So whats the deal with 4x these dayz?

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
As a riding concept it is a lot of fun and fast paced. Unless you are into pedaling until you spew.

As a spectator sport, where else in MTB can you watch the whole event start to finish? Pump tracks and slope style are about it, but they are scsrce too. What's not to love???

As a participant, racing or recreational, the accessibility of this style of track can be superior to all other styles of MTB, except maybe pump tracks.

For parents...no more shuttles! If the kid cashes they aren't necessarily out in the forest miles from help, if you're into watching it's all right in front of you.

What's not to love?


I think perhaps a bit of evolution may have helped...let the pump track scene be the blurred lines between bmx and MTB. Leave the big mega super stunts for slope style. Then push 4X back towards the rougher trails of dual slalom and perhaps some dh or shore aspects, while keeping the tracks short enough. None of that is going to come easily, but a lot of bmx can be squeezed into a short space, so it's not impossible.

I can understand that a 4X track may have been an expensive prospect, but in modern times how would it compare to having these long professional machine built trails her we see much growth in?

For me trail accessibility is always going to be a primary concern, especially if we are going to actually try and reduce unnecessary carbon emissions. Sure I love getting miles out of town and into some wild mountain trails. But...how good is it when there is great riding close to home? Or accessible by public transport? How many parents (not you parents...the ones who don't ride) really want to be driving their kid out to bike tracks all the time?

I also hate having crowded trails. I would rather people stopped liking MTB and I could to back to being an underground edge lord sharing the trails with 3 other people.
 

Calvin27

Eats Squid
I can understand that a 4X track may have been an expensive prospect, but in modern times how would it compare to having these long professional machine built trails her we see much growth in?
Would you drive a few hours to have a go at a 4x track though? That's kind of why a lot of the decent trails get funded - tourism dollars.
 

pink poodle

気が狂っている男
Would you drive a few hours to have a go at a 4x track though? That's kind of why a lot of the decent trails get funded - tourism dollars.
I don't drive anywhere to ride.

Do I often catch the train from Newcastle to Hornsby just to ride their slightly less shitty dirt lumps than the ones nearer my house and to buy a banh mi? Yes, yes I do.

I don't rate tourism as a justification for building bike tracks in metropolitan areas. It overlooks servicing the needs/wants of the local community. If they have good amenity, visitors on top of that are a bonus and they will visit on the reputation of the local scene anyway.

In my experience regional places I've traveled to for riding usually don't have enough variety on offer or have the type of riding I like. So I not a good test market.
 

Ultra Lord

Hurts. Requires Money. And is nerdy.
Yup. I traveled all over to ride 4X tracks. Spent the most time in homebush though, which was the worst one on the circuit. Glorified BMX track.
 

moorey

call me Mia
Trafalgar in Vic used to have a pearler I raced a few times in the early 00’s. Was run by a Christian dude Brendan Scale on his families bible camp property. I may have used the lords name in vain casing some of the big jumps.
 

wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
Trafalgar in Vic used to have a pearler I raced a few times in the early 00’s. Was run by a Christian dude Brendan Scale on his families bible camp property. I may have used the lords name in vain casing some of the big jumps.
Yep. That's the one! Awesome track.
 

dissa

Likes Dirt
Sounds like I should have gone East instead of burying my head in the sands of the dusty West...
 
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