In almost all of the freeride videos you see out there such as New World Disorder, Roam, Collective and now Seasons…most of those guys are Canadians, eh.
Darren Berrecloth….one of the best freeriders in the world…is Canadian!
I’m going to take a wild guess why Canadians are better. Well for one they have Whislter Park and all that forestry that they can ride on. Also I did talk to a few guys at last year’s Sea Otter Classic at the Magura Flow Show and asked them how they can do all the stuff that you see on the video. Andrew ( one of the guys in the video ) told me that almost everyone up in Canada, eh, freerides.
I was puzzled by that comment and so later on in the day we ran into the folks of Loeka Clothing, another Canadian company, eh, and Coreena Fletcher, one of the owners also told me that everyone she knows, both men and women all ride down hill bikes.
So would it be safe to assume that Canadians are just better because that’s what their environment produces? If they didn’t have Whistler and all those places…would they suck? In the local SoCal Mountain Resorts, down hill bikes have been banned because they think its causing too much erosion on the trails and slopes. I wonder if the act of closing the access to downhill riders sissified Americans and caused them to focus more on XC and 29er stuff…
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Show Commentsare they? look at the bikes made in Canada, Cove, Transition, Rocky Mountain, and they get to ride Wistler, I think they have an advantage.
I’m sure there are a handful of Americans that are really good at this stuff, but I think the Canadians have it down.
Actually SoCal’s downhill venues closed due to either litigation or illegal trailbuilding. One kid rode DH at one of the resorts with his mother’s signature on the waiver of liability and the mom STILL sued the place after he was badly injured.
Fontana really is one of the few dedicated DH places now. I’d have to agree that the Canucks are better freeriders in general because they have the terrain for it.
It’s not just Canadians — read bike magazines from the UK; the culture of freeriding, slopestyle, downhill, four-cross, even trials is just more entrenched in Canada and the UK than it is in the US. Yeah, the North Shore scene has been a huge draw — bike manufacturers build bikes specifically for that scene and those trails, there are several Canadian companies making bikes for the western Canadian bike parks, it’s a completely unique phenomenon.
That being said, trail building around that kind of riding seems to be gaining a lot of momentum in the US as well right now.
Snow Summit was sued several years ago. They were the last of the local resorts that ran DH every summer. I’ve only been there a few times in the late 90s; DH’ing on a hardtail wasnt fun 🙁 but the trails in itself was amazing…to have something local. Fontana is ok, nothing like what the Canucks are ripping on.
Mammoth, North Star and other resorts are starting to build stunts that’ll hopefully propel the US freeriders into the Canadian’s level.
Well I’ve seen the videos of Whistler DH, the ground you land on seems soft, moist and there’s good vegetation for cushion. If you fall, it won’t hurt as much as compared to SOCAL’s rocky, loose-sand, cactus-and-hard-bushes terrain.
Also, I have heard they have a better healthcare, so that’ll take some hesitation off your mind when you are DHing fast 🙂
“better healthcare”. I think you’re on to something Aliso-rider.