4 Things We Can't Stand About Mountain Biking

Oh my God, I absolutely hate pushing up, especially when there's a flipping chairlift there. Do you know what? Us as mountain bikers, we love a little moan now and again. There's a few things we love to hate, but what are they? Stay tuned to find out. Great, look at that, flat as a pancake. This lonely looking shadow is, for a good reason people, puncture. Do you know what punctures mean? It means I've got the faff of dealing with inserts, thick downhill casing tires, and sealant. It's an absolute nightmare. Whilst we all love the whole setup when it's working, when this happens, it is an absolute flipping faff of a nightmare. First up, I've got to wrestle the flipping tire off. That means I'm going to be going through either tire levers or my mum's silverware set. That is never a good thing. Once I've managed to wrestle that little bugger off, I've got the insert to deal with. Don't get me wrong, they are wicked because I've had many old wheels and punctures saved because of them. Once that's all finally removed, latex, liquid latex, sealant everywhere. It literally looks like an explosion in a yogurt factory half the time. Is it me or is it almost impossible to do it clean and tidily, especially when you've got to take the old stuff off and put it on? Yes, I love it, but yes, I hate it, but I love it more. Flash out them two. Hey, buddy. Hey, Rich. How are you doing? You all right? Yes. Mate, you ain't doing much. Can I borrow your back wheel? Yes. What size is yours? It's 148-29. Oh, sorry. Mine's 142-27.5. Standards. Sorry. I got out. Oh, God. Not my fault. Remember that time when you'd buy a part for your bike, have it for a couple of years, buy a new bike maybe, and that part would still fit it? Those days, sadly, are long gone. Ever-changing standards are a absolute nightmare. They're literally always changing. Take wheels, for example. You might have had a 135 rear wheel. Now things change to 142. You got 148. You got 153. You've got super boost. It's just constantly changing, and because of this, it can be an absolute nightmare. I mean, I get it. Progression is something that just happens in any industry, not just the bike industry, but making parts almost obsolete very quickly was infuriating, right? I mean, correct me if I'm wrong in the comments down below, but it makes me pretty angry. This one's a pet hate of mine, especially, and it's paying for a lift or uplift pass, but actually spending more time queuing and waiting around than you are riding. It just seems like a massive waste of money to me. I get it. You got to wait your turn, but when it takes longer to go up than it does to come down, well, this is prime time for a bit of a moan and a groan, and my gosh, don't we love it? That queue literally took forever. I felt like I was aging exponentially just in the queue. I was in that queue so long at the bottom, I reckon I could actually see my fingernails growing. Joke, man. Another one on the list of things we love to hate is blown-out, haggard, rough-as-a-badger's-ass track. I mean, let's face it. They are no fun. They rattle your bike to pieces, they rattle your body to pieces, and they don't really fill you with much enthusiasm to get back up there. Why? Why the claw? So rough. However, having said that, when you come to these big bike parks like we're here in Morzine, you got to feel for the trail builders because they get so much traffic that it's almost impossible to keep on top of it. So keep doing what you do, trail builders. We love it, but haggard tracks, man. Good on. Well there we go. A few things that we, as mountain bikers, I think love to hate, but have I missed any? If I have, you know where to let me know. In the comments down below, of course, maybe I'll give them a check out and we'll get them in another video next time, but for me, for now, from the Alps, I'll catch you next time.