Mountain Biking - stupid question time - what exactly does "freeride" mean? "north-shore"?

Hey guys, I know what type of riding I like to do, and what type of bike I wanted, and now all the cross country guys are turning their nose up at my 5" suspension saying that's only for freeriding. I like small jumps, really rough downhill sections, and lots of mud, and I like my new bike, but I'd still like to know exactly what the term means. I think some people use the term to describe drops and drops alone. Also I'd like to know what "North-Shore style" is.

Hey man to me this is how it is

Freeride= what ever you want it to be...there for the name free is in there

Hucking= exactly as it sounds...dropping off of tall things

North Shore= to me it is...alot of ladder riding, teeter totter(spelling?) big wet roots... That's what I think of

XC= a bunch of road geeks on fat tired bikes (I'm just kidding), no xc is more of a racing thing to me.... but if you just ride xc...i think it's more freeriding, because you dont' need a 12lb bike for that...you can use a 40lb if you want.

I'm sure others have many different views...I think it's really up to you man, just go ride and have fun, that's what it's all about. And when we start truning up our noses at someone cause of their bike then that's when we've all lost it. He get a huffy and ride with me...i don't care!
:beer:

I'm not sure what "huckin" is, but it sure does sound like something I need to be doing. I crash alot, so huckin' just seems to fit my riding style heheh. By the way, you teens and twenty somethings need to be thankful, they didn't have huckin freeride bighit stinky bullit bikes when I was your age. And when you reach my age (40 in a month or two), that little voice inside that says pain is bad starts to get a little louder. Everything is still fun, in fact more fun in some ways, but that stinkin' voice!, it won't go away!!! And it disturbs each of my rides!!!! j/k

Freeride to me is doing XC with a bad attitude. It's having the equipment to hit things a little harder, and a little bigger. And to take the trails (or no trails) that you wouldn't before on your 24 lb bike. Also having the kahooney's don't hurt either.

I think North Shore is a big gang of riders that tried to claim the freeride movement first, but I may be wrong. I think it's kinda like Gary Fisher claiming to have built the first mountain bike. Heck, by his standards of what he called a mountain bike, we built the first ones when we were kids waay before he did.

Freeriding = Too many people ask.....starting to get sick of it...:crash:

Originally posted by KleinMp99
starting to get sick of it...

Seems like it would have been much easier to just skip right over this post and not even read it then.

I get sick of people asking how big of tires they can fit on their Jeep after a certain sized lift, so I just quit reading those posts. Worked wonders on my stress level.

The whole time i thought the North Shore was just a location ;)

What a bunch of gripey grumps!! By the way- Jeep: 1" BL, 32's, stock sus. ;) Sorry corndoggy, couldn't resist.

North Shore? A location? Surely it can't be that simple :) I'm kinda new at this falling off rocks stuff so be patient with me. I can feel it now though, the first time I drop off some big thing, then crash and break either my bike or my me I'm gonna look up and say "WHAT WAS I THINKING??"

Cool. TJ on a 4" Genuine coil lift and 33" BFG MT's here!

Here's my interpretation of it:

freeridng- a big group kinda ride with technical sections involving drops, chutes, and just in general a good ol' downhill. Freeriding can also just be riding for the fun of it. It's really a word that has a lot of differant opinions than a type of riding

north shore-super technical, big drops, wet, teeter totters, other man made obstacles(sp). It's in my view what freeriding aspires too

It was a wild guess on my part as to the North Shore, it probably does have some meaning that I haven't read yet.

corndoggy- to get our Heep thing back to a bike thing, here's a Bullit on the back of my Heep on a creek crossing yesterday, on the way to one of my favorite riding spots. This is the beginning, and easy part of a 3 mile long road:

Cool. I just basically got that same frame as yours but in the Haro flavor. Supposedly the Haro designer and the Santa Cruz guy is real good buddies and live right down the street from each other, so what's his name at Haro builds them for Santa Cruz, or sold them the design, or something. Suppsed to be the exact same frame though.

Originally posted by KleinMp99
Freeriding = Too many people ask.....starting to get sick of it...:crash:

Hahaha :)

Its all personal (except shore) To me freeriding is technical and difficuly. It isn't about speed but technical lines inceasing difficulty while trying desperately to maintain speed :)

Shore - man made and technical (freeriding and shore can be one in the same)

However a lot of people I know believe that unless you are hucking (large drops done slowly (not dhing but actually hucking yourself off of the edge)) you aren't freeriding.

In either case, freeriding imo has similarities to xc, trials, dh, ds, shore in one word.

