For the most part, we as individuals are defined by our physical characteristics which extend from gender and age, all the way down to the finer details such as presence of scars/birthmarks, and eye colour. In life we learn, and encounter certain experiences which shape the way we think and interact with the world, so even if you have an identical twin; you are well and truly defined by your personal experiences. And on top of all this, we make further interactions with this world through choices in regards to occupation and interests.
So no-one person is identically the same, because individuality is expressed through physical characteristics, experiences, choices, and interests. It is darn near impossible to have all these in common with another person.

So you come across people in your lifetime and regard them as a friend. You talk about your lives, sometimes talk through your choices before you make them, and at times you want to share your interests. But how hard can it be to share your interests? Surely if someone is a close friend and you get along well, it stands to reason that they might enjoy your interests too right?

If you’ve been reading this blog long enough, you’ve jumped to the conclusion that I’m about to talk about sharing my interest in mountain biking with my friends, family and partner. Not quite.
I’ve already established that mountain biking is full of dangers (Rider Files 2), involves commitment (Post 1 and Rider Files 4), and has certain unspoken codes which you learn over a great deal of time (Rider Files 3). I tried to introduce it to my brother and he was too tentative to push himself and enjoy the thrill. My best friend had a bike, but was barely capable of riding cyclocross. And my partner is keen to get into mountain biking, and in due time she will learn how to ride, rather than being thrown into the crucible of a black trail on a department store bike…

What I am going to relate to with interests however is reading. Recreational reading that is.
For some, reading can be the most incredible mental experience they can have, since an author will merely provide words on a page for the audience to follow, but the reader then paints the picture, fills in the details, and what forms in the mind’s eye can be absolutely brilliant. The reader is control of the pace, so while some may scruitinise over tiny details within the words, some people read at such an incredible speed that the book can become a movie of sorts. This is the power of reading, and why it should be cherished for both young and old.
But reading carries a unique weight with it. Unlike a Youtube video which may take 4 minutes to watch, a TV episode may take half an hour to an hour, and a movie can last up to 3 hours; a book is a long term commitment which may take days to months to finish depending on reading speed and length. Once you commit to a book, it may take a while for you to finish it to finally know if it was all worth it. And a lot of people will base their opinions on the author, the genre, and the subject matter itself.

I am a huge Matthew Reilly fan. I regard him as my favourite author, and a true Australian talent in the literary world. The short 50 words on why I love his writing is that the pace is dynamic and allows balance between action, problem solving and picturesque detail; his books cover everything from ancient history, geo-politics, and science fiction in between; and there’s a range of solo books and sagas for anyone to access. He also has Star Wars memorabilia and a DeLorean from Back to the Future, big thumbs up from me in that regard! But with the unique weight that reading has, it’s hard to get anyone close to me excited enough to begin reading his books…

My sister got a copy of Contest for her birthday, but never read past the 2nd chapter of it because of her studies getting in the way. My best friend is interested in geo-politics and likes a good thriller, so he nearly read Ice Station but picked up the brand new book from his favourite author at the time, so forgot about Ice Station. I’d like to introduce my partner to Great Zoo of China, but they are in deep with the Game of Thrones books.

Books are the perfect example of how tricky it can be to get someone close to you involved with your hobbies and interests. While there is a temporary joy in sharing your interests with someone for a short time, we yearn for that person to fall in love with the interest. That way we can not only talk and discuss with them about our interests, but it can bring you closer together and you might feel more comfortable around them after showing them another side of yourself and accepting it.

But like the cliche goes, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. Even if you have a silly straw. With interests there is only so much you can show them and try and get them excited about it, in the end they have to have the right attitude to take it on, and might expect something in return.
With reading, I can’t jam a book under their nose and expect them to have it read by sunrise the next day and have enjoyed it. Some people are honestly not that invested in reading. Some people are very genre specific and find other genres uninspiring or tedious. Some people don’t like particular writing styles.
In all fairness, my best friend introduced me to Tomorrow When the War Began book series in preparation for the movie that came out in 2011, but I never read past the first book because I didn’t like the writing style. I honestly had the right attitude and I like a good political action novel, but the writing style did not mesh well with me. I read the Harry Potter books as a teenager, and enjoyed them at the time, but I’m not compelled to buy my own set for adulthood and read them over and over again. A few people may be heart broken by that statement, but honestly the genre doesn’t sit well with me anymore.
The other thing is, that the person you are wanting to adopt your interest would like something back in return. Not blackmailing you by any means, but a reciprocation so you have something to talk about two fold.
If I introduced my brother to mountain biking, he might appreciate it more if I went road biking with him. If I had introduced Metroid Prime trilogy to my best friend, they would have appreciated if I played Legend of Zelda. When I introduce my partner to Matthew Reilly books, I know they will offer the books or TV series of Game of Thrones in return. Winter is coming and so is the return favour…

So if you want to introduce an interest to a close friend, family member or partner; consider the commitment they will need to become immersed in it, and the prospect of you possibly having to undertake one of their interests to show you really care for them as well. Not every interest is ideally shared amongst those closest due to price, time, risk or complexity. But if it is something simple in essence like a TV show, reading, a simple hobby, or a fairly safe sport; then by all means ask them if they would like to try your interest?
Sharing interests is one way of building and reinforcing positive relationships with those around you, so give it a try?

