IMBA & the Sustainable Trail Coalition Working to Unite the Mountain Biking Community
The ongoing discussion of trail access and advocacy has been a heated one no doubt. Several open letters from prominent people and groups throughout the mountain biking world have been lobbed out into the internet world over the last six months. Forums, comment sections, and social media feeds have been filled with educated and uneducated bantering for one side or another, driving a wedge into the mountain biking community.
It’s been interesting to follow with the discussions and read about who said what about what side. It was clear from the start, however, that both IMBA and the STC are necessary to gain and maintain trail access through advocacy on many levels, including local relationships through political lobbying at higher levels.
Today’s joint statement by IMBA and the STC should bring more people together to work towards the best interest of all mountain bikers (and to battle the impending struggle with ebike access…)
IMBA/STC Discussions on Mountain Bike Radio
Trail Cast has covered some of the ongoing discussion and host, Drew, has interviewed some people over the last few months, including the following:
1. Ashley Korenblat – March 10, 2016. Ashley wrote a guest editorial on Mtbr.com titled “Say no to the Sustainable Trails Coalition” in December and discusses her stance against the STC.
2. Todd McMahon – April 12, 2016. Todd is a hiking advocate who shares his opinions on mountain bike access.
3. David Simon – May 1, 2016. David is a Sustainable Trails Coalition Board Member and shares his viewpoints on a variety of topics.
IMBA’s Press Release
From IMBA’s website: “After productive discussions, the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) and the Sustainable Trails Coalition (STC) have released a joint statement urging mountain bikers to work together to support trail stewardship and improved mountain bike access. While the two organizations remain distinct, with different approaches to bicycle access in federally managed Wilderness areas, the joint statement makes it clear that there is great respect between the two groups.”
You can read the rest of the press release HERE.
IMBA/STC Joint Statement
The actual joint statement confirming their stance can be found HERE.
Two key quotes from this statement that should resonate with you are:
– “Differences in policy, strategy and tactics between IMBA and STC are not differences in principle,” and
– “IMBA and STC jointly ask everyone who participates in trail stewardship and the sport of mountain biking to please help maintain a positive, united front. IMBA and STC both believe that public or online denunciations or defamatory comments in public or social media of either organization are generally unhelpful and are often inaccurate and misinformed.”
If you have any questions about this post or anything about Mountain Bike Radio, please feel free to contact me anytime at [email protected].
Thanks for reading,
Ben
The post IMBA and Sustainable Trails Coalition Issue Joint Statement appeared first on MBR.
]]>SRAM 1×12?
At MBR, we are definitely not in the business of breaking stories and digging for the hot news, but I just found these pictures floating around Twitter posted by 2 Bici Bicycle Shop and found them interesting. Are these pictures of a version of the new 12 speed by SRAM? There were rumors and a large previous leak of pictures all over the internet a while back that was pulled back pretty well. What do you think?
UPDATE 3-24-16 – THE SRAM EAGLE WAS RELEASED.
Read about the new SRAM 12-speed it on any of these websites:
What do you think? Are you going to switch to a 1×11 or a 1×12 setup? Why? Take our poll.
If you have any questions about this post or Mountain Bike Radio, feel free to contact me at [email protected]
– Ben
The post SRAM Eagle? appeared first on MBR.
]]>OneUp Components 50T Shark Sprocket and Cage
This isn’t going to be a post giving you an insider look at the new 50T cog and cage that OneUp released. There are numerous websites that have done their own posts on that. Since this is the start of a flurry of bigger cogs and the impending 1×12 from SRAM, I thought I’d put some of these links into some posts.
Links to stories about the OneUp 50T:
What do you think? Are you going for the 50T cog? Are you going to switch to the upcoming 12 speed options? I’d like to hear your thoughts.
If you have any questions about this post or Mountain Bike Radio, feel free to contact me at [email protected]
– Ben
The post OneUp Components 50T appeared first on MBR.
