Is Mountain Biking Growing? | GMBN Dirt Shed Show 544

Hello, and welcome to the Dirt Shed Show, where we're going to be chatting interesting numbers, hacks and bodges, and bike vault, plus all the other regulars coming right up. Hello, and welcome to the Dirt Shed Show with myself, Rich Payne, and- And myself, Blake Sampson. How are you doing, buddy? Very good. It's going to be a good one today. It's a very good one, but slightly I'm emotional. Wow. We'll have to find out at the end of the show. Yes. Now, before we get to any of that though, I want to talk about Warner Brothers Discovery, a bit of racing, and some recently released numbers. Exciting. We all love numbers. Yes. Now, Warner Brothers Discovery and the UCI, I'm going to just read this out of it, are claiming record-breaking numbers at the halfway point of the 2025 World Series. You want to hit us with a few numbers there? Can I just- I'm going to shout out the numbers because there are some big numbers to go by. We've got 225 million total views across all their videos. We've got 250,000-plus spectators attending live and on-demand services, which is a lot of people watching content, isn't it? It is, yes. And that's biking. Yes, that is biking, yes. 15 million watch hours also, and 56 million cumulative views. Now, this is across 11 rounds and multiple disciplines so far this year, and is obviously what they're saying is a huge jump up from previous years. Now, these numbers are from the 1st of January this year to the 1st of August this year, but there's a bit of a sticking point, isn't there? It comes with a cost. It does, yes. It comes with £30.99 for a subscription. Yes. But that brings in a lot more people, not just bikers, other people as well. No, and that £30.99 is for the sports package. Obviously, if you like a lot of sport, if you like your footballs, and rugby, and crickets, and lacrosse, and God knows, there's so much involved in that package, then that's great, isn't it? £30.99. It's quite a lot of money, I feel, but if you're into just cycling or mountain biking specifically, then that's a lot just for that, right? Yes, I can kind of agree with you. You know what I mean? Yes, I do agree, but it's changed. If you want to get a premium product, obviously, you've got to pay for it, but this also helps out the sport as well. The professional part of mountain biking, they are investing in the sport because they know it's good, and it's great, and people want to watch it, so why not make it incredible? The other issue I have with these numbers, and we're not talking about £30.99 anymore, is that there was no independent verification or kind of a breakdown of who's watching which disciplines, which rounds, so yes. I can suggest it could just be the sport package. Well, yes, but what I mean is they're just telling us these numbers are higher. Are they? There's no proof as such. Proof from the pudding. Well, there ain't no pudding. Where's the pudding? There's no pudding. Where's the pudding? It's all very good saying, well, we've got 225 million wattsets and 15 bazillion hours of watch time. Watt's crisps. Oh, right. You've got people getting wattsets and watt's crisps there, but there's no proof. This is it. Is XC the leading one? Is downhill the leading one? Where are these numbers coming from? Which disciplines? Which rounds? I'd like to see that, but having said that, previous promoters have been very cagey with results as well. It is a tricky thing, but surely increased numbers, even if it's year-on-year within WBD, regardless, is a good thing. It's a very good thing, I reckon. It's always on the up. Let's look at it from our career, so racing, slopestyle. If we could then go to someone, sponsors, outside organizations, and go 225 million potentially people could watch someone in a main event, that's a good pitch, right? That's surely only beneficial to the sport. Like a split second or you are in an interview or something, that is valuable. Yes, for a downhiller in the finals to be able to go 225 million potentially watched it. Definitely. It'll increase their wage. Yes, exactly. Because it's more scope for the brands that they are working with. Indeed, exactly. These increased numbers, I think we're not just being all doom and gloom on WBD here because we were owned by them. We ain't anymore. We are an independent view, if you like, but I think we can definitely see as well that there's an increase in the production quality of the races. We've got better stats and graphics coming up on screen and there's more cameras on riders as well. Being able to see more of an XC loop or more of a race run so you're not missing any potential action, crashes, whatever could be happening. Again, that can only increase the money coming into the sport over time. I know there's a lot of cry from racers about, well, where's