Shuttle
Getting to the top of a descent by car, van or pickup instead of pedalling, so you can ride down again and again. A shuttle day is to trails what a lift pass is to a bike park.
Also known as: shuttling, shuttle run, uplift
Key facts
- Origin
- English “shuttle” — a vehicle running back and forth
A driver takes riders and bikes up a road to the top of the trails and meets them at the bottom. Some regions have commercial shuttle services; more often friends take turns at the wheel.
Good manners
- Park where you do not block roads, gates or neighbours.
- Keep a gap between groups dropping in, and stay in contact with the driver.
- Trails ridden only downhill wear faster: join the local dig days.
An eMTB works as a self-shuttle: the motor turns the climb into a transfer, and no one has to drive.
Related articles
- Electric mountain bike (eMTB) — A mountain bike with a pedal-assist motor and battery. The motor helps only while you pedal, so you climb more, ride further and spend the day descending.
- Enduro — Racing the descents and riding the climbs: timed downhill stages linked by untimed transfers you pedal up yourself. Also the name of the long-travel bikes built for it.
- Downhill (DH) — Racing one steep, rough track from top to bottom, against the clock, on bikes with around 200 mm of travel. A World Cup run lasts three to four minutes and is decided by fractions of a second.
- Bike park — A resort of graded trails served by a lift or shuttle, so the whole day goes into riding down. Usually a mountain ski resort in summer, with flow, jump and downhill lines.