Anyone have anything they'd like to rant about?

[Andeh]

Ebikes are awesome for trail work. It's the main thing I use mine for these days. Super nice to cruise into the work zone with a big pack while expending minimal effort.

We've been talking about getting our paid trail crew a few ebikes for years now, but it's not easy to conjure up $15-20k for a moped budget, especially when they can only use them on maybe 30-40% of the trails they're working on.

One of our local gnomes was given industry discount from Specialized to get an ebike for trail work. He asked them, "you realize that none of my work is legal, right?" and the response was, "We don't need to know the details."

That said, after a year and a half of wear and tear on it pulling a trailer and pack full of tools, he's switched to using a cheap 1000w ebike designed for hunters, to save wear and tear on the good one. The 80 lb alu hardtail one doesn't give a shit if he's got a trailer full of water jugs hitched to it - it still weighs less than a deer or moose.

[Canada1]

Just told I need to replace my knee. I know there is a cost for a life well lived, but the pain of past mistakes grows old as I do the same.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Here's my hypocritical E bike rant

I built the trails with my dirtbike in the 90s

They've been adopted non motorized system trails for a long time now

The history has always been elk>dirtbikes>mtn bikes

Once the trails have been burned in for a couple years, the motorized crowd moves on

Now the entitled class 1 crowd wants to ride uphill in the technical single track that has historically been directional

We have multiple use, hiking only, and 95% mtb trails in this valley.

The speed differential does not work with e bikes on the mtb trail network

Go ride your quiet motorcycle on the motorized trail. And stay the fuck of the sidewalks. And advocate for your own use instead of saying you should be allowed on MTB trails

And for fucks sake, own the fact that your bike has an electric motor...that right it's call a motor so when the sign says "no motorized vehicles" that's you.

Sent from my Turbo 850 Flatbrimed Highhorse

[meter-man]

^^^quality rant from the Turbo 850!

Just told I need to replace my knee. I know there is a cost for a life well lived, but the pain of past mistakes grows old as I do the same.

Sorry to hear that - good luck.

[Foggy_Goggles]

Electric snowmobile on XC ski trails...coming to a mountain town near you this winter!



Sent from my Turbo 850 Flatbrimed Highhorse

[Foggy_Goggles]

Edit: do they have e fat/snowbikes yet? If so, this is gonna get juicy!

#don't e bike the snowshoe track that was built for the fat bike that fucked up the XC track

We should just skip the passive aggressive bullshit and just bring the sumo suits and boxing gloves to the trailhead

Sent from my Turbo 850 Flatbrimed Highhorse

[rideit]

Just told I need to replace my knee. I know there is a cost for a life well lived, but the pain of past mistakes grows old as I do the same.

I feel you. (And have had a knee replacement, best part of me now).
I just found out that I need two complete thumb reconstruction surgeries. Each with a six month recovery period. This basically shuts the door on what I love most, insanely technical DH mountain biking. First surgery in January, (I will be able to ride a bit from June- November), second surgery next December. Won’t be ‘fully functional until about June of 2025.
I also play guitar at a decent level (every day), that’s pretty much over.
I also do most of the cooking for the family. Out.
Skiing/boarding? Maybe winter of ‘26.
I am going to Peru in November for one last hurrah, current pain be damned, though.
Honestly, the knee replacement was a cakewalk in terms of recover, and getting back to life.
Good luck!

EDIT: HOWEVER: This is just a blip, and is fixable, unlike my friend Shawn, who was just diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. That’s another level. Vibes!

[Dantheman]

Just told I need to replace my knee. I know there is a cost for a life well lived, but the pain of past mistakes grows old as I do the same.

It's hardly the end of the world these days, you'll be back better than ever in no time. You have one of the best places in the world to get it done right in your backyard (https://www.toportho.com/park-city-h...pedic-partners).

And for fucks sake, own the fact that your bike has an electric motor...that right it's call a motor so when the sign says "no motorized vehicles" that's you.

The "My bike with a motor is not actually a motorized vehicle" gaslighting is definitely annoying.

