[Closed] FREERIDE!!!!!!!!! it's mostly bollox, isn't it?

What cookeaa said.

I think cookeaa has nutshelled it.........

*/bow in front of cookeaa in a pure waynes world style/*

Eh?

No your supposed to tell me I'm wrong!

Then we argue for 3 hours about very little, get nowhere and knock off work having acheived nothing all afternoon.... That's how it works...

cookeaa you're wrong so ner. Freeriding isn't very free as them there freeride bikes are 'kin 'spensive!!!

[i]No your supposed to tell me I'm wrong! [/i]

naah, saving that for the rad teejster dude 😉

Lots of people allude to/are aware of the existence of "marketing bollox" but still buy into it. Why is that?

The sport/pastime of mountain biking has changed quite a bit since I first got into it almost 20 years ago. But the lowest common denominator remains the same: riding bicycles in/on dirt.

Any variation to that definition is just for added effect 😉

[i]Lots of people allude to/are aware of the existence of "marketing bollox" but still buy into it. Why is that?[/i]

.....because they want to 'belong' ?

SOOBalias - Member

"a mate of mine used to think he was a 'freerider' with his big fork, full face, leg and arm protection. i think he's slowly realised that most of the riding he did was just that, riding. we've weaned him off the full face and the double crown fork"

have to say i find this attitude almost as repulsive as the marketing bollox at the opposite end of the scale.

we used to find it 'replusive' that we'd all be waiting at the top of a climb whilst he pushed his bike up only for him to then moan that the trails were boring once we got to the bottom. they're boring if you can't feel what is happening beneath your wheels with all that suspension. they're boring if your bike is too bulky to slip along narrow singletrack because it weighs 18kg.

they're boring if your bike is too bulky to slip along narrow singletrack because it weighs 18kg.

juan, i'd agree with you. your bike, your choice, your problem.

Don’t worry folks, just because you’re getting old doesn’t mean the marketers have forgotten you….

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And before reading this thread I always thought Freeriding was not paying for leaving your car in a trail centre carpark. 😉

I think I'm the first to point this out, but apologies if I'm not...

Fact: the definition of "Freeride" in France/Switzerland/Germany/probably others (Euro mainland, basically) is somewhat different to the definition of "Freeride" in UK/Canada/US.

I know this to be true because I've lived in Switz for 7 years, and EVERYBODY here who goes and does some big singletracky alpine stuff (with possibly some gravity assistance, that brits would probably call "all mountain") .... calls it "Freeride"

Probably not much use telling them they're all wrong is it?

Oy! I'm a premier subscriber to that last one.

ash, there is every reason for telling them they're wrong.... use their own ****ing words to define what they do. Freifahren, Paxalle (that's french).

that 'is everything shit or is it just me' is quite a good read. i agreed wih him on almost every point and i'm only 27. i was 26 when i read it!

personally i'd say the term freeriding came about because of the original Kranked film back in 1998. in terms of pushing boundaries and doing stuff that the majority of riders had never seen before those guys were second to none. freeride, in terms of skiing/snowboarding is pretty much riding freestye (hitting jumps, dropping tricks) but not in a park, so the term easily fitted into what these guys were doing. of course there were no freeride specific bikes or kit back then but as the sport has developed over the last few years, participation levels have increased and people are looking to be more specific with what type of riding they do.

yeah i'm sure there are loads of freeride wannabies who can't ride for $hit but have all of the gear; surely that's the same as some crap sunday league footballer who wears a man u shirt to practice in? and yes you can still go and have a game of football in jeans and a shirt or even your best suit if you really want. who cares if you're having fun?

the bike manufacturer's have over this time developed specific bikes for various disciplines, they sponsor the top riders that people aspire to in the hope to increse sales. some of this money goes back into developing new and improved bikes which will then be sold to existing and new customers thus continuing their growth as a company. sales of these types of bikes are high because people are trying out new stuff because they see on MTB films what can be done, the posibilites are limitless. unfortunately, and as i said previously, some people think they're better than what they actually, they buy these bikes and kit themselves out as their idols in the films do.

in the meantime, the advent of youtube and the pop idol generation has meant that more and more people are putting themselves on the internet in the hope for their 5 minutes of fame. there are probably more crap riders doing this than there are good ones and the easiest thing to label these video's is 'freeride' as 'off-road' or 'singletrack' are a) not as cool and b) will not generate as many hits.

so in summise, i blame pete waterman and simon cowell.

