this is a really good point. also, look at motocross... which gets more attention: racing or freestyle?
Sea Otter bogus excitement
- Thread starter stiksandstones
- Start date
You said that well, given a cool perspective-minus the part about media coverage. FWIW I do not throw cans at dirt jumpers, I respect what they can do, I just do not like it becoming the highlight of the Otter which it seems to be on this particular website I was talking about. But they can do wtf they want-just spouting an opinioni just got Fuel TV and it f**king RULES. Props has its own show every sunday night.
also for everyone:
lay off it. So they like to get down on their bikes in a different way than you. so what? does it make you enjoy the time you ride any less? i know a lot of guys that DJ and are into street/park. They put in just as much time as the guys i know that train super hard to increase their fitness level for xc. what do they have in common? they're on bikes and they love what they're doing. if you're sitting here on the internet reading articles about people who ride different styles than you and getting pissed about it, then don't read the articles. simple solution. that or you're in the sport for the wrong reasons.
another perspective: dirt jumps and slopestyle get more media coverage because they're easier to cover. Its in a more consolidated area. Just try and imaging the logistics of trying to have the same amount of coverage (percentage wise) of a dh/xc race as you can get with a jump jam. The nature of the format (having it in a centralized, limitied area) just works better. Plus its easier to draw a crowd when you don't have to hike a mile up a hill only to watch one turn.
...I guess I was just under the impression that there was some racing going on at the sea otter and was psyched to see some preview action, etc...I just do not get a boner for a huge metal scaffold with redbull horns on it.I think a large part of the rise in huckflipspinning for 26" bikes was that for the last few years the 20" guys were getting paid VERY well to simply be seen on TV once a year at a huge event called XGAMES. As I said, dirtjumping has been flicked from it and A LOT of 20" dirtjump guys contracts have been 'poofed' into thin air.
Someone also mentioned 'people buy dirtjump bikes', ya-it is about 1/1000th of the industry or about the same as people buying 'slalom specific bikes'.
If you are asking a question, MX and SX gets 10x the Television and paper coverage as FMX. Motorsports comparisons are bad for bike crap-too much history with motorsports and a much more massive industry.
ehh, not necessarily. With cheaper 'mountain bikes' coming in the game and the ability for a kid to go plop down 800 bucks for a dirt jumping hardtail It is more of a growing market than youve given it credit for.
And if that same kid that picked up the 26 huck bike is going to check out the sea otter DJ comp and get a glimpse of racing and be exposed to that too, then thats cool. The more the better.
I agree that the judges competitions are really lame. Especially when some 20" dude just hops on a bike that he really cant even fit on and ride without style and gets by throwing some crazy tricks just to get a good score... And now that you mention BMXers contracts getting dropped I bet some of these MTB comps are going to look mighty tempting to them.
I'd rather see a DH racer that looks like they actually belong on a 26" bike flow through some jumps and throw simple tricks than a 20" rider hopping on and barley squeaking out complicated stuff.
I can understnad where Stik is coming from in the purist point of view, but I think there is a place for Slopestyle events.
Yeah, Otter is loaded with tradition, but why not try a little something different?
Besides, Sanjay will dust off his old cyclocross bike, put on some flat bars and kill it all over the place anyway.
:biggrin:
Yeah, Otter is loaded with tradition, but why not try a little something different?
Besides, Sanjay will dust off his old cyclocross bike, put on some flat bars and kill it all over the place anyway.
:biggrin:
Classic.
Its the seaotter. I am going out there to race, hang out with friends, watch other people race/ride, and check out some of the vendors.
I'm just going out for fun, the people who want to go out there and fight just make it WAY more entertaining.
yeah, i tivo'd that. good to see some new stuff with some new school
riders. i love all the new style freecoaster bmx riders.
I like Dirt Jumping it is fun! And Sea Otter is windy as crap to pull those tricks.
Besides ladders and skinnies is the stupidest to me!
But, I agree with Sticks - it sucks that the industry and media coverage at Sea otter is going to freeride crap as the main attraction!
There will be the best Racers in the world there! I have competed there
several times and there is way harder comp. than just a national.
And you don't luck up racing, you don't win cause you gay pants are cool to a judge.
Plus the fact that I have beaten most those guys racing before they came out of the closet as freeriders.
I have Stuck with the racing for 10yrs. then watch guys I've beaten along the way take my sponsorships and appear in Mag's and Vid's frequently for doing some bmx trick poorly!
I am old - I saw the same thing happen in the 80's when BMX racing got
killed in the name of a quater pipe and freestyle.
Besides ladders and skinnies is the stupidest to me!
But, I agree with Sticks - it sucks that the industry and media coverage at Sea otter is going to freeride crap as the main attraction!
There will be the best Racers in the world there! I have competed there
several times and there is way harder comp. than just a national.
And you don't luck up racing, you don't win cause you gay pants are cool to a judge.
Plus the fact that I have beaten most those guys racing before they came out of the closet as freeriders.
