Posted in bike forum because it's riding related but does anyone else feel out of touch these days? Or is riding just less popular than it ever has been before outside of the local teens sending big jumps in the woods for instagram bangers?
The past 15 years has seen me on and off the bike for various reasons, in that time a lot of my riding mates have packed in altogether or moved away, or maybe fit one or two rides in a year when they manage to find time between work and family life, which has lead me to try and branch out and meet new riding buddies.
I usually ride my local which has lots of kids on the jump sections, I'll see other riders my age and older there on the odd occasion and we have a chat but then never cross paths again, at the weekend I returned to my old stomping ground of Guisborough woods expecting it be just as busy as it was when it was my local in the 2010's but it was just dead, loads of dog walkers, trail runners and hikers but virtually no riders. I did see one large group of riders going the opposite way down percy cross rig, a solo female rider, a couple of guys on gravel bikes and 3 teens hovering near the top of a shale hill. It used to be 3x as busy as that on a Sunday, big groups crowded round the top or bottom of the popular trails, loads on the fire roads it was always swarming.
So I re-subscribed to Strava to see the local leaderboards for riders this year with the plan of 1. Knowing they're active and 2. Following them so there is some familiarity and a comment here or there on recent rides with the plan of bumping into them and tagging along at somepoint or arranging a ride.
But mate, it's an absolute ghost town, bare bones, dead. The chute up Guis, which used to be like the M2 in terms of traffic has had 109 riders in total this year, the Les's trails have had 107 riders total over 2025, the climb up to Highcliffe nab tops out at 341.
It looks even worse when I look at the stats for my local riding spot with one trail only having had 10 riders total this year float down it. Now I know these leaderboards will be tied to non eeb rides, but still, this is absolutely bonkers to me!
So what's going on? Is everyone just on eebs these days? Are people no longer using Strava? Has mtb dropped out of fashion again? has the FC clamped down on unsanctioned trails? Have the trail fairies called it a day meaning the trails ride rougher and people don't enjoy the tech as much? Has the CoL put people off/made MTB more unattainable? Or is it a combination of all of the above?
Discuss please guys I need some answers for my adhd brain, and new riding mates actually so if you're local to Guisborough or Errington Woods and want to follow each other on Strava let me know I'll paste my link in here
I'm not local to you but where i live it might be the same story? I guess it is the associated cost of biking that prevents more kids from spending their pocket or paper round money on a bike? Repairs to bikes aren't cheap. Security and storage of bikes isn't cheap or easy. Carting ebikes to destinations by car isn't cheap or possible for kids alone to achieve.
I think I agree with retrorick.
Mountain biking has become expensive and expectations (of kit and bikes) has increased. I think people believe that you need a full suspension bike (preferably an E-bike) plus a full face helmet and all the fancy clothing simply to ride your bike in the woods.
Mountain biking has changed from 'riding your bike in the woods' to Redbull Rampage or nowt. The age of riders has increased, so the value of the bikes around has increased and that seems to have left the younger riders behind. They think they need the bike and kit, which they can't afford, so they don't ride.
Can't say it bothers me in the slightest. I'm riding uplift at FoD this weekend, i won't be hitting GBU because it's outside of my skillset, but if others are, so be it.
Some days i'll ride what's closer to gravel biking than anything else, again i don't care.
Sunday the boy was at Dyfi and i was surprised that a couple of other parents who are better than me were not riding because "Dyfi isn't really my thing".... But we all enjoyed talking rubbish instead 😀
We do have a booming scene of younger riders near me, but as said they just session these massive jumps and seem to stick to doing that, I mean credit given where it's due I don't have the balls to do the stuff they're doing, they fly off them on anything, old carreras, hard tail treks, seen one on a boardman fs team which was the same model of bike one of my mates used to ride in 2012 with the smoothed out welds. There is plenty of those youngsters near me which is good to see, but they do seem more focused on sending it and getting it on video as opposed to what I see as proper MTB, singletrack, trails, features, big day adventures etc. Not to say we didn't do the same at their age at Gt Ayton quarry though, but back then we called our selves dirt jumpers 😆
What I don't see much of is the late 20s to early 40s riders
Most of my old riding buddies have either moved away, given up or swapped to road/gravel bikes but mountain biking in general still seems as popular here in Aberdeen, and even more so in the Shire (Aboyne, Banchory, Ballater etc).
