Is Marketing Ruining Mountain Biking Dirt Shed Show 558

Welcome back, guys. Today on the Dirt Shed, we are discussing, are we labeling mountain biking too much? Plus, hacks and bodges, bike vault, and all your favorite regulars. Welcome back, guys. It's another Dirt Shed show with myself, Fergus Ryan. And myself, James Pickering. How's it been, buddy? Yes, good. Just been away on a holiday for a week in Scotland. It was very nice. Very nice. A bit rainy? Yes, a little bit wet, but it's Scotland in November, so what do you expect? How have you been? All good, all good. I've been out in the wet myself on my e-bike, but we won't talk about that. Not on this show. No, we won't. Anyway, last week, you and I had just got back from Spain, and we did a video, didn't we, on XC as a genre and my feelings towards it. Obviously, by the end of it, I was feeling comfortable on XC. A convert. Yes, not a convert. Anyway, it got me thinking, genres. We have so many in mountain biking, and I wanted to get your thoughts on it. Are we getting too many? Are we having too little? Should we have these genres in mountain biking, or are we labeling them too much? Yes, I guess this is off the back of the video that came out on Sunday. My argument throughout the video is that XC is just mountain biking. When I started here, I think a lot of people, not saying I'm an amazing rider, but everyone was like, oh, you ride XC? I didn't think you could do a jump. Oh, you ride XC? I didn't think you could do a black trail. I'm like, well, I'm not an XC rider. I'm just a mountain biker. I guess now we have a review. People are like, oh, Ferg's an enduro rider. Oh, Ferg's a downhill rider, but you're just a mountain biker, really. You do everything, maybe not full-blown cross-country, but it seems in the mountain bike world now, everyone wants to label the type of rider. We have XC, then we have down country now. We have trail riding. I'll come in on Monday and then chat to people around the office, and they're like, oh, what sort of ride do you do on the weekend? I just went out on a mountain bike. They're like, what, enduro or trail? What's the difference? Well, on your mountain bike, yes, true. You and I do just go for a ride, but that brings in where I reckon confusion can set in. Obviously, I think these genres are dictated by the type of bike. You have a cross-country bike, you have everything in between from cross-country to a downhill bike. I think if you just said to me, Ferg, we're going on a bike ride, you have the potential for me to turn up in my baggies on a downhill bike, which I know you said there's nothing wrong with baggies, but if I turned up on a downhill bike, you turned up on a cross-country bike, there would be a slight confusion and slight upset on probably your behalf because you'd end up doing downhill on a cross-country bike. Yes, you wouldn't do the other way around. Absolutely not. However, I do get what you're saying. They are getting a little bit mad. We've got down country now, we've got trail, we've got these super enduro bikes and enduro bikes. You are getting a lot of labels. I guess what your thoughts on how much should we have certain amount of labels, is there a set number? We don't see it in road cycling so much, do we? No, you don't say, I guess you've got gravel and then you've got road, but it's not like, oh, I'm a hilly road rider, oh, I'm going on flat. It's just going out for a road bike ride. I guess it's the same with us. We just say, oh, do you want to ride mountain bikes on a weekend? We'll say whether we want to ride the trails we want to ride. I guess that dictates the type of bike you ride, but I think we have obviously downhill on one spectrum and XC on the other. Previously, 20, 30 years ago, they were the only two disciplines of bike riding we have. We do have a lot more bikes now, but I think the type of bike doesn't necessarily dictate the type of riding you do because I ride an XC bike a lot, but I probably ride what people would consider now to be enduro riding. I just ride fun trails, but it's on my XC bike. It doesn't necessarily mean I'm riding enduro. I don't think we need to segregate mountain biking into all these niches. We go out riding a lot and sometimes we're massively different bikes. Yes, correct. We're still doing the exact same ride, aren't we? You might be on your Rallon and it's 180-millimeter travel, then I'll come out on my Spectral and it's 140-millimeter travel, but we're still on the same ride. Yes, it's true. I do get what you're saying. You have all these niches and do we need them, but I think that you have to consider the community. People love feeling a part of their community. I've loved being on the gravity side of the community. I love it. We'll make jokes about Lycra and things like that. Obviously, all in jest, but I do think people love being part of a community and maybe that's why we've ended up with all these micro communities and genres within biking. I do agree that it has got to a little bit of a point where we've