qr409tz8

So I used to ride a lot before the house and the wife and the kids existed in my life and I still get out once or twice a week, but ive noticed im far from the only one riding less. Five years ago the trails were packed I had a group of a dozzen people who would ride on T days, and another group of 6 or 8 that would ride from work at lunch at some local trails. Thats not even mentioning the other groups that I rode with on acasion that constantly seemed to have rides going. More than I could participate in even in my un tied down younger life. Now the dozzen guys I ride with on T days consists of two of us. The lunch time croud is gone save two guys on some fidays. And I havnt seem more than a ride a week coming from the other groups I keep an eye on and that assumes its not cancled.

So whats going on? Was mountian biking just a fad and I didnt get the memo? Is this happening elsewhere? It dosnt seem to be just my groups either, the trails seem less crouded or is that my imagination? Is there a rodie plot to steel all the mountain bikers? Or my thoughts on the matter us mountain bikers are getting families and houses and are getting busy, and not enough new blood is starting to ride, they are too buisy playing video games and adding to americas obieciety problem...

rydaddy

If anything it's growing here in Northern CA.

mcoine

Do you like crowds on your trails?

pinkrobe

It's not mountain biking, it's you.

Maelstrom 

Not sure where you are located but up here it is expanding exponentially.

I see, via forums, lots of trail access problems in certain areas which may cause a downfall in riding. Besides that, road biking is inherently easier to access so I imagine those who were doing it strictly for the fitness would have switched over (heck there are roads everywhere right)...

Obviously we can guess all day

Feathers

trail access is problematic. i have no choice but to place my bicycle in a car to travel forty-five minutes @ 65 m.p.h. to where off-road mountainbiking is permitted.

it's absurd how much influence "horse people" have convicing decisionmakers a lightweight bicycle trashes terrain yet a 2000-pound animal atop narrow metal shoes somehow "treads lightly" in their mind. the fact that thousands of acres of forested terrain go unused with overgrown/uncared trails is ridiculous.

Chris_F

It's growing quickly here. Trail quality and quantity has grown as well. In New Hampshire these are the golden years...

jibba*jabba

I grew up with horses and they definitely dig into the trails with their hooves and not to mention their 'remains' they leave behind!

I don't see mountain biking slowing down, but less crowded trails would be welcomed! Flying downhill on a single track and someone sitting on a corner discussing....whatever....is annoying.

BTW: I just discovered this forum this morning and I like what I see. Keep up the discussions and cheers to mountain biking!

elf 232

Your trail system is probably just dying, search around the internet for new trails in your area.

Chris_F

Seems to me that there's always a risk of trail obstruction, regarless of how crowded the trail is. Gotta keep the speeds in line with the reaction time and braking distance or sooner or later you're gonna get pretty hurt anyways. Thankfully other cyclists around here are polite and will move out of the way for faster riders closing from behind or yield the trail to oncoming riders who are really cooking (or really sweating a hard climb).

elf 232

I hate being interupted while im doing a technical climb. But i hate more than anything walkers who get just barely off the trail and stand there waiting for you to pass, when your flying down a hill at top speed and force you to slow down by not giving you enough room to pass comfortably.

junkyard

Maybe the other mountain bikers decided to take some time off to learn how to spell.

patentcad

Of course it's dying.

Who cares? I like it.

C Law

a dizzozzen people? for realzy?

jsigone

trails are always packed here in San Diego....

xcracer13

I'm seeing a lot more mtbing in commercials and things like that.

chucko58

Agree with rydaddy, it is still going strong and maybe even growing in the SF Bay area.

Cheeto

If anything I think it's getting more popular. More expensive as well. Maybe those other groups just grew up some and decided they didn't want to bike. Others may of moved. Maybe they found better trails. Biking is growing by the day due to gas prices. My LBS sells bikes left and right now.

Also, I agree, mountian biking is showing up a lot more on TV. It's only a matter of time before Hollywood makes a movie of it. lol

Maelstrom 

I would disagree, you can get a 600$-800$ bike with all the fixings of my kona roast which cost 1900$ 5 years ago. The 600$ bike 5 years ago, quality wise, is virtually comparable to a wally world bike

Look at both specialized and norco. You can buy their FSR bikes for pretty damn cheap now compared to when I bought my bighit at almost 4000$. Comparable to today's bighit at under 2000$.

Cheeto

I was talking about the components. They keep coming out with new techonlogies and materials and the prices of the "super-good" stuff is expensive.

Just like any other sport out there.

Maelstrom 

oh I suppose I don't notice. I never buy the high end. I buy previous gens and or "handme downs"...LX/XT and x.7 pricing rarely changes but the products keep getting better. If you are always looking to buy the newest stuff, I say "thank you"...you are the one saving me money

indygreg

trail access is an issue in many places. It is for sure here in Indy. There is just less and less land that is being used for recreation like this. Snowmobile trails (which are different in some ways, alike in others) are going away in many places. ATV trails are less and less.
A) many areas, like in Indiana, the trend is sprawl. Land is bought up all the time and more best buys or more cookie cutter subdivisions are popping up. Yeah, we have miles and mile more of MUP's in the area (which is a good thing for many reasons) but less and less park, trail, nature areas exist.

Where this is limited trail available, I think you will find less and less riders. n00bs largely do not want to go to singletracks that are very crowded. This hurts new blood. It is a shame. There are a TON of runners in Indy, and road cycling has a good presence as well. MTB is almost non existent because of the lack of trails. I live on the north side and have been riding for a few months. I can only go around the same 7 mile trail so many times. Yeah, there are options elsewhere, but at $4 a gallon that is less and less appealing.

Now to be clear - I am only speaking for Indy. Well Michigan as far as snowmobiling. Other areas may be getting more and more trails. I would bet that is not common though. MTB trails take a good deal of nice land and it is hard to cost justify. A few miles of MUP on a cheaply acquired old railway or under powerlines will get used by 100x more people.

I do not think cost is even 1% the issue. Expensive recreation is not hurting in this country. Free tennis courts and basketball courts are often empty and you cannot get expensive ice time anywhere at a rink. Golf, though down, is still has plenty of takers. Softball leagues are everywhere and $300 bats sell like candy.

OUC

Read Mountain Bike Review forms and then see what you think.


https://forums.mtbr.com/

pwyll99

Mountain biking is growing here (Portland OR), The more popular trails are about a 90 minute drive away, but there is some closer non-technical trails in town. And we recently got permission to get dedicated MTB trails (XC singletrack and Freeride) in a nearby (< 1 hour away) park.
We also have two shops (in Portland) that rent good MTB's for a fair price (IMO). So my guess is business is good enough to support rentals.

rydaddy

More competition between companies = better value to us. Prices are not going up (relatively speaking), they are coming down.

Anything on the cutting edge of technology, or "super good", is going to cost a lot. The mid-range stuff that used to be "super good" is now available at affordable prices. That's my theory at least.