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Ethnicities In Mountainbiking

trib

not worthy of a Rux.
Jun 22, 2009
1,456
388
Just out of interest, anyone got a theory or reasona s to why are there so few non white mountainbikers? I play plenty of team sports like rugby and football (soccer) and I sail, all these sports have plenty of participants from non-white backgrounds yet when it comes to mountain biking I seldom see anyone on the trails or race results who isn't white. Shaums March and Elliott Jackson being the only exceptions I can really think of.

Doing some work on the idea of diversity and it got my brain ticking over.

Edit: Can a mod move this to the lounge please?
 
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trib

not worthy of a Rux.
Jun 22, 2009
1,456
388
Nope, not me.

I understand it's a difficult queston to answer, just wondering what other people thought the reasoning would be.

Lack of role models of a persons ethnicity in the sport perhaps? One of the MTBR users raises the point that the % of ethnic minorities living in 'mountain bike areas' like Arizona is a lot smaller than the amount of white people. Seems valid.
 

CBJ

year old fart
Mar 19, 2002
12,860
4,154
Copenhagen, Denmark
And you base this off you personal observations? I think your observations is somewhat limited.

Plenty mix of people at Diablo which is close to NYC. Same goes for road biking in NYC which also see a mix that reflects the many different people who live here.

Why is this relevant anyway?
 

trib

not worthy of a Rux.
Jun 22, 2009
1,456
388
And you base this off you personal observations? I think your observations is somewhat limited.

Plenty mix of people at Diablo which is close to NYC. Same goes for road biking in NYC which also see a mix that reflects the many different people who live here.

Why is this relevant anyway?
Yes it's based of my personal observations, of riding myself, looking at plenty of videos and pictures on the net and so on. I know it's limited, but I'm not writing an essay on this, just wondering.

Why is it relevant? It has no real relevance, As I said I have been looking at various images regarding diversity and this query just popped into my head. It's an innocent enough question, no need to get shirty.
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
Well, it would be a good question but I think mountain biking draws from all kinds of groups.

There is no exclusivity to riding, especially for the urban riders. When I cruise through SF and Oakland parks, I know everyone is welcome.

Most importantly, I have never heard of any attitudes which is the most important thing.
 

CurbJumper

Turbo Monkey
Aug 31, 2010
1,022
0
Central FL
I agree that this could be a relevant topic in the Lounge. I would also agree with a few of the points made. There is less opportunity to do any off-road cycling in the inner city areas, as well as those living in those areas have better things to spend their money on. I've seen many African American and Hispanic MTB'ers in Ft. Lauderdale where it's mostly roadies, XC and urban/street/DJ riders with a bunch of money to buy a nice bike and tool around on. When there are trails near a large city like that you're bound to have more diversity than a rural area. It's just statistics really. For example, say 10% of the population is AA. If there are 3 million people in a city and 500,000 people in the neighboring suburb, there is already a significant decrease in the number of African Americans. Now factor in yearly income and cost to live in the suburb compared to the inner city and that number drops even more.

Plus, every time I show my minority friends an MTB movie tell me that white people are crazy for jumping off mountains on a bicycle. :D
 

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
I see alot of spanish people at diablo, IMO almost close to the amount of white people there, near the city, up against the waterpark, which is about 95% spanish.
 

Bikael Molton

goofy for life
Jun 9, 2003
4,010
1,141
El Lay
It's a very expensive sport (compared to skateboarding or typical team sports). Not just the equipment, but the bike haulers, ski lifts, time to get to the trails and time off of work required to do it. It's not F1 racing, but by and large, it's a game for the middle-class and upwards. And poverty and ethnicity are often tied together in the US.

There is also no mainsteam media exposure, and therefore earning potential, for a poor kid with dreams to even find out about it, let alone decide to choose MTB over a soccer ball or boxing gloves or a skateboard. I can't think of a worse sport than MTB to look to for a "ticket out of the ghetto."

If you are seeing UCI podiums full of Swiss XC riders or videos full of Canadian Free Riders... well duh, those countries are pretty white.

That said, in the Tri-state area and in the Bay Area (where I've lived), it is by no means an all white scene.
 

trib

not worthy of a Rux.
Jun 22, 2009
1,456
388
I don't think there is a 'real answer' as such. Cheers for all your input so far guys.

And I'm also glad that no-one misconstrued this as myself wanting a list of black/chinese/ indian mountainbikers.
 

Slater

Monkey
Oct 10, 2007
378
0
I believe it's a simple sad but true answer.

DH is expensive and requires participants to be of a high Socioeconomic Status. In most industrialized countries, "white" people (be they French, German, British, American, Canadian, Etc.) make up a disparately large portion of the higher levels of SES. Thus you end up with the majority of the DH crowd being white.
 
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Its just a "niche" sport.
Where i live i see more minorities riding bikes as transportation but clearly DH is an expensive hobby.
Also, our local DJ scene is racially diverse and also the road scene but the gravity set seems pretty white except either parts of the westcoast and east coast.
 

Jeremy R

<b>x</b>
Nov 15, 2001
9,698
1,053
behind you with a snap pop
Ha, I have had this same conversation before among my fellow honkies. I grew up around black people, playing sports, hanging out etc...
And I miss the general $hit talking and goofing around that we used to do back in the day.
So, one day when I ran into one my old black friends, we got to talking bikes, and I told him he should get a mtb and go ride with me. I think his response sums up the answer to this thread:

"No way man. I spent years just trying to get off a bike. While all you guys were driving cars to high school, I was either riding a bike or walking. Now that I got a ride, the last thing I want to do is pedal a damn bike."