got so many. I think that is caused by the bike industry a little bit. The bike industry are creating a bike for every 10 mil of travel and as a result, they have to come up with a new genre or reason for us to purchase those bikes. It is getting a bit mad, but I do understand why we have it. The bit that I can't get on board with, and I'm sure you're not on board with, is the hate against one or the other. I think we're all part of a bike community, e-bikers, XC bikers, downhill bikers, whatever you want to do. We're all riding bikes. We're all on two wheels having a mint time. We don't need to get each other's throats or have so much hate towards e-bikers. I know there is, and I know we like to, again, make jokes, but at the end of the day, everyone's still just trying to get out on their bikes and have fun, right? It's purely banter, but I do think why are we hating on other mountain bikers? The mountain biking community is great and why do we go, oh, bloody XC riders. It's just like we're all mountain bikers. We're in this together. It's not like he's a footballer and I'm a mountain biker. We're all part of the same community, and we all ride because we love riding. Some of us love different types of riding, but we get out for the same reason. I think the industry does drive it, and I think that's great because it almost means there is a bike for everybody now, no matter where you live globally. If you have gnarly trails, if you have tame trails, there is a bike for everyone, which maybe 20 years ago, there was this void. You either had to ride a short-travel bike or a long-travel bike. It is great, but I do think as a community, we need to not be like, oh, I didn't ride enduro, so I can't do that. Oh, I don't ride XC. We just ride mountain bikes. Well, on that note, I promise I will stop making so many jokes when we go out, and I suppose I'll let you come along on a few of my gravity rides. I won't tease you so much for riding enduro. You guys think you reinvented the wheel, mate. Let us know what you guys think, though. Do you think mountain biking needs so many labels, or do you just think back to basics? Also, if you do like a label, let us know which one you fall into. Which camp are you part of? Yes, let us know down in the comments. Okay, it is now time for the news. We've got some good news this week, haven't we? We have indeed, lots of good news. First up, YT are back. Yes, you heard it here first. What is going on? It's crazy. A couple of weeks ago, they went bust, or kind of walked midway through, I guess, the race season, but then officially at the end of this season. The American side was recently announced, wasn't it? Then Marcus Flossmann, who originally started YT, has finalized rebuying it back and restarting it, so that's pretty cool. Yes, which is great because I think a lot of the controversy was around the fact that there was a lot of unfulfilled orders. A lot of people bought bikes and never received them. Because of the laws in Germany at the time, this was an okay thing to do, which is crazy. I think Marcus has gone and he fulfilled all his orders, which is great. Everyone's got their bikes back now. I also think he's trying to deal with a lot of the warranty issues that people are going to have. That's really cool to see YT back and that a lot of these customers who'd maybe spent a lot of their hard-earned cash can now have their bikes because nobody wants to be without a bike, especially if you've paid a lot of money for it. That's not the only brand that are back, is it? Yes, who's back? Nukeproof. Oh, yes. Fan-favorite brand. After Go Well, they were unfortunate a few years ago. Their parent company went bust, which left the company in a really tough position. They had to disband, but they've now been bought out by a Belgian company. They're finally back. Some of their old models aren't coming back, but some of them are. Some of the fan-favorites. Yes, we've got the Scout Hardtail. We have the Mega is back, which is obviously a firm favorite in the enduro category. Yes, the Reactor. The Reactor is back. They have a brand new one, redesigned. Of course, the much-awaited redesigned downhill bike, the Descent, which we've seen a few prototypes of. I'm very excited. I do hear they might have a World Cup team next year. That'd be really cool. We've seen some pretty crazy riders on Nukeproof. Most notably, probably, Sam Hill. Yes, of course. We've also had people like Elliot Heap on them in the UK, Adam Brayton. It'd be cool to see them backing some downhill riders in a time where it's pretty tough as a downhill racer to get support, right? Yes, exactly. I'm just mega excited to see them back. I think they're doing everything right. They're coming straight back and going all at it. That's really, really cool. Then finally, you have some other good news. Yes, the 2028 Olympic schedule has been released now for LA. It's quite cool because normally, XC and road are pretty close in the schedule, which doesn't really affect many of us. What it does mean