]]>Memory Lane
Everything can be a journey and I feel like my bike story has and I wanted to lay out my experience with fatbikes. I want to take a quick trip back down memory lane, back to my first experiences with fatbikes. I started regularly mountain biking in 2006. Before that I owned a $200 mountain bike from either Dick’s or REI, I can’t really remember. My first memory of trying that junker mountain bike was in either the summer of 2004 or 2005, during my quick stint living in Minneapolis. I searched around for trails and landed on Afton Ski Hill which is near the border of Wisconsin and Minnesota, south of Interstate 94. It seemed like a good option and I think that I was on my way from Minneapolis to somewhere in Wisconsin, so I stopped off to see what mountain biking was all about.
That was an eye-opening experience. I had the fitness because I was in great running shape and was already doing some triathlons, but damn. The technical nature of riding on trails and all the power necessary to do all the riding was something I had not really experienced. I was in. I could definitely do much better. So I tried and tried and tried… and now MBR exists…ha.
I moved to Madison in the fall of 2005 and one of my first purchases in the Spring of 2006 was a Gary Fisher Tassahara that I picked up for maybe $300 or $400. The summer of 2006 is when I did some regular mountain biking in my training up to the only Ironman I’ve done. In 2007, I started racing, used the Tassahara for that entire season, before getting what I consider my first “superbike,” (over $1000! ha) a Gary Fisher Ferrous 29er. Looking back, it’s pretty funny to see what my limited mountain biking knowledge and experience was. Oh well, everyone needs to start somewhere I guess. It’s also crazy to see what has taken place in my life over a short ten years.
Why am I sharing all of my back story?
Let’s fast forward a couple years to 2009. We recently moved outside of Denver and I had definitely ratcheted up the amount of riding I was doing. With my new-ish found love of mountain biking, proximity to trails played into the location of the house we purchased upon moving there. And, hell, we ended up buying a house a mile from the northern terminus of the Colorado Trail, how could I not?
I had been reading information about the new Surly Pugsleys that were being offered. I actually remember coming across some information about some of the first framesets that were available back in 2005/2006 and it stuck in the back of my head. So when I started seeing those purples ones in articles, I was intrigued.
Further, my first in-person introduction to fatbikes was at the Leadville Winter Mountain Bike Series during the winter of 2009/2010. At that point, most of us showed up with the widest tires we had and hoped that the snow was hard enough to hold us up. As a sidenote, I think that this may be one of the oldest winter bike racing series out there.
I did a lot of winter/snow riding starting in 2007 while we were in Wisconsin before moving to Colorado and continued to ride a lot in the winter after moving. At this point, I was more than intrigued. I wanted a Surly Pugsley.
[I dug up this video from December 2010 while I was riding with my brother…pre fat]
The rest is my history in the world of fatbikes (during all of this time, I rode and owned all sorts of fatter tired bikes):
– January 2011: I purchased a white (2011) Surly Pugsley
– Spring 2011: I was one of the four guys who launched Twenty2 Cycles. We started early focusing on fatbikes and 29in hardtails.
– Later in 2011: We were off and selling Twenty2 bikes, including what we called the Bully. This piece by Outside Online was pretty awesome (especially considering it was all on their own – we did not send Outside any request to get on that.)
– By early 2012: Twenty2 was going well and fatbikes were definitely the hot ticket. (I was no longer part of Twenty2 midway through 2012)
– February 2012: Twenty2 “sponsored” the inaugural Fatbike Frozen Forty near Minneapolis, Minnesota.
– May 2012: The first edition of Mountain Bike Radio was born.
– February 2013, February 2014, February 2015: I partnered with Brad, the creator of the Fatbike Frozen Forty, in putting the race on.
– February 2016: I took the Fatbike Frozen Forty over from Brad and am the sole owner of it.
I’ve been around fatbikes and have seen the progression over the last 5-6 years and it’s been interesting to watch it all unfold. In the countless discussions and experiences I’ve had since 2011, I knew the landscape would be different, but I didn’t realize the influence fatbikes would have until later on.
Sometime around the end of 2012 or beginning of 2013, not long after the Surly Krampus hit the scene, did I realize the potential that the “traditional” fatbikes opened up and it’s been a whirlwind since.
