Fourcross

Fourcross is a form of four-wheeled downhill mountain biking, which has the benefit of being suitable for disabled riders. It is a gravity sport, there's no propulsion. The rider has to actively use their body to corner bends and to prepair for jumps, through leaning their upper body and pumping their chair.[1] The rider sits nearer to the ground than on a regular mountain bike. This makes the ride seem much faster, and that gives an adrenaline rush. These bikes can be handled by the riders themselves, without any assistance, and that gives independence and a feeling of freedom. In 2007, there were about 20 fourcrossers around the world.[2]

For the two-wheeled mountain bike event, see four-cross.

History

American origin

Fourcross was pioneered in Canada and the United States, in the late 1980's and early 90's. The most memorable bike of that period was the Cobra gravity fourwheeler, designed by John Castilliano and piloted by John Davis. Davis made a point of participating in the mountainbike scene, having the same sponsors, riding the same events, and not making fourcross a separate sport.[3]

The Grove DH1, designed and build by Bill Grove and ridden by Stacy Kohut, set the next benchmark.[3] Grove was an outstanding welder and designer, who made a lot of bike prototypes for many brands. He also invented bike parts for BMX and MTB.[4] Kohut is a Paralympic champion and has been the only professional fourcrosser for many years.[5] When Grove Innovation stopped in 2000, Kohut bought the rights to build the fourwheeler and set up the R-ONE company (formerly Outlet Industries).[3] Production ceased in around 2011.[6]

Adaptive Mountain Biking Trail Standards

In 2020 the Kootenay Adaptive Sport Association (KASA  Canada) developed a comprehensive set of trail standards. They help planning, design and construct safe trails for Adaptive Mountain Bikes (aMTB).[7] This means that the standards are not only for fourcross, but also for 2 to 4 wheeled handcycles, recumbent leg-cycles, bucket Bikes and tandem bikes.[8] The standards include signs that show the difficulty of a trail, much like the rating of a ski piste, and the accessibility for each type of bike. Whistler Mountain Bike Park is using the standard and puts signs at their trails.[9] There's also an  Australian standard.[10]

References
  1. How riders use their body on difficult tracks, can be seen in this YouTube video: Rémy Métailler (2021-09-02). "4 Wheel Mountain Bike Shreds Whistler Bike Park". Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  2. On YouTube: 000FOURCROSS000 (2007-01-10). "Intro To Fourcross 1". Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  3. On YouTube: "BT4 (Better Than Four) featuring Rough Riderz". Boulder Creek International. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  4. "1990 – Grove X". virtual museum of historic mountainbikes (in French). Génération Mountainbike. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  5. Scott Hart (2016-12-13). "Mountain biking on 4 wheels is faster than 2". redbull.com. Retrieved 2022-08-29. Meet a rare breed of devoted racer: Stacy Kohut, the world's fastest mountain biker on four wheels.
  6. "FAQS". roughriderz.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2022-02-12. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  7. "Adaptive Mountain Biking Trail Standards". Kootenay Adaptive Sport Association. 2020. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  8. "What is Adaptive Mountain Biking?". Kootenay Adaptive Sport Association. 2020. Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  9. On YouTube: Global Mountain Bike Network (2022-08-25). "Whistler Double Black Diamond On A Hand Bike!". Retrieved 2022-08-30.
  10. Down Under: Break the Boundary. "Adaptive MTB Guidelines". Retrieved 2022-08-30.
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