Not All Mountain Bike Skills Companies Are Created Equal

Not all Skills Companies are created equal…..

 I recognize this blog is self-serving but hear me out. Take five minutes to read what I have to say and then you make the decision if all mountain bike skills companies are created equal. There are all different types of skills companies out there from bigger companies who are in the industry full-time to small one-person companies who coach as a side hustle.  I AM NOT SUGGESTING ANY OTHER COACHES ARE GOOD OR BAD. That is not what this blog is about. But there is a difference in the type of experience. So, what are the differences? Let’s start with the product, the clinic or camp and what skills you will learn.

Companies that are in this space full-time are continuously investing resources ensuring riders are receiving the latest coaching and teaching techniques. From having employees that sit on the boards/curriculum development committees of organizations that train coaches to having those instructor trainers on staff offering multiple mandatory development weekends per year. Think of it this way, you may have a buddy that received a degree in accounting. They/them may work in an accounting field, mergers and acquisitions for example. That individual may even file their own taxes. But that doesn’t mean they have as much knowledge as a CPA about doing taxes. Your buddy doesn’t do it full time; they are not immersed in it. However, because its mountain biking it is not taken as seriously as other industries, but it’s the same principle.

There is also this perception that larger companies utilize coaches from other areas. Many participants want to work with a ‘local coach’. Most of the larger organizations utilize local coaches. I worked for a few organizations before starting DCA and I was hired to run clinics in the area where I lived. That’s local. Again, I think because it’s mountain biking there is a misconception. Let’s use the example of a financial advisor, if you use a Merril Lynch person that lives in your town is that local? They work for a national firm, yet they live in your backyard. Same principle.

I have heard that bigger companies are more expensive. I don’t know how true this is. I do know in our area there is a coach charging $350 for three hours. That is $100 more than our full eight-hour clinic and 45% percent higher than taking a private with DCA. On the flip side I know of a non-profit whose mission is to promote trail advocacy that has decided to move into the skills coaching industry. They are charging $50 dollar p/hour. The non-profit is certifying coaches to teach advanced maneuvers in three hours. Larger companies require a 3 DAY certification for level 1 and another 4 DAY certification for an advanced certification.

So pricing is all over the board. Pricing is correlated to perceived value. When buying a bike customers do a ton of research and buy the bike they believe will provide them with the best ride. Do the same thing with coaching. Research the company or coach and make sure you are getting the kind of value you want for the money you are spending. How do you do the research? I can only tell you what our clients tell us they did, they read the reviews, spoke to riding buddies, called me directly, saw the results while riding with an alumnus or saw us at a venue and rode over to investigate.

One final point about working with a company immersed full-time in the mountain biking skills industry is the culture and community. I am not suggesting that smaller companies do not have a great culture or solid community, I am sure they do. But I am going to use Ladies All Ride (LAR) as an example. LAR does an amazing job of promoting a community of women cyclists. They have the resources, staff and experience to provide a ‘festival’ like atmosphere for their participants. The participants become like groupies going to several events throughout the year. DCA firmly believes that community is one of the main factors that makes our sport unique (and pretty awesome). Being in the industry full time we areconstantly trying to do things that grow the community including DCA alumni weekends and adventure trips. As well as building relationships with vendors that provide special industry pricing to our community. We  meet people at bike shops to provide guidance, DCA has the resources to continuously grow and support the community. Yeti bikes call it the YETI TRIBE, and they have gatherings, LAR has ‘groupies’, DCA has our alumni. All are doing the same thing cultivating a culture within the mountain bike community.

I could go on but my five minutes is up. I am sure some of you have some thoughts so fire away. Hit me up at Patrick@dynamiccyclingadventures.com.

Thank you for giving me five minutes. Now go ride or register for one of our clinics

or Next Level Camps at www.dynamiccyclingadventures.com.

Cheers,

Patrick