Fatbikes – What Have They Done to Us?
Fatbikes have turned the bike world on its head. 5-10 years ago, the sole goal was to build the lightest possible bike setup and market it as your opportunity to be your fastest self. Pictures and videos lead us all to believe that the lightest bike possible was the best answer for everything. Along comes the 40-lb Pugsley and we didn’t know what to do.
Many people blew off the idea of fatbikes. They were a joke to many and a fad in everyone else’s eyes. That’s normal. When anything comes along in any area that changes the direction of an industry, it’s normal to have naysayers and be ridiculed. There is still some of this sentiment around today.
In many areas of the country and world that don’t experience a real winter, fatbikes really haven’t experienced the same growth as areas such as the Great Lakes Region. I don’t have hard numbers on that, but just from observing trends, people, and the general cycling world, it’s pretty clear that fatbikes are still more of a winter/offseason-focused bike. But, they’ve had a large impact on everyone – north, south, east, west.
So, How Have Fatbikes Affected Us, Exactly?
This is the key point about fatbikes that has affected all of us:
Fatbikes have forced us to think outside of the box. It’s really that simple. They have made us more open-minded.
While I suspect that we would have evolved into a lot of the current ideas and styles that we see now (plus size rims and tires, wider rims and tires for all applications, dedicated year round fatbike events, bikepacking, more versatile bikes, etc) fatbikes have accelerated the trends we see across a lot of the cycling industry, including road, gravel, and mountain biking. I would even argue that the current gravel road riding movement is due in part to the rise in fatbikes.
Fatbikes have forced us to think outside of the box we were in. We started considering heavier bikes, wider wheels, and we started to reassess our relationship with our tires. Tire tread, width, pressure, and the action on the particular surface all play a vital part in our riding. I feel like we became overly focused on other aspects of bikes, including frames, components, and other (often more expensive) parts of the bikes, while forgetting the importance of tires.
As we sit in 2016, a lot of conversations now start with discussions about wheels, tires, widths, and what options are best for the terrain. I’ve observed more and more people considering bikes that offer more options, regardless of weight, just to have more fun and ride areas they haven’t before. It’s exciting and quite refreshing to see that people are doing different things.
Do you want some examples of how things have changed and evolved?
– Guitar Ted is testing some wider rims for gravel riding applications on Riding Gravel
– Blogger extraordinaire, weight weenie, and much more, Dicky, says yeth to plus size
– Several bikepacking sites have started up in the last few years, including Bikepackers Magazine and Bikepacking.com. Have a look through them and you’ll notice that a lot of the discussion is about out-of-the-box sort of riding. Looking back 10 years ago, who could have predicted these types of rides and adventures would be a thing?
– The Trek Stache: Mountain bikes are quickly becoming very versatile pieces of equipment. Gone are the days that it is acceptable to barely fit 2.4″ tires. If you’re making a new hardtail bike that doesn’t accommodate at least 2.4’s on something like a 30mm wide rim, you’re living in 2010. Initially, companies were promoting fatbikes with different wheelsets for all year riding, but there was still compromise – geometries were off, the wide bottom brackets still cause wide q-factors, and the fact that a fatbike with a regular 29er wheelset just feels out of place. Doable, yes. Best option, no. In comes bikes like the Stache. Versatile and a hardtail mountain bike ready to roll with many options just short of running “regular” fatbike tires.
– Bike bags? Yeah, check this list on Riding Gravel. This list was only a few 5-10 years ago. Even then, the offerings were pretty limited.
I don’t have a crystal ball, but I’m confident in saying that we’ll only continue to see more options that are geared towards versatility, functionality, and an overall sense of doing something unique to push ourselves in different ways.
Travis Brown Interview
You’ll see an interview coming through soon here on MBR that I did with Travis Brown. Watch for that here soon. We discussed many topics, including his history getting into the top level of mountain biking, his Olympic experience, STC and IMBA, as well as his current life and experience in product development with Trek.
Travis has been a key figure in the development of several Trek mountain biking products, so getting his insight into the evolution and future of fatbikes was interesting and got me excited for where we are and where we are going as a mountain bike community.