MBUK MAGAZINES DEFINITION OF FREERIDE
FREERIDE (n) - A term descriptive of a type of a mountain bike riding which has as many meanings as people who use it. One thing is certain, freeride is NOT racing, although there may be competitions.

FREERIDE (FRANCE) - Riding radical but on natural terrain. Much of the emphasis is on linked technical downhill single track. The terrain must not be modified in any way. "if you uze ze shovel it iz not ze freeride" -frank roman

FREERIDE (CANADA) - Riding radical downhill trails which are almost entirely modified or man-made. Typified by wooden catwalks, seesaws and teeter totters.

FREERIDE (Old School) - Riding long distances on light full suspension bikes, taking the most technical routes.

FREERIDE (NEW SCHOOL) - Riding highly technical downhills slowly (which is usually as fast as possible) using a cross between downhill biking and trials riding

FREERIDE (for real) - Playing around much as we've always done, but way bigger and nastier because the bikes can soak up so much more punishment.

Just thought you guys might be interested. :)

FREERIDE (for real) - Playing around much as we've always done, but way bigger and nastier because the bikes can soak up so much more punishment.

I like this definition the best!

L8R

Corndoggy, to clarify, yes the Bullit and the Extreme have almost the same design. The pivot is slightly different and the aluminum tubing is a different grade. And the price, that's WWWWAAAAAAYYYYYY different. What you paid for the whole bike, was less than just a Bullit frame/rear shock!

But, that rear shock is inifinitely adjustable.

L8R

Originally posted by MikeOK
It was a wild guess on my part as to the North Shore, it probably does have some meaning that I haven't read yet.

corndoggy- to get our Heep thing back to a bike thing, here's a Bullit on the back of my Heep on a creek crossing yesterday, on the way to one of my favorite riding spots. This is the beginning, and easy part of a 3 mile long road:

MikeOK - that's not a Gemini on the back of the vehicle - is it? If it is, consider yourself slapped, and hard. If it's yours, how do you find it?

Gemini?

Originally posted by Bokkie


MikeOK - that's not a Gemini on the back of the vehicle - is it? If it is, consider yourself slapped, and hard. If it's yours, how do you find it?

No....its a SANTA CRUZ BULLIT.....like he said before like a million times. I dont think he would get caught dead riding a gemini:D

Okay, I heard there was a clone of the Bullit out there but I didn't kow what it was. But hey, if my bike has 2 wheels, pedals and a handlebar I would still be happy :)

Originally posted by KleinMp99


No....its a SANTA CRUZ BULLIT.....like he said before like a million times. I dont think he would get caught dead riding a gemini:D

There was something about the shape of the rear end that looks like a Gemini. Then again, it looks to be the same colour as a Gemini - black. Then again, there's nothing wrong with imitation, it's said to be the sincerest form of flattery. As you can see, the Bullit is a classy bike, and if it looked like a Gemini, then maybe it's because it is a Gemini by another name.

But then again, Klein, you never have anything good to say about anything or anyone, so I reckon you miss an awful lot.:rolleyes:

Originally posted by Bokkie
But then again, Klein, you never have anything good to say about anything or anyone, so I reckon you miss an awful lot.


Hey....I put a smilie at the end:D Ok so i'm not trying to be mean or anything......If you knew about freeride bikes you would know that the bullit looks nothing like the gemini, but they are both single pivot. On the other hand, I pretty much know nothing about road bikes. We all know different amounts of different things.

Klein, you might have noticed my sarcastic 'smilie'. That was a 'typo' as I meant to use a laugh as well. Sorry if it caused any offence, none was intended except in the humourous vein I was trying to imply. Seems you can never be too careful with those smilies.

Let's see if this one works.:D

North Shore referes to the northern area of Vancouver, BC Canada where that particular flavor of mountain biking was invented. Its is typified by long wooden bridges that evolved into stunts and the usual rainforest-like muddy and rocky terrain of the region. The North Shore Mountain Bike Association (NSMBA) is constantly involved in trail-access discussions with the seven major landowners from the Greater Vancouver Regional District, B.C. Parks, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., British Pacific Properties, Grouse Mountain and North and West Vancouver districts.


Thus endith the lesson.... aahh-men!

BTW guys, the Gemini and the Bullit do in fact share the same suspension design with the single pivot. And, when the Gemini first came out, the usual comment to the way it rode was, "Like a Bullit, only taller!"

I'd love to have either bike! If you want to go the custom build route like MikeOK, get a SC Bullit. If you want one already assembled, get the Gemini!