He said it with a smile, but I knew he meant it.

In general, recreational cycling of any form is not seen as something really cool to do in African American communities.
You see more minorities on bikes in bigger areas where the communities are more integrated like Sanjuro mentioned.
Maybe in the future this will change, but for now it what it is.
 

jimmydean

The Official Meat of Ridemonkey
Sep 10, 2001
40,931
13,129
Portland, OR
Scraper bike much?

<edit> There was a guy who bought a Foes Fly, had it repainted, built and "displayed" on the roof of his Escalade. It was spec'ed to the hills, too. I remember he had to have a special axle machined to work with the DeeMax wheels and brake floater. The frame and fork lowers were repainted using the same paint as the Escalade. The bike looked awesome, it was a damn shame.

My understanding is the bike was never ridden once it left the shop.
 
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Commencal-guy

Monkey
Nov 25, 2007
341
0
Massachusetts, US of A
Commencal-guy: why does that suck? Seems like it shouldn't matter at all in racing.
Now that I think about it, it doesn't suck really in the riding aspect of things. In the end everyone is trying to have fun and what not, so we have a commonality there which makes ethnicity inexistent.


What does suck is when everyone asks you that question "How come your the only Korean I know that rides bikes?" Like I know that answer...
 
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TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO
I have ridden with asians and latinos but never any black folks.
I guess that is all I can contribute to the thread.



oh....BMXers seem pretty diverse.
 
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TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO
That is a big attitude in the ghetto. Cars mean you got money....bikes mean you aint got none.

Ha, I have had this same conversation before among my fellow honkies. I grew up around black people, playing sports, hanging out etc...
And I miss the general $hit talking and goofing around that we used to do back in the day.
So, one day when I ran into one my old black friends, we got to talking bikes, and I told him he should get a mtb and go ride with me. I think his response sums up the answer to this thread:

"No way man. I spent years just trying to get off a bike. While all you guys were driving cars to high school, I was either riding a bike or walking. Now that I got a ride, the last thing I want to do is pedal a damn bike."

He said it with a smile, but I knew he meant it.

In general, recreational cycling of any form is not seen as something really cool to do in African American communities.
You see more minorities on bikes in bigger areas where the communities are more integrated like Sanjuro mentioned.
Maybe in the future this will change, but for now it what it is.
 

trib

not worthy of a Rux.
Jun 22, 2009
1,456
388
Seems odd that school has just started and this thread comes up.

Seems a lot like essay material.
haha, If this was for an essay the thread title would have been 'Help needed, I picked an unanswerable essay question' the truth is I'm a bored design student who had a question rattling round his head. Any chance of myself using these answers for any sort of greater good are zilch.
 

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO
haha, If this was for an essay the thread title would have been 'Help needed, I picked an unanswerable essay question' the truth is I'm a bored design student who had a question rattling round his head. Any chance of myself using these answers for any sort of greater good are zilch.
change your major NOW to something that is useful!!!!
yours truly,
a mostly out of work jaded designer

:D
 

trib

not worthy of a Rux.
Jun 22, 2009
1,456
388
change your major NOW to something that is useful!!!!
yours truly,
a mostly out of work jaded designer
I'm from the Uk, have already graduated from uni and the part I'm studying now is for my masters....unfortunately your advice has come far too late! where were you 4 years ago before I got myself into this mess?
 

trib

not worthy of a Rux.
Jun 22, 2009
1,456
388
I'm lead to believe it actually pronounced 'Yaw suck' these days
 

golgiaparatus

Out of my element
Aug 30, 2002
7,340
41
Deep in the Jungles of Oklahoma
Just out of interest, anyone got a theory or reasona s to why are there so few non white mountainbikers? I play plenty of team sports like rugby and football (soccer) and I sail, all these sports have plenty of participants from non-white backgrounds yet when it comes to mountain biking I seldom see anyone on the trails or race results who isn't white. Shaums March and Elliott Jackson being the only exceptions I can really think of.

Doing some work on the idea of diversity and it got my brain ticking over.

Edit: Can a mod move this to the lounge please?
I know one black dude that rides. Everyone other rider I know Caucasian. Same with roadies.
 

TN

Hey baby, want a hot dog?
Jul 9, 2002
14,301
1,353
Jimtown, CO
I'm from the Uk, have already graduated from uni and the part I'm studying now is for my masters....unfortunately your advice has come far too late! where were you 4 years ago before I got myself into this mess?
:faceplam:

just yanking your chain. doing something you love is worth every penny (or lack of penny!!). :thumb:
 

Serial Midget

Al Bundy
Jun 25, 2002
13,053
1,896
Fort of Rio Grande
Almost all the roadies I've ever known have been white. The peoples I've ridden trails with have been much more diverse including Blacks, Native American (just one), Hispanic and Asian.
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
The only black I like on bikes are tires!
(sorry, couldn't resist a PSP moment)
 

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru
i was the only hispanic to ever set foot at the local bike shop when i lived in alabama...
town was like 40% black, yet i never saw anyone who wasnt white in the trails...

there was this 30+ peloton of middle aged white guys wrapped in spandex and shaved legs playing tour de france twice a week in the afternoons around a lake near my dorm... never saw much melanin in the peloton...