all this money going? You got to give it a bit of time to filter through. God, it does cost a lot of money to put it on the internet for them to be on demand. I feel like if people actually could see the production trucks, the camera equipment behind the scenes, it's- Well, that's a good video. Yes, true. Maybe I should do a look behind the scenes. The other thing is that there has been pushback from riders. To play devil's advocate, XC were very unhappy about the five-man podium changing. Do you remember that? Yes, there was a big hoo-ha about it. Exactly. They did push hard on it. They did because actually, when it changed to a three-man podium, fourth and fifth still came up. Yes, that was Schurter. Yes, Schurter. My brain's gone on the other one. They got fined. I'm sure Schurter would probably cover it just about. Much, much money, I guess. Yes, but downhill, they tried to put their collective weight and signed a petition for it. It's not that riders are just lying down. They are voicing their concerns. They should be because they are the- I feel on the downhill side as well, they kicked off especially. Yes, they did definitely kick off. It does work in their favor in the longer run. I'd be intrigued to know what you guys and girls out there think of these latest numbers and what WBD are claiming and the way that racing is going at the moment behind that paywall is always a tricky one. I know a lot of people were big loves when it's free. Big love. Everyone loves something when it's free. That's the trouble, right? Definitely. Then when something gets chucked in there and you're like, hey, you're going to pay for it. It's paywalls. It's a tricky one. Spend a penny in London. Now, it's like £3 instead of a penny for the toilet. When was it ever a penny? That's where the penny comes from. Oh, spend a penny. Yes, of course. Well, anyway, before we get lost on toilet chat, let us know in the comments down below, what do you think about paywalls, numbers increasing, WBD, and their influence on racing at the moment? I actually do think they're having a positive effect. I think it's just taking a bit of time to filter through. Everything takes time. You can't rush perfection, and I'm sure it'll get better. Exactly right. Onto the news. Yes, it's time for the news. Tom is still on holiday, so you've got us too. He's chasing some MasterChef thing. What? What is he doing? God knows what he's doing. Great question to ask. Now, Leadville happened at the weekend, the famous 100-mile race, and a new course record was set, not from Keegan Swenson, on the women's side. Kate Courtney absolutely crushed the women's record previously set by Annika Langvad by 11 minutes. That's a whopping amount of time. 11 minutes is like you can't even see them in the distance. No, you can't. The Allied Cycleworks rider rode a BC40 to this record-breaking time, and actually, second place, who was about 10 minutes back off of Kate Courtney, would have broken that time as well, just showing how fast they pushed on. As I said, Keegan Swenson took the win in the men's race, didn't set a new course record. I know he was after it, but that does make it five on the bounce for him. That's crazy. Now, we're sticking with the Leadville thing, and Black Box Rockshox, we've spotted some fairing. Fairing? On the bike, spotted some fairing. That's mad. It was just nuts. It's basically becoming a superbike for the road. Yes, they're chasing aerodynamics, aren't they? Keegan Swegen. Keegan Swenson. Apologies, Keegan. Keegan Swenson's bike had it, his Santa Cruz blur. Also, it was spotted on someone else's? Sophie Gomez. What's her surname? Sophie Gomez. Sophia Gomez-Villafane. There we go. She had hit a border specialized epic. That was epic, those pronunciations. Now, sticking with American racing, it was also the Downeyville Classic in California. Don't worry, Blake will not be pronouncing any more names in the news. Terrible. It's embarrassing. This is a combo of XC and downhill races combined together. Katarina Nash smashed it in the women's. Two-time Olympian. Two-time Olympian. Double Olympian, yes. We had Carter. Now, this is a tricky one for myself. Carter Neuvesteg went into first. He actually got first and third in the two races. Neuvesteg. Neuvesteg, Neuvesteg. Neuvesteg. Moving on. Now, hopping over, up and over the border to Whistler for Crankworx BC. That's an event we absolutely love. It's kicking off this week. Already, we've seen the Canadian Open Enduro, the downhill to be contested, but there's plenty more for the festival coming along. It's a big festival. A lot of people, a lot of friends are over there. Yes, David Godziek and Alma Vigberg. Is that how you say her name? I think so, yes. Vigberg. Yes, they'll be looking to defend their titles. Good luck, Crankworx. It's kicking off. That is thankfully