Nice to finally see some mainstream recognition for the sport
Aaron Gwin in August issue of Rolling Stone
- Thread starter Bigdroptoflat
- Start date
Nice to finally see some mainstream recognition for the sport
That is awesome!
thankfully they didnt call it "extreme bmx" or "downhill bmx"
awesome to see that though
awesome to see that though
He definitely earned his payroll at Trek with this one. Respect! Even the slightest exposure in mainstream media is big push forward for DH as a whole
it's cool how they make it sound so easy..
he was a washout in MX/BMX, then just shows up and in a few years dominates the sport etc..
Instead of maybe putting some focus on him having a talent and the determination to work harder then most others to get were he is now ?
But already naming him the best mountainbiker in US history?- seriously, maybe if he dominates like he does now for a few more years then sure.
But still a ways to go before he knocks off people like tomac, donovan etc, even though its been a while since they had their careers.
he was a washout in MX/BMX, then just shows up and in a few years dominates the sport etc..
Instead of maybe putting some focus on him having a talent and the determination to work harder then most others to get were he is now ?
But already naming him the best mountainbiker in US history?- seriously, maybe if he dominates like he does now for a few more years then sure.
But still a ways to go before he knocks off people like tomac, donovan etc, even though its been a while since they had their careers.
Aaron Gwin =\= John tomac, furtado, giove, Rockwell. Give him 5 years of continued dominance and involvement and I'll buy it.
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I think you could make the argument that blowing away the field and winning ~5 WC in a single season by huge margins in a MUCH more competitive field is more impressive than what other Americans have done, even if their careers were longer.
Have you read any content in rolling stone lately? It's garbage...I'm stoked for him and the sport solely for the exposure, but that magazine is a joke. Once in a while it has a decent review here and there, but for the most part it's become propaganda fueled fodor for uber liberals.... I'm not a raging conservative or anything, I'm just saying RS is so far to the left they're spinning off the planet...that magazine wants nothing to do with things like facts and critical thinking, so take what they said with a grain of salt and just be happy there is a blurb about American DH in a magazine with circulation numbers like that...
Makes you wonder how good the rest of the Pros really are if a washed up MX rider is the fastest guy this season (and next?) No hate intended, but kinda funny how a guy that didnt really even ride mtb is the fastest 1 out there (right now)
dont get me wrong
i think its fantastic that gwin has everything come together right now.. and the exposure is obviously good as well.the whole anti left wing thing you came up with is toss though, that kinda thing goes for all magazines, left or right, they all portrait things from their side only, very few magazines or any kind of "news" service is neutral now, they all try to come off as the only truth out there
and none of them have time to get their facts straight 
why?
who cares about "mainstream" and why is "the sport's recognition" good? how does that benefit someone?
fame?
The more coverage the sport gets, the more money trickles into it, im pretty neutral on the matter, but think of what would happen if bikes cost you half and there was twice as many places to ride and the WCs were regularly on TV. I am not saying it would happen, but i wouldnt be against it
And as more money trickles in, the community gets more split and people start holding out for themselves. Also the douchebag caste starts to emerge and further screws up the noble scene that once was.
Have seen it get worse through the last 10 years. If DH is supposed to become as skate and MX have - then Mainstream should keep their recognition and money to themselves.
Thank you very much.
Have seen it get worse through the last 10 years. If DH is supposed to become as skate and MX have - then Mainstream should keep their recognition and money to themselves.
Thank you very much.
http://www.cyclingarchives.com/coureurfiche.php?coureurid=29825
Check out that '92 through '93 streak, spanning DH and XC, and take into account the results through '95. A pretty competitive field, IIRC.
And let's not forget about the alien's crazy streak of Worlds wins, spanning junior and senior categories, broken only by a flat in 2000.
Kudos to Gwin, of course.
Check out that '92 through '93 streak, spanning DH and XC, and take into account the results through '95. A pretty competitive field, IIRC.
And let's not forget about the alien's crazy streak of Worlds wins, spanning junior and senior categories, broken only by a flat in 2000.
Kudos to Gwin, of course.
This.
Fortunately I think the buy in to get started in this sport and the physical aspect will be a limit for who can and does participate. You can be into skateboarding for $100.....little different with DH. MX blew up partly because you could be out of shape and go put around on a bike and still be a "participant" (witnessed it for the last 20 years here in so. cal). It got even bigger when more legal places to ride started popping up all over. Unless you live next to lifts DH definitely requires a bit more effort to ride often.
