rouxtjie Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 Enduro is actually just the race format. I believe Trail and All-Mountain have plenty of numbers.If they did they shops would be full of stock...tyres / kit / bikes / accessories. SA is a marathon / stage race culture...is what it is. You just have to look at the numbers the mtn / nissan series pull nevermind the sani / berg and bush / epic / w2w. I reckon its probably close to a 90 - 10 split. The okes stock what will sell as will the distributors.
rouxtjie Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 Oh and to add, I would personally love to see a mixed bag event...Some Enduro, some marathon, maybe some XCE or downhill or XCO, where you can only choose 1 weapon for the weekend. Headshot and Attie Lourens 2
hayleyearth Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 Oh and to add, I would personally love to see a mixed bag event...Some Enduro, some marathon, maybe some XCE or downhill or XCO, where you can only choose 1 weapon for the weekend. I have mine. I'll be keen to do something like this!
Guest Omega Man Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 (edited) If they did they shops would be full of stock...tyres / kit / bikes / accessories. SA is a marathon / stage race culture...is what it is. You just have to look at the numbers the mtn / nissan series pull nevermind the sani / berg and bush / epic / w2w. I reckon its probably close to a 90 - 10 split. The okes stock what will sell as will the distributors.Disclaimer. This is purely my opinion and I'm not dissing anyone. I'm afraid you are right. But it will shift. With proper riding venues like the garden route trail park coming on we'll see okes ditching their 29er hard tails (or keeping them) and buying AM/Enduro bikes. Riding a well sorted enduro bike is just too much fun for people to ignore. People in this country don't ride tech because of a bunch of reasons. They've been lied to that it's dangerous. Pinning loose jeeptrack at 70 is WAY more dangerous than riding tech at 20. there are no venues to progressthere mates don't so they don'tthey've been lied to by the race organizers that multi day stage racing is where it's atthe ability to suffer is praised rather than skillful ridingThe topography of the country lends itself to itThe land owners have been disinclined to allow the building of permanent tech features due the the perceived injury risk95% of the TV coverage is of LAME ASS jeeptrack riding with Arnold Geerts curing insomnia cos it's hard work lugging a camera around single track Edited September 17, 2014 by Omega Man Jester6, Stellies_gaz, TopFuel and 9 others 12
rouxtjie Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 I have mine. I'll be keen to do something like this!Yea, see I think the biggest thing with enduro type racing is the course will cost more to setup than a marathon(hence also the reason we see so many marathon races in SA), also there will be added costs ito timing systems for the segments. So if an event organizer can get enough numbers to participate it will cover the costs of this...something like king of the mtb. Day 1 : 80km marathon with kakload of climbing Day 2 : Enduro day Day 3 : Either Downhill / XCO / XCE
rouxtjie Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 Disclaimer. This is purely my opinion and I'm not dissing anyone. I'm afraid you are right. But it will shift. With proper riding venues like the garden route trail park coming on we'll see okes ditching their 29er hard tails (or keeping them) and buying AM/Enduro bikes. Riding a well sorted enduro bike is just too much fun for people to ignore. People in this country don't ride tech because of a bunch of reasons.They've been lied to that it's dangerous. Pinning loose jeeptrack at 70 is WAY more dangerous than riding tech at 20. there are no venues to progressthere mates don't so they don'tthey've been lied to by the race organizers that multi day stage racing is where it's atthe ability to suffer is praised rather than skillful ridingThe topography of the country lends itself to itThe land owners have been disinclined to allow the building of permanent tech features due the the perceived injury risk95% of the TV coverage is of LAME ASS jeeptrack riding with Arnold Geerts curing insomnia cos it's hard work lugging a camera around single trackDig this...
Flowta Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 If they did they shops would be full of stock...tyres / kit / bikes / accessories. SA is a marathon / stage race culture...is what it is. You just have to look at the numbers the mtn / nissan series pull nevermind the sani / berg and bush / epic / w2w. I reckon its probably close to a 90 - 10 split. The okes stock what will sell as will the distributors. Disclaimer. This is purely my opinion and I'm not dissing anyone. I'm afraid you are right. But it will shift. With proper riding venues like the garden route trail park coming on we'll see okes ditching their 29er hard tails (or keeping them) and buying AM/Enduro bikes. Riding a well sorted enduro bike is just too much fun for people to ignore. People in this country don't ride tech because of a bunch of reasons. They've been lied to that it's dangerous. Pinning loose jeeptrack at 70 is WAY more dangerous than riding tech at 20. there are no venues to progressthere mates don't so they don'tthey've been lied to by the race organizers that multi day stage racing is where it's atthe ability to suffer is praised rather than skillful ridingThe topography of the country lends itself to itThe land owners have been disinclined to allow the building of permanent tech features due the the perceived injury risk95% of the TV coverage is of LAME ASS jeeptrack riding with Arnold Geerts curing insomnia cos it's hard work lugging a camera around single track Just to add, they don't know better.
