Just been readin about the launch of a bike park in portland, which looks interesting, looks like a cross between a pump track and a BMX track. An indoor trail centre.
I cant make up my mind if I'd like it or hate it.
One side of me thinks it would be fun to have somewhere indoors, like a trail centre with a roof, and the other part of me thinks I'd hate it as for me mountain biking is more about being outside in the hills.
I think my conclusion would be that in certain places where trails arent on the doorstep it would help encourage the sport, get new riders in, to pick up, or improve, on skills and technique and actually might be good to have ... one for a dark rainy winters evening. A snowdome for mtbs.
Whats the hive mind think?
never. industrial space is too expensive. just look at skateparks - barely make a profit and mostly exist in cheaper areas.
EDIT: there is an indoor bmx track in sheffiel, though
i think it's fairer to say that there WAS an indoor track in Sheffield...
(unless there's something people aren't telling me?)
i suppose the indoor mtb parks make sense in places where the ground is covered by 12ft of snow and or it's -20dC for 5months of the year.
a well made trail is perfectly rideable in all but the very worst of uk weather.
But... it probably wouldn't be too hard for an indoor skate-park to put in some mtb friendly features/lines - it would increase their market.
(maybe the 'mtb' jumps would get longer faces than 'bmx' jumps - or something like that...)
it's probably already happened.
there was one in Sheffield, it closed
when the weather is cold enough to support one?
Those centres eg ray's mtb park are a good idea for folk who want to ride year round in places where it's just too cold/snowy/icy in the winter for the majority of people to ride.
They do exist - [b]but a rather daft idea IMO[/b]
Why's that then TJ?
Hmmm... Bit like having a bath with yer socks on really. Best bike parks in Britain are Fort William and Innerleithen. If ya wanna be inside watch telly.
They do exist - but a rather daft idea IMO
an indoor skatepark in scotland doesn't seem that daft to me! 🙂
Bigthunder - Ft William gondola is only open a few months of the year, has ONE decent track, is in the arse end of nowhere and costs a ****ing fortune for a few paltry runs.
innerleithen is far too expensive now too.
Frodo - MemberYou mean this!
not quite - that's a specific bmx track.
Yep - there was one in Chapeltown near Sheffield. Was a pretty good venue and quite a few races were held there including some of the Dialled Bikes Series. Not 100% sure but I think the Liability Insurance costs became prohibitive eventually which is a shame.
hmm youre right BUT only if you have great trails on your doorstep or easy reach. Londoners, for example dont have that, its a schlep to get out to the surrey alps or the like.
Skateboarding and BMX street / park riding not good in the rain so indoor parks are good idea, nothing stopping riding an MTB outside in most UK weather apart from Dirt Jumping really.
GW - cycling is an outdoor pursuit to me.
narrow minded old fool 🙄
Narrowminded? i have a brain the size of a planet !
and blinkers the size of dustbin lids 8)
TandemJeremy - Member
GW - cycling is an outdoor pursuit to me
try it at Meadowbank track in the rain 😉
MTBS are bigger and dont really like tight transitions and dont direction change quickly, so any MTB specific feature needs to be bigger really, so youd get less features or need a bigger space.
Rays looks like a good laugh, I see the point with the proper Winter weather North America can get and you can get very big cities with lots of space.
The answer is right at the top of the thread. The market isn't there. Rent, even in a fairly shite location, would be substantial as you'd need to take an absolute minimum of 20k sqft (those Ray's models work on about 150k sqft!) and even if you got it at £1/sqft (unlikely) that's 20k/annum before you build/maintain it, staff it, insure it etc.etc. Now work out what you'd need to charge and it just doesn't stack up. Yes you can attach it to a retail outlet, cafe to make a secondary income (the retail would soon outstrip the park revenue!) but will you get people there in this world of internet shopping?
Let's call it £50k in the first year (absolute minimum), how are you going to make that back?
there's a private one in south wales.
indoor dirt jumps/pump track