I’d encourage you to have a listen of that interview to hear his thoughts on fatbikes.
News Reminder
I also want to remind you that I have a show going that I’ve called “The Link.” It’s a newsy-ish type show that I want to use to bring news to your attention that isn’t really the kind that you’ll find around all the other media/sites. Yes, some of that type will be mixed in, but as it goes, I really want to focus on the news and information that isn’t necessarily about driving clicks as much as it is bringing you some useful updates.
The episodes aren’t going into detail – I’ll basically make note of it, maybe say a blurb, and then I’ll link it in the show notes. All you need to do is listen and then if you hear something, check the show notes and click on the links for more information.
What does “The Link” mean for you?
It means that all you need to do is go to the show MAIN PAGE, head to the bottom of the page, and fill out the form to submit your news. Then listen and share with your circles.
Do you enjoy and appreciate the MBR content?
If you like the content that we’re putting in front of you and in your ears, the best thing for you to do is go HERE and do what works best for you. We really appreciate your involvement and support.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT FATBIKES HAVE DONE TO US? I’d like to hear your thoughts.
If you have any questions about this post or Mountain Bike Radio, feel free to contact me at [email protected]
– Ben
The post What Have Fatbikes Done to Us? appeared first on MBR.
]]>POSTED EDITED****
It turns out that promoting certain affiliates is a no-no. That’s fixed. So, if you read this before I edited you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you are just reading now, click the button below to see how you can support the audio you love.
Do you like MBR? You can support it in several ways.
The post Addition by Addition appeared first on MBR.
]]>Background
I’ll add this first: This whole post is mainly based on opinion, observation, and experience. I don’t have a lot of hard number proof of where the industry and “competitors” sit in terms of numbers and selling advertising and it doesn’t really matter for this discussion. I suspect it’d be hard to get my finger on real numbers even if I started digging.
I will also add that I’m definitely in to doing advertising when it makes sense. I’m all for being a pitchman for things that are good and make sense for listeners. Will you see some Google AdSense on the site? Likely.
Will I have an Amazon affiliate link that you should click before buying on Amazon? Yes. HINT HINT CLICK THIS LINK. Will I pitch companies that I like, use, believe in, and appreciate like Wolf Tooth Components, Salsa Cycles, Epic Rides, CarboRocket, Elevated Legs, Tailwind Nutrition, Industry Nine, Gu Energy, Athlete on Fire, 45NRTH, Fix It Sticks, Domahidy Designs (who you’ll hear in a new episode soon discussing his new bike…) and many others? Yeah, for sure. I’m not anti-advertising and promotion and like working with people. I often go out of my way to share other’s good, companies, and I like win-win situations.
My point with this post is to share some thoughts I’ve had and tied together and hopefully give you some insight into why I’m approaching things the way I am going into the future with Mountain Bike Radio. I am also using it to explain why it’s not in the best interest of MBR to spend time pitching random things for $50 a pop that a) Aren’t good b) Don’t make sense for the you and just clog things up and c) Aren’t useful. Hopefully it will makes sense by the end. There is a lot here, so hang tight.
MBR Facebook Post
I made a post on the Mountain Bike Radio Facebook Page yesterday reminding people that the best way to support and help Mountain Bike Radio continue is to become a member. It’s easy and people can do it for as low as $1 per month for a no frills support level.
It’s easy and people can do it for as low as $1 per month for a no frills support level.
Still, it’s not always an easy thing to do. Ask for $1 a month for something that you can listen to for free and some people turn their heads. Keeping in mind that there are benefits, especially for the upper levels beyond the $1, some feel like doing this is begging or just not running a business the traditional way. I get it – I sell in various manners, including services, goods, and I’ve had experience in basic retail too. It all got me to thinking and compiling the whole story in my head.
The traditional process of buying something is comfortable and normal – we give someone money and they give us a product, whether it’s a widget from Store X or someone helping us with our tax return. You’ve heard and read the same story about the internet and how it’s tough to monetize, so I’m not going to pound that nail any further in.
