Freeride

I thought freeriding was hitting some jumps, ripping down some trails, doing whatever you felt like? No stop watches no rules. I'd say that people do a lot of that.

Just because we aren't pedal kicking off a skinny to a flat landing doesn't mean freeriding is dead.

Winner!!! Sounds like some other people got a little too tied up in the marketing side of things.

Now we just ride bikes.

Another winner…Just riding your bike, anywhere, anytime, anyway……..Freeriding…

I remember 2004. That was back in the day before they invented the "helmet".

Kn.

Here's freeriding in 2004, I sure as fuck don't have a vps anymore:lol:

I did a lot of riding when I was younger but was away from the sport from 2004 - 2011. Coming back, things have definitely changed. In 04, we were hiking up for 1 hit wonders, hitting drops to flat and riding stair gaps. Now it seems the focus is more on flow and a continuous riding experience. I think the difference is that gravity biking has gone away from its extreme sport status. In 2004, we were "extreme" and needed a 45 lb. bike to do what we did. Now, a lot of what we used to do is stuff that normal people do and has become part of a riding experience that includes technical climbing and normal trail riding. Freeriding is associated with the extreme days. Now we just ride bikes.

We needed those 45lb bikes because 'small bikes' back then were light, twitchy and generally shit for anything but climbing; they also failed horrifically sometimes. Most of us preferred to carry an extra 10lbs of bike rather than have a bike that climbed well but tried to murder you on everything else. We needed the extra poundage to reassure us that the gear would survive a lot of the moves that were being tried for the first time. Many of those bikes got their strength from extra material not improved design (the Banshee Scream being a prime example).

Then we had a few technical evolutions and trails moved away from dorps to falts. I remember a big leap when I switched my Monster T for a 888 and then again to a Fox 36. Suddenly a 33lb Specialized Enduro was as good a descender as the FR bikes from just a few years before, only now it could climb! Ride continuity became increasingly possible thanks to lighter bikes, dropper posts and more flexible armour.

We've been referring to 'Enduro' as 'Shore XC' for years. Medium bikes for big climbs and still hitting most of the features on the way down. This is about as inclusive and versatile as mountain biking has ever been.

If you think about it, DH racing has influenced the way most people ride these days. It's changed the trails, it's changed the bikes and it's changed the cornering ability of everyone from kids to grumpy old men. Enduro/All mountain or whatever catch phrase you want to use, is simply taking a bike that pedals and make it capable of riding as fast as you are capable of, over whatever is in your way, whether it requires leaving the ground or not. Words are just words, but there was a time when it was pretty easy to distinguish between what people viewed DH racing as, and what people viewed freeride as. When the trail points down, no matter what bike you ride, I suspect you are riding more like you're in a DH race than a freeride competition. You're probably not wearing pyjamas though.

Trail riding is about 2 "fun" components for most people - slow n' sketchy and fast and flowy. Some trails are one or the other, but most have a mix of both (and "keeping it real" with climbs, hike-a-bikes etc). Freeride, slopestyle and DH are mostly about taking the "fun" components to the extreme, and exist largely in purpose-built downhill courses, slopestyle parks and high-risk technical stunts featured in photo and film shoots. My humble opinion.

I'm a freetard

NSMB = "Aggressive All Mountain"
PinkBike = "Freeriding"
MBA = "Black Diamond Riding"
RideMonkey = "Downhill Racing"
BikeRadar = "Smashing Good Times"
MTBR = "23 pages of drivel"
Whitehonky = "same bike, clipless vs. flats"

I'll give my thoughts from the perspective of someone who grew up in the North Shore freeride era and does some slopestyle contests now.
Freeride has not died it just has evolved. Riders are getting smoother and huge stuff doesn't look so huge anymore. Slopestyle is the ultimate progression. Most courses these days are gnarlier than anything people rode 10 years ago, its just more controlled. I remember hucking what I thought were huge cliffs when I was 14, they are now the size of small features on courses today. All the dirt jump tricks make people see it as bmxing on the mountain, but outside of a contest setting its it's still freeride imo

I'll give my thoughts from the perspective of someone who grew up in the North Shore freeride era and does some slopestyle contests now.
Freeride has not died it just has evolved. Riders are getting smoother and huge stuff doesn't look so huge anymore. Slopestyle is the ultimate progression. Most courses these days are gnarlier than anything people rode 10 years ago, its just more controlled. I remember hucking what I thought were huge cliffs when I was 14, they are now the size of small features on courses today. All the dirt jump tricks make people see it as bmxing on the mountain, but outside of a contest setting its it's still freeride imo

to me, slopestyle is all about skinny jeans, wrist bands, head band, ridiculous color matching. Large scale dirt jumping

to me, slopestyle is all about skinny jeans, wrist bands, head band, ridiculous color matching. Large scale dirt jumping

Don't forget trying to catch up to bmx moves from 15 years ago!

Freeriding never died, like someone said it's just evolved.

This weekend I'm hiding in the Fromme woods and singing "Freeride…take it easy…" over and over. SUPER LOUD. I hope you enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtaofO44pyM">![](http://img.youtube.com/vi/[HTML_REMOVED]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtaofO44pyM">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtaofO44pyM

Watch this, and then watch Strength in Numbers.
utah then = utah now. Today everything's just bigger and nastier because bikes have made it possible.
As for the Chilcotin section, isn't that what we all call enduro/all mountain/trail….

Point is; more people then ever ride this sort of stuff and enjoy the hell out of it. As long as people are still out shuttling, banging out laps in the bikepark, or earning they're turns for nothing more then personal enjoyment, then free ride is alive and well.
What we buy just doesn't say freeride/extreme blah blah blah anymore

^ engrish

I like to Aggressive all mountain freeride downhill on my bike. I call my style of riding mountain biking.

This thread is retarded.