What do Fully Rigid and No Dabs Mean?

2 columns from a sorta Luddite

True. I’ve never had a computer of any kind on my bikes. I carry paper maps, when needed. Screen time isn’t really something I want when I’m riding trails and am pedaling over/through majestic landscapes. It’s a deliberate choice. You? I’m completely okay with you doing it.

No Dabs. Who knows/remembers what that means? For those that don’t know, it’s about throwing your leg over the bike, putting your two feet on the pedals, turning the cranks, and when you get to the technical section/rock garden, seeing if you can “clean” it without dabbing out, meaning putting a foot down.

Human. Bike. Trail. Go.

I’m less interested in how long it takes me to go whatever amount of miles and how much elevation gain there was while doing it. If that’s you, great. I’m more interested in what the ride feels like and knowing a little about the land where I am riding, its natural and human history, and what the landscape’s power holds. Also, I want to understand the difference in the kind of miles that exist in places like the Lost Sierra, Pisgah, Michaux versus, well, what those places are not.

How much did it hurt grinding up that steep grade on a narrow path in the woods? What’s it like to get caught in thunder and lightning and hail? Stream crossings? Bonk? Wildlife spook you? The view from the top of the pass?

No Dabs is a column about mountain biking without reference to the computer on your bike or in your pocket.

Fully Rigid. This is going to be fun. Who remembers when mountain bikes were simply rigid? Then when there were hardtails? Softails?

When I hear someone say “fully rigid,” my ears perk up. Hmm? Then I think, should I say something?

I will.

There is rigid, meaning no “shocks” are on the bike.

A hardtail is a mountain bike with a front “shock,” aka suspension.

A softail/full-suspension mountain bike is one with front and rear suspension. (The one I now have feels like a cheater bike.)

Fully rigid indicates that you’re not aware of the vernacular of the evolution of mountain biking technology. It’s not a big deal, really, or is it, to some people?

That’s what Fully Rigid, the column, is about: issues in the mountain biking community, some more controversial than others. I’m going to take them on through written word.

There you have it, a quick summary of No Dabs and Fully Rigid. I’m looking forward to it!

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