If you’re interested, there are a ton of podcasts out there selling consulting to help people try to monetize their sites and podcasts. My point here with this intro is to just lay it out there that I completely understand and to let you know that I stand in your shoes in many situations – I consume free content on the internet too.
The Road Less Traveled
My focus with Mountain Bike Radio has always been you, the listener. In my life, my previous career, and just about everything I do now, the focus is always on the customer or the client. My previous life was completely dependent on keeping high net worth individuals and large companies happy and provide them what they needed to be successful. If my focus or our firm’s focus went away from the customer (the end user of our service), they would stop paying us and leave. That’s no different than any other product or service.
What if you went into your local shop, purchased a bike you thought you really loved, had an issue, and the manufacturer told you to piss off because they’re only focused on making the bike shop happy? Not cool. Jeesh, look what happens when politicians are focused on those special interests lining their pockets and keeping them in office rather than the people they are supposed to be serving. What if I take focus away from teaching my kids? It becomes a total shitshow, right?
Jeesh, look what happens when politicians are focused on those special interests lining their pockets and keeping them in office rather than the people they are supposed to be serving.
That illustrates why, early on, I decided to tackle this whole “monetization” (that’s a hot word these days in the podcast world) conundrum a little differently and focus on the route of charging you something to be a member without making it a full pay wall. We take your money in exchange for doing it all for you. In exchange you get some stuff too – tshirt, goods, deals, etc.
I suppose I could do the paywall thing, but that’s quite limiting in terms of getting the word out – a catch 22 indeed.
Has it been the easy way? No. Not at all. But, it’s similar to the reason that I held off putting Mountain Bike Radio on iTunes (I didn’t do that until fairly late in the game) – I wanted to get people into the app because I knew it was valuable to them.
Is it perfect? No. But it’s a process of improving everything a little every day. At some point in the very near future, I need to hire some help and that’s going to take things to another level as well. I want to get members a huge list of goods, benefits, and deals. It’ll all get there.
I see the membership platform as a great way going forward to build the base of money to 1) keep Mountain Bike Radio functioning; 2) grow Mountain Bike Radio in terms of shows, content, employees, and taking on other projects to all build back to Mountain Bike Radio; and 3) stay as independent as possible along the way.
A little from a lot of people over a consistent basis is a great way to continue and build a consistent and reliable product in a sustainable manner over a period of time. Will it piss some people and/or companies off? Yeah, likely. But that’s part of it as well – if we try to make everyone happy all the time, we’ll end up making nobody happy.
The Future
If I knew the future and had a special crystal ball obviously I wouldn’t be here guessing what the future will hold. If I knew the exact best answer for Mountain Bike Radio two years down the road and knew what the industry would look like going forward, I probably wouldn’t be spending all the time doing what I’m doing and just go off with my millions of dollars that I won on sports betting and predicting everything else.
I know what I want to see and the direction I want it all to head, but at the same time I understand that only time will tell and I have to be flexible and adapt to many factors because if I don’t, it’s dead. All that said, I do know that I see the following four trends.
1. Current State Not Sustainable.
I know that the current state of marketing/advertising/content is not sustainable. It’s a race to the bottom of a large vat of sour, warm Hammer Perpetuem, ending in a click bait, fake opinions, and questionable tactics. Even if we take the largest and most frequented sites and tally all the banner ad or equivalent revenue, I would venture to say it doesn’t come out to much per person for the people creating the content.
It all gets very messy – as you try to grow and increase the revenue, you increasingly have conflicts of interest, causing you to make the choice – build it for the companies paying or build it for the consumer (ie you). Hell, the fact that I dragged Hammer into the first sentence of this paragraph will probably set off alarms and blacklist me from their stuff. (Note: You should be using CarboRocket or Tailwind and Gu Energy products anyway!)
Do you want a real life example of what happens with talking about things the way they are, with honestly, and constructive criticism?
I’ll direct you over to THIS POST over on Riding Gravel (in case you’re wondering, Guitar Ted and I are 50/50 owners of that site, so you need to go over there for everything gravel cycling…) from back in December. In this 3rd part of a 3-part review, Guitar Ted gives his overall thoughts on the bike. It boils down to this – he liked the bike except a couple things didn’t really jive with the overall build.