[east or bust]

One of the biggest challenges with ebikes IMO isn't really the fact that they are a motorized vehicle, though that is important and can't be glossed over.

It's that ebikes invite an entirely new class of rider to the equation, the couch to dirt folks. They have absolutely no sense of mtb ethics, and there's nothing really wrong with that, we've all been there ourselves, but I'd like to hope there's a desire to learn them at least. Ebikes create an amount of accessibility to the sport that has never existed before. Instead of a trickle of newbs it's more like a wave and that doesn't exactly bode well for positive trail interactions with other user groups. Ultimately more people on two wheels is a good thing, though the ease of entry now makes me question whether that demographic has any interest in advocating for increased accessibility, or stewarding positive trail interactions, or being in it for the fitness aspect. IMO someone who is completely green that picks up an ebike does so more for the fad than the passion, and it'll take a lot of data points for my opinion on that to change.

Note that I'm not talking about experienced riders who convert to ebikes.

[altachic]

Just told I need to replace my knee. I know there is a cost for a life well lived, but the pain of past mistakes grows old as I do the same.

The absolute BEST thing I did was get a total joint knee replacement at 39...that was 3.5 years ago. My quality of life is so much better. I can't imagine living til 60-65 with the pain and limitations I had. For me and my horribly arthritic knee, it was 100% best course of action. I went to the Park City clinic and had Dr Garrett Davis as my ortho. Loved him because he's a bit younger, progressive, incredibly smart and HONEST.

[XXX-er]

https://electrek.co/2023/09/21/how-t...your-teenager/

Isnt America wonderful ! ( in Borat voice ) how to chose the right E-bike for your teenager !

[El Chupacabra]

One of the biggest challenges with ebikes IMO isn't really the fact that they are a motorized vehicle, though that is important and can't be glossed over.

It's that ebikes invite an entirely new class of rider to the equation, the couch to dirt folks. They have absolutely no sense of mtb ethics, and there's nothing really wrong with that, we've all been there ourselves, but I'd like to hope there's a desire to learn them at least. Ebikes create an amount of accessibility to the sport that has never existed before. Instead of a trickle of newbs it's more like a wave and that doesn't exactly bode well for positive trail interactions with other user groups. Ultimately more people on two wheels is a good thing, though the ease of entry now makes me question whether that demographic has any interest in advocating for increased accessibility, or stewarding positive trail interactions, or being in it for the fitness aspect. IMO someone who is completely green that picks up an ebike does so more for the fad than the passion, and it'll take a lot of data points for my opinion on that to change.

Note that I'm not talking about experienced riders who convert to ebikes.

I agree with this 100%.

[Powder Ho]

https://electrek.co/2023/09/21/how-t...your-teenager/

Isnt America wonderful ! ( in Borat voice ) how to chose the right E-bike for your teenager !

I saw a teenager riding home from school on a E bike yesterday. So wrong.

[sfotex]

I saw a teenager riding home from school on a E bike yesterday. So wrong.

My 14yo son hates e-bikes more then I do. He says just buy a Surron for less then an e-bike and be done with it it.

From todays local news:
https://www.ksl.com/article/50736276...amid-confusion

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

I feel you. (And have had a knee replacement, best part of me now).
I just found out that I need two complete thumb reconstruction surgeries. Each with a six month recovery period. This basically shuts the door on what I love most, insanely technical DH mountain biking. First surgery in January, (I will be able to ride a bit from June- November), second surgery next December. Won’t be ‘fully functional until about June of 2025.
I also play guitar at a decent level (every day), that’s pretty much over.
I also do most of the cooking for the family. Out.
Skiing/boarding? Maybe winter of ‘26.
I am going to Peru in November for one last hurrah, current pain be damned, though.
Honestly, the knee replacement was a cakewalk in terms of recover, and getting back to life.
Good luck!

EDIT: HOWEVER: This is just a blip, and is fixable, unlike my friend Shawn, who was just diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer. That’s another level. Vibes!