I have Stuck with the racing for 10yrs. then watch guys I've beaten along the way take my sponsorships and appear in Mag's and Vid's frequently for doing some bmx trick poorly!
I am old - I saw the same thing happen in the 80's when BMX racing got
killed in the name of a quater pipe and freestyle.
Wow. I read the whole thread. It hurt. A lot.
Are you guys who are bashing "huckflipspinning" realizing how counterproductive this behavior is? Come on. I feel like I'm reading a "pic of the day" comment page on Pinkbike, except the guys whining and childishly complaining are adults and industry insiders.
It feels as though a history lesson should not be in order, but obviously it is. This sport came out of the same spirit that is currently best embodied by the freestyle crowd. They are into biking because it's exciting, they are doing new and progressive things with it. These are the formative years of the 26 freestyle scene. Yes there has been a heavy BMX influence because BMX freestyle is an established scene. That is already changing. Slopestyle is the most rapidly progressing area of biking, including BMX.
Think about that name: BMX, or B.M.X., or Bicycle Moto Cross. Hmmm...could it be that moto had a heavy influence on 20" bicycles. Could it be that the nature of any truly progressive area of sport is to be influenced by the best elements of that which is already established?
Also, Sea Otter jump contests are a joke. In no way do they truly display the talent and skill level of the best 26" freestyle guys. You can come out to the Post Office any afternoon and have your mind blown though.
I love DH racing, and I've been at it for a while. It's fun, and I'm a lot better at it than freestyle. But, freestyle rules too and it's changing fast. In a couple more years nobody will be able to say "can't compete with BMX".
As for bagging on freestyle riders as individuals, not it the f#ck off. You are not talking to your computer, there are real people reading what you write.
Are you guys who are bashing "huckflipspinning" realizing how counterproductive this behavior is? Come on. I feel like I'm reading a "pic of the day" comment page on Pinkbike, except the guys whining and childishly complaining are adults and industry insiders.
It feels as though a history lesson should not be in order, but obviously it is. This sport came out of the same spirit that is currently best embodied by the freestyle crowd. They are into biking because it's exciting, they are doing new and progressive things with it. These are the formative years of the 26 freestyle scene. Yes there has been a heavy BMX influence because BMX freestyle is an established scene. That is already changing. Slopestyle is the most rapidly progressing area of biking, including BMX.
Think about that name: BMX, or B.M.X., or Bicycle Moto Cross. Hmmm...could it be that moto had a heavy influence on 20" bicycles. Could it be that the nature of any truly progressive area of sport is to be influenced by the best elements of that which is already established?
Also, Sea Otter jump contests are a joke. In no way do they truly display the talent and skill level of the best 26" freestyle guys. You can come out to the Post Office any afternoon and have your mind blown though.
I love DH racing, and I've been at it for a while. It's fun, and I'm a lot better at it than freestyle. But, freestyle rules too and it's changing fast. In a couple more years nobody will be able to say "can't compete with BMX".
As for bagging on freestyle riders as individuals, not it the f#ck off. You are not talking to your computer, there are real people reading what you write.
this is the dumbest thread i have ever read. ride a bike.
something i just realized... all this pissing and moaning is because of an article in a single, online magazine. Go read a few more and getter a better overall opinion. Just b/c one e-mag focused on the jump jam doesn't mean they all are.
That Sanjay, he is so silly.
Sanjay elected to Skip otter and it's shenanigans and instead will be touring Bolivia on a 97cc scooter. He should be in La Paz today I think.
dear transcend,
Its April. Christmas was 3 months ago. Plz get that damn santa hat off your avatar. its been bothering me all day.
regards,
jonkranked
Its April. Christmas was 3 months ago. Plz get that damn santa hat off your avatar. its been bothering me all day.
regards,
jonkranked
Oh SNAP!
I saw the post here regarding that trip, but I thought he had finished it.
Nevermind then - La Paz sounds like a much better deal... I need to ask him to send some pics of the local indigenous female varieties when he gets to Brazil...
:biggrin:
I saw the post here regarding that trip, but I thought he had finished it.
Nevermind then - La Paz sounds like a much better deal... I need to ask him to send some pics of the local indigenous female varieties when he gets to Brazil...
:biggrin:
3 years and going strong. It isn't going anywhere.
ha, ha , ha, he said shenanigans!!
he has a huge gallery of 1200+ images up on Transcend right now to go along with his 2 10 page articles, haha.
i think there is a big difference between slopestyle and dirtjump comps...
slopestyle is mountain biking IMO. it is big and burly and could not be done better on a 20"... for example, gee atherton flipping a step down road gap. bearclaw doing a 360 off the HUGE gap/drop at whistler, comps like crankworx and district ride, etc are making slopestyle unique to the mountian bike.
but a dirtjump comp?... it's just a watered down version of another sport.
but hey freeride is big and here to stay (rightfully so when done right), and if a dirt jump comp wil get all the "big names" in the freeride scene to show up at the otter and get all the groms pumped up (and buying bikes) i am all for it.
i am a racer at hart though, and like stik, i really wish certain media outlets would get as exited about it as they do about x-ups, flips and spins.
