the state of northshore in australia??

[jimmy_22]

it seems the state of northshore in australia is of a pour standard. why is it that other countries like canada and america can have such high standard trails and stunts like that demonstrated in the trail building dection on pinkbike.com (and thats mostly the homemade stuff)?? while australia seems to have alot of pour quality in design and more importantly hoe they are built. something needs to be done about this, australia has a growing list of world class riders; you'd think our trails would be world class to reflect that. but sadley they are not.

[pyley]

it seems the state of northshore in australia is of a pour standard. why is it that other countries like canada and america can have such high standard trails and stunts like that demonstrated in the trail building dection on pinkbike.com (and thats mostly the homemade stuff)?? while australia seems to have alot of pour quality in design and more importantly hoe they are built. something needs to be done about this, australia has a growing list of world class riders; you'd think our trails would be world class to reflect that. but sadley they are not.


seems us aussies have a low attention to detail, the whole she'll be right attitude doesn't work!

at the moment i'm working with a few people trying to build dj's, shore, drops and the likes, and , it's hard to drum in the fact that if you build it, and build it right the first time, it will not only last forever, but, be safe and look good(maybe) aswell. it's time we all took pride in a job. i know alot of riders are impatient, but my mum says good things come to those who wait....


my 2 cents

[FR Drew]

I think the biggest problem with northshore in Australia is that it's built dodgy, built without landowner approval and more often than not, built for no reason. The original shore was there to make impassable sections rideable without casuing damage to the surrounding terrain. Gradually people modified it to produce the technical stunts that "shore" is now famous and recognised for.

In Australia there are erosion problems and mud borne fungus (Pc) that shore could be used to avoid but (almost) no one seems to ever build shore for any reason but as a technical trail feature. We are putting the cart before the horse trying to build technical hazards for no purpose, with out proving to landowners that "shore" can be used for good rather than just being a liability nightmare. Show land managers tame shore with an ecological purpose that they can understand and then gradually build up from there but opting to go from singletrack straight to 8 foot high 3 inch wide rickety skinnies is asking for the stuff to be ripped down.

Shore can make for good variety in TTF's but for pete sake, use your brains about how you apply it and if you're going to build it, build it properly and to last, not some dodgy, wonky, nail filled, under strength softwood shite.

[pyley]

ooh a big amen to that...if you'd like to come to sydney and help us build a legal freeride park, ill love to have you along,,,,i like your attitude...


peace

[soapy]

our tree's are bent...there's tree's are straight

[demo man]

our tree's are bent...there's tree's are straight

I laughed at that, but then i noticed where you say you are (near vancouver) and i got confused....


FR Drew has it right.

[@nDr3w]

ooh a big amen to that...if you'd like to come to sydney and help us build a legal freeride park, ill love to have you along,,,,i like your attitude...


peace

Legal freeride park? im interested. tell me more please.

[shmity]

it seems the state of northshore in australia is of a pour standard. why is it that other countries like canada and america can have such high standard trails and stunts like that demonstrated in the trail building dection on pinkbike.com (and thats mostly the homemade stuff)?? while australia seems to have alot of pour quality in design and more importantly hoe they are built. something needs to be done about this, australia has a growing list of world class riders; you'd think our trails would be world class to reflect that. but sadley they are not.


Australia has a growing list of world class racers, who ride on dh race style tracks. I cant see any of them giving two shits about north shore style tracks. Apart from it being unnessisary in a climate like australias, our world class riders wouldnt ride it anyway.

[jimmy_22]

australia has some of the best freeriders in the world. take grant allen for example he kills it.

[shmity]

Thats one rider, who while being quite skilled, is not among the BEST "freeriders" in the world right now. Now we look at Rennie, Hill, Kovarik, Hannah, Hannah, Graves, Rando, etc etc etc etc, our best riders are all geared towards one style of riding, and i think our trails reflect that. If you want to go and make some North Shore style trails go right ahead, but dont kid yourself about what our best riders ride.

[TransitionPete]

Legal freeride park? im interested. tell me more please.

http://forums.farkin.net/showthread.php?t=57646

This thread gives you all the details....