is this year, they've separated a bit. Road and XC are going to have about a week apart. What it means is riders like Tom Pidcock and Mathieu van der Poel, who might normally have to choose between doing one or the other, can do both. It's really cool to see Tom Pidcock, double defending champion. It was always a really hard decision for me choosing which one I wanted to go for. Always a really hard decision, but yes. Normally, you'd probably favor the road, but this year, you can- Maybe I'll switch it up for the XC, yes. Project 2028, Ferg for the Olympics. We'll see it. Anyway, yes, but it was- I'll crack a whip, get you fit. I know, exactly. I need it. It was very, very cool to see. Yes, pretty excited to see how many riders, I guess. Maybe we'll see some more XC riders trying it. Yes, because we've got riders like Alan Hathaway now as well. He does a bit of road and a bit of XC, but yes, it means that we should hopefully see some of these high-profile names still in mountain biking, which is really, really cool. Yes, some nice good news in mountain biking this week, so nice to finish on that. That is the news. Okay, it's now time for Hacks and Bodges. We've got some good ones this week. We're not going to do the song? We can do it. Hacks and Bodges, Hacks and Bodges, Hacks and Bodges. See, you don't need a bridge for the song. We've got the harmony. First up, we have Henry Sheffield with what looks to be a brake bodge. Now, I've seen these ones before, but let's run through the story. I think the image is all that there needs to be. Happened at Kimber Free Ride Park. No clue how I bent the lever in that way. Washed down a berm. Consists of a stick, zip ties, burlish bike park admission band. Resourceful. Resourceful. I've used this before. I've snapped a lever off and resorted to a stick. It's not perfect, but it'll get you home. It's pretty cool. He could have some really long fingers. He'd just outrage me, I reckon. I wouldn't say I'd want to ride far with that, but it'll get you home. Yes, it'll get you home and it's safer than no lever. I think that is, well, it depends. If that's US or Euro, so that would be your back brake in the UK, but that might be your front brake. I reckon you could survive with a back brake. The question is, hack or bodge? Definitely a bodge. Definitely a bodge. A good bodge. Yes, a good bodge, but you wouldn't want that permanent, would you? No, you wouldn't want that. Next up. We've got this from Snomad. He said, after the plumber's ripped out a load of pipe work, I thought I'd make a stand for my bike when I wash it. What do you think? I think that looks pretty smart, to be fair. I think it looks pretty smart as well, yes. It looks solid, doesn't it? A lot of stands annoy me because you can't always backpedal the chain, which you need to do when you wash your bike. I quite like the industrial look of it. It looks cool. I don't know if it'll fit on every bike because he's got that contraption where it sits just under the seat stays. Whether that, you'll have enough clearance on all your bikes to do that, but I think that looks really smart. I think that's a hack for me. It's definitely a hack. What have we got last but not least, Ferg? Finally, we have Jonathan Rose with some kind of freehub contraption. Long story, I needed a new freehub for my Hope Hub. I accidentally ordered one for Hope cassette, not Shimano. My single-speed gear fitted, but my Shimano lock ring didn't. I ordered a Hope lock ring only to find that my single-speed conversion kit then wouldn't be held on by the Hope lock ring. I went in one day early at work, used a lathe to make my own retaining ring. A few rides in, it seems to be holding. It's cool that it uses a lathe. Anything like that is pretty cool. I feel like that's got to be a hack, hasn't it? I've been there before, ordered the wrong bike parts and it just is soul-destroying. You're about to go for your ride and you realize that the part you've ordered just kills it. Especially when you've already tried to fit it, so then you can't send it back and you just wasted 30 quid on a part you can't send back. I should definitely not be trusted anywhere near a lathe. That would just end in probably my bike in half or something weird. I'd better be trusted with a four-mil, I don't care. Never mind a lathe. I think that's definitely a hack. What's your favorite? I think it's got to be Jonathan's. I reckon it's got to be the lathe job. Jonathan Rose. Jonathan Rose. Jonathan, you have won- Hacks and Bodges this week, well done. Send us your details. There should be a link down below or in the comments and we'll get in touch. You've won something up to the value of £50 in the GMBN shop. Yes, nice. That brings us on to things we like this week. James, I've got a banger for you this week. Go on, let's see it. First up, we have Vinny T absolutely shredding it down the trail at his home trails. How good does that look? Yes, proper autumnal vibes but just flicking leaves everywhere. Yes, I've got to get out there and- Looks a