Freeriding into the Future

IMBA Trail News
Volume 18, Number 3
Fall 2005

In 1997, a story titled "Bike Makers Try Comfort and Gizmos to Pump Up Profit" appeared in the financial pages of the New York Times. The story speculated that disk brakes and full suspension - recent developments in bicycle technology at the time - might help boost sales by appealing to older, well-to-do riders.

The Times got the story half right. Nearly a decade later, the aforementioned "gizmos" have proven popular with young and old riders alike. Better brakes and plush suspension helped inspire the challenge-oriented style known as freeriding.

"Freeride reflects a generation of mountain bikers who have rediscovered the passion that first lured cycists into the forest in the late 1970s," says Mountain Bike Action's Richard Cunningham. "The dilemma we face, however, is that the modern mountain bike is far more capable than previous bikes, so the present trail systems offer fewer challenges."

The number of technically advanced bikes - and riders with the skills to handle them - will only increase in upcoming years. "If you look back at Trek's catalogue from the year 2000 you'll see a couple of cross-country bikes with fairly minimal suspension," says Joe Vadeboncouer, a product specialist at Trek Bicycles. "Next year, we'll offer five full categories - totaling 21 models - of fullsuspension bikes. We're confident that our future consumer is going to have an interest in freeride - it's where the soul of the sport is these days."

Skip Hess, president of Giant USA, agrees that the freeride category offers significant growth potential, but says there are degrees of freeride compatibility. "Freeride and downhill bikes with eight inches of travel grab the media's attention. While they don't provide the bulk of our full-suspension sales, those technologies do trickle down to our mid-range and entry-level models. That allows more people to tackle more kinds of terrain when they go riding."

Here at IMBA, it's increasingly apparent that mountain bikers across North America are eager for freeriding challenges. An unprecedented number of freeride-oriented clubs have been formed. We also received more than 20 well-crafted applications for the 2005 Kona/IMBA Freeride Grants program, and new freeride areas (on both private and public lands) are cropping up everywhere.

Developments in bicycle technology often lead to unexpected access issues, and the need to educate and encourage land managers about what the future might hold. In the past three decades, IMBA has learned a lot about how to create sustainable, challenging cycling experiences. Freeriding is simply the latest opportunity to utilize that knowledge.

Read on, because the following pages offer freeride-specific articles about trail design, access and other key issues. And visit imba.com/resources for even more information.