MTB Culture or non Culture....unsure, it's a strange topic.

Anonymous

Do we as MTBers of any genre have a culture?

This question I read with interest in Dirtmag the other week, and I was wondering what people's opinions are of the following.

We as MTBers do not have the same culture as the snowboarders and skaters, e.g we don't have the music, clothes or branding as these guys and are at conflict within our sub-divisions of XC, DH, borrow our clothes and equipment from Roadies and MotoCross, therefore do not have our own identiry, therefore the sport in general will always be "backroom" and never get the attention it really deserves.

Personally I think it's up to ourselves to do whatever we think is best for us, just ride man....like that cheesy bit in easy rider, mind you I wouldn't wear my watch it would break.

What say you... be nice now

Peace 2 all

G

The Northern Monkey

I think that because MTB'ing is a relaxed sport open to all, there can be no specific culture... we just want to get out and ride and thats all that matters to us! sod the snowboarders and skaters!

edit: i would say tho, that my clothes are MTB centered. Had a discussion with some of the lass's in Uni about how my "style" was MTB .... how ever the fu*k I want (they were saying i don't belong to a specific style :?)

zero303

I think its because there are too many sub disciplines and because of this it attracts too wide a range of people to have a definitive cultural stereotype.

It's a good thing I think - you never know who you're going to bump into when you go out. One of my clients is a 40 something osteopath - never would have thought he'd be a MTBer and turns out he rides my local trails on a P7 Pro!!

cheehee

G-Man, I read that issue of Dirt. I liked the article by Seb( ..........?). It was very opinionated and made quite a few generalisations, but I did agree with the points raised.

dave_hill

"Culture" is a term coined by the mainstream in order to explain, categorise and therefore attempt to "understand" anything which doesn't fit into so-called "normal" behaviour.

But then define "normal". I don't think that getting married, having hundreds of kids, saddling yourself with debt and being miserable, and all voluntarily I might add, is "normal".

I think that being your own person, doing what you want to do when you want to do it, not giving a flying firkin about what anybody else thinks as long as you aren't hurting anybody else, riding bikes, wearing a hoody and saggy jeans, going to the pub on a skateboard and laughing at old people is normal.

But all my peers who fall into the 2.4 children category think that I'M anti-social. "I can't go for a ride/pint/chinwag, I've got to go shopping/take the kids to school/talk to my bank manager."

So who's part of a "culture"? Is it me or is it them? Personally I don't care. Don't pigeonhole me and I won't lay into you with my scathing sarcasm and razor-sharp wit.

Anonymous

cheehee wrote:

G-Man, I read that issue of Dirt. I liked the article by Seb( ..........?). It was very opinionated and made quite a few generalisations, but I did agree with the points raised.

yeah man that was the article, think it was Seb, probably cut down for the mag..that guy can rant sometimes. Was interesting though eh?

I personally wear baggy tees and skater shoes most of the time but have been known to listen to slayer as well as zappa, could mix all the styles and clothes or I would look a bit silly...lol

Northwind

I liked the article, not convinced it's true, I think he's trying to create a "mountain biking" monoculuture where it doesn't exist. It's a long time since there was really a single simple thing called mountain biking, these days as he says it's very split.

Trail riders do have a much more homogenous culture I think, we all speak the same language and there tends to be similarities in gear and attitude, from what I've seen. Cyclecross has more in common with XC and trail riding than dirtjumping does but we all slag the CX guys while reading mtb mags with jump bikes in.

And the subgroups are really too small to have their own subcultures, so dirt jumping and street is wrapped into bmx which is tied into skate, for instance... Downhilllers are a different species entirely but there's not really that many real downhillers, and it's not that connected to most people's real world mountain biking. XC and trail centre riding seem to be the main body of mountain biking, but we're not cool enough to get the attention- so DH hogs a disproportionate amount of the limelight, so it ends up being really influenced by the artificial, commercial faux-culture of DH (where performance gear can be banned for not being cool enough)

Stoo61

As far as I can see, DH is sort of stylish and fashionable. Going down dangerous hills very fast....the girls could dig that sorta stuff.

However, XC, which is what I do..is far from it. Telling various people I'm spending around £800 on a bike and wouldn't flinch at spending £1500 if I had it....they think im mad.

XC, in most social circles, isn't cool. Only people in the know will see you and think "oh wow, cool bike"....others will see a muddy, sweaty, bright yellow man with a helmet, puffing and spluttering at the top of a hill. It's not going to pull in the ladies....

Luckily....im cool as f*ck

Anonymous

Northwind wrote:

I liked the article, not convinced it's true, I think he's trying to create a "mountain biking" monoculuture where it doesn't exist. It's a long time since there was really a single simple thing called mountain biking, these days as he says it's very split.

Trail riders do have a much more homogenous culture I think, we all speak the same language and there tends to be similarities in gear and attitude, from what I've seen. Cyclecross has more in common with XC and trail riding than dirtjumping does but we all slag the CX guys while reading mtb mags with jump bikes in.