bit like Forest of Dean, doesn't it? A little bit more gnarly, but nonetheless, very, very cool. Yes, I'd love to see that. What have you got for me? Next up for me, similar vibes, is Nino Schurter back on his bike after his retirement, literally cutting the number board off from his last race in Lenzerheide. Riding his local trails at the Bike Kingdom and he's just shredding on a 120mm XC bike. Absolutely all in the tables and the jumps on that XC bike. He's got a 90mm negative stem, doesn't care, just looks sick. You love it, you love it. Yes, it does look cool. On the 360 footage as well, it just looks sick. He's just rapid. He is rapid. He's a good bike rider, but wouldn't be a things we like this week with me if I didn't put a BMX clip in. I like this because it's got dirt jumps. This is a blend. Some unreal-looking trails. We've got the style gods in BMX. We've got Corey Walsh, Tom Russell, Will Burkirky, and we've got Jason Watts as well. They're actually folding it. Was this out in Australia? It is out in Australia. Yes, they had that new jam, didn't they? It looked unbelievable. Just the steez on these guys, always like some good BMX clips. I haven't got that in the tank. On to this week's caption contest. This week, we had an absolute banger, as you can see. Yes, pretty special photo, that, isn't it? Adam got pretty wild whilst out on a ride with myself. I took him to a bike park and let's just say things went a little bit sideways. Yes, if you haven't watched the video, check it out because it is a good one. Starting off with Aiden Whitworth, he put, Did disaster strike there? Watch the video to find out. Watch out. Then on to sled5196. Good name. Yes, that's me. Oh, no, sorry. Rekordscratch Adamski. Yes, that's me. You're probably wondering how I got in this situation. I mean, classic meme right there. Yes, you need the audio playing. Yes, I thought mine was pretty good. No, it doesn't quite do it. Yes, near enough, near enough. Lastly, from jasontrue2018, we've got, This ride is either going to be good or I'll be getting hit in the crown jewels. You didn't get hit in the crown jewels, though. You rode it out. What's your favorite this week? I reckon it's got to be jasontrue with the crown jewels, isn't it? Yes, pretty good one. Well done, Jason. Send us your details and you'll get a- Well done, Jason. Send us your details and you will get a voucher of up to £50 to spend in the GMBN shop. Here's this week's photo. Pretty special on that. Let us know your comments down below. Right, it is now time for the Bike Vault. We've got some pretty sick bikes in this week. First up, we have this Nukeproof Scout. Oh, yes, kicking it off with a Nukeproof. Yes, I think I know. I was going to say I think I know where it is. Probably not where I think it is. Well, where is it? Wales? Is it Wales? That's from Carl Daniel. While Storm Claudia battles Wales, I headed up north. Stopped for a quick spin at Kilder Forest on my way to Glentress. This is the top of the Dead Waters Black Trail. I like the fact that he's doing a black trail on a hardtail. That's a rowdy, rowdy trail. It was seriously windy and cold up there. Well, normally it is up north this time of year, but I thought it was Wales and it's not. It's up north, but it's a pretty cool photo, isn't it? You can't really see the bike loads. I like the matching green though. The matching neon green stands out. It's almost so gray and dark that you can't see the bike that much, can you? Because of that, as much as I appreciate the rowdy trail, I think it's going to have to be a nice. Yes, it's a nice one, isn't it? It's a cool bike though. What have we got next, Ferg? Moving on, we have GeckoLord with a- His name's Alex, I believe. Alex? Yes. GeckoLord. My name is Alex. Same thing. Anyway, this is my 2025 Trek Slash 9 GX Axis T-Type. This was always my dream bike for over a year and I was able to get it around last Christmas. I put a solid season in it, including my first time riding proper DH bike park and getting a couple of podiums at races on top of freeriding. This guy is right up my alley. Yes, that's a proper photo as well. That's not like a camera phone shot, that is. It's a bike worthy of it. You've got to take time. I like the fact there's a red hue to go with the red bike. Yes, that is sick. It's quite a dark photo, maybe turn the exposure up. Look at the lens flare on it though. Yes, it's sick. That's a super nice for me and I like translucent red. Go on then. Can I ring it? Yes, go on. From GeckoLord. Nice one, GeckoLord. Next up. This is a cool photo from CurtisProDrive. Mondraker Super Foxy with BurkTech grips and pedals. My first full suspension climb to the top of Rosebury, topping in Teesside. It's a cool photo. A nice trick point. Where's Teesside? Up north. Up north. Up north. Oh, no. Yes. Cool bike. I like the photo. I love a Mondraker. I do like one and I like the colors. Yes, nice photo from Curtis. That's super nice for me. Can I ring? Yes, go on. You can ring again. You're loving it. Next up, we have