Four changes to make mountain biking better in 2018
More racing coverage, more races, and more fun are on the list
Now’s the time to switch from looking back at 2017 and start thinking about what positive changes the new year could bring. Everyone’s still basking in the motivational adrenaline of New Year’s resolutions and/or the residue of Red Bull laced spirits from new years celebrations, and 2018 hasn’t even hit triple digits hours yet. Training goals and individual resolutions are important but there’s also broader changes to look for in the next year. While everyone’s feeling feisty, here’s a few things that it would be great to see happen in the next 12 months. From minor quibbles to changes that should’ve happened years ago, and a few middle-ground requests, these changes all feel like a good fit for 2018.
More XC racing, and more XC racers
While Emily Batty and Catherine Pendrel continue to represent Canada at the highest levels of World Cup racing, there is a rising crop of XC racers pushing the pace at domestic races as well as on the international stage. With all this young talent toeing the start line, it’d would be awesome to see more XC races pop up, and more people show up to existing races to support these young riders. From regional series to provincial events and Canada Cups, why not get out there yourself and try your hand at racing this year.
More short travel trail bikes, at better price ranges
There’s a few really good bikes out there already that fit into the short travel trail bike range, so this isn’t a huge complaint, but this category deserves more attention and more price options. Trek’s Fuel EX, the Scout and Smuggler from Transition, and Evil Bike’s The Following are all excellent examples of how much fun you can have with a short travel bike that suits the riding most people actually do most of the time. Not everyone has a backyard loop that would rival an EWS course, so it makes sense to have a bike that works on rolling singletrack and technical climbs, yet is still capable and fun on the descents.
Better coverage of women’s World Cup DH racing
2017 was a standout year for the women of World Cup downhill, and making a change now would capitalize on that excitement, but this change is long overdue. World Cup XC has excellent coverage on par with the men’s race, and increasing cyclocross coverage and viewership over the last couple seasons has clearly shown that if you televise women’s racing, fans will watch it and the level of racing will quickly improve. With Canada’s Miranda Miller set to race in the rainbow jersey all this year, hopefully this will be the year women’s racing gets the coverage it deserves.
RELATED: World champion Miranda Miller: From broken bones to rainbow stripes
Standardizing Standards
Yes, it’s getting to be a tired refrain, one that echoes through editorial columns and internet forums across the internet. But it would still be nice if the litany of “standards” stopped expanding quite so rapidly. Even better, there could be some sort of move towards actual standards. Modern bikes are amazing machines, but maybe the next step could be making the standards they’re built by a bit simpler. It may not likely in this era of increased division and specialization of mountain bikes, but at the very least, it’d be nice if there was no new standards for 2018.
