take it into the mountains where normally only mtbs go.

It's actually amazingly good on rough tracks so long as it's wheels on the ground stuff.


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

Great history. Thanks for posting. 

Lets face it. There were bikes long before there were many paved roads. I remember seeing a picture of some early 20th or late 19th century French riders on dirt and the US Army in the 19th century did an experiment with fully loaded Buffalo soldiers (black troops) using bikes for off road transportation. These people had packs, rifles, etc. Maybe they were the first bike packers?

As for me growing up in the 50's, except for one kid with an English - what is pictured above, (maybe he was an early cross rider) we all had fat tires but were too young to be allowed to ride on real roads so to get from one place to another, we followed animal trails through the woods of North Jersey. 

When we were allowed on the road (a right of passage in those days), our bikes took us to old mine trails in the hills and many adventures. I.E. just what we do today on a proper mountain bike.

PS: My father was stationed in England during WWII as the assistant to the colonel running an American Army hospital and I grew up hearing tales of American B-17s taking off at dawn while black painted Lancasters returned from their night missions. When Winston Churchill died, he had me take off from school to watch the funeral.


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## jescowhite (Jul 19, 2014)

Get yourself a steel singlespeed hardtail with dropperpost and news things will occur


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## 33red (Jan 5, 2016)

I am still using a 20 YO seatpost and saddle, ya i love HT too.
I might get my first FS at 62, my size got in store i will test it in the morning.
I am not fast on the trails, i am far from the first to change.
Still no phone, just an 8 YO laptop.
Simplicity is great, pandemic ready.


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## oldbear52 (Jul 6, 2014)

I have Been a cyclist for 61 years. I have gone through road and dirt phases , each one at different time. I was a devoted road racer until a fairly rough accident side lined me for six months. 
In 2014, I was a physical wreck. I was way over 300lbs, suffered at least two heart attacks resulting in Congestive heart failure and a dependence on Oxygen assist full time. I decided that rather sit back and do nothing I would but a bicycle and return to cycling.
Since July 2014 I have lost over 100lbs and oxygen is no longer needed. I put over 4,000 miles on my fat bike. i owe my health and very life to cycling.
Until Later
Oldbear


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

Congratulations, Oldbear. We can come back again.


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## Radium (Jan 11, 2019)

oldbear52 said:


> I have Been a cyclist for 61 years. I have gone through road and dirt phases , each one at different time. I was a devoted road racer until a fairly rough accident side lined me for six months.
> In 2014, I was a physical wreck. I was way over 300lbs, suffered at least two heart attacks resulting in Congestive heart failure and a dependence on Oxygen assist full time. I decided that rather sit back and do nothing I would but a bicycle and return to cycling.
> Since July 2014 I have lost over 100lbs and oxygen is no longer needed. I put over 4,000 miles on my fat bike. i owe my health and very life to cycling.
> Until Later
> Oldbear


....And they say that this kind of recovery is near-impossible. GOOD ON YOU. my friend!!


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## ddoh (Jan 11, 2017)

WOW!!! That's great to hear.


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## mudflap (Feb 23, 2004)

I recently discovered, for the fourth or fifth time now, that I am not invincible. Along with that re-discovery I discovered that 70 year old bones aren't as dense, tend to be more brittle, and consequently break easier.
'nuff said.


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## Velobike (Jun 23, 2007)

Today I rode a 60 year old bike up a hill that gave me a lot of trouble nearly 60 years ago. It wasn't fast, but feeling pleased.

I did cheat though - used gears (5 speed Sturmey-Archer hubgear).


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## jescowhite (Jul 19, 2014)

Just found out at 61 that i enjoy singlespeeding more than gearing 😀


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

I learned at 45 that I like gears more than single speed ... I also like suspension.

It's good that we have choices


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## Radium (Jan 11, 2019)

Euthanasia.....is that one of our "choices?"
I only ask for a friend...........


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## sturge (Feb 22, 2009)

At 61 I've learned that a hardtail or singlespeed will beat the crap out of me. Once I got my first FS back in 2001 that was the right tool for the job on all this boney New England singletrack.

The other thing I've discovered is that experience includes so much more than just riding. It's the pain, the enjoyment, the recovery, the gear, the setup, the route selection, the weather, who you ride with, pushing your limits but not taking excessive chances, the post-ride beer...

After 30 years or so you get this sh*t dialed in so every ride is just as awesome as the last one.


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

Well said and I like the description of New England singletrack as "boney." Its what I ride and the word fits perfectly.


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## WHALENARD (Feb 21, 2010)

sturge said:


> The other thing I've discovered is that experience includes so much more than just riding. It's the pain, the enjoyment, the recovery, the gear, the setup, the route selection, the weather, who you ride with, pushing your limits but not taking excessive chances, the post-ride beer...
> 
> After 30 years or so you get this sh*t dialed in so every ride is just as awesome as the last one.


I'd agree with that wholeheartedly. Really adds to the overall enjoyment factor imo.

Sent from my moto g(6) forge using Tapatalk


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

Radium said:


> Euthanasia.....is that one of our "choices?"
> I only ask for a friend...........


Might say the same for homicide ... just asking for my wife


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## Rev Bubba (Jan 16, 2004)

*Another thing I learned...*

It's just as much fun to buy a new bike when you are old as when you are young. I finally placed an order for a 2021 SC Tallboy C/S yesterday and the thrill remains the same. Ah, anticipation!


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## ddoh (Jan 11, 2017)

Rev Bubba said:


> It's just as much fun to buy a new bike when you are old as when you are young. I finally placed an order for a 2021 SC Tallboy C/S yesterday and the thrill remains the same. Ah, anticipation!


WooHoo!


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## 33red (Jan 5, 2016)

ddoh said:


> WooHoo!


After 8 days of waiting, mine arrived 2 weeks ago...
lucky me it fits my trails, i just need tires with more grip


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