Freeriding: Hype or Reality?
IMBA Trail News
Volume 17, Number 1
Spring 2004
 Photo: John Gibson |
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 Photo: Sterling Lorence |
The largest bicycle component manufacturer in the world, Shimano, recently unveiled a new gruppo designed specifically for freeriding, called Saint. They heralded Saint's debut with a bold, multi-media marketing campaign.
When a company the size of Shimano invests massive resources to address a new segment of our sport, it's significant. And Shimano isn't the only bike company focusing on freeriding. Almost every bike supplier has at least one freeride bike in their product line, with some companies giving it much more attention.
A quick thumb through any mountain bike magazine shows that freeriding clearly has the focus of the bicycling media. Mountain biking films feature freeriding almost exclusively.
Perhaps even more telling is the prevalence of freeriding in mainstream media. Freeriders are shown in advertising for everything from cars, to chocolate milk to credit cards. There's even a Playstation II video game, Downhill Domination, where players can select a choice of big-hit full suspension bikes, and joystick their way down a simulated downhill course with huge cliff drops, while avoiding trees, forest fires, moose and other obstacles.
While freeriding has certainly captured a lot of the hype surrounding mountain biking, it's not clear if this accurately reflects the way most people ride. According to the Bicycle Product Suppliers Association, 567,119 full suspension bikes were sold in the U.S. in 2003 - only nine percent of all 26 inch wheel bikes sold.
In a recent poll of IMBA members, only three percent selected freeriding as the type of riding they do most often, compared to 62 percent for cross country. However, when asked about riding skill level, 71 percent of IMBA members said they were advanced or better. While these people may not classify themselves as freeriders, they would likely relish the opportunity and challenge offered by more technical trails.
IMBA membership, however, may not be the best barometer of freeriding's popularity. While the success of freeriding in British Columbia has been well documented, the groundswell of freeriding momentum is not limited to this Canadian province. IMBA receives daily calls from land managers and mountain bikers looking to establish new freeriding areas. A number of authorized freeride areas have been built throughout the U.S.
Freeriding is especially appealing to today's X-Games-influenced youth. Freeriding looks cool, and kids want to be a part of it. Kids cycling groups are gravitating towards freeriding by offering technical riding instruction.
A key component to increasing freeride opportunities is getting freeriders more involved with advocacy. In 2003, several new freeride specific advocacy clubs formed, but this is not the norm. Most freeriders are either unaware of IMBA, or don't care. Simply put, they are more interested in just riding their bikes.
Freeriding is clearly a major part of our sport that is here to stay. It's imperative that existing clubs and IMBA find ways to connect with it to create the next generation of mountain bike advocates and
