Perhaps people's maintainence standards have increased too.

Does the fact that less people are buying bikes and entering less (or being more selective with) events mean that people are riding less though?
Perhaps everyone is just hanging on to/getting a bit more wear out of their current kit. Around South Wales there doesn't seem to have been a noticable drop in the number of vistors to the trail centres or the locals that are about on the natural cheeky stuff.

MidlandTrailquestsGraham: I can tell you that a shop fast approaching a £2 million turnover hasn't achieved that by just selling MTB's! The likes of Giant, Specialized and Trek are not the worlds biggest bike brands from selling mostly MTB's either.

I can tell you that a shop fast approaching a £2 million turnover hasn't achieved that by just selling MTB's!

selling crack?

[EDIT] SFB, is that Cathedral Quarry in your first picture?

of course 🙂

One of the problems with MTBs is technically they're not fit for the purpose they're intended for,ie riding in muddy conditions.

Doesn't stop us lot riding them all over the hills in all weathers, does it? It may not be perfect but it's the most fit for purpose thing we have. And works well too really. Just have to keep an eye on maintenance, like you used to have to do with cars.

Re internet forums – 99% of bikers never come near a forum, least of all STW, so I really don't think it's a factor.

You have to remember though that MTBing has diversified massively in 20 years. It used to be that every MTBer had an XC bike and rode their local bridleways in the hills/woods. Now that is possibly in decline, but the number of youngesters riding trail/dh/freeride/whatever is huge. Look on youtube, look at the number of cheeky trails, jumps, unofficial DH routes and scary lines down big obstacles that are appearing.

If you've only been mtbing for 5 years or so you won't remember a time when all the little bikey bits of singletrack simply did not exist. The concept of bikers 'developing' a bit of woodland was unheard of. Now almost every bit of accessible woods has little trails snaking all over it.

Pastcaring: That was going to be our next promotion actually 😆

If you've only been mtbing for 5 years or so you won't remember a time when all the little bikey bits of singletrack simply did not exist. The concept of bikers 'developing' a bit of woodland was unheard of. Now almost every bit of accessible woods has little trails snaking all over it.

def agreed on that part! been taking a mate out riding who hasnt stepped on his bike in 8 years but we're heading out to the exact same parts he rode 8 years ago.. its like watching a kid at christmas as he's constantly excited by all the new bits of singletrack etc.

however on the internet part… if you type in a bike name and "review" then chances are in the top few results one of the biking forums will be there and it'll link to a thread of people ripping into someones choice of new bike. most people i know use a simple google search to check something before buying it, especially if its an item that wouldnt normally end up in the trolly on a weekly shop.

I guess I'm the case in point. Been mtb for 5yrs or so here and abroad, got a road bike through C2W and caught the bug, have hardly been on a mtb all summer.

Am sure I will go back to it (as soon as this Sunday) but road riding does have its own appeal. Living in London its great to be able to just head out the door and ride out into the cuds rather than load the mtb onto the car. Also, I've got a whole lot fitter, there's nothing like sitting on a road bike for 4-5hrs to burn the calories……and when you do get back on a mtb its much more fun than before when you were huffing and puffing to keep up with the big boys.

I'm pretty sure my full-sus is going to be retired as a result. No fun trying to manhandle a Blur around in the dirt when youve spent the last few months on a 17lb carbon racer……only need for a nice hardtail methinks.

The concept of bikers 'developing' a bit of woodland was unheard of. Now almost every bit of accessible woods has little trails snaking all over it.

Totally agree, and it's get better every year.

Re forums – if I google for bike advice, I invariably end up on a singletrack thread

however on the internet part… if you type in a bike name and "review" then chances are in the top few results one of the biking forums will be there and it'll link to a thread of people ripping into someones choice of new bike

True enough.. although this happens for everything these days. Typing in <something> review always returns tons of dross 🙁

It seems you need to spend a fortune to buy a new MTB which is ok according to the press. Silly? Possibly, but where would you be looking for info as a newbie? MBUK, MBR, What Bike etc. Entry level bikes around £1500 are criticised for being crap disregarding the simple fact most of us never outgrow an old Trek 920 or a Specialized Hardrock. We change them because we want to in most cases.
Several years ago you could easily find a bike for £300 that came from a major brand and was good, nowadays good means expensive. The bike companies are at fault IMO.

Prices have rocketed in a recession – not handy.

A £1200 bike from 2007 is now £1500++

It seems you need to spend a fortune to buy a new MTB which is ok according to the press

Entry level spend has been £300-£400 for as long as I can remember. ie 20 years.

Mrs Grips' new hybrid was £400 with a bit of haggling, and it's astonishingly good VFM.

"The concept of bikers 'developing' a bit of woodland was unheard of. Now almost every bit of accessible woods has little trails snaking all over it."

Although it probably has got a lot more common most of the places I used to ride 10-15 years ago seemed to have been seen to by the local bikers at the time, we used to spend all weekend in the woods with our spades, and you could see all the biking trails where a lot of other people had been. I don't think much changes really, kids always go out on their bikes and some keep up the habit and others fall out of it. Some get back into it when they are older, (like many people on this forum). It's never been a cheap hobby though. £400 always bought you a decent entry level bike and it costs about the same now, more or less. I've just realised this post doesn't really have a point.

Aaah, this is taking me back, I might dust off the old rigid Rockhopper…

+1 with molgrips. the entry level pricepoint has always been around the 400 quid mark, most magazine reviews ive ever read of these use phrases like "gives more expensive machines a run for their money" and are generally very positive. Most come with disc brakes and front suspension (albeit maybe cable discs and basic tech forks) as the manufacturers think customers demand it.

Pastimes, and niches within pastimes are cyclical. XC racing waned years ago, endurance events have taken off and continued to grow since the first red bull 24hr races. the bristol bike fest was a good mix of newbies and enthusiasts, and it was interesting to see that the STW favourite of a steel long travel hardtail was probably the most common style of bike. It used to be everyone at an enduro event seemed to ride a marin full susser.

I heard the cycle industry was expanding worldwide by 20% a year, and the CTW scheme combined with the higher profile of cycling (hoy, pendleton, wiggins, cavendish) has helped to popularise it in the UK.

buzz-lightyear – Member
"Its just been a bad year weather wise."

Eh? best summer trail conditions in 3 years. Could not care less about "high watermarks". MTB will always be a grass-roots led sport and outdoors activity which is a good thing IMO.

If I only rode trail centres I'd get bored too.

Afan: ~100km of marked trails
Mendips: ~400km of "natural" trails (must try and work this out more accurately)

Do you want to work out how many 100s of km of natural trails are in Afan forest as well? I think it might be quite a lot.

As far as the weather is concerned, it's been a normal wet summer down here in South Wales – not sunny enough to be described as a good summer, but not wet enough to be a washout. The trails are definitely muddy though.

It's gonna be fecked with the new cyclescheme recommendations.

Theres a lot of bike shop owners doing the 2p/5p thing over c2w…..(size of coin purse).

lbs manager was just telling me the other day that the industry stats are showing a slow down in sales of high end bikes but low to mid are still high.

Not surprised really. Will not be buying another high end bike myself, the Pig will see me through to my retirement 😆

As for racing/events I prefer to spend what would be entry money etc on a day out on the hills with the map 😆