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Mountain Biking

10 of the greatest mountain biking songs

Brought to you by Outdoor Tech


RAW edits
are all the rage nowadays, people seem enchanted by the crunching of tyres and clicking freehubs, but we think you’re missing a trick if you don’t put a banging track in the back of your video.

The perfect combination of rider and music can get you amped to ride like nothing else – after all, who doesn’t have a pump-up playlist on their phone to play in the car on the way to shred? In fact, some of these songs are so iconic that we can’t listen to them without imagining the edit where we first heard them.

From the days of pulling a VHS out of its carboard sleeve to the glistening web edits of today – here are our favourite mountain bike tunes from edits. If we’ve missed your favourite let us know!


1. Motorhead – ace of Spades

Is there a more perfect tribute to Lemmy Kilmister than this? A massive huck to flat heralds the beginning of two and a half minutes of rowdy flat out action as George Brannigan leaves Queenstown broken and battered in his wake. If this doesn’t get you pumped to ride, nothing will.


2. Pendulum – Tarantula

Everyone seems to complain about e-mtbs but they’ve clearly forgotten about Rob Warner‘s fan bike. Capable of hitting 50 mph and louder than a jump jet, Warner’s mad contraption made for the greatest intro to any mountain bike movie – and the song is a belter too.


3. Cat Empire – Two Shoes

There have been a LOT of Whistler videos in the history of mountain biking but not many can top the ender from Seasons. With Steve Peat, Darren Berrecloth, Stevie Smith, Cam McCaul, Matt Hunter, Thomas Vanderham and Andrew Shandro all featured in a five minute segment, it’s easy to see why this one takes some beating – especially when it’s accompanied with the Aussie-ska stylings of the Cat Empire.


4. Band of Horses – Funeral

On 19 April 2009, Danny MacAskill‘s life changed forever. He went from a shop hand at MacDonald Cycles to the most recognisable face in mountain biking and, 37 million views later, his Inspired Bicycles edit still looks stunning. As Funeral by Band of Horses crescendos, so does MacAskill’s riding with the iconic shop gap.


5. Rage Against the Machine – Guerilla Radio

Utah is hallowed ground for mountain bike films but we think Strength in Numbers delivered the best soundtrack. Zac de la Rocha spits through Guerllia Radio as Aggy, Ryan Howard and Thomas Vanderham charge through the red dirt.


6. The Primitives – Crash

Champery is as Champery does – if you want to test the best riders in the world, there’s no better track to take them to than this Swiss monster. In 2007 it proved to be too much for many racers and Earthed Five was there to catch all the action. For what it’s worth this was that Champery race with Sam Hill‘s legendary run and, if this video’s anything to go by, he makes the rest of the riders look like amateurs on the steepest track in the world.


7. Love Grenades – Young Lovers (Sam Sparro Edit)

This video has become commonly known as “If only every mountain bike video was shot like this” but was originally the Coastal Crew section of Kranked 8. As Kyle J would say, “we love this shit” and it’s awesome how the riders constantly separate, rejoin and criss cross around each other syncing beautifully with a banging track.


8. Buffalo Springfield – For What it’s Worth

When you first tune into this video you could be forgiven for thinking it’s just another RAW edit, but then the first chime of the guitar kicks in you realise you’re in for something special. Shot in front of a background as clean as a Windows XP desktop, Semenuk delivers one of the finest segments in history that is even more impressive when you realise it was done first take, in one shot, while he was carrying a wrist injury. Insane!


9. The Swindonians – Sense of Home

Pay attention kids – this is what we like to call “The Golden Age”. Peaty, Pagey, no helmets and jeans that were baggier than a pair of curtains all make for this classic section from Sprung 2 that’s now nearly 20 years old. The Swindonians may not be a household name but that doesn’t stop up getting a wave of nostalgia whenever this song comes on.


10 .Gregory Fleeman and the Fleewoman – Ratboy

We’re not sure which sounds better in this, the Fiat 124 Spider or the smooth stylings of Gregory Fleeman. We could equally have picked Hoochie Coochie, by Band of Skulls, that plays in the riding section, but it’s the intro and outro that really makes this awesome edit.

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