Mountain Biking Mountaineers: Insights into the West Virginia Mountain Biking Community

Abstract

Mountain biking is one of the most popular recreational activities in the United States. Beyond the increasing popularity of the sport, the technology is also changing, especially in terms of electric mountain biking. This new type of bike blends traditional mountain bikes with electric bikes, creating a potential new group of recreationists. The research on mountain biking, and more specifically electric mountain biking, is limited. The purpose of this study is to examine West Virginian mountain bikers by studying behaviors and motivations. There are no published studies focused on mountain biking in West Virginia, and therefore a need to fill this knowledge gap exists. Additionally, the recreation specialization theoretical framework was used to guide the research. The survey was developed using West Virginia University’s Qualtrics platform and data was collected over the course of approximately three months. Partnerships with local mountain biking associations were developed to create a snowball sampling method and the online survey was distributed via posts with an embedded link to the survey on their Facebook pages. Results suggest that West Virginia mountain bikers are a homogeneous group demographically speaking, matching previous research. Though there are some differences, the results indicate that mountain biking is still a sport that consists of mainly highly educated, wealthy, white men. Beyond this, many riders are using their mountain bikes for exercise and fun. There also appears to be differences in rider demographics, behaviors and motivations between people using traditional mountain bikes as opposed to electric mountain bikes. Furthermore, electric mountain biking may play a role in recreational specialization. These findings could be used for further research and informing decision makers in the outdoor recreation industry.