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Home / Mountain Bike Podcast / News

Indoor Bike Parks, STC vs. IMBA, Bear Charges Biker [Podcast #34]

Aaron and Jeff discuss indoor bike parks, welcome the newest Singletracks Community board member, and share their favorite mountain bike videos from the week.

By Jeff Barber
January 28, 2016 Last Updated: January 21, 2026

5 comments

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photo: jtorlando25

On this Episode

In this episode, Aaron and I talk about indoor bike parks, the newest member of the STC’s board, and our favorite MTB videos shared this week.

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Jeff Barber

Jeff Barber has been mountain biking since 1992 and has tested hundreds of mountain bikes and components. He is the co-founder of Singletracks and serves as Editor in Chief. Contact him at [email protected].

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5 Comments

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Advocat_Jim North Carolina // 2016
Jan 29, 2016

Aaron and Jeff, I've been researching the STC and IMBA positions regarding STC's new effort. I believe Aaron's statement, to the effect that "IMBA says that STC's approach is wrong, won't work and don't wast your money", is completely unsubstantiated and untrue. This issue is difficult enough to get a good grasp on. If you are going to "report" on issues like this, please do so responsibly without spreading additional misinformation. We don't need more division. Otherwise, what I have seen of your coverage has been excellent and I look forward to what you and others have to say on this and other topics imortant to the MTB community.

0 reply

Aaron Chamberlain Georgia // 2013
Jan 29, 2016

Thanks for the comment Jim. I was referring to Ashley Korenbalt's letter as Jeff mentioned. IMBA has not come out explicitly to denounce the STC, but their comments have been at best, tepid. And I understand that, they have their own organization to protect, that's their business. Both organizations can exist simultaneously, it doesn't have to be divisive.

Also, I should reiterate (as I did in the podcast) that this is my personal opinion on the matter.

0 reply

Greg Heil Colorado // 2008
Feb 1, 2016

Hi Jim,

In response to your comment, at present IMBA's published letters don't seem to support the statement,
“IMBA says that STC’s approach is wrong, won’t work and don’t wast your money” (sic). However, when they first released their "Timely message," there was an attached PDF document that spelled out essentially that... especially the "don't waste your money" part. However, at this point in time, it appears that IMBA has removed the PDF that was originally linked to at the end of this article: https://www.imba.com/blog/mike-van-abel/timely-message-imba-members-and-supporters-wilderness-policy-agenda

So, based on this update, it appears that IMBA may be trying to back pedal by removing documents that they had previously published. Based on all of the research that I have personally conducted while covering the Sustainable Trails Coalition over the past 6 months (and the topic of bikes in Wilderness over the past several years), Aaron's analysis in the podcast is spot-on.

0 reply

Advocat_Jim North Carolina // 2016
Jan 30, 2016

Thanks Gents. I appreciate the replies.

0 reply

AUTHOR

Jeff Barber Georgia // 1998
Jan 29, 2016

Thanks Jim. I believe Aaron was referring to Ashley Korenblat's open letter titled, "Say no to the Sustainable Trails Coalition." While Ashley did serve on IMBA's board in the past, she is no longer affiliated with the group so it was incorrect to say this is IMBA's position. Duly noted!

Either way, hopefully it was clear from our conversation that we believe (like IMBA) that both groups can co-exist.

0 reply

Tagged: bears, hawaii, imba, indoor bike parks, news, podcast, portal trail, stc, mountain bike podcast

First published January 28, 2016 @ 5:49:20