Everyone does appear to have gone electric though. I was Tarland Trails a couple of Sundays ago and me and my mate were two of four riders on normal bikes vs what felt like swarms of ebikes. I'm thinking of getting one in the new year too to be honest.
I do still see the next generation of DH kids digging trails and building jumps at the local woods, and there are few old die-hards whizzing around on 90s classics.
Dunno. Last year I moved from the Chilterns to Devon. Riding in the Chilts I would see one or two MTBers on my weekday rides and a few groups at the weekends. Where I live now (East Devon, where there's some decent trail riding), it's a very rare thing to see anyone at all. Someone on a human powered bike would qualify as a red-listed species. Don't know if it's just a Devon thing, but I suspect there's less interest. My guess is that a lot of people want the concentrated fun of an ebike at a trail centre, without the effort.
I'm based in the SE. I'd say down this way it's more popular than ever, especially with eebs for the aged 30+ crowd. Swinley (I don't really ride there anymore since they closed the most decent trail, ironically due to it just being overrun with kids and the issues that this brings - litter, antisocial behaviour and accidents) is usually rammed at the weekends, a big mix of ages, though a lot of the kids may move on given the main jump line has been flattened. See plenty of people around areas such as Tunnel Hill and Surrey Hills, and the bike parks are usually pretty busy too.
I do agree though that most of the younger age group seem to spend most of the time sessioning features (you can usually tell the popular spots by the amount of litter left), but for those who stick with the sport I imagine their riding evolves over time. I imagine the skill set of most younger riders is one where they are comfortable throwing a big whip over a huge gap, but can't ride anything technical very well.
See plenty of people out and about riding through Skipton although the vast majority are e-bikes or gravel/road. Plenty of kids shooting about on what look like their parents hand me downs too. Busiest it's been for a while tbh.
Not seeing any less local riders in this neck of the woods unsurprisingly.
Just less big groups on ebikes now the tourist season is mainly over.
As busy/popular as ever round here based on my non scientific observations.
more and more e-bikes so your strava analysis won’t capture that.
agree there’s been a shift towards sessionjng features or trails or a concentrated area - people scared to venture far from the van… but that’s only happened because the trails are there for them to be able to do this.
people have been crying ‘death of the sport’ since I started TBH, can normally be boiled down to people’s style of riding changing and leaving people ‘behind’.
not that there’s anything wrong with this - variety is the spice of mtb. Some people like to sample everything, sometimes on one bike, sometimes with a whole fleet. Others pick a niche and stay there, and if you stay there forever you may be unaware of what else exists.
I'm probably riding more than ever (still not as much as I'd like to but work/family/life etc) and my local riding spots on the other edge of the moors from the OP seem to be as busy as ever. I wouldn't take Strava figures as a clear reflection on who is out riding either...
I live at the edge of the Peak which is still pretty busy, particularly at weekends ,although mainly in the more well known areas. Once you get away from them you hardly see anybody and they are usually gentlemen of a certain age. I do say gentlemen because I hardly see any women out on mtbs despite an enormous increase in the number out on road bikes
Got to admit my (20 year old) hardtail comes out maybe half a dozen times a year - local stuff I can ride on the gravel bike, and if I'm going to drive for an hour to anything that justifies suspension, I'd sooner use that time on the road bike.
That said, this year has seen a noticeable increase in younger teenagers just riding bikes in the woods, or just to the woods, which has to be a good thing. There are places nearby with jumps etc of varying degrees of shonkiness for those who want to.
With more free time I'd like to travel and get my eye back in on red routes, maybe treat myself to a sensible "modern" bike and get some coaching to help.
Dunno. Last year I moved from the Chilterns to Devon. Riding in the Chilts I would see one or two MTBers on my weekday rides and a few groups at the weekends. Where I live now (East Devon, where there's some decent trail riding), it's a very rare thing to see anyone at all. Someone on a human powered bike would qualify as a red-listed species. Don't know if it's just a Devon thing, but I suspect there's less interest. My guess is that a lot of people want the concentrated fun of an ebike at a trail centre, without the effort.
I'm at East Hill most weekends and there's usually only one or two I bump into
Matlock/Derbyshire Dales - I probably personally know around 25 people that MTB locally and have ridden on occassions with 20 or so of them - albeit there's usually 3-4 of us out at any one time, max a group of 6. Age range anywhere from 30's to 60's
I also like riding alone fairly often
Most now have ebikes, but a few including my most regular riding group still have normal MTB's.