Teddy Horn with a dirt jumper. That's sick. Love it. This is a Saracen dirt jumper. Cool photo for the Bike Vault because I think it's a good photo of my bike. Simple as that and it is indeed. I love a good dirt jumper. Oval chainring, isn't it, on a dirt jumper? Seems odd. You know, just big old chain there, maybe big powerful legs. I'm not sure you could bend those on, I think. Definitely not. But very cool. I think it's got to be a super nice dirt jumper. Yes, I'll let you do the honors. Go on. You're always like a DJ bike. We're getting a lot of North of England photos this week. Which one's this? This one is from P. Field. Nice. This is pretty cool. So, after seeing a few hardcore hardtails submitted, I thought it was worth sending in an actual hardcore hardtail. Wow, that is a claim. Had this in the fleet for five years now and always makes me smile like a crazy person on it. This pic today is from a very wet Landegler. It's a switch tie 16 long, whatever that means. I'm not in the lingo of the hardtail. You have to ask Owen about that. Olin's RXF36. Sick. Do appreciate a bit of Swedish gold. Four-piece bars, wow. Yes, they're tie bars. Look, a pretty meaty rise on there, don't they? I love the crossbar. What's your thoughts on the crossbar? It's like old-school BMX. Well, not old-school BMX, just BMX, but that looks sick. Hope rims, brakes, dropper lever. Titanium everything. This guy has got- BTs, grips and valves, Assegai up front for the grip, CushCore inserts. I'm not normally a hardtail guy, but that one's pretty special. He's saying it's a proper hardcore one. Even our Ergon grip matches the color of the bike. Very cool. Very cool. Nice one. Next up, we've got this bike from Rachel. Matchy, matchy right here. This is first time building a bike from a bare frame, even built the wheels myself. Slight truning, that's fair play because I can't build a wheel. Cube Reaction TM 2021, RockShox 35 forks, SLX drivetrain, SRAM brakes, Maxxis tubeless tires, Mavic rims on Shimano hubs. She said the frame may be painted pink soon. That's a bit of you, isn't it? It is. I love a bit of pink. Yes, we all know you've got the pink Fergus Ryan signature jersey. Exactly, and look, even the yoga mat to match. I know, when you're doing your stretches after your ride. Yes, exactly. And the lock matches as well. That is a super nice for sure. Oh, where is this? Next bike. It's pretty stunning, that. Status 140, very few stock parts left, but other than that, the username is code of our ego, but I don't know where it is. That looks a bit like Yorkshire to me. I would say that looks a bit like Canada. Somewhere around Sheffield, I think. Peak District in the background looks nice. Yes, it looks stunning, but love a Specialized Status and they are just super nice. Come and give everyone a bike, super nice. There's been a lot, haven't there, but that one's pretty cool. The view is unbelievable. Peak District looks lovely this time of year. Go on then, give it a ring. Okay, last but not least. This one is for you, James. It's finally a bike your size. Well, I'm the same height as you. Go on then. This is from Richard Polisik. What is the bike? It is an early rider. It is an early rider. It's what they call them, a squish. Yes, perfect for you to- It's like a BMX for me. Yes, for you to venture out. It's the first big rig for you. He says, my son has been riding this since the past year, taking on blue trails and skills loops and school runs with me. It's been upgraded with Schwalbe Smart Sam tires, early rider flat pedals, and grips in green to match my own 18-inch squish bike. It's got to be a super nice, doesn't it? Yes, it's pretty sick and it's always cool to see kids out ripping on the trails. Yes, super good. Nice one, Richard. Make sure to send in your bikes for the Bike Vault next week. Yes, should we have a theme for next week? What are you thinking? We could do a kids' bike theme. Kids' bike theme? Yes, send in your kids' bikes. Send in your kids' bikes. Get them in. Coming up this week, we have a lot of James. James, what have you been up to? Yes, on Thursday, we've got a video where I try and take an XC Pro Strava segment up and downhill. Up and down? Yes, I'm going to shred on the Nahon downhill. Keep your eyes peeled on Thursday, see whether I can beat the XC Pro and see who it is. What have we got coming up on Sunday? We have the Hour of Power. I believe this was yourself, Rich, and Neil. Yes, Neil put the question out there, if you've only got an hour to ride after work or around a busy schedule, what is the best bike to do a power hour on? I think he might have been loaded. He wanted the e-bike, didn't he? Yes, a few of us had different opinions on what the best bike was, but watch on Sunday to see which one we thought was the best. I know which one I thought was the best. It's coming out on Sunday, so keep your eyes peeled, but that's the end of the show this week. Yes, and we will catch you guys in the next one. Thank you for watching, guys. Thank you. Cheers, bye. Cheers.