[fleshbone]

yeh,the kids just seem to wonna ride wood.just look at the thread i think in pix section of "not shore".i'll never build dodgy n.s,it just wont be to my standard.people just build and think its kool,aint so kool if your 8ft up then it suddenly breaks away then your gaaaaaaauuuuunnnnneeeee.:(

[THRILLHOUSE]

Thats one rider, who while being quite skilled, is not among the BEST "freeriders" in the world right now. Now we look at Rennie, Hill, Kovarik, Hannah, Hannah, Graves, Rando, etc etc etc etc, our best riders are all geared towards one style of riding, and i think our trails reflect that. If you want to go and make some North Shore style trails go right ahead, but dont kid yourself about what our best riders ride.

Well maybe we don't have the best freeriders because we don't have freeride stunts as much as other places. So why not try and lobby to get more freeriding happening in Australia then we could be top of downhill and freeriding in the world. Why be satisfied in being at the top in just one discipline?

[Dozer]

So why not try and lobby to get more freeriding happening in Australia then we could be top of downhill and freeriding in the world. Why be satisfied in being at the top in just one discipline?

That is a great attitude, we have some really high quality people racing and it would be a well set exercise to get more people into comptetive freeriding. One thing that would deter people is the lame north shore that gets built though. It would have to be done by people who have a very good idea of what they are doing to help the discipline progress in our country. I for one would rather watch someone hitting a quality built north shore section in Australia in person than watching it on a DVD from Canada or elsewhere.
I think the problem with some of the crappy stuff being built is the people who build it don't have any structual or long term idea of what they are doing. If people researched how to build it right and take the time to do it (legally of course!) then it would benefit everyone wanting to ride it.

[FR Drew]

Truth be told, I think the biggest problem for north shore in Australia is precisely the same problem faced by dirt jumpers in a lot of Australia...

When, something is done illegally, much of it is half arsed. When something is done with approval, time can be spent, proper materials can be sourced, effort can be put in because the people doing the work know that it will be there in the long term, not ripped down in 3 weeks time when the council finds it.

It's well worth checking out this thread:
http://forums.farkin.net/showthread.php?t=54370
You can bet your balls that the guys who did work to that standard weren't expecting it to be gone anytime soon.

If shore builders work with land managers and authorities to get approval for construction, there's no end to the awesome stuff that could be built. With a fairly dry climate and less issues with rot, the potential is awesome.

[northshoreaddict]

One of the main reasons the northshore of Canada is so well built and is so durable is because its made out of Ceda in forests which every tree is Ceda!

Ceda is very strong but is very light compared to Aussie hardwood.

It is a extremely easy timber to work with, its like cutting butter with a steak knife and you could almost push the nails in!!

Also! Canada doesnt have termites and the weather conditions are not as harsh as most of the Aussie bushland.

Because of termites and our weather conditions the majority of our NS has to be built out of milled timber and has to be Hardwood or treated pine, both are not easy to come across unless your willing to reach into your back pocket which not many people want to do!

All in all building northshore in Australia takes a lot of time, skill and effort which a lot of people arent capable of or just won't do!

Thats why Ns trails are kept secret, too much time and effort(and sometimes money) goes into the trails!!

There is a lot of great Ns out there, you just have to know where to look!


BAD BLOOD........

[FR Drew]

Dammit they also don't have galahs and sufur crested cockys. If they did, all the cedar would get eaten.



"Yeah mate, we had some bloody sik technical trail features down here but the parrots came and ate it all. Mate, you reckon beavers can trash wood? You aint seen nothing!

I mean, the snakes and dropbears are scary enough, but the beaks and claws on these parrots... You don't want to go out there without a 12 gauge mate..."

[sygote]

it seems the state of northshore in australia is of a pour standard. why is it that other countries like canada and america can have such high standard trails and stunts like that demonstrated in the trail building dection on pinkbike.com (and thats mostly the homemade stuff)?? while australia seems to have alot of pour quality in design and more importantly hoe they are built. something needs to be done about this, australia has a growing list of world class riders; you'd think our trails would be world class to reflect that. but sadley they are not.