One of those items was the wheelset. He noted that he’d expect to see that wheelset on a lower priced build. He did not bash them or even say they were bad – just not consistent with the level of the frame and other components. I won’t go into details that aren’t public, but it’s painfully obvious from the abnormally large number of comments focused on the wheels that the company who made the wheels came knocking with their claws out. They weren’t even paying us, nor have they ever advertised on Riding Gravel.
We were put on the defense for giving an honest perspective for readers. Can you imagine if they were paying us enough money to make it worth our time to advertise, review, etc? We could say nothing but the best words without serious repercussions. In a lot of cases, it’s not a big deal, because there are a lot of great people and companies out there and they are easy to back and sell. But, at the same time, it does nothing to help offer up a sense of reality with you, the listener/reader/follower.
Banner/click ads/and the pay for review sort of thing just seemed to be doomed at some point down the road. The commodity nature of the banner, limited space without placing some huge commercials as headers or adding google adsense in place of the actual website title, and the constant pressure to get more clicks and clickthroughs leads to more and more clickbait, attention grabbing titles, and sponsored posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
We become desensitized to the headlines, posts, and discussion. The level of shock and attention grabbing needs to be raised constantly. I don’t see that as sustainable. Are they still currently relevant and usable? Sure. Maybe? But, the market and usefulness seems to decrease daily and straight up banner ads are tough if they aren’t combined with some larger plan, as in the case of some campaign that includes writing, social media, audio, email, and other touch points to get people involved. How much do you really get out of a best of 2016 bikes list if some of the bikes are paying to be there?
2. First to News.
I also know that the race to get spy photos and get the very first lead on any story is of decreasing importance. Social media has made many of the first-to-market posts on websites irrelevant. Twitter and Facebook are so fast to pick up any little piece of info, that all it takes is one peep of info and the mobs are all over it. Additionally, it’s obvious (especially obvious in some instances) that some manufacturers partner up with certain media to be the release point/brand ambassador role for their goods. There is nothing wrong with this at all.
But, it’s a losing fight if you’re trying to get the inside scoop – you’ll never compete. It’s like trying to outfox the stock market and all of the insider knowledge. Trying to beat it on a day-to-day basis isn’t reasonable or valuable.
3. Changes.
What is my personal opinion on the future of world of cycling/outdoor media, sites, podcasts? I think it’ll start to slow down and take a couple different routes. When I say slow down, I don’t mean in terms of the numbers of ads, posts, content, etc. literally slowing down. I see it more of taking a step back, using the information that’s been lobbed around the social media mobs, and taking some time to digest it and add some thought and value to it all.
Whether that value is via podcasts, written form, or both, it’ll contain some more commentary, insight, and value that we can sink our teeth into a little more. Rather than 1000 miles wide and an inch deep, it’ll be more like 10 inches deep and 100 miles wide. It’s hard to replace the trackable and traceable pageviews and clickthrough numbers, but those will slowly be phased out with more feeling based metrics. I’m not sure how we’ll track those feeling-based metrics, but we’ll figured out some way to capture the actual impact of something like an interview on a podcast or some references in an honest review. The days of spy glimpse of interbike releases on website x are fading fast.
It’s funny how trends come and go, but we’ll see some longer-ish form formats capture our attention more and more. I say longer-ish because we’re all busy and the likelihood of sitting down to read War and Peace in a weekend isn’t good. But there is a vast in between a 10-second glimpse of a top 10 list on Facebook before your boss catches you looking and sitting down for 100 hours to read a book. We have forums, discussions on whatever social media is and will become the in thing, and other quick hitters. We’re inundated with quick hits of everything and it’s killing our brains. It’s refreshing to be able to download 3 hours of a Joe Rogan Podcast and listen to him talk to some hunting guys about some interesting topics that I didn’t know about while taking a road trip down the road. It’s refreshing to be able to burn through an episode of Freakonomics while doing the dishes. It’s likely that a lot of people will click on the link of this post from some social media link and not bother reading past the title. That’s fine. The intent isn’t to write to that person. It’s intended for those interested in Mountain Bike Radio and are wondering why things are the way they are and to see why I’m doing the things I do because of where I see the future going – those who will sit down with their morning cup of coffee on their tablet and get a dose of fact, opinion, and storytelling.
