Debate: Is It Even Mountain Biking?

Mountain biking is about learning. It seems that gravel biking is about getting places. Either can be done on Singletrack.

Regardless of the cycling you actually do, what’s the picture you conjure up in your head about the ideal ride that you dream of? If its on a mountain bike on some glorious endless alpine descent, then you get to call what you do mountain biking.

The point about the mag being called Singletrack is an important one for me, it’s not just mountain bikes, but all the family of off road bikes – gravel, e-bikes included, eve small recumbents around a school play ground, as long that ideal picture of what you actually like to be doing is in your head.

The point about the mag being called Singletrack is an important one for me, it’s not just mountain bikes, but all the family of off road bikes – gravel, e-bikes included, eve small recumbents around a school play ground, as long that ideal picture of what you actually like to be doing is in your head.

It’s an important point – as all the previous replies show, MTBing is different things to different people which is why the mag can never ever please everyone.

There could be an issue entirely based on riding HT and FS bicycles (that generally match the “MTB” description) on nothing but singletrack and I bet there’d be a number of folk on here saying that it didn’t match what they did on MTBs…

I think the mag has usually struck a pretty good balance with telling the stories of MTBing – history, destinations, adventure – rather than just looking at the latest bling bike that’s going to be bought by about 6 people in the country. That’s what did it for MBi when Chris Porter took over as editor – every issue became yet another “let’s take a £10,000 DH bike to the Alps and spend 4 pages talking about its suspension rebound”. Dull as **** and relevant to maybe a handful of people at most.

There could be an issue entirely based on riding HT and FS bicycles (that generally match the “MTB” description) on nothing but singletrack and I bet there’d be a number of folk on here saying that it didn’t match what they did on MTBs…

Interesting aspect. ‘People like us do things like this’ .. people like to have what they do validated, whether that’s by mainstream adoption confirming them as being part of a movement or mainstream rejection confirming them as part of a niche.

It’s hard to read something that you see as representing a ‘thing’ and not feel like it reflects on you somehow. I feel fairly immune to that as I don’t see myself as a mountain biker, or a gravel or road rider – I just ride bikes. So whatever someone is doing on a bike might have some relevance. At the extremes it can be hard to find that relevance in the feat or action itself but the rider’s personality or the way they talk about what they do can make it as interesting as anything else. I mean, a rider does a ride just like I do and describes it in a dull matter of fact way ..boring. A rider clears a new canyon gap and talks at length about what goes through their mind in that split second of no return – fascinating.

Maybe I’m still influenced by what grabbed me about MTB in the early days – pictures of Pearl Pass tour type of riding in the US, talk of wilderness races or days up in the mountains, the capability to explore the woods and ride steep chutes.

Now, I could do a ride that covered all of that on either an MTB or a gravel bike. I think there’s something in the attitude of the rider that makes it ‘mountain biking’ though – to me gravel bikes never were or will be anything like 90s MTB as some say it is. The attitude (towards the tricky stuff or risks) we had on MTBs back then were different to gravel biking now. Gravel bikes dissuade that attitude generally whereas MTBs encourage it. The emphasis on the different aspects of the ride change.

Why did we even get an article like this? I honestly think it is your job as editor at large/managing editor to have these discussions and then present us with what you think we want. I think you do a good job at getting the balance right and no one needs to “win” this discussion.

As a business you need to look at what has kept people coming back for more over the last 20+ years, surely you have some idea? Just looking at the track record it would appear Mark/Chipps knew what worked, but it obviously needs to be kept up to date (whatever you as editors decide that is). I agree with Chipps about how fantastic the UK trails are, and, sorry to say this, think it shows a lack of imagination to say otherwise. The same trail ridden at different times of the year can give a host of experiences and different images. I have ridden High Street quite a few times and riding it in the middle of the 2010 winter gave me one of my most memorable days out ever.

Singletrack for me has always been about the inspiration to ride, a bit about the gear and a bit about the people and that seems a good balance. I ride old railway tracks a lot and enjoy them for what they are and the experiences I have had on them with my kids, but they do not inspire me.

Another point is that those of us who have been long term supporters are all getting on a bit, and probably shouldn’t be listened too much if Singletrack isn’t going to become a version of the Oldie magazine for ex adrenaline junkies.

If you are really stuck for a direction to go in why not try getting in some guest editors for certain editions, covering the whole spectrum of where off road riding is today?

