Hypothetical question: what’s the maximum you’d pay for a one-day mtb event?

Obviously value is subjective, and this would be for a new event, so its down to the marketing to make it look good. Assuming you were genuinely attracted to the riding that was on offer, at what price do you think “I’m not paying THAT for a ride”?

(Not including events with uplift services, just to be specific)

What’s included?

I’d pay up to about £50 for a good all day event, but I’m quite tight.

Most events are now reasonably priced IMO, if you want expensive, try tough mudder. 80 quid to ruin yer trainers, some nettles and the odd electric shock. Then it’s a tenner to park, and oh, don’t forget TWENTY QUID to spectate!.

#moremoneythansense

But those annoying FB adverts don’t pay for themselves Nobeer!

To the OP – £40 or £50, but I’d expect to be wined and dined and be riding some pretty special trails for that much.

Whinlatter Challenge is £28 as a comparison – I think that’s about right for something like that

depends on the exclusivity one where you are riding – so maybe £35-45 for somewhere where riding is normally banned, and probably £25-30 for somewhere where you can ride normally

If you’re going to include camping for the night before/after, a meal before or after, aid stations with energy products etc, some sort of goody bag with a mug/pint glass, I’d say £40…

That does assume a decent course of over 75km of decent quality trails.

£35 is about my limit. I would want some freebies and some good trails for that.

Triathlon prices seem to be creeping up to the 50 quid mark these days, which is pricing it out of my pleasure range. So I’ll be doing fewer this year.

For £50 for an mtb event I’d want a meal at the end of it and free camping and suchlike.

I’d pay a bit more for a 24 hour event.

I’d go to £75 but i live in the South East so i’m used to being ripped off, however for that i’d expect well stocked feed stations, parking included and a goodie bag and post ride munchies.

£5 for a few audax rides near me. includes tea and hobnobs at the start. 😀

I know that for ard rock last year, the organisers had to go through 18* different land owners. Lots of stuff to be paid for there I’d imagine.

*it was either 18 or 14, canny quite remember, but 18 sounds more impressive…..

Not sure to be honest, I signed up for my first ever event last week, the Batch Burner, it was £26. Not sure what’s included but I’m pretty sure you get to ride some bits of the Mynd that your not supposed to.

Maybe £40-45 depending on the event?

I didnt enter any enduro races this year as I couldnt figure out how 2 days of uplifted dh race at inners was £65, which was fine, but 2 days of pedalling up was also £65.. wheres my money gone?

How much is a ticket to Alton towers and the like £35?

For the amount of insurance and maintenance and staff that doesn’t seem extortionate. So for an mtb event maybe £15 for a proper mint man made course, a tenner if you’re just riding regular trails with a few signs. Maybel less if there’s no food stops or freebies. But I’d rather take my own stuff anyway to be honest.

I rode a wiggle sportive a couple of years ago, 20 odd quid for a badly signed route and a feed stop with a queue so long I didn’t bother. Haven’t done one since. Even the Evans ones are getting a bit steep these days.

Not a mtb event, but I do wince every year when I pay up 60 odd notes for etape Caledonia. It is very well organised, closed roads, literally hundreds of marshals and good feed stations, so I can’t imagine a huge percentage is direct profit…

Wait for it to sell out then just turn up and ride. I am that tight! I don’t mind paying for the ones my lbs organise though.

Depends what you’re offering with the event, what sort of venue, how long or how far, what do you get in with the price just a ride or food stops, first aid cover, good signage, prizes, t-shirt, water bottle things like that. Will there be a good amount of marshals, what sort of time keeping are you using, how many competitors and categories?

In other words there’s no easy answer.

I’m tight, based on reading the above. And if people will pay up to £50-75 for a day ride with parking and feed stops, in the wrong business : )

Even the Evans ones are getting a bit steep these days.

At £17.50? I’m biased but they’re well run, well fed on route and signs all come down afterwards on the day, seems about right to me. And I’m tight.. or specifically, don’t value many events over ‘just going for a ride’.

£50 is okay for a well run enduro / all day race

£25 max for an xc event

80 quid to ruin yer trainers, some nettles and the odd electric shock. Then it’s a tenner to park, and oh, don’t forget TWENTY QUID to spectate!

Aye its 80 quid if you sign up two months in advance. The pay on the day price for the last one i saw was £105!. Needless to say I didn’t “pay on the day”

At £17.50? I’m biased but they’re well run, well fed on route and signs all come down afterwards on the day, seems about right to me. And I’m tight.. or specifically, don’t value many events over ‘just going for a ride’.

They were only a tenner 3 or 4 years ago, then £12.50 I thought they were still £15 now. £17.50 is too much IMO. Sportives are a rip off these days, and the off road ride I did was dull as ditchwater.