Meanwhile, my partner is waiting on the next Game of Thrones book, while I’m keen for the new Jack West Jr novel from Matthew Reilly to be released in October. So we share the common interest of waiting for new books I suppose?

When you consider how you can improve and advance your riding, you have three main options of either improving your fitness; developing your technique; or upgrading your tech/bike.
As someone who has participated in competitive and social sports over the years, I advocate anyone to improve their fitness where they can. You don’t need to be a hyper-elite athlete who can outrun a speeding bullet or do a million push ups, but improving your fitness so you can enjoy your favourite sport more, and potentially improve your health is something worth while.
With skills, I once again encourage all riders to learn new skills and refine their current skill set as skills and technique allow you to take on technical obstacles differently and/or faster, providing some satisfaction and variety to the sport. Sure you can lap a track the same way day after day, but sometimes a new technique might be needed to spice up your ride right?

So now I present the big question: if you wanted to improve your riding, would you invest your hard earned cash into upgrades, replacement parts or a new bike? Let’s section this question.

 

Replacement Parts

Mountain biking is notorious for being rough on the bike. Some riders carry spare brake pads, mech hangers, chain tools and power links, spare tubes, and ample amounts of duct tape and cable ties; and these are only to repair minor mishaps on the trail!

Along the way, chains stretch, seats get weathered, tyres wear down and everything else gets battered and scraped. Inevitably, these parts must be replaced before they fail completely and ruin our ride.

Regardless of whether you are an avid racer, a weekend trail blazer or someone who does recreational rides once you find time off work, buying the necessary replacement parts is justified. Provided the bike isn’t completely destroyed and on the way to the scrap heap; it should be simple enough and less expensive to have worn parts serviced or replaced to avoid failure and possible injury. There may be some times where servicing is too expensive and replacement is cheaper, and sometimes upgrading is only a few more than your current equipment, so it makes sense to replace or upgrade in these circumstances to avoid heart break later on while riding the trails.

However, don’t buy into replacement parts until necessary. Sometimes it just takes a bit of maintenance knowledge and the right tools to bring back a condemned part. So learning some maintenance skills might be worth it to save you some money on unneeded replacements. It’s saved me bucks few in the past.

 

Upgrading

Upgrades sound nice don’t they? A more comfortable saddle for longer cross country riding. A new front fork with adjustable rebound dampening for enduro and downhill runs. Convert your old 3X set up to a 2x or even a single chain ring to shed some weight. Even new pedals are a welcome upgrade in this sport. But can you justify the purchase in terms of benefit and how long ago it was you last upgraded?

I sit in a position myself where I’m considering scraping my Shimano 3×7 drivetrain because the chain is stretched and the sprockets will soon be worn down, and a few of my friends have recommended changing to a 2x system or even switching to single speed. So rather than replace my current parts, why not just upgrade? In this situation, I might upgrade to a new drive train since a 2x system could benefit my cross country riding style and provide new challenges for riding. However, I quite like the gear selection I have with the current set up, and all I’d need to replace is the chain and maybe the rear sprocket if the damage isn’t too great. With this situation, I could easily justify one or the other choice.
Another consideration I am having is buying a dropper post. While my wearing drivetrain on the Switchback allows the justification of replacement versus upgrade, it’s safe to say that the seat post on my Stance is hardly worn down and needs replacing, but can I justify the upgrade? I know what a dropper post is capable of, but I’m also aware of getting the right length and internal diameters, externally versus internally routed, Rockshox versus Giant’s own dropper versus other brands, and the need for maintaining another hydraulic system on the bike. As an amateur to the sport, and someone that is quite happy with my standard seat height and moving my body around the saddle for climbing and descending, I’m not yet comfortable in buying a dropper post since I’m unsure if it will truly improve my quality of riding.

But what if you just wanted to overhaul your bike? Nothing is worn down, and you hear that this season’s Rockshox RS-1 is better than last years and you’ve been running a Rockshox Recon TK-30 Gold. So why not upgrade?