the end of the news. This week's sickest thing has to be this new video part from Tom Kilcoyne called Loving the Streets. I know that he's been working on this for over three years now, just quietly stacking clips, keeping it all secret. He's really put in a lot of work on this one, you can tell. I'm a big fan of Tom K's riding. I've said it before and I'll say it again, but he has one of the best-looking tailwhips out there. My favorite clips have to be the bump-jump full cab to Manny 180 on that bank, the backlash slider to Manny 360, and the backlash to bump-jump full cab. Tom K is just in a league of his own when it comes to this proximity riding. I guess that's what it's called. He's just got so much bike control. It's actually crazy, isn't it? Anyway, it's definitely worth checking this one out. That's my sickest thing this week. Time to go back to the shed. Just a quick interruption to this week's show, Camelback are giving you the chance to win one of three bundles. To enter, all you've got to do is follow the instructions in the link down below. Hacks and bodges. Hacks and bodges. Hacks and bodges. That was a good one. That was a good one. Right. Hacks and bodges time. Kicking off, this first one is from Aid. Have a look at this one because it's a little video. No, this video is incredible. He's used a zip tie to hold his little computer on there but wedged a bar underneath. What if you get hungry and you take that as your last bar? Aid says, actually, yes, well, no, because he said, actually, a little soaring cake bar held its place. Only came out a couple of times on a massive ride. Ingenuity, hack or bodge? Bodge. Okay. Next up, have a look. This is the needle and thread have been out. This is from William. No, I love a good needle and thread. Yes. He said, right before an enduro, I cut the sidewall, stitched it with fishing line. It held so well that he carried on for a year and a half. I can tell by the tire. Look at that. Look how much wroughtiness the sidewall of that tire has had. It's naughty, that wroughty, isn't it? We forgot to mention that we're giving up to £50 worth of goodies from our local shop, GMBN shop. It's not local, it's our shop on the interweb. One of the winners is going to get up to £50 worth. That is very true but there's one more contestant. Now, this is from Kevin Meikle. I hope I've pronounced that right, Kevin. During a ride out of town from Michigan, basically, his crank fell off. His cranks fell off so he used a quick release. Where the hell did he get a quick release from? Yes. That's incredible. I think that's actually a good bodge, I would say. I would say that's a good bodge. To keep that on, look at the big washer on there and everything, buddy. Yes, but do you know what? For money value, obviously, he lost a bolt. That little spigot-y bolt thing that goes in the whole crank. That's cheap. It's cheap. You could probably get one for free from your local bike shop. You're like, hey, I lost this. Whereas, if you stitch up your Continental tire, that there's worth, what, £80? Yes, their tires are quite expensive. Are we saying William's the winner? I would say William's the winner because he saved £80. William, congratulations. You are the winner of that very special prize. Now, don't forget, keep your hats and bodges coming in by sending them to the uploader, which is linked in the description down below. You get a chance to win up to £50 worth of goodies. Blake, it's time for some things we liked this week. There's a lot of things I like. Your head, your beard. Your face. I'm going to miss it. Joe. Oh, yes, we like Joe. See, Joe behind the camera. In the world of the internet, I liked this one from Tomomi Nishikubo. Well-pronounced because I don't think I would ever pronounce it like that. I practiced it. Look how it's balanced, precision. Have you watched that video? No, I need to. I saw this and I was like, I now need to watch that. You do need to watch it because it's incredible. See how wobbly the posts are and then onto the log sideways. It is some work of art. Precision, isn't it? Now, moving on to this guy. This is Brady Bringers. I like this dude. He's a really nice guy, super down-to-earth. I rode with him a fair bit out in Utah when we were watching the Red Bull Rampage and stuff like that. This guy, man alive. Hopefully, what he's got going on will come to light and will become an event. Yes, this is a hard MTB league. Basically, it's combining e-bike climbs, slalom, I think, big jumps and slope-style-y stuff. It's a mixture of every discipline in one. It's cool. The concept was last year. I realized because now it's coming to fruition. I think he's got up to 100k prize purse on it as well, which is- It's mental. It's good. I just like the idea of the multi-discipline thing. I think it's amazing. For the riders, for