leadbutt

As of late (which would mean in the last year), I have seen a marked growth in interest in mountain biking, and cycling in general. Just today, I took a friend to the LBS to purchase his first mtb in 15 years.

I have started seeing newer riders on the trails. Some are out there for the fun, some for fitness. I've met folks who are actively involved in other sports but are just looking for another avenue to have fun with. I have met more than a few motocrossers who have dropped the gas-powered circuit for the pedal-powered.

Since I also ride road bikes, I've noticed even more roadies, especially in the local group. There are more and more new riders joining. Some are older and are returning to 'active duty'. Some just want to gain fitness, although many are fearful of riding on the roads alone.

Over the last year, I heard so many times that with Lance Armstrong's retirement, the sport of cycling would deteriorate. However (and fortunately), it seems the wave is rolling in the other direction.
As we toured four of the LBS's, I noticed that each of them were stocking more and more. Granted, road bikes were more prominent than mtb's, but it was great to see these businesses flourishing.

blue_neon

I have to agree with you there. I can't speak for the whole world Mountain Biking crows as to if its growing, but here in Oz, in a few month, there will be litterly thousands of people flocking to some trials to watch the Mountain biking in the commenwealth games. I am positive that this day will get a lot of people into the sport, whether is already mountain bikers riding more, or regular people who just wanted too get tickets to be part of the games taking up an interest. That place is going to be crowded with rider after this March, and i can only see the sport here growing.

leonardotmnt

I know I'll soon be joining the ranks. So the sport has to be growing if only by 1 right

khuon

Road cycling is definately growing. I think mountain biking while not growing at quite the rate as during the early to mid 1990s is still growing. It's certainly not deteriorating if popularity on my local trails is any indication.

Girlscout13

Well I saw Kermit the frog riding on a car commercial,so iguess the toads dig it.

sngltrackdufus

interesting that anyone even cares if it is growing or not.
I would prefer if it shrinks. All the more room for me...
Instead of a bunch of yahoo oxy-morons pigging up trails thinking they are cool riding way out of their envelope putting others in danger riding with their "wanna be like Mike" business.

eyefloater

I'm back into it after a 10 year hiatus.

During that period I've watched dirt jumping, downhill, freeride, etc. bikes sprout up and really catch on with the biking community. Aside from any number of riders participating in mountain biking these days, I think there's a lot of innovation going on. Depending on what sort of riding you want to do, there's any number of bikes out there designed from the ground up to suit your needs. That's a good thing, so I'd say the sport it growing (growing as in developing ... not just expanding and getting bloated).

- eyefloater

blue_neon

Well think of it this way, if Mountain biking is a growing sport then there will be more facilities etc for it. There will be more demand for new trails and upkeep of old trails, i'm sure more clubs will open etc. It will also help the market making bikes and parts to be more competitive aswell.

Maelstrom 

I would say its grown The spot has gotten massive on the dh and fr side.We are busier than ever and more and more fresh faces and prominent in the sport.

I dont know squat about the rode side of the sport though. I think of the thousands of riders in this area, 10 maybe own rode bikes.

madbiker555

Freeriding and dirtjumping is definatly growing fast in my area, there's tons of kids aged 8-17 that have full-suspension or bikes like a kona scrap. As for roadies, there's a lot in the area, mostly aged 30-50 id say.

WannaGetGood

Yeah. I think it is. I see alot more kids around here on mountain bikes. Wether they are Wal-Mart brand or not.

sngltrackdufus

I am speaking of the drivers habits only.Not of the industry(But the "industry" has a lot to do with it.)
I drive for myself ,i personaly don't care for any kind of "clubs" or anything of the sort.

zx108

there are not many mountain bikers around where i am. i know of only 3 or 4 kids that own mountain bikes. and they dont even go on a regular basis. i saw a bunch of kids riding urban a while ago, and once in a while i see a bunch of kids on the trails but not alot.

overall, i think it is growing.

roccobike

I can understand the influence Lance had on road biking. But I don't see his success influencing Mountain Biking at all. My perception is the sport is growing. I base this on the availability and resale price of equipment. One trip to ebay demonstrates that there is a high demand for used equipment. This is an indication that 1) people are keeping their pricey mountain bikes, not dumping them on the open market and 2) new equipment is expensive, but there is a demand for it, keeping the used prices high. If cycling was in decline, the supply of used bikes would exceed the demand for used equipment and there would be a glut on the market. Unfortunately for those of us currently looking to upgrade, no such glut exists. The only thing I find surprising is the number of 05 leftovers that are still available here in February.

iamthetas

I believe that the more extreme styles are growing as the equipment gets more able to handle it. I see less people getting into pure xc without racing and more getting into free ride, jumping etc. and I see the trails being built/adjusted to the new popularity.I am a loner as well but am a member of a local and a national club for the learning and the information on trail work only. I am not a "group rider" type but need the benefit of others knowledge and experience for fixing/ maintaining the trails I frequent. if Im going to ride them regularly, I am going to take care of them and hopefully leave them in better shape than when I started on them.
I also personally dont care if its growing or not but do believe it is. as long as people are getting healthier and riding other places Im cool with it however they do it. I hate going to a singletrack course that is bi-directional and seeing a bazillion people on it. I cant enjoy it if I am always looking for the person coming at me every 3 seconds to not have any trail ettiquette. that is my biggest gripe. more riders but less ettiquette with the newbies, like I owe them to get out of their way because they are on some certain bike and wearing some certain clothes. bike snobs suck, whether on or off road, newbie or old.
I believe here in Va and NC it has a lot to do with pure population increase as these areas are growing hand over fist so therefore there are more riders but the percentage vs population is not changing per sey

gm1230126

While it's easy to see that more people seem to be excited and jumping into cycling I think the overall trend for cycling globally is still a bit flat. The juvinile market is certainly off due to computers and electronic games. The hybrid market targeted at adults has been in a tail spin for years. Road cycling has obviously seen a bump but with Armstrong gone it will be interesting to see if the numbers stay up. I don't beleive that mountain biking numbers are up. I think if you check the export numbers from Taiwan and the mainland those will prove that exports to the US are down.

gmoneyhobbit

its getting huge.. i think... my friend got me into riding his friends.... ive met at least 10 ppl who have gotten into hardcore xc riding within the last year

myenzo

If mountain biking is growing they might stop trying to shut down all the trails. There would be more demand. That would be awesome

sngltrackdufus

I would suppose the MTB sport is getting higher in populace . Whenever there are seperation "tags" that tells something.....heh(example; CC,free ride,down hill,mountain cross..etc)
If it really jumps , they will shut down all public trails & charge to use them.
If you don't belong to a club it be 20% higher....
Pay yo dues baby...

cs1

I like my MTB much better than my road bike. Problem there isn't any place to ride. I used to be able to ride the bridle path in the park. The Rangers never enforced the no ride law. Now, they do with a vengence. They even have a MTB unit and mounted, horse back, rangers to chase you down. At 47 I don't need the hassle of trying to outrun one, probably couldn't now anyhow.


Tim