I have been told a long time ago that canada was where north shore was invented (on the north shore of vancouver). it was built so that the local environment was not effected as much. and also over here trail building is rushed becuase people want tracks straight away

[CrookS]

Represent the racing Shmity.
Its a shame freeriding has to follow such a dodgy trend.
Whats wrong with riding on dirt and rocks you save trees that way

[chris harris]

Well some places may have a low standard of northshore but where one of my friends build its top quality he's got some awesome stuff but he built it when he had no bike. But now his got a bike i dont think he will build much more. but its the best northshore I've seen other then the stuff in pics and video's.

[Customjimmy]

Nothin wrong with dirt and rocks. The whole 'north shore' (of Canada) thing evolved from having to build artificial tracks over sensitive areas. A bit of imagination can go a long way...

[Dumbellina]

Part of the problem with trail access in Australia is it is bound up with the mid 90's thinking about what mountain biking is - that is most focused on XC and DH on firetrails.

Trail advocates have to consider the full spectum of MTB when lobbying for access, but unfortunately most public land is only suited to XC b/c of terrain, environmental constraints and conflicts with other visitors. State forests are cooler about DH and constructing technical DH trails (with approval!) but Northshore is a separate issue.

The main impediment is the constructed element. Unlike a normal trail which is built into and on top the earth and its features, NS is about building something artificial to isolate you from the earth. While in Vancouver such as think is environmental friendly and was isolated from places where most people visited so it could be done with only some opposition. In Australia we have dick for brains idiots felling trees, clearing vegetation and building shit in full vision of park managers and other visitors (despite "hiding it in a secret location").

The isolation from the earth element does rub a few zen riders (being at one with the earth stuff) the wrong way - me included. So it will take a good argument for all MTB to support a NS proposal anyway.

The other aspect about FR is the public liability issue - on a normal trail in a national park or state forests, you stack and get hurt, you will have trouble suing the government. If you stack from a constructed NS trail, you can sue the builder and the land manager for letting them build it. That's why unauthorised trail construction (which was the genesis of NS in Vancouver and everywhere in the world) is so frowned on in Australia - why land managers will destroy and why trail advocates will beat up for building it. The same is not true in New Zealand where public liability laws are different.

[tinkerbell]

i think where it is has a lot to do with it , like when you see a video and the track's are in forest with moss every where it looks really nice to ride.
but yeah i think we just build to hold you and your bike up and thats it .

[Eunot]

I believe that a big part comes down to a lack of riding ability. The people who are trying to build the Ns stunts don't have the ability to ride them to the same level we all see on DVD's. And because of this they aren’t producing a quality construction that is safe for all riders.

I also believe that it's true about councils having to think of everyone. I'm in Toowoomba and we have now a legal DH run that the council and local Mountain bike club constructed, but many people CAN NOT ride this as it is WAY too hard for inexperienced riders. Taking this into account why would they want to spend more money ( and lets be real, a good Ns track will cost a bit) when they have to build roads, supply water and everything else that they need to spend money on.

And my third and final point is that I believe allot of the Ns stuff we see every now and then is spur of the moment building. When I go out to build, up date or maintain one of the local tracks I have the whole track in mind. How will this corner flow into that jump and into those stutters etc… But if you go out and say lets putt a ladder bridge in here because that would be cool it may not work and thusly leaving a potential law suit.

The point I am trying to make here is that without proper planning and a whole trail being mapped out and passed through the correct channels we won't get approval by councils or land managers/owners simply due to liability issues. They aren’t going to go and spend thousands of dollars for half a trail. They need to build the whole thing so they can take all risks into account and build something the whole mountain bike community can enjoy.

I hope I haven't ticked anyone off but we have to be a bit realistic about these things. To the uneducated eye a Ns inspired track is, as it has been said in many posts, a law suit waiting to happen.

[Air time erik]

one canadian Northshore builder "Dangerous Dan" said in a old issue of single track "people think that Northshore style is rideing on obstacals, so in a sense you can duplicate it anywhere in the world but your not going to get the same experience. its not the real deal know what i mean? "


i agree with him !!!!

[soulman]

one canadian Northshore builder "Dangerous Dan" said in a old issue of single track "people think that Northshore style is rideing on obstacals, so in a sense you can duplicate it anywhere in the world but your not going to get the same experience. its not the real deal know what i mean? "


i agree with him !!!!

amen to that my friend nice words