Dude I had the "old arthritic lady" method used on my right thumb after 3 or 4 surgeries to fix bad skier thumb. The first joint is totally fixed in place with wires. Did this about 10 years ago. No big deal. Doesn't hold me back from anything. That in the cards? People like us go hard and a replacement thumb just gonna get thrashed?

[Shredhead]

Just told I need to replace my knee. I know there is a cost for a life well lived, but the pain of past mistakes grows old as I do the same.

I’m getting both done this fall @ Steadman. Hopefully skiing by late season.

We don’t really see too many Class 1 ‘s poaching the single track here in the RFV. I ride really early and have only seen two since May.

I love seeing Milfy moms on cargo bikes with their kids and don’t have any problem at all, with a kid riding one to school. Much better than mom driving him.
I bet e-bikes take hundreds of cars off the road, everyday, in Aspen.

[Name Redacted]

Had my finger done at Steadman this summer. Great operation all around. Howard Head for the win on the PT side.

[rideit]

Dude I had the "old arthritic lady" method used on my right thumb after 3 or 4 surgeries to fix bad skier thumb. The first joint is totally fixed in place with wires. Did this about 10 years ago. No big deal. Doesn't hold me back from anything. That in the cards? People like us go hard and a replacement thumb just gonna get thrashed?

Interesting. I am getting a second opinion in Denver in a few weeks, I do want to know my options. How would you say your fine motor dexterity is?
Wrenching on bikes, building wheels, cooking, playing guitar?
I have heard those become very compromised with a fusing procedure. I am hoping to do these things long after getting rad is the #1 priority.

For me right now, it’s the pain that is unbearable more than the lack of strength or dexterity.

[plugboots]

The e-bike discussion may take over and kill this thread. A couple days ago two people came into my store to buy light hiking shoes for their e-bikes. It’s interesting and also a bummer to watch how the ebike thing is going to play out.
Part of my enjoyment with sports in general is the difficulty in learning that sport. Especially when it’s new. I like the process of learning to ski, board, wind surf, fly fish, mountain bike, etc., and all the motorized versions of those sports, (or using bait, in the case of flyfishing), just seems sort of silly and pointless.
Tom Hanks, in “a league of their own” said the hard is what makes it good. The point about this huge influx of e-mountain bikers really hits Home because mountain biking always had people trickling into it. Now there’s just this huge influx of people in dresses and hiking boots completely not self-aware.

[toast2266]

The e-bike discussion may take over and kill this thread. A couple days ago two people came into my store to buy light hiking shoes for their e-bikes. It’s interesting and also a bummer to watch how the ebike thing is going to play out.
Part of my enjoyment with sports in general is the difficulty in learning that sport. Especially when it’s new. I like the process of learning to ski, board, wind surf, fly fish, mountain bike, etc., and all the motorized versions of those sports, (or using bait, in the case of flyfishing), just seems sort of silly and pointless.
Tom Hanks, in “a league of their own” said the hard is what makes it good. The point about this huge influx of e-mountain bikers really hits Home because mountain biking always had people trickling into it. Now there’s just this huge influx of people in dresses and hiking boots completely not self-aware.

I sort of agree, but adding a motor to a bike doesn't make you good at bike handling. That part's still hard. Arguably even harder, because now your bike's super heavy.

I mentioned it elsewhere, but I was in Europe recently and there were tons of people on ebikes. And yeah, tons of them were in hiking boots and jeans. But almost none of them were riding "real" trails. They were perfectly happy on their long travel ebikes puttering around on dirt roads and bike paths. Which is great; they're getting out and having fun, and since they only go on the absolute easiest trails, they're not really affecting my ride at all.

The few ebikers that venture onto the harder trails either know what they're doing, or are learning a hard lesson and won't be back anytime soon.

[XXX-er]

I sort of agree, but adding a motor to a bike doesn't make you good at bike handling. That part's still hard. Arguably even harder, because now your bike's super heavy.

I mentioned it elsewhere, but I was in Europe recently and there were tons of people on ebikes. And yeah, tons of them were in hiking boots and jeans. But almost none of them were riding "real" trails. They were perfectly happy on their long travel ebikes puttering around on dirt roads and bike paths. Which is great; they're getting out and having fun, and since they only go on the absolute easiest trails, they're not really affecting my ride at all.

