Wise Words is our interview series talking to some of mountain biking’s most switched on people.
We’ll ask our short list of questions to a heap of influential, inspiring and outspoken people that we feel are driving the direction of mountain biking today. Some will make you think, some will make you laugh, some will be plain dumb, some will inspire you to better yourself and your riding. We hope!
Wise Words this wee come to you from none other than Mr. Darren Mabbott.
Darren Mabbott is the man who has steered Silverfish through the good and the bad of the cycle industry over the last quarter of a century. Two years ago, he moved into an acting role as Business Founder, whilst Matthew Osborne took over from Darren as Managing Director.
When not on The Good Ship Silverfish, Darren’s often seen on top of a bike or under the water.
How would your closest riding buddies describe you to someone who has never met you?
I asked around and as you can imagine I got lots of support from my riding buddies (not). “All the gear and no idea, not terribly tolerant of faffing about in the car park, can’t corner for toffee, questionable taste in music, sometimes rides in slippers and fiercely competitive, if he can see you’re having an off day, he’ll put the power down.”
Although a couple were slightly more supportive, “good laugh to be around, awesome taste in music, kind, generous, often direct (not always wisely), can smell BS a mile off, loves a wind up, total 80s/90s bike nerd, great stories to share with a post ride beer and pretty fast for an old guy”, which I guess is kind of a compliment.
What thing or things have you bought in the last year that had the biggest effect on your life as a mountain biker / cyclist / person that works in the bike industry?
There are a lot of drawbacks to owning a business, but a lot of positives when you own a business in a sport that you love. And for many, many years I’ve subscribed to the n+1 theory of bike ownership, so I’m not ashamed to admit I have a lot of different bikes for a lot of different disciplines. Yeti hardtail MTB, 120mm/140mm/160mm MTBs, DJ bike, BMX, eMTB, Norco lightweight eMTB, Open gravel bike and road bike, you get the drift.
I also upgrade them relentlessly hence the ‘all the gear’ comment above.
What have I bought in the last year that has had the biggest effect? Three things probably… After 40 years of fettling bikes I finally bought myself my very own use at home wheel truing stand, so I’ve spent quite a few evenings making sure all my wheels are running exactly true.
Second thing is another tool, Birzman’s Clam. It’s cheap, genius simple but absolutely makes setting up your disk brakes a cinch, I wish I’d bought one years ago. And my most recent purchase? A new pair of Fox 38s, their new GRIP X2 damper is seriously good, it’s more tuneable and more supportive so you sit higher in the travel but your tyres are glued to the ground. It also means improved traction in cornering so you can absolutely rail those berms. I can see a fun summer ahead smashing some PBs on these forks.
What unusual habits do you have as a bike rider?
I’m pretty anal about my bar set up, brake lever angle and reach has to be set exactly the same on all my bikes. As a result, I’ve always struggled just hopping on a demo bike and getting a true feel for how the bike rides, I always need to adjust the levers and bars first.
I also love the classic fat grips thin gloves combo. That’s probably a throwback to riding ODI Mushrooms and Oury grips back in the 80s and 90s, but I’m super impressed with the new Race Face Chester 34mm grip so I might finally get to retire my 33mm SDG Thrice grips.
What piece of advice do you think every mountain bike rider should hear? And what piece should they ignore?
Commit or Eat Shit used to be one of my favourites. It succinctly summarises the absolute need to commit to that drop or that jump, because if you don’t fully commit, eating shit is usually the end result. But mostly always say hello, smile and wave, mountain biking is supposed to be fun.
A couple of other good ones, if you’re driving to the trail head always double check that you’ve packed your riding shoes. I’ve done a few rides in my slippers. And if you’re riding an eMTB, always check that the battery is fully charged before leaving the house. I have got a couple buddies that got caught short on that one, they ended up riding with no assist. Needless to say, we made those rides a lot hillier than we usually would…
Advice to ignore… Don’t worry about your hangover, you’ll ride it off. Very rarely is that true.
If you could go back and re-ride one day from your life so far, where/what/when/who would it be? Would you change anything?
That one is easy, although it wouldn’t be just one day, it’d be the whole 10 days. 2015 Yeti International Gathering in Nepal. Riding the roof of the world. Some of the best mountain biking anywhere in the world, with a huge group of like-minded Yeti freaks.
We started in the green valleys of Kathmandu and then headed up to the Lower Mustang. If you’re lucky you’ll see Everest but even if you don’t, you are surrounded by breathtaking 8000 metre peaks and it’s like riding on the moon, it truly is the trip of a lifetime and an experience that I would recommend every serious mountain biker should try and attempt at least once.
