Let's offroad / mountain bike / mtb / ride dirt

bikepacking is ultra hip right now.. surely that addresses the balance that the writer is talking about somewhat?

"I think this means that we need new terminology"

Fucking hell, no. Please, no more new terminology!

Fucking hell, no. Please, no more new terminology!

Fatallmountainfreeridepackingendurotrekking

( Fatal )lmountainfreeridepackingendurotrekk­ing

err..

Haha!

Not entirely convinced the article has a valid point- I'm not sure how many hikers follow MTB media- suspect their impressions are developed by experiencing cyclists in real life. I'm not even sure if 'we' have a bad reputation.

London commuters and roadies, however...

^ Is that Indra?

The article @gabes linked to has a valid point about the image of mountain biking as a whole but this article and quite a few others that have been appearing recently have a totally U.S. centric thrust around a very controversial topic there: the further closure of MTB trails due to environmental protection laws and the alleged impact of mountain biking on "wilderness areas." A recent article in Pink Bike had the author claiming that this is an issue that really effects riders of dirt globally.
I think that many American MTBers in the bike industry, in all its forms, are mightily pissed off about this and are making noises about reforming the image of mountain biking.
The search for a "new terminology" might be a legal sidestep move.

tl;dr: U.S. MTB political/legal shenanigans results in much industry butthurt.

EDIT: Here's that article from Pink Bike -

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/banned-in-the-usa-part-1-2016.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRxgAzyiTik

Yep, the forests in murica are there for more peaceful pursuits.

Such as shooting anything that moves.

They've defaced the bank! Omg

Well it was coming right for us

Does mountainbiking have a bad image? People on bikes in the countryside at the weekend is better than people in cars in the city. Whether you're on a secondhand hardtail, a carbon gnarwizard or your mum's shopper you're probably having a laugh and that's what biking as a leisure activity is about for the majority of us.

I can't remember the last time someone moaned IRL about me being a mountain-biker, but I've had a handful of ruddy faced walkers give me a 'Go on my son' or a 'Bloody hell, it's a lass' as the GF and I've slogged our way up a particularly foolish climb in the pissing rain.

The industry loves gnarly shit, winning stuff and awesome photos, but just because that Formula 1 car runs on Pedigree Chum doesn't make me think I'm Martina Navratilova, and it'd be a fool who does.

MTBing is still niche as fuck, it's cold, wet, muddy and hurty. Most MTBers only do it a few days per month, many travel a 100 mile round trip to get to a good venue and there's plenty who've spent £2000 on a bike they can't ride for toffee, which may explain the increase in road riders (who similarly can't ride for toffee)

I reckon most of the general public have no concept of MTBing at all, most think of biking as lycra clad goons on road bikes, holding them up in their last minute dash to Argos to get some nice seat covers for their fucking Astra.

Most MTBers only do it a few days per month, many travel a 100 mile round trip to get to a good venue and there's plenty who've spent £2000 on a bike they can't ride for toffee,

This is basically me

I wanna hug that reporter.

Most cuddly reporter ever.

The image of the fatbike rider about to faceplant in his fucking chinos a few posts above is a nice example. What sort of cunt told him "Yeah, you hit that sizeable double, it'll be rad" or maybe he is the prime example of the kind of silly sausage who does believe the marketing hype.

Or maybe some more 'standards'

Yeah, you're right. I posted that article more because I'm a bit tired of so much gnar-bait in the MTB media, but I guess bikepacking and less radical mtb pursuits are also becoming more trendy too, which is good in my eyes. Back to what mountain biking was for me growing up, and what it is for me now.

Not many people MTB around here (east devon) and I get some proper snooty old coffin-dodgers telling me I shouldn't be riding here (on a bridleway etc), and I sometimes politely inform them of their misinformed views, and if they carry on being jerks, I just carry on. The irony is, almost none of them ever pick up their dog shit, and lots of their kids have horses which RUIN trails for all other users.

There has been some overspill from places like pinkbike.

In short the yanks get very vocal on forums and comments sections when people outside of America post videos of people ripping a mountain/hill a new one in wet and muddy conditions or doing a bit of skidding. Because people riding mountainbikes in this fashion and posting it on the internet is viewable by anti-mtb Americans who might use it against the yanks.

They have a strict code of conduct across the pond and belive everyone should abide to that, even when it's pointed out on forums that if people in the UK didn't ride in the wet we wouldn't ride much and some videos are on private land so do one anyway ? and the rest of the world dosen't care about internal yank issues.

It is strange that a country as vast the states has massive control in place for a bit of cycling and poaching trials* is a big problem over there, to the point of DOD/MOD land having access issues enforced by millitary police seizing bicycles etc etc.

*Poaching trials. Tresspass on closed areas with a bicycle.

Don't get started on horses Gabes......

1ton of animal on four metal shoes which damage tarmac do far less damage to footpaths than a mountain bike.......

Horses = privilege

Do what they want.

Bikes = normal people

Must be controlled

There is a bit of anecdotal evidence that cycling is actually good for wet trails....one continuous track for drainage, etc.

Horses are alright, it's generally the riders who are cocks.

I think the simple fact is that a certain percentage of People are c#nts.

This includes cyclists.

So if you have a bee in Your bonnet about some tyre tracks. You're always going to be able to find examples of the few ruining it for the many (Cutting those trees Down in that vid was a bit off IMO).

I ride popular walking trails a lot. I tend to slow almost to a stop when Walkers pass me in the other direction on a narrow section. I bet 1 in 10 cyclists bomb past though. Its those that the Walkers will remember. Its the same With throwing gel wrappers on the ground. Only takes 1 in a 100 cyclists to do this.

Bit of a lame rant this.....

I bet 1 in 10 cyclists bomb past though. Its those that the Walkers will remember. Its the same With throwing gel wrappers on the ground. Only takes 1 in a 100 cyclists to do this.

This. I don't think the "media" or "industry" has anything to do with it (beyond those idiots trying to imitate what they see).

Oh no, there's another can of worms. People not slowing down can often be trying to compete a segment on strava. I use strava and I love it as a motivator to get the miles in, but when I'm riding, I am in the real world and always polite to other users. I yield to horses and walkers on bridleways, as 1) that's the rules and 2) don't be a dick. Horses, as toffy and cuntish as many of their owners are, are fucking big animals, and I have been kicked in the face by one, and had one throw me off when i was a kid and step on the side of my head and spent 2 weeks in intensive care. So I respect them for what they are, easily spooked giant pets.

I wish horse owners would pick up their pet poop too.