For natural riding I think the peak is now - the local scene near me are building amazing trails
Eh...
Some point just before COVID.
Ebikes are now taking over and mountain bikes are declining.
Thegrneralist, I think benman lives in Swindon, quite near Nationwide IIRC
In terms of mtb’ ing making its way into popular culture/ fashion, I’d say late 1980’s to 1993.
Bikes: today.
'Scene'? Despite living in MTB 'heaven' now, there's something to be said for going to the likes of Chicksands circa 2006 and just dicking about for a day. Sessioning stuff seems to be a thing of the past. 'Enduro' has resulted in people just wanting to blast down trails as fast as possible, braiding etc. No-one seems to want to stop and fanny about on a drop / tech feature etc any more. Also if I never see footage of some dork blowing up a berm, or POV footage, it will still be too soon 😀
Bikes - for about the last 10 years or so, bikes are vastly more capable compared to what they were like in the couple of decades before that. Bikes of the nineties especially, with hindsight were pretty rubbish (despite even my own nostalgia for them). How more of us didn't hurt ourselves more frequently is probs a bit of both luck and capability (of ourselves and the bikes) than we'd probably admit to. I don't spend every other weekend fixing something I'd rather be riding, I don't have to rebuild forks every weekend, I don't have to realign V brakes, I don't have to wear a massive camelback, just to accommodate the tools and a couple (at least) inner tubes, just wash them and put them away ready for the next ride. Just amazing
I've never really been a 'scene' sort of rider, I do most of my riding solo, and I'm pretty content with that, having said that, the SS champs, the Dusk till Dawn's, and 24 hour races were pretty cool times. Something I'd not appreciated before about those days was the memories they gave my kids, both have super strong and very fond memories of camping (endless summers obvs) staying up into the wee hours and the kindness and generosity of the MTB crowd they met - free schwag!
Bikes: today, for same reasons mentioned by others. Things are still improving. As a taller rider, perhaps I'm still seeing improvements in 'proper' sized bikes for taller riders in the bigger brands (some smaller brands had that nailed earlier), but improvements are still happening in both geometry and tech.
Riding? For me, pre-kids so that's 2011-12. There were still frequent big away days in our riding group - not just trail centres, but actual old skool XC rides into the hills. I owned both a DH bike and was a frequent SSer, and had consecutive weekends riding both. Weekend doing first aid patrolling at Nevis Range followed by a weekend at SSWC in Ireland was quite a contrast. Also my first couple of years of proper Alps trips with both Mrs a11y and mates. Riding is different now and arguably more fun trails with the explosion of trail building, but certainly not as frequent or as varied.
The year before the term 'trail centre' entered the vocabulary.
I know it’s all subjective but for me it be mid 90’s to early 2000’s. Yea bikes are better now days but back then what we rode were the latest bikes and we’re happy with them.
You’ve had all the marketing trends of XC, downhill, free-ride, enduro, down country but it’s all just pissing about on bikes for the majority of us.
Thegrneralist, I think benman lives in Swindon, quite near Nationwide IIRC
This wasn't even funny back during peak MTB.
And folk wonder why this forum is dying on it's arse
For natural riding I think the peak is now - the local scene near me are building amazing trails
Eh...
Is it really that hard to understand the difference between a new steep line scoped out down a hillside, a few rocks exposed, a few corners raked in - and a fully armoured trail centre? I'd say one is the use of a natural line which is already there, the other is purpose built trail where there perhaps wasn't a line before.
How natural are landrover tracks built across a hillside, long distance purpose built gravel trails, or santised bridleways suitable for horses, bikes and wheelchairs? But I bet a lot of folks would class these as natural trails...
Just before it became possible to push a button that enabled you to walk your bike up a hill with your hands on the bars gently guiding the front wheel. Or maybe it was just before people started spending hundreds on plastic film that stopped their frame getting scratched. Bless.
My wheels never lose true.
Good point that I hadn't thought of, even the ones I build myself are always fine.
Might also be because...disc brakes, you'll never notice the odd mm out of true.
Aluminium nipples can be a step back though, they need to be built right for a start, and even then corrosion gets them eventually.
Bikes are peak now, but ebikes filtering the casuls is / will be very bad for bike development, destroys the market. So we could really be at peak xc bike, for example, as there is little incentive for innovation.
