Rock and heavy metal music has soundtracked many a bike edit, and we know a lot of mountain bikers listen to it to get hyped up to ride – us among them! It turns out it goes the other way, too, with some big names from the harder end of the musical spectrum enjoying a spot of MTB action. But why? The relationship between bikes and music goes back to 1970s legends such as Bob Weir, of hippy favourites the Grateful Dead. Back in the day, the Californian guitarist used to go mountain biking with his friend, MTB pioneer and Dead ‘Party Krew’ member Gary Fisher. As they rode the trails of Marin County, Bob kept a cassette recorder taped to the handlebar of his Cannondale, in case musical inspiration should come to him.
More recently, Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder has spoken of going on rides with the late Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog, Audioslave), Nine Inch Nails mainman Trent Reznor and his family have a fleet of bikes including both electric and regular MTBs, and Justin Chancellor, bass player with epic prog-metallers TOOL, can often be spotted on his hardtail in-between shows. Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan has also been papped in the saddle (but apparently doesn’t go mountain biking on a regular basis), and Dutch symphonic metal star Mark Jansen (Epica, After Forever, MaYaN) has been known to enjoy the odd MTB ride despite being a roadie at heart.
Veering away back in the ’90s) is an avid MTBer!
