Advice for a dirt bike transplant

suzuki122rm
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8
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7/25/2015
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Pleasant Grove, UT US
suzuki122rm
Edited Date/Time 7/26/2015 11:42pm
I am a recent transplant from the world of off road motorcycling. I grew up racing hare scrambles and enduros on a dirt bike at a high level. Racing in in my blood and I have recently decided to start racing XC mountain bikes.

I purchased a 2014 Scott Spark 930. I am looking for any advice, how to ride the thing compared to a dirt bike, what components I should upgrade, best work out routine, routine maintenance I should perform, anything you guys can give me i would very much appreciate.

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connnordoll21 7/26/2015 3:01pm
7/26/2015 3:01pm
Just ride a lot, find some friends at trail heads and ride with them. For maintaining the bike it's just like a dirt bike, lube the chain, check bolts regularly, rebuild the suspession every once in a blue moon. For components to upgrade just ride the bike till you break them, mtb differes from mx as 95% of the Parts on your bike don't all come from the same company. Most of all have fun!
TrailHead
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Kennewick, WA US
TrailHead 7/26/2015 8:54pm
7/26/2015 8:54pm
suzuki122rm wrote:
I am a recent transplant from the world of off road motorcycling. I grew up racing hare scrambles and enduros on a dirt bike at a...
I am a recent transplant from the world of off road motorcycling. I grew up racing hare scrambles and enduros on a dirt bike at a high level. Racing in in my blood and I have recently decided to start racing XC mountain bikes.

I purchased a 2014 Scott Spark 930. I am looking for any advice, how to ride the thing compared to a dirt bike, what components I should upgrade, best work out routine, routine maintenance I should perform, anything you guys can give me i would very much appreciate.

I came from dirtbikes to mtb too man! Just ride a lot. Itl be your workout. Most importantly, HAVE FUN!
bturman
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Durango, CO US
bturman 7/26/2015 11:42pm
7/26/2015 11:42pm
Interesting choice, going from moto to XC... Having experienced both, and the full spectrum in-between, my honest suggestion would be to kick the XC bike and purchase yourself a nice trail/all-mountain bike - something with a bit more travel (140-150mm), slacker head angle (66-67.5 degrees), tires that are worth a shit, and suspension that actually works because it isn't "designed for efficiency."

Once you've got that in place, invest in a dropper post, short 50mm stem, bars close to same width as your moto, some 2.4-inch Maxxis High Roller II EXO tires, and go have some real fun. Chances are you're used to creme of the crop in moto, both from the gear/components perspective and where you were able to ride and race. There's so much more fun to be had in mountain biking than grinding up fireroads, awkwardly descending behind a line of riders in a cloud of dust, counting grams, stuffing it in lycra, and wincing at the thought of walking into a grocery store.

This is you:














This isn't:









[Potentially life saving photos courtesy of the fine photographers here on Vital]

Am I right?

The majority of Pro moto dudes are only on XC bikes due to contract obligations (don't get hurt, train your ass off). Ask any moto rider in the know and I'm willing to bet they'd rather be ripping turns, popping wheelies, charging the rough bits, and blasting jumps on an all-mountain/enduro/freeride/dh bike than mashing out miles. Or maybe I'm wrong - in which case, go get 'em tiger, unfortunately I don't have much advice for you.

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