How do you like mine?
thats funny you know he told me the other day he was glad to skip the otter because ppl would be expecting him to jump on who knows what sort of sketchy contraption this time.
So can we all agree that all this infighting is, at the end of the day, pointless and counter-productive? and that whatever differences we may have can all be resolved by throwing a leg over a bike and riding it in whatever manner we please?
Except for those god-forsaken-franken-tall bikes. Christ I hate those things and the mouth-breathers who weld them.
Except for those god-forsaken-franken-tall bikes. Christ I hate those things and the mouth-breathers who weld them.
Fuel is pretty good except for the 6 days and 23.5 hours a week they show videos of 14 year olds grinding some park bench on a skateboard.
YESSS!! You guys keep this up and I'll have to leave HCOR!!
As an old downhiller, I've watched pro downhillers of the 90's take all the money they could and never give back in terms of sponsoring other teams,camps and such (except missy Giove who sponsored a woman's team WITH HER OWN MONEY to develop talent to challenge her! That was very cool- I think is was like team Amazon or something). Skate Boarders and Dirt Jumpers just give back more than downhillers. Tony Hawk stayed true to the sport even when it started to die. Tricksters are just more friendly, hang out at common jump spots, sponsor more camps......Woodward and riders in that organization alone give more back to the sport. THus they grow the sport to the young riders who spend money.
Giving back grows the sport and deserves the attention. Some of the "greatest DH riders of all time" didn't spend any time, not any REAL time, helping kids and shooting the **** in the parking lot. That's why it died. Should have focused less on stuck-up TV glamour and more on grass roots development.
And from a "WOW" marketing perspective, even non- riders can be impressed with crazy inverted spinning tricks when compared to downhilling through technical terrain- not a point a like, but a sad fact of life.
As an old downhiller, I've watched pro downhillers of the 90's take all the money they could and never give back in terms of sponsoring other teams,camps and such (except missy Giove who sponsored a woman's team WITH HER OWN MONEY to develop talent to challenge her! That was very cool- I think is was like team Amazon or something). Skate Boarders and Dirt Jumpers just give back more than downhillers. Tony Hawk stayed true to the sport even when it started to die. Tricksters are just more friendly, hang out at common jump spots, sponsor more camps......Woodward and riders in that organization alone give more back to the sport. THus they grow the sport to the young riders who spend money.
Giving back grows the sport and deserves the attention. Some of the "greatest DH riders of all time" didn't spend any time, not any REAL time, helping kids and shooting the **** in the parking lot. That's why it died. Should have focused less on stuck-up TV glamour and more on grass roots development.
And from a "WOW" marketing perspective, even non- riders can be impressed with crazy inverted spinning tricks when compared to downhilling through technical terrain- not a point a like, but a sad fact of life.
actually i think they air more surfing than skateboarding. but w/e. i still think its pretty sick to watch some of the moves skateboarders are doing nowadays. skating ain't my thing, but its still cool to watch.
It gives me great satisfaction to know that every one of my posts irritates you.lthumbsdown:
That's some manicured dirt right there.This thread could use some huckspinflipping.
Maybe this is why MTB imitates BMX
Why thank you. I take pride in manicuring my jumps for the ultimate huckspinoffs.
sorry, give me a f****ng mad scramble, first person across the line wins. when this isn't possible, put riders against a clock, and have the fastest time of the day win. judged events will *always* be open to human interpretation, favorites, etc.
the clock doesn't lie.
the clock doesn't lie.
this is pathetic.
lots of lost respect for people.
lots of lost respect for people.
word
lthumbsdown:
yeah, i was beginning to think i accidentally entered the "29'er Turner" forum.
Yay, this is fun.
I just hope there is a Critical Mass at the Otter this year.
I just hope there is a Critical Mass at the Otter this year.
From now on, pics posted of the jump farm are only allowed if posted w/ driving directions.
irate2:
Maybe if we cry enough behind our keyboards, those no talent as$ clowns will stop hitting dirt jumps.
I love it.
everybody got owned...
I agree, but I think that was also what made the sport from the fan side. Having a celebrity, if you can call them that, that you cheer for brings people to the races. Your stars fill seats. Viewers= $$. NORBA/industry isn't building stars. Someone said 4x is boring, it's b/c you don't really care who wins anymore. Look at the XFL, it was essentially the same game, but without your Peyton Mannings it becomes boring. We don't have personalities on the level of the early-mid 90's.
Look at Champ Car racing, no more larger than life Andrettis, Unsers, Mears, etc to give fans a reason to care.
Exactly..So...without those celebs, you have DJ'ing which doesn't require star status to keep people involved. Your soccer mom can sit there entertained for an hour without knowing the name of one rider.
I guess we should be happy for DJ'ing b/c like someone it's 2-wheel coverage, and it's breathing life into the sport.