Mountain Bikers

Just like the flashy road bike cousins, mountain bikers have a range of disciplines to provide competition for all levels of rider. While some events pit rider and machine against the elements and terrain for days on end you can get into mountain bike racing without a huge investment but still achieve that satisfaction for meeting a previously daunting challenge. Mountain bike racing falls into a few main groups.

The most approachable format is the Cross Country (XC) race. These can range from long distance point to point races to laps around a smaller established loop trail. There is also a group of riders that use bikes in rogaining/orienteering events. Anyway the beauty of a loop trail is that with typical lap distances being between 20 and 40 minutes it become possible to construct team events where you go out for a lap and then return to tag your team mate for them to do a loop. In this way you share the distance and get a rest periodically so that you can be sharp witted on your next lap and try to conquer those obstacles you struggled with last time around. In MTBer parlance these difficult to ride bits are known as “technical” sections and often include “rock gardens”, “steps” and jumps.

Around Hornsby we have a range of fire-trails and single track sections to help you develop your skills and train up for the big XC race – please drop past the shop if you are looking for some ideas or you can check out TrailFlix. The biggest news is that with a lot of support from Hornsby Shire Mountain Biking Alliance (HSMBA) the local council has agreed to establish a professional grade XC loop and 4X (Four Cross) track in North Wahroonga at Golden Jubilee sports ground and the HSMBA guys are also looking to set up a registered MTB racing club too.

The other most recognised form of Mountain Biking is Downhill (DH) racing. This is where you pit your reflexes and machine into going downhill as fast as you can against the clock. While you can ride any sort of mountain bike you like DH specific bikes often look more like motorbikes without motors with huge suspension travel and large disk brakes. You can find a large group of DH racers regularly at the Ourimbah tracks. For more information on racing mountain bikes in northern Sydney you can check out the WSMTB club who base their XC racing around Yellomundee near Richmond. Or alternatively you can touch base with the guys at NOBMOB for riding buddies and updates on popular tracks. You can check out our hard tail mountain bikes here and dual suspension bikes here. Don't forget you can also build up a custom competition bike with us too!