Quads on trail rides with bikes, esp dusty ones

[Crisis management]

I don't go on many rides with quads on them but the few I've met have never been any more of a problem than the average bike rider. There will always be slower and faster riders / quads to work around but all you need to do is either pass safely or take a 5 minute breather while they trundle on their way, it's about a fun (usually family) event not a race.
Everyone just needs to ride relaxed and aware and 90% of the problems disappear.

[F5 Dave]

. . .
Everyone just needs to ride relaxed and aware and 90% of the problems disappear.

You could say that about car drivers & bike riders on the road, but of course it won't make a lick of difference.

Passing quads is difficult & can be dangerous with those big Bodacious chariot wheels. In the dust you can miss hidden stuff & there isn't always a clear grass area to pass, if they don't just open up too.

So I'm getting the feeling that everyone either thinks there isn't a problem if we all hold hands & hum, or that my idea is pants & won't work.

[vr4king]

If you hate them so much go ride in "classed" events

Its a trail ride not a race like others have said take a 5min break chill and carry on. Most rides I do there are no prizes for winning

In saying that though almost all of my "serious" crashes on trail rides have involved homo chariots and I always come of second best.

[Jay GTI]

You could say that about car drivers & bike riders on the road, but of course it won't make a lick of difference.

Passing quads is difficult & can be dangerous with those big Bodacious chariot wheels. In the dust you can miss hidden stuff & there isn't always a clear grass area to pass, if they don't just open up too.

So I'm getting the feeling that everyone either thinks there isn't a problem if we all hold hands & hum, or that my idea is pants & won't work.

Well the logistics of the idea would be difficult to manage on a quad and bike event, so yeah it's pretty much group hug at the start of the ride and a quiet understanding that we all love each other really. Just as long as one of those chutney ferret quad riders doesn't try and touch my cock when we're hugging, I'm all good...

[Crisis management]

So I'm getting the feeling that everyone either thinks there isn't a problem if we all hold hands & hum, or that my idea is pants & won't work.

I agree that my idea of everyone behaving themselves is as likely to happen as
B0000M buying a KTM but the reality is that we can only expect reasonable behaviour, not insist on it.

Your idea of a 20 minute gap has a couple of holes in it, at Auckland trail rides there is no massed start, everyone just straggles out as they feel like and as others have said, give it half an hour and they are all mixed up anyway. Maybe some quad only deviations might help but again it is more work for the organisers.

Deep breaths & tolerance required........

[F5 Dave]

If you hate them so much go ride in "classed" events

Its a trail ride not a race like others have said take a 5min break chill and carry on. Most rides I do there are no prizes for winning

In saying that though almost all of my "serious" crashes on trail rides have involved homo chariots and I always come of second best.

Not sure if that is directed at me. I never said I hated them. & I don't want to race. Well actually I do, but that's a tarmac thing for me & I get my competitive urges out there.

Dirt riding for me like most trail riders is non competitive, although many are competitive with their mates & probably should be racing. Some think they are racing & are a liability.

Many of these rides down this way have a few hundred riders, so taking a break for 5 min would only relegate you back the line a bit to have to pass more.

[scott411]

Not sure if that is directed at me. I never said I hated them. & I don't want to race. Well actually I do, but that's a tarmac thing for me & I get my competitive urges out there.

Dirt riding for me like most trail riders is non competitive, although many are competitive with their mates & probably should be racing. Some think they are racing & are a liability.

Many of these rides down this way have a few hundred riders, so taking a break for 5 min would only relegate you back the line a bit to have to pass more.

my rides average 785 so far this year, biggest one so far this season 1115, you get used to passing bikes, and waiting for people,

most of the rides up here now are loops to cater for the people, so waiting 5 min will get you away from groups,

[kezzafish]

It's sometimes quite funny sitting behind quads that don't want to pull over, they bounce all over the show like a '64 caddy. The down side being you end up eating shit too 'cos you can't see the track

[Blagger]

Haha chutney ferret - never heard that one before.

