From Dangerous Sport to Fun Activity – Reframing Mountain Biking

How about calling it cake cycling? 🤔😁😁😁😁

think some people are slightly missing part of the point about built trails. You can’t bimble on a bridleway if you live somewhere urban where there aren’t any. But it doesn’t take that much to create some trails in urban parks or wasteland, making riding a bike off road (whatever you want to call it) a more accessible and inclusive activity.

I see some parallels with the boom of indoor climbing walls over the last few years. Climbing centres were initially the places to train, or visit during bad weather. As time went on, they became the places which introduced new people, and many (most?) wall users these days barely venture outdoors. The centres are warm, dry, you can buy a coffee, park easily, progress safely, have tuition if you want it, meet friends easily and so on.

Trail centres in urban locations (eg Leeds bike park) are fantastic for bringing people in. I see loads of families, a reasonable proportion of women and non-white people. Yes, these numbers could and should be improved but having an accessible, safe and convenient location is important in developing this. While there is “urban singletrack” available in the area, the barrier to entry for this (knowing where and how to find it; feeling safe on it etc) means that it will never see as much use as the bike park.

There’s a bit of a continuum in recreational off-road cycling. It’s not all Bridleway Bimblers. Think of some of the Lakes descents, Torridon, sections of the Cairngorms Loop. Of course advances in the bikes have helped folk tackle these faster and maybe thereby opened them up to a slightly larger audience, but that brings me on to anot<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>her thing…</span>

The usual chat about “trail sanitisation” is that it’s ruining the fun for the vocal minority whereas it should usually be looked upon as enabling fun for everyone else.

Yes that annoys me as well especially when the trail thats being “sanitised” is an eroded mess. Of course trail repair needs to be done sensibly and sensitively but without trail “sanitisation” torridon would not be rideable at all.

My observation of riders who cry about ‘sanitisation’ do so because said trail is within their comfort zone, and trying anything new or spicy makes them quiver; absolute screamers the lot of them.

There’s always something easier/harder out there for every rider, I guess some don’t like being humbled as it destroys their Pit Viper wearing extreme rad Chad personality.

I just don’t think that the general image of mountain biking can really be changed amongst most common folks.

I think it’s deffo doable, but only if we (whoever ‘we’ are…) want to. There’s a sizeable group within our little niche that will prefer the ‘outsider’ narrative and will continue to ride and act in a way that preserves it. This is a problem for us if we want to alter perceptions…

If gravel is the thin end of the wedge, it needs to become more accessible itself… You really don’t need a Gravel Bike to ride gravel – that cheap hybrid in Halfords will do the job just fine. That’s the message to push – as long as your bike isn’t falling apart and isn’t a full-on road bike, get out on the dirt and enjoy Wild Cycling!

The trouble is the goals for “growing MTB” are as broad as all the sub-niches that make it up. “MTBing” means wildly different things to different people, which makes it generally quite hard to grow…

Obviously there’s varying levels of gnar across all MTBerists, but the most common imagery of padded up Bro’s smashing their way about the woods and high fiving is kind of the most pervasive one now. The bolting on of motors hasn’t improved the wider image of the pastime.

But is it such a bad thing? I can’t help thinking all sub-niches of bicycle riding inevitably reach a bit of a plateau eventually; in terms of participants, social acceptance and infrastructure. Between the churn of new-golfers, Pandemic purchases and impending economic doom even MTBing has to face the reality of “sustainable growth” at some point.

Concentrate on gravel advocacy as this is seen (and rightly so) as a more open and accessible type of riding. Mountain biking can then ride on the waves of better acces garnered from gravel.

I just don’t think that the general image of mountain biking can really be changed amongst most common folks.

TBH ^^this^^ makes sense, Gravel is the newer niche, dentists and stockbrokers are aware of it, YT hipsters are chopping their fixies in for a Gravel bike and some dry bags. Most importantly the imagery fits the profile if you’re campaigning for access and long distance off-road routes, non-competitive, smiling people with a bit of mud on them, not really causing much of a fuss has a better chance. MTB can just ride it’s younger brother’s coat tails for a bit.

@crazy-legs that’s not sanitisation, that’s just dogshit maintenance and building.

You really don’t need a Gravel Bike to ride gravel – that cheap hybrid in Halfords will do the job just fine. That’s the message to push

This is true, but also…

You really don’t need a 5k full suss Bike to ride most MTB trails– that cheap hardtail in Halfords will do the job just fine. That’s the message to push

This is also true, and should be pushed. Every time I go to Leeds urban bike park (I hate calling it that, it’s just miggy woods…) I see kids on cheap Carrera’s having a great time.

Ride bikes, roll eyes.

If the idea is to get mountain biking into the media as a positive message, then which image will the picture editor use, will it be  a) the bloke in the full face doing a suicide over a 35ft gap, or b) the middle aged bearded bloke riding what looks suspiciously like a road bike on a by-way?

If the idea is to get mountain biking into the media as a positive message, then which image will the picture editor use, will it be a) the bloke in the full face doing a suicide over a 35ft gap, or b) the middle aged bearded bloke riding what looks suspiciously like a road bike on a by-way?