Sometimes see no one else on the trails, sometimes pass quite a few. I don't ever really remember it being more or less popular
I’m Exeter based and if I’m out with the kids at the weekend then Haldon is busy with all sorts of riders. From families, kids Hann fun on shit bikes, hardtails, full suspension bikes through to big travel e-bikes.
mostly I ride on my own during the week when everyone else is still at school/work and I still see a variety of old hardtails, gravel bikes, nice trail bikes and e-bikes. Usually I’m on the e-bike so I can get as much off-piste riding in as I can so I don’t meet many of them on the actual trails (as I’m off the way-marked path). There’s nearly always a groups of school, youth, college people being guided around in the morning as well.
I don’t see that many people on Woodbury Common, but again I ride most weekday mornings when no one is around (and not recently as it’s been wet).
I don't get the expense thing for the lack of non e bike riders. A trawl on facebook marketplace and there's usually some decent enough bikes to get out and have fun (miles better than what I learnt to ride as a teen) for a couple hundred quid. And deore or similar stuff now works ignoring the bling.
Most of my riding is virtual now. I can sit on my bum in front of YouTube and see incredible trails from all over the world. Sunshine, dust, mountains, endless incredible singletrack, huge jumps. It's all there.
Outside is just, well, meh.
Eastern edge of the Peak District here. Been riding here for 20 odd years and doesn't seem less busy. More people on ebikes but other than that no big change
The eldest is early 20s and he rides loads but rides Wharncliffe and that sort of thing, so mostly sessioning stuff. I'm what I'd call a cross country bimbler in comparison. But for me it's more about getting out and taking in nature, so to speak.
Most regular riding area for me is Matlock area. Still super busy, but most riders are just lapping one area (Black Rocks) on ebikes. Never see anyone riding the other XC trails any more. Saw probably 20-30 riders at the weekend, only one on a normal bike.
I’m Exeter based and if I’m out with the kids at the weekend then Haldon is busy with all sorts of riders. From families, kids Hann fun on shit bikes, hardtails, full suspension bikes through to big travel e-bikes.
We holiday that way 3+ times a year and often pop to Haldon, usually just for a lunch after an overnight near Tiverton before heading further west/up to the north coast. Its one of the busiest trail centres I've been to if the car park is much to go by.
Most regular riding area for me is Matlock area. Still super busy, but most riders are just lapping one area (Black Rocks) on ebikes. Never see anyone riding the other XC trails any more. Saw probably 20-30 riders at the weekend, only one on a normal bike.
Some of the group that we sometimes ride with tend to want to stick to Black Rocks - or Win Hill off piste. The ones I ride with the most though still do the old school trails. Shining Cliff, Crich Chase - with a lap of Black Rocks 'trails' thrown in rather than sessioning the steeps. Other than that we will be over the tops of Matlock, Darley Dale, Beeley, Chatsworth, Bakewell, Stanton etc - all traditional old school riding even if we are (mostly) on eebs. I try and do a normal bike once a week in the summer, maybe once a fortnight in winter. If we go to the Peak, it will be a proper Fox House, Edale or Ladybower ride
Yes riding has changed and I've (partly) come along with it. Definitely more of a move in one way towards off piste laps/sessioning areas and uplifts (inc eebing) and in the other way towards gravel.
The above has squeezed out a lot of the more classical xc and trail riding.
I've been part of that change though - whereas 10 years ago I used to ride pretty much only xc and trail I'm now doing much more of a mix, but i still ride all the classic stuff too occasionally.
I've also been really surprised by how much quieter some of the classic trails are - both in person/reality and on Strava.
Perhaps the most stark was when I've been to the lakes this year doing hikeabike. Ok, I've been midweek out of the busiest times, but I've only seen an handful of riders, and those on easier trails in the valley rather than up top hike a bikeing.
yet loads and loads of walkers.
That type of hike a bike riding has always been a lot of effort mind you - and for most people they're going to get a lot more fun through off piste laps and it's also more accessible.
With cycling, no, I'm probably more active than ever. Although less specifically MTB as I've lived here for 16 years now and sort of bored with anything within riding distance. I still make the odd trip to Swinley and weekends away MTB'ing, but for just getting out the door the roadie scene is far more active.