4. Branding.
The last thing that we’ll see more frequently is the use of branded sites, podcasts, and other media. I won’t mention names, because they do a good job and I’m just not sure how I feel when I see stuff that on the backside is funded for the sole benefit of that company. It’s kind of like watching a documentary about the history of flight, done for and paid by Boeing. While it might be very informative, there is that little guy in my head asking what are they getting out of it and how accurate is it rather than just a feel good story for Boeing. This will increasingly become a good way for small content creators to sell their stuff. People can contract out their sites or podcast abilities and build things that cater for the exact thing a brand needs – content that portrays a genuine, user-focused experience.
The fact is that things are changing rapidly. I’ve seen it just from the early days of Mountain Bike Radio in 2012. When I talked with people, I had to explain, in depth, what a podcast even was. Just in the last 2 years, there have been several other cycling sites that have cooked up podcasts, some in the mountain biking realm. This will continue and accelerate. I’m sure that I could sit down and write this in a year or two and there will be a competing network, exactly the same. That’s just the way it works. I’m sure it’ll be interesting anyway it works out.
Stats
I know that the inevitable questions arise about stats and listeners. I started typing out some info about it but decided that it’s best shared in it’s own little post. So, I’ll hold off there for now. I can go into the inner workings of what all happens behind the scenes at some point down the road.
What Do You Think?
You can see from my entire rambling discussion that I’m big on trying to look ahead and do what is best for my users and Mountain Bike Radio as a whole. Mountain Bike Radio is characterized by great content from several different hosts who think about mountain biking and mountain bike related topics constantly. It’s important to me that it’s sustainable and valuable. I appreciate you taking the time to read through this post. Thank you.
I invite any of you to send me some feedback. What do you see happening? Am I way off base in terms of the future of marketing? What do you think is the best answer? Are you just tired of being asked and just want to skip through some advertising. Send me a message, tweet me, leave a message on Facebook, do whatever you need to do, just let me know. If you have any questions about Mountain Bike Radio, feel free to contact me at [email protected]
– Ben
The post The Struggle Within appeared first on MBR.
]]>I’m in the middle of uploading some files and have a few minutes to fill. I figured it was a good opportunity to share the flying fatbike video below. In case you haven’t seen it yet, it’s pretty entertaining. I can only say entertaining because 1) it’s a good friend of mine and 2) I know that he’s ok – a bent handlebar and some bruises.
Which is worse – the pain of the landing in real life or watching it?! If you think he’s crazy…he is a little. Nick, the “star” of this flying fatbike video, is the creator and the driving force behind the Maah Daah Hey 100 and the entire push to resurrect the Maah Daah Hey Trail. Check out the race, the trail, and even send him a note giving him hell about his bad landing.
Don’t attempt at home…and if you do, make sure to get a video and send it my way…
– Ben
I think I will just stick to fat biking on the MDH from now on……
Posted by Maah Daah Hey 100 on Tuesday, February 16, 2016
The post Flying Fatbike appeared first on MBR.
]]>I just ran across a little tidbit in Bicycle Retailer yesterday about Shimano updating it’s pricing.
There are some interesting tidbits and takeaways here: 1) Stories that include price decreases don’t normally get much run, so it’s nice to see, 2) Because Shimano doesn’t discuss pricing strategy (because of litigation potential apparently…) it’s unclear why they reduced prices and how they went about it, and 3) Many retailers are stuck with more expensive goods they bought before Shimano announced the price cuts. Could it be exchange rate related or is it do to pricing pressures due to online discounters and trying to get their pricing chain in control? While it’s likely due to a mix of factors, I’m sure there will be continuing speculations.
We see price changes from an increase of 1 percent to a decrease of 40 percent,” said Wayne D. Gray, vice president of KHS, which distributes Shimano.