BUt only one of those is MTBing…. the other, is, well, gravel biking 😀

‘we’ are the outgoing generation of MTBers anyway, we barely exist… I don’t see why ‘we’ need things to change anyhow ? It’s not like they’re going to knock up a village at the bottom of a set of trails. The UK just isn’t designed like that, doesn’t work like that. Taking a MTB out even on gravel rides for 2-3 hours of long slogs up hill with some reward of a downhill later.. You know what, i’m just not seeing your average 50 year old doing it. We’re the exception. The others, they’re taking a stroll which ends up less than a mile away at the furthest point from the car and telling themselves they’re proper nutters going out into the wild 😀 😀

Maybe we’ll convert a couple here, a couple there.. we’ve all done it, taken a mate out who’s now a MTBer…. but for every 1 we convert, there’s 1000 we never could.

I am beginning to think this is a geographical thing because like Scotroutes

100% correct… but you guys live where that sort of stuff is more normal, more accepted and lets face it, you’re not 20 🙂

But location of course plays a massive part yes.

What is the purpose of rebranding mtb? Why is it necessary to ‘grow our sport’?

What is the purpose of rebranding mtb? Why is it necessary to ‘grow our sport’?

Yep, I was about to ask that. I know that those engaged in discourse with the authorities or trying to sell as much bike stuff as possible want mountain biking to be a cuddly, inoffensive thing that everyone loves, but sometimes things just are what they are.

I see there’s still a few on here with their you do it different to me so you do it wrong attitude to riding bikes in the woods.

I really don’t think it’s framed as a dangerous activity here in the Tweed Valley.
You only have to go to GT in the week and see groups of young kids out riding as part of their school activities as proof of this.
It’s just pissing about on bikes however you want to frame it.
Ride up a mountain/ride a bikepark/ride along a tow path/ ride to the pub.
Just enjoy what you like and don’t worry about someone doing it differently to you.

Wow, some very divergent experiences!

Still a way to go in general but, personally, we’ve seen a huge amount of very positive stuff with mountain biking recently 🙂 this weekend at FOD and Cannock (not places we normally go), it was really nice to see the changes and how diverse our little activity is starting to look, lots of families from lots of backgrounds with so many different bikes. We also see lots more families and retirees out and about on the local trails.

Heading out for a ride locally, it’s often as much about socialising as it is riding. It can be big drops, jumps, bridle way bimbling and chatting with horse riders / hikers all in the same ride. It definitely seems more friendly to us out and about, and once we’ve got to know them, it’s amazing how much we have in common with horse riders and other users of the great outdoors, it’s a brill opportunity to chat to people and we get people’s life stories a lot more than we ever used to.

Bikes are just pretty cool, whatever they are. I have an enduro bike that also gets used to go to the shops and today it will be used to collect prescriptions from the Drs for some of the older local residents who have mobility issues.

There was a bit of friction between some users during lockdown but it all seems a lot more positive to us than it used to be. 🙂

increasingly to be what mainstream mtb is.

In the specialist media and in some areas perhaps

One thing I have noticed is on TV adverts how often you see mountainbikes used now to signify something cool – and its almost always XC bimbling they use. Watch out for it.

Also I have seen in Scotland holiday cottages and the like advertising their facilities for mountainbikers. Secure parking, washing facilities and route guides

I’m not sure if anyone follows Paul the Punter on YouTube, but he just posted a video explaining why he quit mountain biking completely, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwSHV7xuQd4&ab_channel=PaulThePunter

A huge amount of the marketing and videos around MTB is so focused on the bigger, harder, faster, more dangerous, as that is what drives clicks.
I do not identify with most of what Paul talks about in his video, as I do not ride in that way, nor do I put myself in situations where the peer pressure (“encouragement”) gets to that point, but it is what is very visible in the media, especially US based.
From my riding. there is a huge amount of people who just do XC style, and that counts in the US too, who do not go to these extremes, but that does not drive the clicks and therefore advert money.

I saw the video and did not identify with what he talked about but then I again I have never been in Whistler, Moab etc and haven’t felt what the scene there is. Of course his situation was amplified due making living from Youtube videos.
Later I realized that if I would substitute the word ‘riding’ in video with ‘climbing’ it would then match very well with reasons why I have quit climbing. There is just too much risk involved in outdoor climbing (no big mountains but not much sport climbing areas either, usually somewhat remote crags on natural protection) for me now.

@stwhannah anyway you could get your articles into the main stream press? The average London based journalist will have been skiing but probably not touched a bike since they were a kid.

I agree with you that urban local ‘trails’ help access and diversity in cycling. Just come off a 3 day ‘dig’ with Ride Bristol updating a very popular trail in a park next to the city.The feedback we got from passing riders and the volunteers really made it worth all the effort. Also had backing from one of those large bike companies (Santa Cruz via Stiff Mountain Bikes sponsored the work), so they are putting something back and promoting riding.

I really don’t think it’s framed as a dangerous activity here in the Tweed Valley.

Things might have changed but the #1 cause of long-term absence in the Lothians and Border Fire Service certainly used to be biking injuries sustained at Glentress 🤪