Call me selfish or whatever you'd like but I honestly hope DH continues to have limited exposure. I don't want to see it become like MX is now. I got out of MX partially because of the crowd that is involved with it now. Its to damn dangerous to go ride with all the idiots who went out and bought a bike yesterday and think their hot **** (and yes it is definitely magnified out here). Its not the sport it used to be. I don't want that for DH.
Good for Gwin in the RS mag though! Guy is on fire. Hope he can keep it up!
Uhhhhh women's MTB has never been what I call "competitive"
trek's PR firm just earned their monthly paycheck.
God forbid an action sports athlete can make a living from the sport they participate in.
Pretty hard to make a living when you are paid in sticker packs, race entry fees, and product. Outside recognition and sponsorship provide the resources athletes need to pay bills, train, and ultimately develop better product. Some even provide health insurance.
Pretty hard to make a living when you are paid in sticker packs, race entry fees, and product. Outside recognition and sponsorship provide the resources athletes need to pay bills, train, and ultimately develop better product. Some even provide health insurance.
Yeah, it's a complete joke. I hear the ladies draw straws to see who will cross the line first prior to each race.
There were plenty of fast women then, as there are now.
@Mr Lahey: DH is a gentlemans sport. Sort of like what F1 was 50 years ago. 10 years ago, most of PRO's or MTB legends as we call them today, were actually entrepreneurs who instead of playing golf, prefered to race pushbikes down the hill.
Most of the PRO's today are either a) professional sons; b) park rats, living the good hobo life; or c) entrepreneurs, riding for fun.
Every category wouldn't mind having being better off. But I guess few of them would be willing to sell our sport short.
I really like the laid back, elitist aura around our thing. I'd hate to see Downhill on Olympics and everyone competing being bred from age 4 in "professional MTB schools" (I'd like apologize to Barel and Nico).
Most of the PRO's today are either a) professional sons; b) park rats, living the good hobo life; or c) entrepreneurs, riding for fun.
Every category wouldn't mind having being better off. But I guess few of them would be willing to sell our sport short.
I really like the laid back, elitist aura around our thing. I'd hate to see Downhill on Olympics and everyone competing being bred from age 4 in "professional MTB schools" (I'd like apologize to Barel and Nico).
I like the sound of that...
The French have the bred thing going on for quite some time.
Also I dont really care for the aura. It was like that maybe 5 years ago but now? Maybe in the local spots but now in bigger parks with the pj kids there is no aura and the nat circuts are already quite intense compared to how they were some time ago. It wont go back to that underground state so some extra cash for the sport spent on building more/better sports is all good for me. Not to mention lower prices wouldnt hurt as well.
btw. Claiming Gwin is an MX washout is like claiming Randy Couture was a wrestling washout in MMA. MX and DH is related and many pros cross train, he also rode bmx and trained with top pros. Kudos for the determination and talent but claiming he is some random kid is a bit silly.
A lot of you are from countries where MTB'ing, even DH'ing has become popular enough and "mainstream" enough that you take for granted the benefits of it being like that. Today you have bike parks, freecaster, online retail shops, massive parts selections and you get a lot more for what you pay for when you buy a bike. But coming from a country where it's still a very "elitist" sport, I'd want nothing else than more mainstream attention. Especially since I'm an up and coming racer.
^I don't know if you're being sarcastic but who wouldn't want cycling olympics?? Damn i wish I was bred in a MTB school since 4. That sounds pretty damned awesome, then get paid for it!
^I don't know if you're being sarcastic but who wouldn't want cycling olympics?? Damn i wish I was bred in a MTB school since 4. That sounds pretty damned awesome, then get paid for it!
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I think when I was at the U.S. open, one of if not the biggest race in the country and there were 7 women racing (compared to 200+ guys) and only 22 women show up to QUALIFYING for the WORLD cup, then ya, that's not really a "competitive" sport IMO. But hey, to each his own. I'm not saying it's a "joke" per say, but I wouldn't call it a serious competetive sport like say...women's world cup soccer or something. Nor am I discouraging women from doing it. I keep telling my ex-g/f in Tahoe to go race the northstar series.Yeah, it's a complete joke. I hear the ladies draw straws to see who will cross the line first prior to each race.
There were plenty of fast women then, as there are now.
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Is that like a gentleman's club?