With the cycling industry? Yea. I've zero desire for an e-bike, zero desire to spend £1k on forks, and begrudge triple figures for a decent cassette. The racing side of things has become simultaneously both very focussed that I'm no entirely convinced the average person would actually want to ride, and very fragmented with new disciplines. Enduro started off as "hey, you can do this on your normal bike with your normal mates" and morphed into something even more niche than DH (or maybe it's what DH used to be (long travel on light bikes) and allowed DH to evolve heavier bikes for rowdier courses.
Non competitive / mass participation events, the costs have just spiralled. I know the organisers aren't leaving the car park in a new Lambo (although maybe a T7), but somewhere the costs have gotten out of hand. What is actually stopping the Dirty Reiver being run as an Audax other than insuring it for the 1% for whom it's a race?
I usually ride my local which has lots of kids on the jump sections, I'll see other riders my age and older there on the odd occasion and we have a chat but then never cross paths again, at the weekend I returned to my old stomping ground of Guisborough woods expecting it be just as busy as it was when it was my local in the 2010's but it was just dead, loads of dog walkers, trail runners and hikers but virtually no riders. I did see one large group of riders going the opposite way down percy cross rig, a solo female rider, a couple of guys on gravel bikes and 3 teens hovering near the top of a shale hill. It used to be 3x as busy as that on a Sunday, big groups crowded round the top or bottom of the popular trails, loads on the fire roads it was always swarming.
Did it? I always remember it being pretty much empty apart from the MTBG crew and a few kids. It was never 'swarming'. But then my frame of reference is Swinley.
Not being a pedant here, but when you say you have zero desire for £1,000 forks very very few do. That’s why 60% probably never upgrade and 30% will wait until Merlin etc kick them out a year or two later for £350.
I really don’t think the cost of riding puts people off. As someone above says, the car park and trails at Haldon are usually full up by 10.00 on a weekend and there’s the vast majority on pretty old tech quick release wheeled contraptions (with equal number e bikes)
the vast majority on pretty old tech quick release wheeled contraptions (with equal number e bikes)
Which is it?
As I've said a couple of times, I think there's a bit of a gap in the market for simple, lightweight, XC hardtails. They'll attract the gravel riders for whom drops and rigid forks just aren't comfy enough and they'll be cheaper than complicated FS rigs (especially the electric kind) that just aren't a necessity on many XC routes. Of course many of the larger manufacturers still make these things but the advertising/media isn't pushing them. If folk become accustomed to the idea of owning one of these then they'll explore places away from the bike parks and then you'll see them out and about.
whereas 10 years ago I used to ride pretty much only xc and trail I'm now doing much more of a mix, but i still ride all the classic stuff too occasionally.
Similar for me. Ten years ago I'd meet up with friends or go away for a lads weekend to ride trails. These days when we do meet up it's more often for a day at a trail centre. Family life plays a big part in determining the time available and the type of riding we can do though. When I go with my eldest to Hamsterley or Descend it's often very busy, with people of all ages in bikes. I'm more likely to ride with other parents there (or at a Northern Downhill event) than anywhere else. When I do get out to ride trails, mostly in the North Pennines, I do sometimes come across other riders, just not very often. Can't say that bothers me - I sometimes like the solitude.
Around Durham there are plenty of kids who ride every kind of bike you can think of in the local woods and get involved in building trails, so overall it's a healthy scene. I'm not sure how reliable Strava would be for assessing their activity though as most don't use it. I don't know that many adults that do either.
the vast majority on pretty old tech quick release wheeled contraptions (with equal number e bikes)
Which is it?
As I've said a couple of times, I think there's a bit of a gap in the market for simple, lightweight, XC hardtails. They'll attract the gravel riders for whom drops and rigid forks just aren't comfy enough and they'll be cheaper than complicated FS rigs (especially the electric kind) that just aren't a necessity on many XC routes. Of course many of the larger manufacturers still make these things but the advertising/media isn't pushing them. If folk become accustomed to the idea of owning one of these then they'll explore places away from the bike parks and then you'll see them out and about.
sorry, probably 60% old bikes and 30% e bikes and 10% newer stuff (I haven’t been for a few months to see if that’s changed)
Interesting you think xc hardtails would appeal to gravel riders? I know loads of exclusively gravel and roadies. They’d just buy an “overbiked” hardtail that opens up more as they progress
I'm not sure how reliable Strava would be for assessing their activity though as most don't use it. I don't know that many adults that do either.