@alpin seems you’re views on what sort of riding your “mate” should be doing are a little prescribed, why can’t he pop on the full face and armour mount his bouncy bike and Huck/Gnar^Rad if he wants?

Perhaps he should have gone riding with the people’s front of Judea, rather than you and the Judean peoples front…

The people I truly admire in cycling are not the ultra competitive super fit gits that get to the top of the hill 5 minutes before you, or the ones that rip down a hill at twice the speed you can manage, but the ones that encourage others, help, advise, motivate and pass on a bit of knowledge, without feeling the need to pass out put downs...
Not the ones that sit mumbling about you at the top of a hill, then go on a forum and bitch about their unfit, all the gear no idea “Mate”…

As Ash said, those french lads are doing what the vast majority of europeans regard as freeriding. They are riding down a BIG hill and having fun (probably didnt have to ride up either).

Read Big Bike (french mag) and they have loads of articles on descents like this catagorised as freeride.

alot of the stuff in this vid i would call freeride.

http://freecaster.tv/mtb/1010677/stund-s2-ep5

I think I'm the first to point this out, but apologies if I'm not...

Fact: the definition of "Freeride" in France/Switzerland/Germany/probably others (Euro mainland, basically) is somewhat different to the definition of "Freeride" in UK/Canada/US.

I know this to be true because I've lived in Switz for 7 years, and EVERYBODY here who goes and does some big singletracky alpine stuff (with possibly some gravity assistance, that brits would probably call "all mountain") .... calls it "Freeride"

Probably not much use telling them they're all wrong is it?

Humm tough one this one.
We use to rando (french terms fro hill/mountain walking). Then obviously we got to the point were the only bike able to cope with the slightly rocking south east of France were free ride bike (bless were the day where you could only buy 3 kind of bikes, XC/DH/FR), from there we still use to rando, but gravity assisted stuff in Italy were called free ride days. Then use use to refers to the most technical decent of the "rando" as a bit Free ride, you know like not your typical trail (for example the descent from le pas de la corne on the grammondo towards menton if you know it ash) but something that would rattle your teeth a little bit more.

Now I have just given up in trying to understand the nice and sub niche of the bike market. But one thing is sure. If it wasn't for kids on expensive bike (i probably was one), I'll have no choice but ride a rigid steel frame with a crap geometry and a 43 mm fork wearing lycra...

As Ash said

The europeans call Freeride going up a hill in a van / chairlift most of the way and go down the mountain on bikes with about 180 mm of travel that can do a little bit of pedalling. i.e doing a 10 minute climb / traverse to get the main run.

Also the term "enduro" is very different here in Italy and France whereas in the UK its a 100km ride on fireroads on a wet welsh day but here its pedalling up steep mountains with timed special stages for the decents, using full face, armour and 6 inch bikes.

At the end of the day the UK's terrain is nothing compared to whats available in Europe and riding big hit bikes is probably overkill 90% of the time for normal UK trail riding.

Juan....

Could you e mail me please.. I have some questions about riding in Nice..

david.richardson123@hotmail.co.uk

Bigman YGM

I AM Bearclaw!

its all just simply mtbing

you know you cant say that jedi, in a minute there will be the challenge about what is a mountain and who regularly rides them.

that leaves us ATB'ing which i think we all agree is a shite term.

far too many pigeon holes for what is simply riding

Not the ones that sit mumbling about you at the top of a hill, then go on a forum and bitch about their unfit, all the gear no idea “Mate”…

not even sure if he's got too much of an idea..... and we're by no means quick.

If only the government would do the decent thing and colour code the whole countryside so we knew which bits were XC or freeride or gnarlcore or whatever. But no, they leave it all natural. **** ing Gordon Brown eh

I liked 'off road bicycles - ORBing'

They're just terms. I assume that for most of us a big part mountain biking is the challenge of progressing your skills, whether that's a big climb, a steep decent or a jump. For this reason, I'm very happy that I'm not riding an 80s or 90s mountain bike any more and will gladly put up with the occasional marketing BS in order to have the pair of amazing modern mtbs I now own. Riding progresses, which makes bikes better, which pushes riding on again and so on...

I always thought it originated in chairlift based riding as you got a free ride back down.

Which is why it doesn't need big jumps or drops or any of that it's just a free ride back down the mountain.

meh what do I know.

I didn't bother looking at the OPs vid but can tell that the correct genre of the riding it portrayed is GNARRRCORE XC

[i]far too many pigeon holes for what is simply riding [/i]
agreed