Have a read of the rest of the article for more information and let me know what you think Shimano is cooking up: Shimano Slashes Component Pricing
If you have any questions about Mountain Bike Radio, feel free to contact me at [email protected]
– Ben
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]]>If you’re familiar with Mountain Bike Radio, you know the Just Riding Along show. They’ve been sharing knowledge, ranting, answering questions, and generally entertaining bike lovers for a long time. They recently recorded a special episode with Steve Domahidy about a new bike they are releasing soon. Steve is the owner/creator/mastermind behind Domahidy Designs and was one of the co-founders of Niner Bikes.
Steve was previously on Just Riding Along (it’s a great listen by the way…and which episode isn’t?) and they spent time geeking out on bike design and bikes in general. Have a read of Domahidy’s teaser release below and watch the site HERE for the upcoming episode. If you’re new here and wondering how to listen to Mountain Bike Radio, head over HERE.
If you have any questions about Mountain Bike Radio, feel free to contact me at [email protected]
– Ben
DOMAHIDY DESIGNS TO RELEASE NEW MODEL ON MOUNTAIN BIKE RADIO
Teases pics of third MTB on Facebook and Instagram
Denver, CO – February 9, 2016
Domahidy Designs, the new start-up from the co-founder of Niner Bikes, has been delivering frames to the marketplace for a year now, having followed up a successful Kickstarter campaign with the launch of their first carbon bike, the Domahidy Designs Carbon Road. For 2016, Domahidy Designs is going back to the mountain, and back to metal.
They are launching their new mountain bike on Mountain Bike Radio’s podcast “Just Riding Along” on Feb. 24, 2016. “It’s such a fun show to be involved with,” says Steve Domahidy, founder and President of Domahidy Designs, “Matt and Andrea came to me and asked if I was coming out with something, and I just happened to be working on the launch of the new bike, so it seemed fitting to go over there and talk about it via their podcast.” Teaser shots of the new bike reveal enough to put the pieces together, but full bike specs and information has been shortcoming. “We’re super excited at ‘Just Riding Along’ to have Steve come on again and talk about his new rig,” says Andrea Wilson, co-host of Just Riding Along. “We love ti, and his new bike is more ti awesomeness. Oh, was I not supposed to reveal that yet?” Wilson says with a grin.
The remainder of the release information will be revealed in the interview on Just Riding Along on February 24, which will also be the go-to for full details and specifications. Mountain Bike Radio will also have pics of the completed bike. For more information or to listen to the podcast and get the lowdown on the day, visit http://mountainbikeradio.com/domahidy-designs/
About Domahidy Designs:
Domahidy Designs is a new boutique bicycle company with only one mission: to make incredibly fun bikes to ride!
At Domahidy Designs, the design means everything. These are production bikes, but the quality is every bit custom. Attention to detail is evident on every square inch of a Domahidy Designs frame, otherwise, Steve’s name wouldn’t go on it.
http://shop.domahidydesigns.com
For more information or to arrange interviews please contact
Steve Domahidy
(818) 209-3090
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]]>You may or may not know that I’m big on podcasts. Not only do I listen to every second of every episode that comes across the MBR desk, but I seek out many different podcasts across many topics. The other podcasts that I listen to are mostly outside of cycling. However, the Roam Rydes Podcast is a cycling podcast that I find myself waiting for the next.
What is Roam Rydes? Roam Rydes is a “community, a tribe, and an organization dedicated to the advocacy and promotion of women who ride.” The Roam Rydes Podcast is an extension of that. Host, Ash Bocast, brings a nicely produced storytelling style to some interesting human stories. The Roam Rydes Podcast currently offers up seven episodes, ranging in topics from kids to being diagnosed with breast cancer to traveling the world by bike. It’s a great mix of cycling, perspective, life, and inspiration.
For more information:
Listen to the Roam Rydes Podcast
Email Ash at [email protected] (and let her know that you heard of Roam Rydes from MBR!)
Do you have a podcast or podcast episode that you really liked and think I should share? Email me at [email protected].
Get out and ride! – Ben
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