Interesting observation. Of the 25 or so people that I could think of that ride MTB, 20+ are on Strava and generally do traditional riding. Some of the the more winch and plummet oriented ones are the ones less likely to use it - I know a few of them ditched it a while back after a spate of thefts though
It's never been busy here in East Devon. I like it 😁
I can do an all day ride and barely see another soul.
Certain places get busier - e.g. Haldon, but if you go away from the marked trails and ride off piste you've pretty much got the trails to yourself.
I'm generally a solo rider (due to family commitments and being a curmudgeon) but when I do want some company I go on a Wednesday evening ride where there's normally between 5 and 10 riders (no e-bikes!) which hasn't really changed in 10+ years.
On the other hand I went for a group ride around Longleat in the summer. Largish group (10 or so, 1/2 e-bikes) and saw loads of other bikers - MTB and gravel - all evening.
Yes riding has changed and I've (partly) come along with it. Definitely more of a move in one way towards off piste laps/sessioning areas
Same here, but the same off-piste tracks are being ridden by all ages.
I've noticed a real uptick in younger riders the last year or two, which is awesome. Even if some of them are faster than me already.
Yes riding has changed and I've (partly) come along with it. Definitely more of a move in one way towards off piste laps/sessioning areas
Same here, but the same off-piste tracks are being ridden by all ages.
I've noticed a real uptick in younger riders the last year or two, which is awesome. Even if some of them are faster than me already.
Some 🙂
I think there's a bit of a gap in the market for simple, lightweight, XC hardtails. They'll attract the gravel riders for whom drops and rigid forks just aren't comfy enough
I think they're different markets. The folks who've come from MTB already know this, and the folks that come from roadie are comfy on gravel bikes anyway.
Locally - south Manchester, most of the other riders I see are either gravel or Ebikes (not necessarily eMTB) in the MTB local to me, Peaks and Calderdale, mostly just fewer bikes/riders overall.
I think there's a bit of a gap in the market for simple, lightweight, XC hardtails. They'll attract the gravel riders for whom drops and rigid forks just aren't comfy enough
I think they're different markets. The folks who've come from MTB already know this, and the folks that come from roadie are comfy on gravel bikes anyway.
I know enough 'gravel' riders who have recently side-stepped to lightweight hardtails after they found out much of their gravel riding and gravel events (in the UK at least) were best done on MTB's with fast tyres
On topic, it's a riding hotspot around here anyway so plenty of jumpy stuff, general XC stuff and huge groups of social 'gravel' (although turn up on anything) rides but there's been a definite uptake over the usual in seeing older people on e-MTBs that you wouldn't normally expect to see out on the hills, which is a good thing
you are basing things on strava. i think one thing could be that strava just isnt as popular as it once was.
I honestly cant remember whan i last strava`d a ride (we are talking years i think). and i ride a fair bit.
10 yrs ago i probably would have strava'd a few of my rides (when i remembered)
i dont think the kids care abut strava.
I ride Cwmcarn on an "amish" bike almost every weekend, going between Cafall or Twrch trail (its close to my house and i have fun) depending on how i'm feeling on the day. I'm not saying this is everyone but most riders there are 30+ on eebs and they take the most direct route to the top skipping the technical climbs so they can session the descents. The car park is relativley full, with walkers too but i used to catch people up or be caught up by riders, these days though i barely see anyone on the whole trail. It's only when i go to FOD that i'm reminded people of all ages still ride bikes.
As someone above says, the car park and trails at Haldon are usually full up by 10.00 on a weekend and there’s the vast majority on pretty old tech quick release wheeled contraptions (with equal number e bikes)
You see this mix at a lot of trail centres. Quite often a Dad with kids, the Dad on what was presumably his best MTB from back in the day now relegated to accompanying the kids around the Blue route. Often see some really quite nice kit, MTBs from the 90's and early 00's that would have been fairly high end back then.
And then the slightly older (and almost exclusively male) crowd on e-MTBs. A few exceptions where it's a couple, sometimes him on an unpowered bike, her on an e-MTB.
people have been crying ‘death of the sport’ since I started TBH, can normally be boiled down to people’s style of riding changing and leaving people ‘behind’.
