just got into a discussion with another bloke at my club. i beleave that downhill MTBing is a completely different sport to cycling that involves completely different skills and equipment to a point that it could almost be seen as a completely different sport with nothing at all to do with cycling in the traditional sense.
he argues that as it involves a bike that it is the same thing.
what do you all think? i'll offer some of mine and his arguements after i've heard what a few of you have said.
can i just add, i'm not saying downhilling is nat as good as any other form of cycling, just that it is so different that it could be classed as a different form of sport completely.
Well, there a quite a few downhillers who have gone on to be top quality road cyclists whereas if you look at two completely different sports that is very rarely the case.
i.e. how many pro cyclists are former pro downhillers?
hw many are former pro tennis players?
[url=www.pcmdaily.com/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=33182]Team Santander Media Thread[/url]
are you sure they were actually downhillers and not just MTBers? i know lots of MTBers have crossed over but they were almost all cross country MTBers. cross country MTBing can be put in the same catagory as road cycling because, like with most forms of cycling, it requires the same skills, mostly leg strength and endurance.
downhilling doesn't require these and instead relies on bike handling and bravery. this is one of the reasons i think it is a completely different sport.
wackojackohighcliffe wrote:
its similar size of difference to that of rugby union and rugby league
i'd say it's much more different. rugby league and union are more or less the same game with different rules. you still need the same skills and strengths to play each and it's easy to switch between the two.
downhill MTBing involves a completely different set of skills that are involved in other forms of cycling, the most noticable being endurance and leg strength.
