After its initial launch in 2014, the TREAD Buffalo category, a weight division created to cater for larger mountain bikers, has evolved with the launch of Buffalo MTB, an innovative community for most mountain bikers.
Buffalo MTB is a multi-layered club with the objective of offering South African mountain bikers improved race fulfilment, better skills, increased safety, useful information, compelling inspiration, emergency medical support, bicycle recovery assistance and rider tracking, with more benefits to follow, including bicycle finance and insurance and an e-commerce loyalty platform.
Photo: Anthony Grote
Although mountain bikers can already register, the first wave of paid-benefits, including the all-important panic button on each member’s smartphone, will be active from 1 February 2017. There are three divisions: Buffalo Bulls (mountain bikers that weigh 90kg or more), Buffalo Lite (mountain bikers that weight 80-89kg) and Buffalo Betties (all female mountain bikers regardless of weight).
“We’re appealing to the average mountain biker to become a member of the herd. In cycling, power-to-weight ratio is the most significant factor that determines success. The Buffalo racing category was originally to ensure the bigger riders could still be competitive on their own terms. But we’ve expanded that beyond races now with Buffalo MTB,” said Ryan Hounsom of Buffalo MTB.
Photo: Kelvin Trautman
In essence, while the racing divisions are weight-specific, Buffalo MTB membership is very inclusive. The benefits of safety while riding, whether it’s a medical, security or mechanical incident, are relevant to all mountain bikers and a key reason that female membership to the herd isn’t weight specific.
“Males are naturally competitive, no matter what weight they are. Buffalo MTB ensures that the bigger guys, who would never normally be race podium contenders, are able to be competitive despite their size. But our research shows that females are more concerned about being safe and having fun, whether it’s on training rides or in races,” added Hounsom, a competitive Buffalo category racer himself.
“The competitive racing categories add great value to both riders and event organisers. We have an agreement with SASeeding, South Africa’s premier mountain bike race results and ranking system, to allocate points at most South African mountain bike races to Buffalo Bulls and Buffalo Lite members,” explained Hounsom.
Photo: Kelvin Trautman
“We also have arrangements with the Ashburton Investments National Marathon Series and the Nissan Trailseeker Series (Gauteng and Western Cape) to add a Buffalo category for points-scoring purposes. And then we have created an additional Buffalo race series with the Old Mutual joBerg2c, KAP Sani2c, BSI Steel Dusi2c and Grindrod Berg & Bush stage races,” said Hounsom.
Buffalo MTB has also uploaded a comprehensive South African mountain bike race calendar, giving all mountain bikers a snapshot of every event in the country, which is useful for planning ahead. News and insightful content is provided via the Buffalo MTB website by TREAD, one of South Africa’s leading mountain bike media.
Photo: Kelvin Trautman
There is also a Buffalo MTB association with TREAD Skills, driven by Volvo, the only national mountain bike skills improvement initiative, ensuring that Buffalo members have a direct link with the opportunity to improve their skills, a key aspect of safety, improved speed and ride/race enjoyment.
And in terms of supporting sports development, Buffalo MTB has an association with SuperSport’s Let’s Play. The introduction of the BUFFALO Let’s Play BIKES4KIDS program now allows Let’s Play to expand its existing reach from Grade 4 and 5 learners to Grade 7 learners too. This will also incorporate ongoing support for the Qhubeka initiative, which focuses on upliftment for under-privileged and rural South Africans through the introduction of bicycle mobility.
For more information or to register as a member of the Buffalo herd, visit www.buffalomtb.co.za
Source: Inside Line
