European Mountain Bikers Care About Environmental Sustainability

This study investigates trail use, motivations, and environmental attitudes among European mountain bikers to better understand their role in advancing sustainability in outdoor recreation.

While mountain biking is sometimes viewed as environmentally harmful, this study shows that riders often value nature and feel responsible for trail stewardship. With few large-scale empirical studies exploring attitudes and behaviors across Europe, this research offers a detailed look at mountain bikers’ preferences, motivations, and self-reported actions.

The study is based on an online survey with 3,780 participants from 29 European countries, covering trail use, discipline, motivations, behaviors, and definitions of trail sustainability. Most riders feel a strong connection to nature, and are eager to adjust their behaviors to reduce environmental impact, and support trail maintenance through volunteering or donations. While many also use unauthorized trails, they have a good understanding of the elements that contribute to the sustainability of mountain bike trails, and also wider environmental and social sustainability.

The findings suggest an untapped opportunity to engage mountain bikers as allies in sustainability efforts — especially by supporting their willingness to contribute to trail upkeep and fostering inclusive, well-designed access strategies.

CITE: Campbell, T., Kirkwood, L., McLean, G., Torsius, M., & Florida-James, G. (2021). Trail use, motivations, and environmental attitudes of 3780 European mountain bikers: What is sustainable?. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(24), 12971. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182412971

#mountainbiking #bikingtrails #trailstewardship #sustainabletrails #conservation #responsibleriding