Appropriating Mountain Biking

For those of us who have been mountain biking for over a decade, the paradigm shifts within the sport have been slow in coming but undeniable. Fifteen years ago, cross country athletes the likes of Thomas Frischknet, Juliana Furtado, John Tomac, Susan De Mattei, and Ned Overend were the heroes of the sport. They were brutally fast and got that way through dedication and sacrifice. Downhillers were around, with riders like Gred Herbold and Brian Lopes flying down mountains, but the sport was focused on cross country riders...the athletes. Today, the sport celebrates the guys (almost never women) who air the biggest, pull backflips, throw tailwhips, or ride skinnies twenty feet in the air.

The sport has shifted from Power Bars to Monster Energy Drink, from Crested Butte's 401 trail to Intrawest's Bike Parks, and from Yo Eddy' to Demo 8's. While the shift is undeniable, I have been left wondering what happened to the sport I grew up with. The only thing I can come up with, is the idea that mountain biking...actually riding up and down mountains is to hard for most people. That difficulty kept a substantial percentage of people from getting into the sport. Like having to skin up a mountain for 45 minutes that can be skied down in three, pedaling uphill wasn't enjoyable for the unfit. What were companies to do?

In an effort to grow the sport, and to increase their revenues, the industry began selling the adrenaline. Throw bikes on ski lifts and eliminate uphills. Pile bikes into pick-ups and drive to the tops of hills. Nevermind that the riders didn't have the requisite skills to make it down these trails, give them lots of suspension, push the forks way out, and drop the seat all the way down. Build up some jumps and work on "sessions" where riders take turns hitting those jumps and complementing each other's form. Like snowboarders on a hill, mountain bikers turn towards a "freeride" culture was in effect, a turn away from the athleticism that dominated the sport fifteen years ago. Increasingly complex bikes triple the price, requiring four times as much maintenance, and outdated every year keep both manufacturers and shops happy. Videos and photographs of the extreme sell way better than straining faces on long climbs, fueling one sided media representations of the sport. The shift towards a freeride mentality was, in effect, a win win for those looking to profit from mountain biking.

I ride local trails and the most common sight is a middle aged man pushing a six inch dual suspension bike up hills in body armor. Those who are riding, are crawling uphill in a grannygear talking to the rider next to them about the latest and greatest gear. I work in a local bike shop and see kids getting hard-ons for next year's downhill set-up (this year's now sucks). I hear in the news that the local ski area just got a permit to throw in a bike park next year. The average rider despises uphills and tolerates them only because they have no alternative.

Does this mean that mountain biking's "old-school" cross country orientation is somehow better than today's freeride" mindset?
Will the US market ever see mountain bikes marketed to athletes instead of all-mountain/freeriders?
Where does the sport go from here given it's present direction?

I for one see mountain biking following the ski industry's lead towards "resort" riding that overcomes land use conflicts and lets riders focus on descents. A fringe crowd will pedal up the surrounding countryside, but they will be far and few between...content with their solitude and the sound of their breathing as they pedal along.