Mountain Biking, Culture and Society

This book explores the social, cultural, and political significance of mountain biking in contemporary societies, offering practical and theoretical insights into embodied, material, and socio-technical relationships. It highlights tensions and conflicts in the world of mountain biking, initiating important conversations about climate change, colonialism, discrimination, and land-use.

Format: Hardback
Length: 234 pages
Publication date: 15 February 2024
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This groundbreaking book delves into the profound social, cultural, and political implications of mountain biking in contemporary societies, offering a comprehensive examination of this rapidly growing sport. Recognizing the diverse and complex nature of mountain biking cultures, the book provides practical and theoretical insights into a wide range of embodied, material, and socio-technical relationships. Drawing from an interdisciplinary team of researchers, artists, and (Indigenous) community members with backgrounds in sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, community development, and coaching, the chapters critically unpack the complex and contested nature of mountain biking identities, bodies, environments, and inequalities within specific settings.

Through a series of international case studies from England, Scotland, America, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa, the authors highlight how tensions and conflicts within the world of mountain biking initiate important conversations about climate change, colonialism, discrimination, and land-use. This book is a must-read for academics and practitioners in sociology, cultural studies, sport-for-development, and human geography, as it sheds light on the transformative power of mountain biking in shaping our understanding of society and the world around us.

Weight: 620g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032421919