MTBO in IOF mag! Why like/dislike MTBO?

[IanD]

there's always an element of the 'arms race' for better equipment that turns me off competitive cycling and turns me towards the simplicities of just running.

Same comment could be made about Mountain Marathons, but it doesn't seem to turn too many people off those.

[229]

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[FATBB]

Same comment could be said about foot orienteering.

Yes but all of those things are generic things that would improve performance in any sport. The fact is with any cycling based sport is that the bike does make a difference. Thats why British Cycling spends an awful lot of money on research as does every bike manufacturer. British Athletics are less interested in shoes because these do not help people go faster.

I'm still riding a mid-range race bike which will be 4 years old this year

From your website you ride a Scott scale 15 http://www.bikepedia.com/quickbike/BikeSpecs.aspx?Year=2008&Brand=Scott&Model=Scale+15&Type=bike which my limited research tells me was worth $4k when it was new. Now that might not be expensive for a bike but it certainly makes my £60 running shoes look like a bargain.

[AndyC]

I'll point out that a number of years ago someone made a shoe that did make sprinters go a lot faster - it was promptly banned.
UCI have also spent a lot of effort defining the characteristics of a bicycle - making Chris Boardman's bike illegal for example- to control things mainly because recumbents are much faster than conventional bikes.

[EBenham]

Ok, so, go-faster-Chris-Boardman-bikes are banned ...

I think the main difference between MTBO and Track is that track racing is more about the bike and athletes power. You can have a bike/shoes that will make you go faster ... but if you make navigational mistakes then any advantage gained would be lost! And lets face it, keeping your head in the right place for Orienteering is challenging at the best of times. I think i'd rather have a magic potion for concentration levels and getting the Orienteering right than a bike that will give me a few seconds advantage!!

For the record FatBB, my Scale 15 was £2k at the time I bought it. Most of the athletes ranked in the top ten have bikes worth at least £3.5k...

[AndyC]

Ok, so, go-faster-Chris-Boardman-bikes are banned ...

I was just making a point about rules I for one wouldn't want to get into Mountain Bike terrain on my road bike let alone a Boardman design.

[denzil53]

I'll point out that a number of years ago someone made a shoe that did make sprinters go a lot faster - it was promptly banned.

Yes, but it did have springs in it, which I thought was taking things beyond the realm of "athletics".

[AndyC]

Not the one I'm thinking of - that had spikes like file carding which gave much more grip on a plastic track with less power loss

[Mrs H]

I think i'll get Young Neville some of those

[AndyC]

I think i'll get Young Neville some of those

By the look of the video maybe padding would be more sensible

[FATBB]

worth $4k

For the record FatBB, my Scale 15 was £2k at the time I bought it.

So what I said then. Give or take a couple of hundred pounds.

[denzil53]

I'll point out that a number of years ago someone made a shoe that did make sprinters go a lot faster - it was promptly banned.

Yes, but it did have springs in it, which I thought was taking things beyond the realm of "athletics".

The shoes-with-springs which were banned were a bit like this . . .
http://www.spirafootwear.com/wavespring_technology.php

[greywolf]

I'll point out that a number of years ago someone made a shoe that did make sprinters go a lot faster - it was promptly banned.

1968 US Olympic trials: John Carlos & Lee Evans won the 200m & 400m races respectively in world record times which were never ratified as they were wearing (non-approved) brush spikes. Larry James, who came second in the 400m wearing normal spikes, was also inside the old record - and his time was ratified as a world record. </geek>

[denzil53]

I'll point out that a number of years ago someone made a shoe that did make sprinters go a lot faster - it was promptly banned.

1968 US Olympic trials: John Carlos & Lee Evans won the 200m & 400m races respectively in world record times which were never ratified as they were wearing (non-approved) brush spikes. Larry James, who came second in the 400m wearing normal spikes, was also inside the old record - and his time was ratified as a world record. </geek>

Their world records were likely more as a result of the high altitude venue (in preparation for Mexico) and also that they ran on one of the first "tartan" tracks, i.e. plastic not cinders. They went on to improve their times at the Olympics.

[AndyC]

I thank you for confirming my recollection from my childhood