It has a bit of everything, massive elevation and epic climbs, steep techy trails, switchbacks, long fire road descents (though nothing like any fire road I’ve ever ridden before), super friendly people in remote villages, bunny hopping chickens and ducks on the way down – and suspensions bridges. Lots of suspension bridges.
Would I change anything? Yep. I got halfway along the first suspension bridge and it’s swaying about in the wind and I had a flashback to my honeymoon and the Capilano Suspension bridge in Vancouver. I suddenly remembered I’m terrified of suspension bridges. I jumped off the bike and walked the last third and there’s about 30 riders lined up at the other end with their phone cameras out.
I spoke to Mandil the guide and he happily informed me we had to cross about 30 more suspension bridges over the next few days and some of them would be wooden with huge drops below. I realized at that point it was time to commit or eat shit. I rode every bridge after that first one and have been back to Nepal twice and have probably now ridden 100+ suspension bridges all over the world. I made a lot of lifelong friends on that first Nepal trip but to this day they still call me Bridge Walker…
What have you wasted the most time on in your life as a rider or bike industry career that you wished you’d given up years ago?
Probably a little controversial this one but I’d have to say flat pedals. From riding toe clips back in the 80s and then SPDs, I’ve flirted with flat pedals on and off for 30+ years and whilst I have brief periods where I convince myself I love them, I always end up clipping back in.
Even in my DH days, I think the only bikes I still run flats on nowadays are the eMTB, the BMX and the DJ. Next time I take the eMTB out I’m gonna try clipping in and see how it goes, I definitely prefer being clipped in on the lightweight ebike.
How do you motivate yourself when you’re struggling or lacking inspiration?
I’ve struggled with motivation recently which is pretty unusual for me. I got super fit for BC Bike Race (BCBR) and was putting in a lot of training then Covid hit and BCBR (like everything) got cancelled.
It’s been a bit of a journey back to rediscover my mojo, but it really is as simple as just get out there and ride. Yep, it pisses you off getting dropped and struggling up climbs you used to ace, but you always feel so much better after a ride and remembering that has gotten me back into the groove of regular riding. I just need to plan some UK road trips now and stick the bikes in the van.
What single and specific thing about riding bicycles do you gain the most happiness from?
Having a laugh and sharing stories with good friends. Forget what bike you’re on and whether you’re riding the newest tech, that stuff is cool for sure but for me it’s about spending quality time outdoors doing fun shit, talking nonsense or talking serious, with mates, with Sarah or with my kids. Preferably in the sunshine, the trails are dry and dusty, and it’s early in the season so if you’re riding in the Alps, you’re not rattling your fillings out on the braking bumps.
What single thing would you like to erase from cycling history from the last year?
It’d be two things if it was the last 5 years, Brexit and Covid. Both have impacted a lot of different types of businesses, but cycling has been hit especially hard. As well as distributing in the UK, Silverfish also distributes Yeti, Transition, Burgtec and Skratch Labs in Germany and Austria, post Brexit that became a lot more expensive and a lot more complicated.
With zero support and pretty much zero guidance from the UK Government on how to navigate the new rules, or what the new rules even were, there was an awful lot of head scratching if you were a business involved in importing and exporting. We’ve had to divert resources to Europe and expand our team there whereas previously all that investment was happening in our HQ in Cornwall and our Silverfish Service Centre in South Wales.
Plus, we now get to deal with copious amounts of BS red tape and additional admin burdens. I’ve still not really worked out who actually gained from the whole Brexit fiasco, but I suspect it’ll be the money men, politicians and their buddies.
Covid was a disaster for the distribution side of the industry. We had already been hit with lower volumes post Brexit and a lot of uncertainty in the market, then Covid hit and every man, woman, child and their dog bought a bike and UK stocks got wiped out, lead times went through the roof, Russia invaded Ukraine, and by the time replenishment stock arrived the UK was in a cost of living crisis and everybody cancelled their orders.
Navigating this mess of excess stock across pretty much all categories has ravaged the whole industry and we’ve sadly seen a number of good UK cycling businesses fail as a result.
What single thing would you like to make happen in the cycling world in the next year?
Richie Rude on a Yeti and The GOAT on a Norco to each win at least one World Cup DH each. Now that would be frickin’ awesome
Who else should we ask these questions to?
Dan Critchlow at Burgtec, it would be good to learn his secret. How on earth has he built such a successful MTB company and yet always appears to be out riding his bike?
And Mandil Pradhan, owner of Himalayan Rides, a guide for H + I Adventures and one of my favourite people in the world. Mandil loves riding, he’s massive fun to be around, and for a little guy, he’s remarkably quick up the mountain.