L8R

Originally posted by stumpjumper
North Shore referes to the northern area of Vancouver, BC Canada where that particular flavor of mountain biking was invented. Its is typified by long wooden bridges that evolved into stunts and the usual rainforest-like muddy and rocky terrain of the region. The North Shore Mountain Bike Association (NSMBA) is constantly involved in trail-access discussions with the seven major landowners from the Greater Vancouver Regional District, B.C. Parks, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., British Pacific Properties, Grouse Mountain and North and West Vancouver districts.


Thus endith the lesson.... aahh-men!

Wow for someone living in Ohio you sure know the inner workings of the politics behind the shore :D

North Shore referes to the northern area of Vancouver, BC Canada...


Unless of course you also surf. Then you could possibly be speaking of Hawaii:D

Freeride is any type of riding that frees you from the confinements of reality.:cool:

For some it could be a cruise down the bike path on a Motive. For others it is hucking a 40 to 50lb bike w/ mass travel off a 40 foot drop. ;)

Freeriding is in the eyes of the cyclist.

Slainte:beer:

Originally posted by dirtbikedude
Freeride is any type of riding that frees you from the confinements of reality.:cool:

Give me a big double handfull of that!!

Give me a big double handfull of that!!

Take as much as you want. I am just pissed because i am sitting and waiting to find out when I can get my knee scoped. I had this prob 3 times last year and MRI's and x-rays showed everything to be normal. Yet my knee tends to fill with about 200ml of fluid so now I have to go get it looked at from the inside.

Totaly sucks not being able to ride. :mad:

To make matters worse, football starts up again in 4 weeks and the racing season starts in March. Gotta have it fixed by then.

I know that sounds off the subject but right now any type of riding would be freeriding for me.

Slainte:beer:

I been there myself. So far, a knee scope, back surgery, several assorted broken bones and a concussion. Just wait until you hit 39, I have so many injuries and stuff that doesn't quite work right that now I hardly even notice pain any more :D

Ok, thanks for the definitions guys! I now have two theories.

The first one being that freeriding is simply any type of riding that you wouldn't want to use an ultra-lightweight cross-country bike for on a regular basis.

My second theory is that somebody got tired of all their ultra-lightweight cross-country bikes breaking on them while trying to have some fun, so they got inspired by the Edgar Winter Group's "free ride" song to make a beefier bike to handle this crazy harsh mess. I heard this song on the way to work this morning and it's fitting! Yeah... I'm a dork... get over it.


The mountain is high
the valley is low
And you're confused
'bout which to go.
So I flew in to
give you a hand
And lead you into
the promised land.

Come on and take a free ride (free ride)
Come on and take it by my side,
Come on and take a free ride!

All over the country
I'm seeing the same
Nobody's winning
at this type of game
We gotta do better
it's time to begin
You know all the answers
Must come from within.

Works for me.

Ya I like it too! Fits nicely!:beer:

My second theory is that somebody got tired of all their ultra-lightweight cross-country bikes breaking on them while trying to have some fun, so they got inspired by the Edgar Winter Group's "free ride" song to make a beefier bike to handle this crazy harsh mess. I heard this song on the way to work this morning and it's fitting! Yeah... I'm a dork... get over it.

Were you looking for the current definition of freeride (which is almost anything) or the origin of the word? It was first coined as a marketing ploy in the mid '90s about two years after the advent of downhill specific bikes by one of the major manufacturers (I think it was either C'dale or Specialized) to describe their latest line of bikes since they were too heavy and had clumsy dual suspendion systems for cross-country use (30-35 lbs sometimes) and no where near enough travel for downhill (2" or so). The idea was to make them a catch-all trailbike and it was a misirable disaster.

Thankfully though, the bikes adapted to the uses they were applied to by advances in rear suspension, and someones ingenious idea of using trials-bike features like compact geometry and LOTS of gussets.




Wow for someone living in Ohio you sure know the inner workings of the politics behind the shore
He he, thanks. Actualy I'm something of a trail access advocate in my very minor way and that particular area is one of the best current examples of a small area getting high use by bikers and catching alot of flack of from landowners/other trail users for this use. I like to keep up on how other areas are handling their problems. I figure communication between access groups can only improve things for all of us.


Oh, and if your ever interested, feel free to drop by www.joinomba.org sometime and see what we've done with the place! Ohio Mountain Bike association was created as an umbrella group for all clubs and organizations in the state. Ohio DNR has taken a very progressinve look at bikes thanks to the very hard work done by the omba and parent organization, imba.

Canondale coined the term freerider and then the style was supposedly defined by rocky mountain because of Wade Simmons and the shore around the same time as Kranked. However due to a liscence with Canondale rocky mountains riders had to be called fro-riders.

I am surprised more stats haven't taken it to that level of statewide representation. Maybe they have, but have no power.