Same in a lot of cycling sub-niches. It's possibly* worse in traditional trail / XC MTB where some people will have gone off to gravel and some will have gone off to e-MTB leaving a much reduced core of "traditional" MTB.
*I have no data to back that up, it just seems a reasonable hunch.
We holiday that way 3+ times a year and often pop to Haldon, usually just for a lunch after an overnight near Tiverton before heading further west/up to the north coast. Its one of the busiest trail centres I've been to if the car park is much to go by.
I'd say the car park is more than 50% non-cyclists at most times. It's just a very popular place for walking in the woods, trail running, dog walking, and various themed trails for families in the woods, also there's a Go-Ape.
In fact I only ever park at the actual car park when I'm with my family for a day out in the woods. If I'm cycling up there I tend to park in Kenn and cycle up, as it means you get to finish the ride with St Andrew's lane 🙂
Haldon as an actual trail centre is dire, if you were to only ride on the marked trails, but luckily there's a lot of off-piste.
I think it might be a Guisborough thing? I ride up that way from time to time. The old trail centre trails have been degrading for years and the the best stuff has been off piste which keeps changing year to year. Unfortunately I don't ride there often enough to keep track of it. But someone seems to be putting in new bits and there's always seemed to be folks about.
Though tbh as a non-local you don't have massive incentive to find out where the new stuff is. E.g. superchute Strava segment was semi overgrown last time I was there and there's only so many bramble scratches you want to take before driving on by to ride somewhere off the Cleveland Way, Fryupdale or wherever. No obvious shortage of bikes round Hamsterley...
(It's busy round Ilkley with various flavours of riding and most kids seem to have a Santa Cruz, but that's enough about that. Ahem, locals only 😁)
Busy by me in local woods, night ride group range from early 20's to 60+. See younger kids out sessioning jumps they have built. Couple of guys I ride all over UK with, couple of foreign holidays a year with a gang I only see on holiday. I love seeing the kids send it big over jumps at places like Dyfi and wish I could do the same. I ride ebike, HT, Enduro, gravel, bikepacking. Never bothered with Strava as I don't really care about other people's facts and figures. 55 if that makes any difference. Local bike shop has busy repair shop. I'd say it's all good for me, lots of riding buddies dropped off over the years, family, injured, lost interest new sports taken up, luckily found new mates to ride with. Get on social media and find some local group to go out with.
East Surrey here. Quieter in my corner, but there are still people out and about on a mix of bikes so it is not dead in the water. The local trail builders seem to have disappeared, but we have two bike shops doing OK. Kind of suspect if you have an electric, which a good proportion will have as this is Surrey after all, then popping over to Leith Hill and doing winch-plummet is the preferred fun option rather than local XC mud fests?
Can't say I am bothered. Old codger now, in my sun faded 90's Halfords gear, happily riding slowly but purposely between cafe stops for a moan.
Not seeing any less local riders in this neck of the woods unsurprisingly.
Just less big groups on ebikes now the tourist season is mainly over.
Oooh, Handbags 👜 😀
I’d heard that 19 out of 20 new mountain bike sales in Europe were ebikes now. Plus there’s been the move towards trail centres that’s been going on for years.
And people who want to get fit are riding road, gravel.
Given the trends to ebikes, gravel/road , trail centres, yes its changed, and thats ok
I’d heard that 19 out of 20 new mountain bike sales in Europe were ebikes now. Plus there’s been the move towards trail centres that’s been going on for years.
I can't find any figures to back that up but I can certainly believe that 19 out of 20 of ebike sales are mountain bikes 😉
Slightly different take from me but I wouldn't under-estimate the amount of people who ride (or run or whatever) without using Strava. I still track all my exercise with Strava and enjoy it but I joined a local triathlon club a while ago which has tonnes of members and it seems 50/50 really if any random person I chat to uses Strava or tracks their exercise at all which quite surprised me.
I’d heard that 19 out of 20 new mountain bike sales in Europe were ebikes now.
I think that came with the added condition of "mountain bikes over x amount RRP" which conveniently was high enough that your basic accoustic halfords/decathalon hardtail was excluded, but low enough that anything with a motor and battery that you would reasonably call an mtb was in.
Defo happy to be out of touch if asked what I do, the reply would now have to be "I ride an accoustic bike." Call me old fashioned, and I expect stones to be thrown in my direction, but I prefer the term bike.