And the subgroups are really too small to have their own subcultures, so dirt jumping and street is wrapped into bmx which is tied into skate, for instance... Downhilllers are a different species entirely but there's not really that many real downhillers, and it's not that connected to most people's real world mountain biking. XC and trail centre riding seem to be the main body of mountain biking, but we're not cool enough to get the attention- so DH hogs a disproportionate amount of the limelight, so it ends up being really influenced by the artificial, commercial faux-culture of DH (where performance gear can be banned for not being cool enough)

Totally! and by not cool did you mean the lyrca gear argument that has been banned recently? Would wear it myself, however I dont agree with banning it just because it may improve a DH time, seems a bit sad to me.

DH folk are nuts and a bit crazy, I mean you've got to be to do that 60km stuff down a mountain for 30mins at a time....I admire them though, it's great fun.. even for 1minutes then crashing on your arse.

Monocultures suck man always will!

Banned!

i have never encountered a mtb culture because most of the riders I know are the sort of people who prefer to get up early and go out on thier own, or maybe with one or two friends and spend thier day in the wilderness. I live in scotland so thats pretty much my whole country.

i suppse clubs must have some sort of cameraderie going on, but im pretty certain that like most riders, no two of them will get the same thing from riding and they will almost certainly have different ideas about how to ride and so on.

if their is a common thread that runs though all of mtb its only the one that makes us get up and ride through miles of mud that most would think twice about walking through.

cee

hold on a minute......

i had a skateboard when i was younger (30 year olds on a deck is not cool), and a bmx, go snowboarding as much as I can, ride XC and downhill....

what culture do i fit into...them all it seems hurrah!.....seriously...if you define your entire life by any one thing then you are boring.

message ends.

Banned!

cee, this is typical of the mtbr's I know.

we all ride bmx or go snowboarding, surfing, climbing etc.


mtb just seems to be another way for us to get out into them hills and thrash about for a few hours.

P-Jay

TBH I'd rather a hobbie than a liftstyle. All these "cultures" are really cliquey fashions imho.

I guess the reason MTBing isn't a cliquey as some other "action sports" (thank god) is it's kinda non-specific. Pretty much everyone ownes, or had owned some sort of mountain bike at some point. Also everyone I know ether is into like me, or had some rusty old Raliegh Mustang or the like in the garage, and it's still a practical form of short-range transport.

You're unlikely to see a 30 year old banker riding a skateboard down to the shop or to the pub, or a BMX for that matter.

And what's so bad about that? If there was suddenly crowds of MTB kids hanging around with black jeans hanging off their arse and crome chains everywhere I might start feeling like a bit of a berk hitting the trails at the weekend with my thritysomething mates.

milkywhite

Stoo61 wrote:

As far as I can see, DH is sort of stylish and fashionable. Going down dangerous hills very fast....the girls could dig that sorta stuff.

However, XC, which is what I do..is far from it. Telling various people I'm spending around £800 on a bike and wouldn't flinch at spending £1500 if I had it....they think im mad.

XC, in most social circles, isn't cool. Only people in the know will see you and think "oh wow, cool bike"....others will see a muddy, sweaty, bright yellow man with a helmet, puffing and spluttering at the top of a hill. It's not going to pull in the ladies....

Luckily....im cool as f*ck

DH is cool because it attracts most of the coverage that MTB gets in the media, which you'd expect because it has more of a viewer appeal. XC races on TV look tame by comparison, but then they're more about endurance than outright downhill speed.

I ride XC mainly because I like coming down after I've climbed to the top. Maybe I'd like DH, but I also like to earn my descents, and I'm sure that I enjoy flying down a nice piece of singletrack more than I would shitting myself over huge drops and jumps on a DH track. If climbing a hill to descend it isn't cool then so be it.

Maybe some of the reason people ride DH is because of their idea of how other people perceive DH as cool. It's the same with skiing. I love to ski, but am aware when I tell people that I'm going skiing that it could seem like I'm telling them to seem cool, and I'm 100% sure that some people talk about stuff like that because they think other people will see them as cool if they do so.

I'm sure if most chicks who dig DHers because they think its cool and dangerous saw any of us XCers who like to descend fast doing what we do, they would be equally impressed. 30mph+ on a tight piece of singletrack is no mean feat. If I was to put on a full face helmet I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't realise there's a difference in the bikes or type of trail.

I'm waffling. Not even sure I've got a point

Banned!

milkywhite wrote:

[

I'm sure if most chicks who dig DHers because they think its cool and dangerous saw any of us XCers who like to descend fast doing what we do, they would be equally impressed.

Im sure they wouldnt.

ive only met about no girls who were ever impressed with DH riding to the point of gruopiedom. maybe they like to watch because we get all sweaty and dirty (girls like that sort of thing) and because the most adventurous thing thier fat slob of a boyfriend has done in the last 6 months is try a new flavour of pringles.