The issue is that if there is nothing wrong with your current parts and you’re performing at the level you want to, upgrading isn’t going to make you a better rider per say. Even then, upgrading is not as easy as you think! The fork, rear shock, drive train, cranks, hubs, wheels, and brakes were all chosen by the engineers so they could work together within the bike’s geometry. Buying a new group set isn’t as easy as taking off the old and fastening on the new, sometimes you need conversion parts or there are times when it won’t fit. In this case, do your homework on what can be fitted to your bike and maybe ask your local bike store if it will work and maybe if they can do it?

Front forks are a major concern since if you somehow get the column through the head set, unless it was the same length, travel length and offset as your original fork, you’ve now changed the geometry of the bike and how it handles. Turning performance, head angle of the bike, wheel base length, and suspension dynamics have now all changed and it might be for the worst if you haven’t done your homework. In this case, upgrading has now caused you more headaches.

But ultimately, will the upgrade make you a better rider or give you more enjoyment? It might compel you to go out for rides more immediately after you get it, but that might not be a long term motivator, and justifying an upgrade based off other people’s experiences is not the way to go. If you have the money, have done your research on whether it will work, know it will work on the bike and see yourself enjoying riding more; then go ahead. Upgrades are not as simple as you think, and costs sometimes go well beyond what you originally pay for.

But why stop at just a single upgrade? Why not upgrade the drive train, forks, rear shock, wheels, brakes and saddle at the same time? You know, just buy a new bike?

 

Buying New

Buying a whole new bike is a major commitment. Even though most people focus in on the upfront price of the bike (which for mountain biking can be a fair few grand), people forget about other factors such as room for it in your shed or house; the on-going maintenance and repair costs of it along with your other bikes; how often will you use this new bike and any others you have; and why exactly are you buying it? This last question is the important one and is why it was difficult for me to justify buying the Giant Stance whilst I also had the Mongoose Switchback.

If this is your first mountain bike or your first “proper mountain bike” since you’ve only ridden budget department store bikes, then provided you’ve done your homework, demoed a bike or two, and spoken to a few bike stores on price; then justifying the purchase of a new bike is relatively simple. You now have a starter bike to help you develop skills, find the style of riding you like and ultimately will get you into the sport.

If you’re considering buying a second mountain bike, make sure you can justify the difference. For me, I was riding a recreational hard tail which was also doubling as my daily commuter, so the Stance being affordable for my budget range, having dual suspension, and being kitted out as a trail bike meant that I could push it hard on the trails and discover more in the world of mountain biking, but then have the Switchback in one piece for the next day to ride to the shops and go for a casual cruise on a green trail. There was no use in buying another hard tail of similar specifications and price since the role has been filled and I’d still be trying to skin a cat the same way. So if you have one bike that is still perfectly functional and fills a role quite well already, there is no need to buy another one just like it.

But when people justify buying the new season’s bike over their current, still functioning one because “it will make me a better rider” or “the upgrades are worth it”, it’s odd to me. If you continued to use your current bike, which is still functional and has allowed you to ride for so many years, are you implying you will enjoy riding LESS if you don’t get the new season’s version? If you bought the current season’s with a new paint job, a different spec drive train, and other minor differences; that this will instantaneously make you a better rider? The answer to both is no.

We participate in hobby for the thrill of flowing downhills, the satisfaction of nailing the perfect line on a rock garden, trying new skills, visiting new and unfamiliar tracks, doing exercise that gives you a rush, customising a bike that reflects your personality and riding style, and being apart of a thriving community both locally and on the internet. We are not mountain bikers so we can spend money excessively in the belief that new is better, or that upgrades mean instant rewards. So buying the new season of a bike year after year is illogical. The only people that upgrade every year are professional racers for world cup racing, and even then they have their own personal bikes for casual riding which they cherish. For the enthusiast, buying a new bike for simply having new parts is rubbish.
Buy a new bike if you want to begin mountain biking, if you really want to get into a new discipline and your current armada won’t do it at all, or if you’ve wrapped your bike around a tree and don’t fancy riding a pretzel. Other than that, upgrades won’t make you enjoy the sport more and probably won’t make you faster…

 

 

Mountain biking is an expanding industry. New trails are being built everywhere around the world, manufacturers are designing new models and speccing them out to cater to different budgets and rider needs, and tourism is starting to welcome riders by hosting more race events or promoting accommodation near trails, or which have bike storage. So it’s understandable why people think they need to upgrade so often in this sport. But mountain biking should be more about the enjoyment of riding rather than the stress of over-spending on the ride itself. If a new purchase, whether a mandatory replacement or a whole new bike, is justified with coherent reasoning and when you are financially stable to make the purchase, then investing in this industry is welcome in my books. But the belief that “you MUST upgrade all the time in order to enjoy the sport” is far fetched. Upgrading tech and parts is a great aspect of this sport in particular, but only when it is done so logically and with good intentions.

Other than that, ride on to keep fit and keep practicing those bunny hops?