Mountain biking is a contagious sport. Once you get a friend of yours on that sweet, tacky, singletrack…they leave with a perma-grin stoked as hell that they decided to come hit the trail with you that day. However, there are cases where you try to spread the mountain biking obsession and things go drastically wrong putting a bad taste in the mouth of that potential MTB enthusiast. The key to converting more people over to the mountain biking way of life is approaching the situation very carefully and taking a couple of things into consideration.
How To Convert Friends Into Mountain Bikers
Here are some tips that will make the transition easier for new mountain bikers…
The Borrowed Bike – When you are taking a new mountain biker out on the trail for the first time, do not let them bring their Wal-Mart special. You know as well as I do that riding that fantastic, $100, 40# rig is just going to be a headache for everyone. Borrow a bike from a friend or out of your own stable that actually fits your friend and get them out on the trail on a mountain bike that is actually trail worthy. You might be spoiling them right off the bat, but that is better than watching the rider bounce their way down that downhill sucking in the dust you are leaving behind.
Make Sure They Have Everything They Need – Let them borrow a hydration pack, bring some extra food…basically…be ready to bring 2 of everything. They are not going to know what they need to bring to the ride, so you have to do it for them. Running out of water in 90 degree heat with no car in sight will not make them want to ride a mountain bike (or any other bike) ever again.
Dial It Back – Yes…we all know you are a badass and can completely dust a new rider, but now is not the time. Even people that are in incredible physical shape are not in mountain biking shape. There is a difference. Instead of showing your superiority, dial it back and ride in front of them to show technique and ride behind them at times to give encouragement and critiques. The more you help the situation…the better.
Critique/Help…but Not Too Much – New riders want feedback on how they are doing on the trail…but not too much. Offer advice and critiques when asked and try to resist the temptation to make them a pro rider in one day. Real mountain biking is a skill that is acquired over time and sometimes we forget that as we ride. You didn’t get it all in one day…and neither are they.
Bring Friends – By making it a group activity or inviting your new mountain biker on a group ride, you will be able to show off the social aspect of riding and give them a little bit of insight into that part of your life. Typically, mountain bikers love to see new riders on the trail, so this is a great time to bring along new riders. Just remember…stick back and make sure they do not get overwhelmed…it can be a lot to take in at once.
Help With The Buying Process – After you have converted what used to be a normal citizen into a mountain biker…help them out with the buying process. There is a massive amount of new product hitting the shelves every year and all of it is not suitable for everyone. Help this new rider with the buying process to prevent zealous salesman from taking advantage of the situation. Do you really think a brand new mountain biker needs full X.0 or XTR?
Get Them Connected – After everything is complete…show the new rider the ropes. Point them in the direction of online forums, websites (this one!) and other ways to meet up and meet other riders. You are not going to be able to hand walk them through every part of the process (nor do you want to), so give them the tools and the local trail destinations so they can feel it out on their own some as well.
It’s really that simple! Get them going, get them equipped and then get them connected. Lastly…try not to get pissed when they leave your ass on the trail a year later…it will happen.
Image by regularjoe – To see more mountain biking images, check out the MTB198 flickr group (do not use images within the group without permission from the photographer)