Don’t get me wrong the Evans ones are as we’ll run as any, but they’re not nearly twice as good as they were, and my expendable income certainly hasn’t almost doubled in the last 4 years.

Cheers all, some good points made there (in case you didn’t know I’m organising the North Pennines MTB Marathon)

Price to include stuff like insurance, timing equipment, route marking, well-stocked feed station, food and accommodation for volunteer marshals, donations to mountain rescue etc (just in case), possibly a “free” t-shirt and possibly “free” camping. All profit to go to local good causes.

Just need to balance the cost spreadsheet and work out the maximum number of riders I can fit in…

And for what its worth, I balk at paying more than £25 for a ride, unless its something truly special. Benchmark for me is the Dyfi Enduro, which is truly special. 🙂

How much is a ticket to Alton towers and the like £35

Alton Towers will get a few more entries than a one day mtb event though. (I dont have figues, so im guessing here)

If the event is well run, I’d pay up to £50/day.

If it’s a charity event I’m happy to pay a premium as long as it’s run like a professional outfit (within limits).

paid 65 ish for DH with full uplift, about the same to be a beta tester of the UK GE a few years back….

I’d pay 100 for the right event, though it would have to deliver

I used to do the likes of the Grizedale & Whinlatter Challenges and various marathon events which were about £25 to £30 a few years ago. I couldn’t justify paying more than that at the time.
Though it’s not an mtb event, the Fred Whitton challenge has just gone up to £50 this year but it is a very well established and organised event which is oversubscribed every year.
I know the area you are running the event so it is a bit different (not much forest road!) which may be an incentive for some but I wouldn’t pay more than £30 until it had established a ‘wow’ factor.

I’ve paid the price of Ironman events in the past so I’d say if all the key ingredients were in place then there wouldn’t necessarily be an upper limit. If an event will be something I’ll remember for the rest of my life, test me, provide some training focus and be something I’ll bore everyone with then it’ll be good value regardless of the cost. If it doesn’t meet expectations though then I do seem to get a bit bothered(see Tough Mudder).

TBH it depends on the level of trails, the exclusivity, the timing and the length of event. Gravity Enduros are coming in at about £30-£40 per day, DH with uplifts are more like 60-70.
Triathlons / events like tough mudder are taking the piss a little, more money than sense is about right. But then again if you’re spunking 4-5 hundred on a set of race wheels whats an additional £80 to race?
Bet they are the same people who park on the verge outside venues to avoid the £2.50 parking charge…

Bucks off road sportive has it about right on the organisation.

No timing, good admin, good parking, great route, ok signs, good food, did I say great route, nice gift, great pint.

It’s £20 this year which seems good value for the above and a long course to mark.

As others have said, it depends upon what is on offer for the participants. For example:

Brecon Beast is £30 and includes 2 routes (long ~100k), feeding station, camping, pre-ride meal and T-shirt.

OMM Bike (formerly Polaris) is £55 for 2 days riding, loads of check points, map, camping and post-ride meal.

Both of these events are well organised and good value IMO. For a one day marathon style MTB ride £50 would be my limit, unless it was special.

Depends on where it is to some extent. £27 to piss about on Chopwell Powerline trail for 4 minutes is a bit much when it’s 10 mins away and I can do it for free, and likewise, £37 odd to piss about in Hamsterley when it’s 10 mins away from work and I can do it for free.

£58 for the IoM end to end is not bad, even when adding B&B and fuel etc, but it’s a one off.

About £25 is right IMHO, the Dyfi has it nailed, great event, chance of a prize, good feed stations and free camping.

Some sportive prices are ridiculous; £50 to ride open roads with a couple of thousand others, not my cup of tea any more. But paying up to £70 for a closed road one is fine though.

I’m happy spending around 40 – 50 quid on a good day out . If it’s somewhere new or with off piste trails then it’s effectively free guiding and where would we be if people didn’t put these events on for us?
With several thousands of pounds worth of bike underneath me I can hardly complain about a few quid to ride an event

Dave

I changed my mind.

If someone can offer 50 miles of dry, dusty trails with some nice loamy stuff in the next couple of months, name your price..

Prawny, on the rates going up, fair point, it’s a more realistic reflection of event cost-covering now as the marketing cost of subbing the events either wasn’t sustainable or part of the longer-term plan, not sure which tbh.

Most events are now reasonably priced IMO, if you want expensive, try tough mudder. 80 quid to ruin yer trainers, some nettles and the odd electric shock. Then it’s a tenner to park, and oh, don’t forget TWENTY QUID to spectate!.

Holy cow! Just had a visit on the Tough Mudder website, and yes, it’s £20 to spectate….

http://toughmudder.co.uk/spectator-tickets/