Hooking up with like minded MTB owners

Photo from shiftwatch.blogspot.com. You know how Corvette owners like to get together with other Corvette owners to fawn over each others’ cars? Or how Harley Davidson riders hang out with other Harley riders? Well, it turns out mountain bikers are starting to do the same thing along brand lines – something that wasn’t really feasible …

By Jeff Barber
July 13, 2009 Last Updated: September 16, 2021

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Photo from shiftwatch.blogspot.com.

You know how Corvette owners like to get together with other Corvette owners to fawn over each others’ cars? Or how Harley Davidson riders hang out with other Harley riders? Well, it turns out mountain bikers are starting to do the same thing along brand lines – something that wasn’t really feasible before the internet. Forget freeride and downhill groups – in 2009 it’s Trek Fuel 8 EX and Specialized Stumpjumper FS owner groups.

Here’s a perfect example: Ellsworth is sponsoring the First Annual Pacific Northwest Owners Tour next month outside Bend, OR for – you guessed it – Ellsworth owners. The tour is actually organized by Cog Wild Bicycle Tours (coincidental Harley reference?) and anyone is welcome to attend but Ellsworth owners save $300 off the price of the weekend. Beer, bikes, and bivouacking under the stars – it doesn’t get any better than that!

If you’re a Specialized Epic owner you may have seen proedgebiker’s relentless posts about the Epic owners group he created over on the Facebook. Last I heard there were about 200 members in the group – I don’t know for sure since I can’t even join the group as a non-Epic rider 🙂 Group members can share photos of their bikes, swap stories and tips, and connect with other “elite” Epic owners.

I haven’t heard of any brand / model owner group rides in my area yet but it certainly wouldn’t be hard to organize. In fact, local bike shops would probably love to help you organize a meet up with other area owners. Gary Fisher owners, for example, could show off the evolution of GF mountain bikes over the years while Trek owners chould showcase the wide range of Trek bikes from hardtails to FS to cyclocross bikes. And just think how cool it would be to see a group of a dozen riders on the same bike whiz by you on the trail!

If you do end up organizing a MTB brand / model rally, send us a shout and some pics – we’ll try to help you spread the word!