Seems the norm for roadies, join a club,pound out the miles, wear a club jersey. MTB not really. Why is that?

have you tried herding cats? 😉

there are a few
but internetz makes it easier to organise rides with your mates negating the need for a club

There’s at least 4 that meet regularly within 15 miles of where I am.

I think that because they don’t tend to do co-ordinated jumpers and are playing in the woods rather than riding echelon around the roads they’re just not as obvious?

I’ve ridden a few times with a local ‘club’ but they’re more for covering miles of slightly boring riding whereas I’d much rather do a load shorter ride with a load more silly stuff involved.

Plus I’d rather just ride with my mates.

but there are!

I think there are about half a dozen MTB clubs in our immediate area.
Club jerseys less visible though. Possibly ‘cos that sparks all sorts of unwanted interest when a bunch of riders use the footpath through somewhere they “shouldn’t”.

The origins of MTB are very different to the road scene. Road clubs developed as a way of training and bringing on riders to a form of racing that often revolved around riding en masse, in a peloton. As such, the ethos of the ‘group ride’ or club ride was always going to be more prevalent.

MTB was born from messing about in the woods. Add to that the fact that at a competitive level, there’s no peloton or group riding element to it, it’s hardly surprising it’s more of an ‘individual’ sport.

I think there are. Ours has got 130 members, there’s others ‘next door’ in all directions (centred around major conurbations) of similar size.

The function of them is quite different though – road clubs are centred around training and racing, and so post up results, wear club jerseys and are much more visible.

MTB clubs arrange rides, often on quite an ad-hoc basis for members through web forums, a few trips away, and the occasional event. Also ‘race jerseys’ don’t really fit (literally 😉 )so you wouldn’t know people are club members if you met them on the trail.

Around here there’s Newforce, Dorset Rough Riders, Berks on Bikes, SPAM, QECP Trail Collective etc

No further need for any other mountain bike clubs; MBSwindon, who built the croft trail** (Britain’s finest urban singletrack.)has it all covered.

**Otherwise known as the woods behind Nationwide.

http://www.mbswindon.co.uk

Because mountain bike riders are all disillusion about being individuals, like teenage American girls, they all think they’re special, but they are all the same really.

Because it’s easier to boast about your gnar-shredding skills and amplituding without witnesses.

I’m in two, VeloCake & NWAlps riders, we’re very cliquey though 🙂

Because it’s easier to boast about your gnar-shredding skills and amplituding without witnesses.

The camera really flattens out the steepness. It was a 10′ huck to flat, honest.

Club jerseys less visible though. Possibly ‘cos that sparks all sorts of unwanted interest when a bunch of riders use the footpath through somewhere they “shouldn’t”.

local club won’t trust members to behave so doesn’t have a jersey!

Plenty around this way in Berkshire – there are about 250 member in Berks on Bikes

Makes life easy when trying to plan rides – just turn up on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday or Sunday and there are always like minded people to chase after 🙂

local club won’t trust members to behave so doesn’t have a jersey!

No, more the case that local club rides were it “shouldn’t” and wishes to maintain plausible deniability.

Plenty over here in South Wales 😀 Quite a few we support as well 😛

With MTB, in a lot of cases, a decent LBS seems to assume the role of local club, being a social hub, repository of local knowledge on routes and organiser of group rides.

Certainly the case where I am, and I’ve read no end of magazine features where they’ve either got their route guidance from, or been led out on rides by, the guys from the local shop.

On which subject, I can’t miss yet another opportunity to recommend Garage Bikes in Morley for coffee, advice on routes, and great shop rides.

(They also mend bicycles and sell stuff.)

I’m in one official club: Tyne Valley MTB, and one unofficial: Hexham Dangerous Dads (name pinched from the ancient Singletrack article about the Rochdale(?) Dangerous Dads in the “ride your local trails” series years ago)

Official club works on developing access and trails locally and I rarely actually ride with them. Unofficial one is a bunch of like-minded people trying to squeeze a regular ride into the edge of family life by going out in the middle of the night.

No, more the case that local club rides were it “shouldn’t” and wishes to maintain plausible deniability.

Of course. By trust i mean trust them not to wear jerseys on the club run but save them for racing etc.

Plenty of MTBers round here wearing club uniform.

Have been in a few clubs (not bike ones) with all the formal structure, elections, constitution and all that nonsense, and the hassle that goes with it. Give me an informal “club” that’s a group of friends and friends of friends, membership by invitation or “we like you, come along”, any day. Every one then chips in where they can, nobody whinges about “lack of communication” or “the committee is not doing their job” or “what am I getting for my membership fee?”. Never seen a whinger stand for election though 😉 They expect others to volunteer free time, but expect a service for their membership fee.

Prolly 1000’s of clubs that are nothing more than a group of people that just go out and ride, and maybe have a name and a website.

I takes a fair bit of effort and commitment for a club to function properly and some respect to rules. It takes quite a bit of time to get rides set and routines that work for everyone.

I moved to a new area and got lucky. I found a good club and started riding with them and my knowledge of local trails is almost wholy from the club.

Being in a club you end up being represented by everyone in the club for better or worse. This cuts both ways and has benefits and issues.

I’m in the Bogtrotters and have been since I escaped the Midlands for the North in 2006. We have a good craic and there appears to be enough rides / sub-groups and such like to please most tastes. I’m part of the northern beer-core night riding crew and rarely get out at the weekends, but there are somewhere between 70 and 120 paid up members scattered across the North West. I don’t think a normal group of riders and friends operates on this sort of scale or geography and as a result the club can be quite social.