everything. It's for the riders. It's just quite a cool concept. Then last, this is from Leadville. Braden Lang is doing this crazy high-speed manual on a full sus XC bike. Oh, that doesn't sound that crazy, with drop bars. He's not even covering- He's on the drops. Yes, on the drops. I just thought that's quite cool. That is cool. Now, let us know if that is cool, that bike. Let us know if that's cool, because it's going against all different grains. It's for performance value there. It is. It's biking. It's biking. On to caption contest. Now, last week's picture was this one of me and Martin in the Highlands, and his glasses are all on the wonk because Martin's a bit special, isn't he? Yes, yes. He's lovely. We love him. We love him. But it did come up with some great captions from you lot out there. Now, first up, we've got Gleb Tiyanukinov. I'm glad you did that one. I'll do the next one. Yes, it just says, Scottish weather, one, Martin, zero. That's true. True. Very true. Windy as buggery out there. We've got one from Ali-C4F9G. Did that well, didn't I? You did. Yes. The face I pull when the line for the uplift stretches to the horizon. Yes, that is annoying. It's like, say what? And then the last one, I like this one, Cameron. Cameron S523, aiming to show you still got it what it takes, Martin sends it blind. That's a good one. Yes, he does that all the time. Oh, excuse me. He doesn't even know what's coming. He's just like. Yes. Now, again, don't forget the winner of the caption contest does win that prize from the GMBN shop of the value up to 50 quid. It's worth dropping those captions down below in the comment section. Use the hashtag caption contest. Which one are we going to pick as the winner? I can relate with Ali. Really? I quite like the last one. Go on, you choose. No, you choose. No, you choose. It's your one. You choose. It's my one because it's mine. It's your chance to choose. All right, go on. Ali. Ali, congratulations. Don't forget to send us your email address so you can claim your prize. And here is this week's caption contest photo. Oh, my gosh. Wow. What a banger. Where did that come from? Yes. Well, anyway, like I said, captions down below in the comment section. It is time for Bike Vault. Is there a Bike Vault song? There is. Listen to it. Oh, okay. It's the Bike Vault. Bike Vault. It's the Bike Vault. Bike Vault. It's the Bike Vault. Bike Vault. Oh, lord above. It's one of those days. Bat's head off. Wow. Oh, yes. Oh, R.I.P. Aussie. But kicking it off, we've got a banging little bike. Look at this. Elliot Webb. Oh, dude. Man, I'm going to have to get one of these soon. Not for me, obviously. Don't. They're really good fun to ride. Are they? They're a little common sal ramons. Ramons. Oh, wow. You're good with words. Good at England. This is actually sending it in Chamonix from Margot, aka Chops, age two. That's very cute, isn't it? Oh, it's a super nice from Blake. It's a super nice, dude. You can't deny that. And I'm not sticking with the common sal. Was it a TR? Is it? Yeah, it is. Yeah. It's Kevin's. Kevin Cusick. Cusick. I like that, actually. Dude, that thing's sick. Yeah, that's a cool paint job. I do like it a lot. It's good. Out in Morzine. Yeah. Please get me out there. Three Zipp Moto wheels in there. What's that, Blake? Super nice. But the Zipp Moto is as well there. The man has spoken. Yeah, I like that. I like the fade, actually. The black to blue fade. Oh, a Polygene. A Polygon, to those who speak normal. Okay, yeah, Polygon, sorry. A Siskiu. Chris Daniels. What have we got on this? Let's have a look. Dude, it's got P-E's. Oh, a tool wrap. What do you call that? Tool wrap. Hey. No, but isn't it a- Tool. No? That's so- Stop it. That's super nice. Thank you, Chris, for sending that one in. I do like the color. It's falling apart. Now, what is this bike? It's from Chris, Al. Yeah, it's a Mondraker Crono. Big fan of Mondraker. And Crono. Tannhals, got to love the Tannhals. I've got to love the Tannhals, but there's one thing I'm going to pick about this. Yes, he's running Vittoria's, great tire. We have them on the channel, but he's running a Mazda Caloneria and a Peyote on the front. That is an odd way of doing it, Chris. Because you want to have the grip on the front and then the high rolling on the rear. Correct. The Peyote is a really fast rolling tire. Yeah. That's what I- Ran for Swiss Epic. Maybe he loves fakies. Oh, yeah. Maybe he rides back to the- It's a super nice. It's got the orange Ergons on there as well. Man came to play. Now, this is the powerhouse. It probably is a powerhouse, but is that like a Hope Academy bike? No, it's a Vitus or Vitus Escarte. And that is from the powerhouse, yeah. Yeah, it says so in the description he sent. Oh my God, you're giving away. I do, it looks like a big front chainring on that. Yeah, it's