bike magazine

There was a point in time that Mountain Biking by 198 was going to be a source for intense, in-depth trail reviews. After a short amount of time, I realized that a blog would better suit my needs because as a beginning website in those days…getting user submitted quality content without traffic was a difficult task to achieve. We still provide some trail reviews as I find it interesting to see pictures, videos and reviews from trails all over the world.

From that point forward, I knew there were only several companies in the industry that could pull off something like that on a large scope with success. At the top of that list was Bike Magazine. Well…they answered the calling and launched btrails.com. With a print subscriber base that is largely focused on the stoke of the ride and a large web following…Bike Magazine has the means to really make an idea like this explode. Check out the press release below and btrails.com when you get a chance.

Press Release from Bike Mag

San Juan Capistrano (February 26, 2009) – The anticipated launch of Bike Magazine’s btrails.com was a huge success with upwards of 25,000 unique impressions logged in the first 24 hours as users rallied to test out the new features.

Btrails.com is an online trail database fully equipped with photos, GPS maps, videos and hundreds of the country’s greatest trails including all of IMBA’s Epic trails. It also offers a user-generated community feature that allows readers to submit descriptions, photos and video of their own local trails.

Since the launch, average core impressions to bikemag.com have nearly doubled as enthusiasm for the new web site spreads. Publisher, Derek Dejonge, is confident that the momentum will continue with the daily addition of new trails from Bike’s extensive network of editors, freelancers and readers. “The early support from Race Face, V.I.O. and Crank Brothers has played a significant role in enabling Bike to take a concept like btrails.com and make it a success. The traffic btrails.com has seen since the launch is more than we had anticipated and validation that we are providing something our readers have been yearning for.”

We are entering a new area in mountain biking, and things are changing swiftly. The 5″ bike market is taking the industry by storm, and riders who thought they would never be on that much travel are now making the switch. What does that mean for the riders that were already on longer travel bikes? We are just going bigger. I have had numerous conversations with riding buddies about our progression, and it seems the more our tires leave the ground…the higher we want them to get. Hence…the big bike dreams.

All of us that have been around awhile remember the days where 3.5″ forks were considered dh. Now, you can’t even find a cross country bike with less than 4 inches unless it is rigid. So what changed? The technology did. With lighter components and better geometry, the 5 inch travel bike market now appeals to a wider range of riders. I believe this is a good thing.

Remember the days when xc pictures were the staple of industry rags? Those days are long gone. We are now in the “Whistler area” where big air on 40 lbs bikes are most cover shots. I don’t know about you, but when I see shots like the one on the cover of this months Bike…I want to skip work, get on the bike and try it for myself. These high flying aerial assaults are becoming common place for the biking community, and while not all riders have the same dreams that I do…they are appreciating this style of riding more and more. Even our local urban trail, Big Creek, has a small freeride/dh section in the back where even the cross country guys get there shot at a gully run or two.

I am extremely excited about where the industry is headed. The aggressive trail riding style of mountain biking is becoming the “normal guys” regular ride, the dh/freeride guys are bringing publicity and attention that the sport has never seen, and this recognition will create more trails and hopefully more technical features instead of the usual beginner “paved” systems. I would have never imagined my everyday bike would be 36 lbs., but with every ride…I am glad it is.

So are you having big bike dreams? Are you, like me, sitting in your office at work daydreaming about how big you are going to go the next run? Even if you aren’t, you have to like the way things are going. The diversity is helping the sport tremendously and it is also attracting the next generation of riders to push the limits even father than they are now. Just when we start to think nothing else could be possible, a rider proves us wrong. There are hundreds of non-pro riders, just out in the woods with their friends, pushing the limits past what we know as true now. I think the part I like best about this progression is how it reminds me of riding when we were kids. Back then we were trying to build or find anything to jump. Now the jumps are just much bigger! So now for the big question…where are we going to be 10 years from now? I can’t wait to find out…