Enduro / trail bikes peaked mid 2010s - that type of riding is much more linked with racing and events than others, as enduros are so fun and accessible. Feels like missed opportunities as that discipline has so much potential to be creative with formats and ideas for events, but has stalled for a variety of reasons. Access laws in England being one that you can't really do anything about in the here and now.
I think answer is....
the 90's which introduced the beginnings of the mountain bike specific technologies for braking, suspension and frame design
or maybe it was the naughties where that technology was refined from being expensive and rudimentary to commercial and sophisticated
however, maybe it was the teens where the technology was incorporated into fully usable bike packages
then again ... the twenties have seen those packages adjusted to be totally usable machines as the complete package for all riding scenarios, and also the introduction (for better or worse) of incorporated motors
Hmmm. 🤔
My heart says some time around 1997 but my head says today.
Bikes are peak now, but ebikes filtering the casuls is / will be very bad for bike development, destroys the market. So we could really be at peak xc bike, for example, as there is little incentive for innovation.
If anything we're at peak enduro and trail bike if those are going to become electrified in the future stopping future development.
XC bikes continue to improve as competitive racing will keep them non-electric; and the non-racers will have something akin to, but hopefully better pedalling than, a modern trail bike for them to buy.
Peak MTB is next year when you've bought all this cool new stuff that'll make everything betterer. That's literally how the bike industry survives.
XC bikes continue to improve as competitive racing will keep them non-electric; and the non-racers will have something akin to, but hopefully better pedalling than, a modern trail bike for them to buy.
I don't think XC bikes need to improve - not for the general consumer at least. Their resurrection will come about from disaffected gravel riders cottoning on to light, simple MTBs being more appropriate for many of the trails/routes they're riding.
But, at a risk of sounding a bit snobby, a lot of them aren't 'proper' mountain bikers, far too many ebikes, far too many just trying to be trendy I guess, all being cool and riding enduro stuff for a few hours on holiday, very few doing it with the passion and sense of adventure we did it with back in the day, all day every day, very few in middle of nowhere with a map and a bag of emergency rations.
I don't agree with this at all. A month ago I spent a week on Devon with my family. My son and I found a local hand built freeride park with the nicest group for kids who were there for seemingly the whole half term. Chatting with my son and I, hypping him up to clear some doubles, and giving the biggest cheer when he picked up the courage and went for it. It reminded me exactly if what made me fall in love with the scene in the mid 90s.
There's a council run bike bike park near us that is absolutely buzzing on a weekend, full of everything from families to groups of kids. It's a brilliant vibe.
I have no real time for gatekeeping, no such thing as 'not real mtbers' - anybody on a bike is another potential advocate, another potential riding buddy. And there are loads of them around now. Be they on a normal bike or an e bike. We're all just out to have fun.
Bikes are no question better than they ever were. My teens in the late 90s were spent swapping FSA cranks, trying to get Onza Sharkbites to grip, truing 521s, warrantying Marins, and putting chains back on.
We've never had it so good!
XC bikes continue to improve as competitive racing will keep them non-electric; and the non-racers will have something akin to, but hopefully better pedalling than, a modern trail bike for them to buy.
I don't think XC bikes need to improve - not for the general consumer at least. Their resurrection will come about from disaffected gravel riders cottoning on to light, simple MTBs being more appropriate for many of the trails/routes they're riding.
Already happened really as the current XC bikes are miles away from the 100mm, low front efforts of the past. I did the whole gravel loop and ended up on a modern carbon XC full suss via a carbon hard tail. Not sure I would have done is XC style hadn't already changed.
I personally dont see the point of a flat bar gravel bike but they are popular and are getting close to replicating those XC bikes of the recent past.
For XC riding - which I would describe the terrain and trails you would see in an XC race, whether marathon or olympic, and pretty akin to a classic trail centre; the modern bikes are better in every way. Geometry that can enjoy rather than survive a downhill, wheels that dont collapse on landing a jump, 2.4 tyres that corner superbly... traits that 10 years ago would be describing a trail bike now available in a 25lb race-capable machine.
however to some, XC means heading out for 10 hours with a pork pie and OS map, or as Scotroutes says, gravelers who want a bit more tech; they are probably better served with something more light duty and faster rolling and maybe better road manners.
Oh, I've no doubt that another "new" niche will be identified and named. It's all part of the marketing.