 

P.S. Could Benji do a mini guide to all the technical trails in the Calder valley he keeps going on about riding (a bit like the bouldering topos you get for climbing)?

I’m with Chipps on this, all the way.

FWIW I started reading Singletrack precisely because it seemed a bit more grown up than MBUK/Dirt/MBR, had a wider focus around off-road cycling and didn’t feel like is was just being sold the latest and greatest.

In recent years I’ve come to a point where I’m reticent to describe myself as a mountain biker, as it tends to conjure up an image in other people’s heads that doesn’t match up.

Mountain biking is about learning.

Not for me. I’ve been on skill days where I’ve deliberately spent the day learning to ride better but they are the exception. I normally mountain bike to er…..ride a bike, and never go out the door thinking of learning objectives.

Off road I currently am lucky enough to have the choice of a beefily built gravel bike, a fat bike and a full suspension 29er. When I have a free pass – be that a quick evening or a multi day I conjure up the journey in my head (or a map) and pluck the bike out of the shed which looks like it’ll best reflect the journey. And it’s fun whichever choice I make.

I’m with Hannah on this one.

My favourite articles are always the ones that are focused on people rather than trails or bikes.  Of course, the trails and bikes these people ride and how they ride them are an essential part of the story but I’m more interested in the culture that made this person or group into what they are.

There was a great story a few issues ago where Hannah went to the US and spent time talking to and riding with a lot of people and it was one of my favourite articles in recent times.

In contrast, there was an article about Nesbyen that really didn’t work for me.  There was a lot about the trails and a fair bit about mythical creatures but pretty much nothing about the local mountain biking culture or individuals and I know for a fact there is an interesting culture and interesting individuals in Nesbyen.  Not to mention how it fits into the bigger picture of mountain biking in Norway.

I think if anyone calls themselves a mountain biker (and even if they don’t call themselves mountain bikers but look a bit dirty) then I want to know about their culture, what they ride, where they ride, and how local circumstances brought them to where they are today.

So yeah, for me it’s about the people and the culture rather than the specifics of the hardware they happen to be using.

I thought the recent issue did a good job at staying true to Singletrack.

The mums-bikepacking article wasn’t mountain biking or Singletrack, but it was related (still on bikes), and it had a very informative point about how to define accessible and what trails are needed for everyone to enjoy, something we can all stand to expand our views on.
The article about the trail-behind-the-Nationwide IS about single track mountain biking, and had some great though behind it.

The article about the sunrise ride in the Pyrenees was mountain biking, and smack in the middle of Chipps line.

So all in all, I think it was great, and keep going.

(Sorry Hannah, I love your writing, but this time I have to go with Chipps)

VTT or ATB/ MTB; the French already ‘own’ road cycling with their language, so MTB needs to be different and reflect the US origins. I already have an issue with MTB commentators using road terms in MTB races…..

 

And I find it a little ironic people having a problem with E-MTBs, but not people who use a lift to get to the top of a run; that’s worse in my view – can’t people pedal? Or is pedalling not the done thing for lots of gravity riders.

@tjaard

That was kind of my point. You have stayed true Singletrack World over the years. If you hadn’t  I would have stopped subscribing.

Whatever process you go through to decide on what goes in the magazine is working.

I think I’m with Chipps. And Hannah!

I think the essence of Singletrack should be about a journey, an adventure, a ride, getting out there, escaping ‘everyday life’ primarily OFF-ROAD. That can be a quick escape for an hour into the local woods within the city limits … or it can be a multi-day epic into the back-of-beyond.

Clearly, all those things can be ridden on quite a range of bicycle-shaped objects. And before ‘Mountain Bikes’ existed, people (eg The RoughStuff Fellowship) were doing it on the bikes they had, ie steel flat/curly bar tourers.

Since those days, we’ve invented and evolved bikes better adapted to doing that activity, aka ‘Mountain bikes’. Generally, I would see these as being something with treaded tyres upwards of 2in in width, usually flat bars, usually with front or front-and-rear suspension. But, most of that ‘being out there offroad activity’ can be done on a range of bikes, with some overlap on what is rideable, but different limits/compromises.

I would hope that all of us who do a variety of riding off-road, can continue to find a place at home here at STW.

MTB needs to be different and reflect the US origins.

Mountain biking as an activity didn’t start in the US. It’s just that they named it that. Would you like to buy a bridge?