massive. Yeah, it does really, really. But it's a cool picture. It's great. Thank you very much, the powerhouse. The powerhouse. Yeah. Now, I have an issue with this because actually I love this bike. Yeah, there's one issue. And this is from Simon Drummond. Simon Drummond, I apologize. It looks like he's from Australia. Yeah, it's a Spech Stumpy 15 Ohlins edition. Ohlin. But it's non-drive side, buddy. It's non-drive, but he's showing off those maidens, dude. Oh, yeah, that's true. What are we going to give it though? Mate, I've got goosebumps from this one. I really love it. Can I give this one a super, super nice? You got the bell, you decide. Super nice. We are on a roll. You're on a roll of super nice. I am. And last, but by no means least, is I went a bit retro here. It's a DMR Trailstar. I had one of these back in there. You definitely will have had one. We had a white one. Yeah, any British dirt jumper person or trail rider will have had one for sure. A blast from the past. Oh, five. And it's got, is it a sun visor? I think I raced World Cup 4X on one of these for a couple of years. I'm pretty sure I did. 100%, yeah. And it's got the old DMR chain device on there. Yeah. Well, you had to put rubber around it so it didn't move. Yes. But I put it in there and it is super nice. Just ring the bell, though. That's a cool house, everyone. Because it's got the kid's seat on it, which I took my nipper out at the weekend for the very first time on that exact same seat. How long did you go riding for? 22K for two different days. He loved it, though. Yeah, a boy's going to be a natural. Watch out. First sponsor they were, DMR. Were they? First sponsor. Oh, congratulations. Thanks very much. But that's the end of the Bike Vault. Thank you very much, everyone. That was from Steven Rex, in case you didn't say, for sending those in. Again, we love to see your bikes. There's no right or wrong bikes that can go in it. The uploader where you send them to is linked in the description down below, so please keep sending them in. You could be in with a chance. But we have a big announcement. Blake, take it away. I'm slightly emotional. Oh, I feel a bit sad. I actually feel sad. I don't want to say. I'm leaving GMBN for the final time. This is my last Dirt Shed show that I'll be filming. I am a bit sad. I'm sad, dude. I'm sad. You've been here for nine years, right? Nine years. We, you, the channel, have been through some incredible things together. Bike festivals, Whistler trips, Swiss Epic together, back still sore. So many different videos. It's coming to an end, but all good things must come to an end. They do. Oh, dude. I'm going to miss you. I'm going to miss you too. I'm going to miss them. I'm going to miss Jane. I mean, from me, from the bottom of my heart, I can only say thank you. I know that, obviously, the viewers will thank you. Everyone involved on the channel thanks you for your contribution and everything you've done. Thank you very much, everyone. It's been a big, big adventure. I look forward to seeing what Blake's got next. Blake's going somewhere else, yes. Gutted, but very happy. Thank you very much. Thanks, buddy. Yes, I know, right? It's tough. Well, look, on that quite monumental bombshell, thank you for watching, everybody. From me and Blake in the Dirt Shed, catch you next time. See you. But not you. Not me. I won't see you next time. I feel like we should hug again. It's real sad, buddy. It's our last one. Mate, don't go. I thought we did a start and went in. Flipping heck. Yes, that's tough. All right, guys. Who are you? Where did you get that jersey from? Well, my name's Blake Sampson, and I'm the new GMBN presenter. No way. Just like you guys. Hang on, let's not be too hasty. You sure you're up to the job? I mean, can you do one-handed? Maybe. Let's follow you down this trail. Come on. Show us what you got. That's right. I'm nervous, bud, because I'm near you. You're making me nervous. I hate onions. This nutritional blast of cow goodness is a real handful. Share with friends. Simply apply cheese grips, and next time you're hungry, tuck in. Mate. That was good, wasn't it? That was really good. We did good to you. Rode well today. Break, break. Let go, let go, let go, let go. Oh, no. Holy f**k. Oh, I was doing a dump. Is that what you think of me? You're doing a prop. Stinks. Don't say it. Who wants to win? Right. Stability over rough terrain. Roll over. It offers really good stability over ******* cool s**t. Oh, look at this. The Mega Avalanche on a 27.5, which nearly ripped my arm off. 75% less wheel than what I'm normally. What was that in my throat? Did you hear that? Look at that for a derailment. Oh, no. Oh, dude. I feel somewhat used. Time for the final countdown. I don't know the rest. I think we can get away with that copyright-wise because it wasn't right.