It will only remain a "gentleman's sport" if gentlemen continue to foster and grow the sport. I can def see out beloved boutique sport degrade w/o role models and mentors to guide the groms and teach them what the sport is and to maintain it to certain acceptable "gentleman" levels. Trail etiquette, learning to progress while still being humble would be a few things I'd consider when riding with our new, young, talented little shredders.
Gwin hasn't been training to race dh since he was 4... maybe I'm not understanding where you are coming from. It sounds as if you are comparing downhill racing of yesteryear to a jewish country club or something?
I think it's great what he is doing for mountain biking in the states. Most young active people may now see mountain biking not just as a geeky spandex sport, and conversely not as a bunch of fat boys on freeride bikes.
I really have a hard time seeing how outside sponsorship, media attention, etc can have a negative impact on this sport. Pros get to make money, joes potentially get better bikes, improved pricing, and more land owners willing to open up for riding. This sport is not like surfing where 25 people are scrambling for 3 waves every 25 minutes.
But it really is akin to your surfing analogy to a certain extent. Where there are no bike parks there are many "illegal" trails. A fair amount of those trails are the only ones in a given region. For the riders who understand the system this is fine, as many of the trails will stay underground and remain rideable. Add a lot of new riders to the mix and those trails will be closed because it becomes a landowner issue. New ones will be built and then closed, and our sport will gain a bad rap in the public eye. Unfortunately this isn't like MX where you can buy a dirt lot, rent some tractors, add a watering system and make a profit. The specific terrain is what limits our sport in many areas; just like the fact that people are only going to surf (and fight for it) where there are good waves. Add tons of riders and there will be problems with trails (surf). Regarding the land owners opening up to DH usage, I'm not sure I follow you. As far as more parks with lifts being opened to riding sure I get that; but that really doesn't help with the areas without park type terrain. Theres no business sense in putting a lift or shuttle service in on underground 5-20 min long trails (which I would bet the majority of local shuttles are).
@Mr Lahey && rider151:
This sport is exactly as surf. Maybe not in the US where forests are big and plenty and there are few people out of the cities. But in Europe for instance its illegal to be riding out in the woods on any kind of a vehicle.
And we already lost some of the best riding spots and we are losing more every day. And like rider151 said - I completely agree, call me selfish - but I really just want to keep on riding the trails I have always ridden, the trails I built and found. Getting more entitled little pricks on my trails does nothing for me.
Lifts are cool and all - and there are a lot of lifts in Slovenia and Central Europe. But I'd be willing to trade all the friggin lifts for "freedom" to illegally do what we always have done. I can organise myself a shuttle or just push or ride the goddamn bike.
DH is better off being a jewish country club. Nuff said.
This sport is exactly as surf. Maybe not in the US where forests are big and plenty and there are few people out of the cities. But in Europe for instance its illegal to be riding out in the woods on any kind of a vehicle.
And we already lost some of the best riding spots and we are losing more every day. And like rider151 said - I completely agree, call me selfish - but I really just want to keep on riding the trails I have always ridden, the trails I built and found. Getting more entitled little pricks on my trails does nothing for me.
Lifts are cool and all - and there are a lot of lifts in Slovenia and Central Europe. But I'd be willing to trade all the friggin lifts for "freedom" to illegally do what we always have done. I can organise myself a shuttle or just push or ride the goddamn bike.
DH is better off being a jewish country club. Nuff said.
LOL @ someone having a KONA (!!!!!) as a nick and being an elitist at the same time...
but: i agree wholeheartedly!
but: i agree wholeheartedly!
@worship_mud: It's a hipster thing...
More people = more legal trails so closing your local trails wont be that much of an issue. Not to mention you can keep your trails hidden.
Also you are very wrong it has no business sense in setting up a shuttle service for a 5-20 min long trail ( also when did you see a 20min dh trail? Most are 4-5 mins, 10 if you are lucky) - look at the brits. They have MANY shuttle businesses and it works. Now the model is also working in switzerland, italy and spain (winter spots). Not to mention places like Morzine or from what I hear many swiss hills have hidden trails and Ive never seen any problems with that.
btw. I know some people dont like the skaters but its a good example where recognition actually helped. You see huge skateparks and ordinary people are more friendly to skaters now than they were some time ago. Same with snowboard. I still remember when snowboarding was illegal here.
Downhill's return to prominence won't be complete until they release Downhill Domination II for Playstation 3.