DH looks good because of all the armour, the very real possibility of a fatal crash and the HUGE bikes. XC is a bunch of skinny whippets carrying thier bikes when it gets too muddy for thier ickle wickle tyres.

milkywhite

Jesus_Christ wrote:

milkywhite wrote:

[

I'm sure if most chicks who dig DHers because they think its cool and dangerous saw any of us XCers who like to descend fast doing what we do, they would be equally impressed.

Im sure they wouldnt.

ive only met about no girls who were ever impressed with DH riding to the point of gruopiedom. maybe they like to watch because we get all sweaty and dirty (girls like that sort of thing) and because the most adventurous thing thier fat slob of a boyfriend has done in the last 6 months is try a new flavour of pringles.

DH looks good because of all the armour, the very real possibility of a fatal crash and the HUGE bikes. XC is a bunch of skinny whippets carrying thier bikes when it gets too muddy for thier ickle wickle tyres.

Err...no it's not.

Banned!

ok, its also shaving your legs and riding a 5ft seatpost.

littleandy0410

If that's the true definition of XC, I guess we're not XC riders then, milkywhite!

Can we really be classed as DHers when we mostly ride Thetford!? Cos we certainly can't be called skinny whippets!

....... or.......Jesus-Christ is trolling, or talking shite!

maximus69

has anybody actually ever picked their bike up and carried it over mud?
i always get covered in mud and am def not a whippet. hang on, im a down hiller too!!

Banned!

ive seen quite a few xc riders come to the an obstacle simply pick thier bikes up and carry them over the muddy/rocky/rooty bits.

i know its not indicative of the 'sport' as a whole, but it makes me laugh every time.

milkywhite

Jesus_Christ wrote:

ive seen quite a few xc riders come to the an obstacle simply pick thier bikes up and carry them over the muddy/rocky/rooty bits.

i know its not indicative of the 'sport' as a whole, but it makes me laugh every time.

:roll: I'm sure no-one has ever done that on DH bike :roll:

maximus69

ah you didnt say rocky/rooty stuff. sometimes i lift my bike over a fence.i`m still a down hiller though because i wear knee pads, is that right?

Banned!

depends what colour they are.

maximus69

xc black same as dh black

Banned!

sorry, but DH black isnt the same as xc black. if you wear xc black youre a jayboy.

maximus69

your not jesus

pilsburypie

So what are we all gonna do to create a MTB look we can all associate with? My suggestion is to all get tear drops tattooed on our faces..... :?

stevieboy

Well seeing as DH'ers dipped into wearing lycra before it was banned I say get it reinstated and lets all wear lycra, that way Roadies, DH'ers and Xc'ers can all look the same and create 'The Biking Look'

The sport is too wide as already said.

I'm an XC whippet who wears lycra on the Scale, but I also pad up and take the Kona down some pretty hardcore stuff in Derbyshire. Therefore I too cannot be pigeonholed, so screw conformity!

Stangely enough I wear a suit to work and a "give us your money" hoodie by night, proper fruitcake ey?

supersonic

Jesus_Christ wrote:

sorry, but DH black isnt the same as xc black. if you wear xc black youre a jayboy.

Try riding Wharncliffe.

When I first started biking, I was a bit of an MBUKer, liked my animal Ts, the stickers and stuff, looking cool. Then I grew up and now wear what feels best. I don't give a sh1t what I look like on the trails!

donnie murdo

I think that Skating and Snowboading have more of a definable culture due to marketing and advertising. MTB'ing in the past is a hard subject to pin down as there are many branches of the sport that have there own unique image. The most obvious one to compare to Snowboarding is DH and the closest biking gets to skateboarding is BMX although I would put the current image of fixie messengers/fakengers in there too.

The sport has really moved on since I started back in 94. I don't see so much borrowing of clothing anymore as each brach of MTB'ing has its own unique look with specialist companies making the clothing for each one. When I started there was little MTB specific clothing at all. Most of us were using ronhill and karrimor fleeces:) and a dome helmet Now there is a slew of companies producing MTB specific clothing.

Not only that but up until recently there was no specific places to go MTB'ing other than just heading for the nearest hills/forests/ but now we have many purpose built trail centres that are MTB only which will help evlove the look of the sport in the same way as skateparks and ski resorts have done for there specific sports.

ESHER SHORE

could it simply be that mountain biking is so accessible that it attracts less of the "hardcore" participants that in sports like skateboarding and bmx which are so demanding and hard to master that the participants are more "core" (passionate) which results in riders and skaters starting clothing and product companies, which soon spawns its own culture?

as mountain biking is so accessible (a good thing) its more diluted and many riders simply do it for pleasure, but are not interested in making it their "lifestyle" and living / breathing it...

of course you have the downhill, freeride and dirt jump movements within mountain biking which are definitely more hardcore, and companies have sprung up within those elements making products and clothing

most dirt jumpers I have ever met ride in jeans and t-shirts and could not care less about wearing cycle clothing or even cycle t-shirts from Fox, Oakley, etc.