As a singlespeeder I'd say 2008/9
As a 24hr racer I'd say pre-covid, it's dropped off massively and suddenly since then (which is very odd as ultra running has gone mad in the same time period) Although bike packing seems to be getting ever more more popular
In terms of just the sheer number of people out on bikes maybe now? But, at a risk of sounding a bit snobby, a lot of them aren't 'proper' mountain bikers, far too many ebikes, far too many just trying to be trendy I guess, all being cool and riding enduro stuff for a few hours on holiday, very few doing it with the passion and sense of adventure we did it with back in the day, all day every day, very few in middle of nowhere with a map and a bag of emergency rations.
Congratulations on defining your version mountain biking.
2025, soon to be 2026.
No one is forced to upgrade or replace anything, we're more than a decade past the death of the 26er and people are still riding and maintaining them. There is still brand new 9sp stuff on the shelf, the world continues to turn. We're free to pick and choose what new products or ideas we want.
IMHO, anything else is rose tinted nostalgia for our youth, no amount of carbon or electronic gadgetry can complete with the highlighted memories of those sunny rides from 20 years ago.
For the 'scene' I've no idea.
For me, I'd say now. I class myself as an MTB'er - I've been riding them long enough.
Am I a 'mountain biker' in the sense that munrobiker is, no? Not that I wouldn't ride the stuff that he does, I'd love to.
But I ride mtb's on varied terrain.
I class emtb's as part of mtb'ing, others might not. But they go on the same rides to the same places that I'll ride my normal mtb's.
The past two/three years I've ridden more miles than I ever have before and am in the fortunate position to be able to pick whatever sort of bike takes my fancy.
So yeah, it's now
Im going to say 2020, as thats when my current bike was made 😃
I personally dont see the point of a flat bar gravel bike
Just as comfortable on the "just riding along" bits, more control on the "ooh, this is a bit tasty" bits. But that's a whole other thread.
It's difficult to say. I think there was a peak where there was a balance between accessibility and ability of the available mountain bikes. Probably from between when the Marzocchi Z1s were introduced and tapered forks being widely adopted by manufacturers.
During that period you could just get a bunch of randoms together and everyone would be able to go for a ride together. It could be you had someone on a £400 entry level Kona and someone else on a £3000 Santa Cruz Heckler but the trails and the bikes were such that everyone could go out together and have a good time.
Nowadays I'm not so sure. In 1997 I was a 16 year old turning up at Glasgow Mountain Bike Club without much of a clue but a decent enough bike to come along on the group rides. Nowadays it would be a kid with an £800 Decathlon Rockrider. Could they just pitch up at a club if everyone else was on Deviate Highlanders and Santa Cruz Nomads (and riding trails designed with these bikes in mind)?
And that's before we even mention ebikes and the potential barrier for entry that creates.
I'm not sure if the results of the poll STW did about rider ages is reflective of mountain biking as a whole. If it is even close to being accurate I'd say we are not in a golden age right now, more like we're in the beginnings of a death spiral as age and injury removes more and more riders from the pool.
(even the sadists on singlespeeds!)
Oi! Masochists, shirley.
Anyway, early 90's.
I'm not sure if the results of the poll STW did about rider ages is reflective of mountain biking as a whole.
No, I don't think it is. Not evidence but as a snapshot - last weekend 2 of us riding XC saw 10 other riders out. 2 groups of 3, all in their 30s I'd say, on non-e bikes. A group of 3 mid-teenage, 2 non-e and 1 e-bike, all nice full sussers from only a few years ago that you could get at good prices now. One lad on a top end e-bike riding solo, late 20s I guess. So me and my mate were the oldest (49 & 50).
Average age on pinkbike - I'd guess about 30?
Bikes - Now, obvs.
Riding, for me, 2001-2003. Finish college at 3, at the DH track by 4, dig/ride till it got dark.
Just watched DMRs recent look back vid, almost cried with all the nostalgia. *sniff
Now. Bikes are better than they have ever been and though I have a lot of nostalgia for the 90s I don't want to go back. I'm enjoying riding more than ever and for me trail centres, bike parks and uplifts have just made things better and better as the years have passed. I wish I wasn't getting so old but that's just life
No, I don't think it is. Not evidence but as a snapshot - last weekend 2 of us riding XC
I was at Dirtfarm, pretty quiet on the uplift but there was one bloke maybe around my age (50s) a couple of ebikers who may have been 30s, a young lad and his dad, a family of three with just the kid riding while dad waited at the uplift to push his bike to the top and mum near the bottom taking pictures and another young lad who had been dropped off for the day. So it's not all old farts, STW doesn't reflect reality on the ground (thank god 😀 )
