Whilst rad, mountain biking isn’t all gnar, and by presenting it like that, lots of people are missing out an all the easy fun that mountain biking could offer them.
Matty Johnson is a former professional baseball player who now makes mountain biking content for his YouTube channel. He discovered mountain biking five years ago, and in that time has pushed himself to ride harder features.
In this video I will be talking about some misconceptions when It comes to mountain biking and how all the expensive bikes and difficult trails are not what mountain biking is all about.
The topics he covers have a lot of overlap with the agenda of Reframing MTB. What do you think? Is there room for all styles of riding? Do we see enough of ‘just riding along’? Or is it boring to watch, but fun to do? How would you encourage more people to give mountain biking a shot?
Never been a big technical rider – the odd trail centre (North Wales) and more XC stuff. I’ve not actually touched the Full Suspension for about a year – last time was bike packing on it. I commute on an old 90’s MTB with mixed surfaces, so that takes alot of my time, then weekends, it’s actually been the CX bike I bought two years ago. I just swap between the road wheels and the knobbly wheels as I see fit. It doesn’t feel compromised on the road as it’s a traditional race geometry, bit can be a bit sketchy off road, but that’s to be expected. I’ve even bike packed on it with a bodged rack as the bike has no fittings. Mudguards are clip on too.
I tend to ride two bikes the most. The two vintage road bikes only come out when it’s dry, but I’ve just grabbed the CX bike as it’s ‘first out’.
I’d argue that you’re being lied to about gravel biking. As far as I can see, it’s XC MTBing plus far more sections of road so you can have all the terror of sharing parts of the ride with with huge fast vehicles, with far too many of their drivers being incompetent, distracted or just hating bikes.
Sorry – who is it that is supposedly lying to me about mountain biking? They must be doing a very good job of it, because I hadn’t noticed anyone talking to me about it – other than riding buddies (mid-ride or over a pint afterwards).
And, to be honest (like pretty much every other topic we talk crap about), by the end of each discussion we’ve argued so many different points of view (each) that no one can really remember what they supposedly stood for – but can agree the actual ride was fun.
I get that clickbaity titles work in the YouTube age, but they don’t work on me after the first few.
“Disaster Strikes on Gnarly Trails" = someone has a light tip-over or someone’s e-bike battery packs up earlier than expected and they had to put some effort in.
“It Snapped" = a new bike had a bolt come loose.
I vowed to stop watching anything with a clickbaity thumbnail banner after I’d watched a certain Enduro rider chase a creak all around his rear suspension (including getting the bike company involved) only to find out, in the end, that some of the linkage bolts were loose*.
🙄
*I was bored in any case.
Have to sdmit the what is killing xxxxxx titles are quite annoying and a certain turn off.
I think his point is a very valid one. If your perspective of MTB was based on social media you would think all we did was drops, hucks n gaps. Conversely, anyone simply enjoying riding a bike in the hills always seems to be on a gravel bike, by a small tarn, with a tent.
So if you’re rad, get a mountain bike. If you’re looking for mindfullness, get a gravel bike.
But the vast majority of us (i suspect) do a little from column a and a little from column b. But a whole big chunk from the “not insta friendly" column c – bashing along up and down mountains, on 2- 4hr loops, made up of singletrack and bridlepaths with hopefully a few rocky or rooty downhill sections to keep us grinning.
Exactly that, well apart from hills not mountains. This is why XC isn’t gravel. You could use a gravel bike, but it wouln’t be as much fun on the twisty rocky descents.
I have a gravel bike, and it’s brilliant for actual gravel (Salisbury plain, New Forest etc), but really rubbish for MTB terrain.
It is nice to see, quite a lot of you are doing similar riding.
The problem really lies in whether you want a mountainbike or a bike for the mountains.
The former is based in the sport of mountainbiking, usually for riding circuits with prepared surfaces and features, but is perfectly adequate as a bike for the mountain.
So what is a bike for the mountains? Ask any of the RSF community, the Rough Stuffers, and it boils down to any bike. The bike isn’t about speed, it’s about getting there.
For me that means light enough to shoulder over the odd scramble or unrideable climb, or throw across a deep stream. Fat enough tyres to avoid the risk of snakebite, knobbly enough for grip on loose surfaces, but not draggy like a mud tyre. Steering geometry that doesn’t wobble at walking speed on climbs. I like dropbars because to me they feel more secure with a loose grip on rough surfaces, kinder to wrists IMO, and they help by dropping your CoG on downhill bits. However saddles and bars are really a personal choice, what suits one etc…This is my favourite bike for mountains, light, easy to carry, no gears or other complications (but I’m tempted to add a dropper post).
But remember I said any bike? This one has also seen its fair share of mountains simply because its fun, eg it’s done sections of the HT550. Obviously it’s the exact opposite of my specification for a bike for the mountains, but it has one virtue, absolute reliabilty, and that’s probably the most important if you’re going into places where you have little chance of rescue. Scary on steep downhills though 🙂
We can get all tied up in technicalities, but the real point is to have fun, so whatever bike is the most fun is the best.(Racers may have different opinions 🙂 )
That video is so wholesome I made a cake, a patchwork quilt, and a new log store
What vague worries me is that anyone thinks that it is worth wasting typing energy on the whole damn thing. What the devil am I wasting my time for? People talk about vibes and spirit. Pompous twaddle. Someone up thread moaned about roady attitudes. Tother way around to my thinking but there you are. Face it, any sport journalism that isn’t actually telling you what a bit of kit it like is pure self indulgent garbage serving no real purpose.
Looks really good and I bet it’s not far off current gravel geometry, but I’d add bar tape before a dropper 😉
The original lie was stealing the brand name “Mountain Bikes” from that early company, and then applying it as a generic term. My personal MTBs should be called “hilly woods bikes” or something like that…
I dunno. Our little group has a vibe – we all seem to be happier when we are all out riding bikes in the sunshine, having laughs and drinking beers. That’s our vibe.
Maybe your scene is a bit more stoic and starved of the fun element?
Let me just google that before getting on with the hoovering.
Remember we were talking about gravel bike vs MTB marketing somewhere up this thread?
This image on Bikeradar made me laugh and facepalm at the same time:
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/antidote-pathseeker-gravel-bike
One of the german brands – YT I think – did a release video for their gravel bike that entirely consisted of the bike being ridden down gentle gradients on and off road with the rider in a full standing sprint constantly.
I suppose if your rides last about 5 minutes and go through an MC Escher painting it might have been an appropriate bike.
I don’t think anyone is telling me fibs. Friday was shredding to the max on the huge Enduro rig at Dyfi and Sunday pootling along on the gravel bikes for a cafe and cake run. Too busy enjoying bikes to worry about reading silly articles.
Bring back lots of long flowing singletrack, where you can get up to speed and not be suddenly faced with something akin to the khumbu ice field, or beachy head sized dropoffs.
What were the last three mountains you cycled that up?
Not sure why people get so pissy about whether you take them up an actual mountain or not.
Does it matter?
It’s MTB’ing, it’s a moniker, it’s here to stay, get over it
I would also assume the same people get pissy about BMX and the lack of engines…
(singing)
Maybe they’re born with it, maybe it’s Sertraline…