The only time they get up my nose is in the Akatarawas when they come round a blind corner the opposite way piloted by some noob.

I like your idea as I'd rather ride without quads around but the best way I found to avoid them on organised rides is to do the first exploratory circuit slow after starting late then hit it harder towards the end of the day when most of the others (quads included) have slacked off or gone home.
I've been held up by plenty of slow two-wheelers and not being quick myself I do try to get out of the way of others who wanna get past me - what else can ya do?

[kezzafish]

Haha chutney ferret - never heard that one before.

The only time they get up my nose is in the Akatarawas when they come round a blind corner the opposite way piloted by some noob.

I like your idea as I'd rather ride without quads around but the best way I found to avoid them on organised rides is to do the first exploratory circuit slow after starting late then hit it harder towards the end of the day when most of the others (quads included) have slacked off or gone home.
I've been held up by plenty of slow two-wheelers and not being quick myself I do try to get out of the way of others who wanna get past me - what else can ya do?

Plus one on that. they're too f'ing wide for Karapoti and they all wanna go fast on the roads up there 'cos they can't do the tight tracks

[F5 Dave]

yeah I currently hold off leaving to avoid the hordes, but inevitably get stuck behind a queue at the first decent obstacle.

Karapoti is just a nightmare to meet a quad coming the other way, invariably driven by some twat with no helmet, maybe two up & looking backwards to see if his gay mate can see the skids he's just learnt to do & with no concept that you have to be able to stop in 1/2 the visible distance. & it won't be a racing quad, it will be some farm jobbie with lots of metal bars up front.

[merv]

Lol, we talked about this one years ago on this thread http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...51-Quad-Riders?

I'm not against quads but do find they don't mix well on trail rides for all the reasons mentioned in that thread. Its a bit about the organisers making sure the trail suits as quads just get plain stuck in narrow or steep going.

The trail rides I've been on tend to be a bit free ranging too in that the leader might take a side track just for a looksee and little does the quad rider that tries to follow know that the track runs into trees and he just doesn't fit. Too late once he's stuck blocking everyone else's passage. Or you end up side onto a slope where a two wheeler stays upright and the quad just tips over coz it won't fit on the narrow trail.

To be honest I laugh inside my helmet at their misfortune because they should know the limitations of their own machine.

The best thing as I said in the other thread is stay in front of them.

[oldguy]

Good on you Scott, allowing quads, ever notice how all the bitching and moaning comes from riders on MX bikes, they say quads should stay on the farm, then MX bikes should stay on the track. Oh yeah trail rides are held on farms, and forestry, so quads have more right to be there.
I don't care so long as Im there.

[morg_nz]

quads arent a big problem to me, and i guess like others said no bigger problem than any other rider really, its up to the person riding how much of an annoyance they can be. personally, i enjoy trail rides but many of the ones around my area are over farmland with a lot of open paddock/grass sections - riding fast on grass is something ive never been fond of so i usually just cruise accross but i am constantly gettting roosted by riders going flat tack on the first bit of grass they see. when you get to some tight stuff or a forrest (where i like to ride) they usually dont get over (quad or mx) so you just need to find your own path if you wanna be in front :-) i've had some guys give me some pretty strange looks as i pass them off the side of the track when they'd blasted past me only a couple of minutes before

i dont think you need to let people past straight away, its nice to enjoy your own ride but if you can hear an engine behind you for a few min it might be nice to back it off at the next appropriate section, and if there is a line of 20 people, maybe have a wee break!

[Blackbuell]

you are all a bunch of whinges you moan about quads, i dont really care i enjoy riding them when i take my kids they ride quads as well i gunna do more family trails rides if we hold ya well thats your problem cause its a trail ride not a fricken race so if ya wanna moan dont go to afamily trail ride with quads on it cause there is a good chance i,ll be on it & ya dont want to piss me off !!!!