The few ebikers that venture onto the harder trails either know what they're doing, or are learning a hard lesson and won't be back anytime soon.

Yeah I took a local older somewhat atheletic guy (has done a lot of sking/ ski coursework) with his throttle bike from Amazon ( no pads no helmet and half dead battery) to the bluff system, we never even got off the acess trail to the goods " he said wow I had no idea this was here I gotta go ! " and he never came back

[fastfred]

The e-bike discussion may take over and kill this thread. A couple days ago two people came into my store to buy light hiking shoes for their e-bikes. It’s interesting and also a bummer to watch how the ebike thing is going to play out.
Part of my enjoyment with sports in general is the difficulty in learning that sport. Especially when it’s new. I like the process of learning to ski, board, wind surf, fly fish, mountain bike, etc., and all the motorized versions of those sports, (or using bait, in the case of flyfishing), just seems sort of silly and pointless.
Tom Hanks, in “a league of their own” said the hard is what makes it good. The point about this huge influx of e-mountain bikers really hits Home because mountain biking always had people trickling into it. Now there’s just this huge influx of people in dresses and hiking boots completely not self-aware.

well you can argue everything and anything
25 years ago no one was in the back country skiing
but hey fat xc skis high quality mass marketed BC gear and boards and what not and now everyone is in the back cuntry

but 35 years of bike handling skillz can't be gained in a week of owning an e bike
I've watch old ladies probably at their husbands coaching and insistance jump up on an ebike and barely be able to mount the thing much less control it on the paved bike path
this summer I was driving and saw some older woman on an ebike getting all squirly on the bike path then go down hard
and yeah I totally ate shit a few weeks ago on my bike I'm still trying to figure out what one inch high a root or rock tossed me

[fastfred]

I
I love seeing Milfy moms on cargo bikes with their kids and don’t have any problem at all, with a kid riding one to school. Much better than mom driving him.
I bet e-bikes take hundreds of cars off the road, everyday, in Aspen.

why is that such a turn on????

[fastfred]

It was a bit tongue-in-cheek sure. I'm not bagging on anybody that gets here after me (well, mostly anyway), we all come from somewhere. Admittedly, it's been a bit jarring the past few years as the change went from gradual to 'fuck you in your face this is the new reality and accept it now' kind-of-way. Ikon + Covid forced a very quick adaptation.

And it's one thing to support local companies, shop local, all that. But I do have to chuckle at the newbies who look like a starter pack meme; Grass Sticks poles, ugly Big Agnes puffies, Harvest Skis, vanity plates that include the county code WZ (like Aspen's ZG) even though the dealer badge on back of car came from Denver or fuckistan. They also have Steamboat Resort/<insert local brewery> /970/Hala stickers on their car. Nobody is humble anymore about the privilege of living in a mtn town, it's so much in-your-face.

n:

lol
maybe I'm just getting old????

I really didn't give a shit about the junk show around me and I embraced the change over the years but the covid overhaul on mtn towns has been too much too fast and it has "altered the fabric" if I can get all deep and meaningful
everyone has their sign in the air proclaiming what they think it should be and who they are
long haul mtn town people really don't care

I just retold a story last night about a local buddy who went to a county commissioners meeting it was like on a tuesday at 11am. He reamed them in the most polite way. "you are having a meeting at 11am, where most of us are too busy working to pay the bills, raising children, and keeping our heads down to keep the community running. You are so out of touch with what its like for the average person." paraphrased

[lifelinksplit]

Every mtn biker from Montana was at Disco today. I've been spoiled all season riding Fridays and usually having an empty mountain. I spun a few laps and had enough waiting for the lift and running into slow riders (not that I'm super fast). Anyways I decided I had enough and was riding back to the truck. There's one little narrow track that goes through the ditch. Another rider coming from the parking lot was coming the other way and starts to pull over so I ride past and gave him a nod and before I could even say thanks agro bro from bozeman yells " you're FUCKING welcome".

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