rouxtjie Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 Just to add, they don't know better.who are "they" distributors Race organizers retailers community
banna Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 Sheesh, it always used to be the roadies vs the mtber dudes. Now these days there seems to be quite a bit of niggle within the mtb ranks between the xc dudes and the gravity crowd. And this actually irritates the living crap out of me, because I don't understand why there should be this devide. We are all just there to enjoy the trails. Not? It doesn't matter whether you do it in your castelli bib or your troy lee baggies. It doesn't matter whether you have big wheels or small wheels. It doesn't matter whether you can clear a 10 meter gap or whether you take the chicken run. Just go out and ride and have fun. And stop dissing other riders for doing a discipline that's different to what you do.... for f*** sake..... ok rant over. stephan99, Odinson, Brian Fantana and 3 others 6
Brian Fantana Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 If they did they shops would be full of stock...tyres / kit / bikes / accessories. SA is a marathon / stage race culture...is what it is. You just have to look at the numbers the mtn / nissan series pull nevermind the sani / berg and bush / epic / w2w. I reckon its probably close to a 90 - 10 split. The okes stock what will sell as will the distributors.Just give it time. Local trails are starting to catch up in terms of technical difficulty. Trail bikes make these technical trails much more enjoyable. As soon as more riders get a taste of how enjoyable technical trail riding is the numbers will increase. Riders just need to get exposure to decent trails, and the usual "how far did you ride?" will be replaced by the "how was it?" XCM is not the most popular because it is more enjoyable, it is popular because it is the only form of mountain biking that has been accessible in SA for the last 10+ years. (XCO has been very accessible, but the very nature of it makes it only suitable for conditioned riders). In Canada, USA and NZ there are just as many if not more Enduros than other disciplines. Exciting times lie ahead for SA mountain biking. Steven Knoetze (sk27) and hayleyearth 2
Guest Omega Man Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 (edited) I just want to add one tiny thing. When i was a lightie White 18 years old boys went to the army and you SUFFERED. And the more you could endure the better. In sport Bruce Fordyce, Nic Bester and those cats were GODS and every year we'd all pile around the tele and watch comrades. The ability to k@k off for hours and hours is held in high regard in this country. And in particular by the okes with money. I.e. the lighties that went to the army and k@kked off who are now in their 40's with money to burn. So to me it makes perfect sense that marathon is huge in this country. Edited September 17, 2014 by Omega Man DirtyFrank 1
Hairy Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 Oh and to add, I would personally love to see a mixed bag event...Some Enduro, some marathon, maybe some XCE or downhill or XCO, where you can only choose 1 weapon for the weekend.a trail bike.... Bizkit031 1
rouxtjie Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 Just give it time. Local trails are starting to catch up in terms of technical difficulty. Trail bikes make these technical trails much more enjoyable. As soon as more riders get a taste of how enjoyable technical trail riding is the numbers will increase. Riders just need to get exposure to decent trails, and the usual "how far did you ride?" will be replaced by the "how was it?" XCM is not the most popular because it is more enjoyable, it is popular because it is the only form of mountain biking that has been accessible in SA for the last 10+ years. (XCO has been very accessible, but the very nature of it makes it only suitable for conditioned riders). In Canada, USA and NZ there are just as many if not more Enduros than other disciplines. Exciting times lie ahead for SA mountain biking.It will be cool, but I am honestly saying I havent seen a shift, if anything the marathon scene has just grown stronger(more races). Exposure as you have pointed out is the main culprit...Lets face it, it will be cheaper to put up a marathon race than an enduro type race and the organizers are in it for the money. Secondly as Omega pointed out, "their friends are doing it", don't underestimate this since I will also rather ride the cradle with a group of my mates, than an epic trail all by my lonesome. I love the social aspect of mtb'ing, so riding alone isn't an option for alot of people. They would rather participate with their friends in events or trails that they dont really like than all alone at the place they prefer.
rouxtjie Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 I just want to add one tiny thing. When i was a lightie White 18 years old boys went to the army and you SUFFERED. And the more you could endure the better. In sport Bruce Fordyce, Nic Bester and those cats were GODS and every year we'd all pile around the tele and watch comrades. The ability to k@k off for hours and hours is held in high regard in this country. And in particular by the okes with money. I.e. the lighties that went to the army and k@kked off who are now in their 40's with money to burn. So to me it makes perfect sense that marathon is huge in this country.True dat...it is out culture...its by no accident that we have the biggest timed cycling and running event in the world We can *** off like a baws
Guest Omega Man Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 True dat...it is out culture...its by no accident that we have the biggest timed cycling and running event in the world We can *** off like a bawshahaha.
Flowta Posted September 17, 2014 Posted September 17, 2014 who are "they" distributorsRace organizersretailerscommunity It follows on from Omega Man's post, "they/them" referring to a large volume of the MTBers. When I say don't know better, I'm referring to the knowledge that there are other genres within MTB (XCO, XCM, XCE, AM/Trail (or Enduro for racing), DH, DJ, drinking beer, etc.) each have their pros and cons and some people have more of an aptitude for one than another. I tend to do more AM/Trail riding than anything else, because of lack of time, fitness (did an intervarsity XCO event or 2 when I was fitter), etc. But I'll still be doing the Origin of Trails.
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