I still consider myself an amateur compared to experienced cyclists and mountain bikers, so on many occasions I turn to the Internet for improving my biking IQ. In the midst of doing that, I also discovered plenty of videos of incredible riders all around the world, even some right where I live.
If Only Every Mountain Biking Video Was Shot Like This
Some might argue that you shouldn’t start a meal (article) with desert (the best), but honestly, I can’t help it — this is my favorite mountain biking video of all time. One thing that always amazes me is how videographers get “those shots” – you know, the ones that seem practically impossible. And this video is full of them. That aside, the mountain bikers are extremely skilled, and how all four of them fly through the course simultaneously, often crossing paths, is quite impressive.Insane Downhill Bike Race In Valparaiso, Chile
The GoPro and other mountable video cameras have revolutionized how action sports are watched – we can now see what it’s like from the athlete’s perspective without actually being there or taking those risks. To say this particular race is “risky” would be an understatement. The legendary urban high-speed course in Valparaiso, Chile takes the rider down multiple sets of stairs, through tight alleyways, over big jumps and drop-offs, and even navigating around a stray dog. And I thought jumping over a fallen tree on my bike was difficult…Inspired Bicycles — Danny MacAskill April 2009
Danny MacAskill definitely lives up to his name, making these stunts look like child’s play. With the song, The Funeral by Band of Horses playing in the background, you can’t help but feel inspired as he struggles in the beginning of the video to ride across the fence. But as the video continues, he shocks you with some amazing tricks.Danny MacAskill’s Imaginate
“Two Danny MacAskill videos back to back?”, you say – absolutely. And although this one was sponsored by Red Bull and I tried to steer away from “mainstream” videos for the most part, I was thoroughly impressed with the perspective attained in this video. I think every guy (and maybe even a lot of ladies) will be taken back to their childhood when they imagined doing all sorts of crazy things, not necessarily even on a bike, but just in general – it’s the idea of taking you back to your childhood sense of adventure.If you’re intrigued by behind the scenes footage, be sure to check out their video of that as well.
Ride My Domain, Episode 2 — Moscow,ID
Before I moved to Idaho, I did my research on what the mountain biking was like around these parts. That’s when I found this video – and after watching it, I could hardly wait to get up on “Moscow Mountain” and fly through the singletrack. It gets more interesting though. Upon moving here, I joined the local mountain biking association’s Facebook page and participated in a couple of conversations there. One of those conversations being about the smartphone apps used by local bikers to plot their rides, which ended up being Strava, an awesome ad-free app.On the Facebook page, someone invited me to come ride with him on the mountain, which would be my first time (little did I know, it was only a 10 minute drive). Upon talking to him in person, I realized that he was the guy behind the RideMyDomain website and the videographer of this video, as well as many others.
Here’s a quick, slightly off-topic tip: when choosing a smartphone app for cyclists, the most useful feature is if it’s widely used by others in the area. Even if it’s not necessarily the best one, if everyone else uses it, it will be far more beneficial to you than any other because you can compare your progress to other riders and find cycling routes among other things.
People Are Awesome — Extreme Mountain Biking Video Mix 2013
This fast paced video lives up to its name by featuring clip after clip of impressive rides through some of the gnarliest terrain. They go places where the average person wouldn’t even think would be rideable. Get ready to be amazed.Insane Downhill Bike Street Race In Colombia
If you loved the first urban downhill video in this article, then you’ll love this one even more. In a sense, they’re not comparable as to which one is more extreme – they both are ridiculously awesome. Although, this one is a bit shorter and doesn’t feature a dog running in front of the rider. The one thing I especially like about this video is the camera position – it’s mounted on the rider’s chest, providing a unique perspective to what the rider is experiencing. Personally, this is my favorite point of view as it helps me appreciate the course and rider’s skill.Trial Trails — Chris Akrigg
Often when we go riding, we find trails to ride. If we come to a gate, fence or large boulders, we usually do one of two things: go around them, or if they’re extremely technical, turn around completely. But this guy, Chris Akrigg, makes them his trail. When he comes to a fence or gate, he jumps over it. Big boulders? No problem. Huge drops? He just jumps! The things you don’t think are possible to accomplish while on a bike, he does with very little effort.Red Bull Rampage Top 5 Moments
Red Bull sponsors a lot of extreme sports events, mountain biking being one of them. In this video, they compiled the five greatest rides over the years of “Red Bull Rampage”, located in Virgin, Utah. These athletes ride off cliffs, ride down steep cliff walls and along narrow ridges, and jump huge gaps, all while showing off with various stunts in the air. It would be an understatement to say it’s “incredible”.Best of Freeride Downhill Mountain Biking
This extreme video takes you to the Gobi Desert in Asia, where it’s practically impossible to comprehend the technicality of the terrain. From what it looks like, there’s not even much of a course, hence the word “freeride” in the title. How they land on, let alone ride down, what looks like unstable and loose rock, is beyond my comprehension. Although they have a few wipeouts, I find it amazing how they can accomplish such amazing feats.Freeride Mountain Biking In British Columbia, Canada
One thing I’m beginning to realize is that there is some incredible mountain biking in British Columbia, some of which I’ll hopefully get to experience some day. I don’t see myself ever doing the crazy trails and jumps in this video though. The shots in this video are of mountain bikers getting huge air off jumps, while doing an assortment of stunts that will leave you absolutely amazed. In addition to that, they glide through a treacherous downhill course built entirely for high speed.Martyn Ashton – Road Bike Party
Think only mountain bikes can go off-road? Think again – this cyclist, Martyn Ashton, redefines how a road bike can be used as he shows off his incredible skills on a road bike. You won’t be seeing this kind of thing on typical cycling websites. He takes it through dirt, creeks, over rocks, up steps…on one tire, and down steep ledges – virtually everywhere the “pros” take their mountain bikes.Fearless 4-Year Old, Narrates Father-Son Mountain Biking Trip
So far all the videos in this article have been of highly-skilled, professional riders doing incredible stunts on all kinds of terrains, all over the world. But this video is a bit different. This is one of a little four year-old boy on his first mountain biking trip with his dad. You don’t have to watch long before you see his confidence unfold. He first “orders” his dad to go first. You see a slight hesitation as he approaches the first big drop, but surprisingly he doesn’t stay at the top for long. He pushes off and glides down the wooden jump, then through some pretty technical and rocky turns and jumps yelling “I’m doing it dad! I love this!”Downhill Mountain Biking With “Amber”, A Dog
You might not think that taking your dog mountain biking would be very fun, and with most dogs, it would likely be a hassle, as you would have to worry about them keeping up with you or wondering off, but Amber, a Hungarian Vizsla, is different. She can keep up, and does it incredibly well. The rider and owner, compiles a mix of camera positions including a helmet mount, a rear mount – enabling you to watch Amber soar over jumps and fly around tight turns, and even a mount on Amber.Seeing how fast she is, was incredible, but what I found more incredible was that sometimes she leads. And other times when he took one route, she knew enough to take a slightly shorter route, allowing herself to keep up with him. So she’s not only extremely fast and athletic, but also incredibly intelligent.
He made another edit of this same ride that you can watch here.