New Mountain Bike Consulting Company
New Mountain Bike Consulting Company
Changing Gears in Great Valley, NY Opens the Door to Outdoor Adventures
Photos / Rich Rumfola
While working as the facilities manager for a large local business in the summer of 2020, Great Valley’s Burt Little saw the world change as the covid pandemic pushed people out of their houses and into all forms of outdoor recreation.
Sporting goods stores and manufacturers quickly sold out of equipment meant to be used and enjoyed outside; from inline skates to kayaks to bicycles - even puppies were in short supply!
A self-proclaimed adrenalin junkie and lifelong cyclist, Little realized that for all those new mountain bike owners, pedaling a new bike around the parking lot at the local bike shop isn’t quite the same as heading out onto a trail at the local state park.
It was with the idea of bridging the gap from the store to the trail that his new business, Changing Gears Mountain Bike Consulting was born.
“During the pandemic, the industry grew so much in terms of bike sales, but there was a void in the actual riding and the skillset of new riders,” Little explained. “People were buying these really nice mountain bikes thinking they could just go out and ride, but they were getting discouraged and not using the bikes.”
As an active member of the Western New York Mountain Bike Association (WNYMBA), Little recognized the opportunity to help all those new mountain bike riders learn how to ride safely and build the skills necessary for enjoying the sport over the course of a lifetime.
Together with his partner Christie Milanowski, a bicycle rider new to the sport of mountain biking, Little created an ‘Introduction To Mountain Biking’ program, where people of all ages could learn the most important aspects of the sport in a free, friendly and unintimidating setting.
Little designed an instructional course where everyone from kids to seniors could learn helmet safety and how to properly fit other safety equipment. He also included instruction on the basic components of a bike and its proper setup, along with how to make sure everything is ready before a ride.
His day-long programs are staffed with respected mountain bike instructors who conduct ‘balance clinics,’ where new riders discover how to correctly maneuver over small obstacles like rocks and logs and are educated on the various types of trails to ride.
“We had our first big event last June in Ellicottville and it was really exciting,” Little said. “We had families there with lots of kids and we grilled hot dogs and it was the first time that we set up a whole riding arena.”
Little credited a strong partnership with the Loud Performance bike shop (in Bemus Point and Ellicottville) for having an entire fleet of demo bikes on-hand for people to ride during the clinic.
In designing his own intro to mountain biking seminar, Little realized he had developed a viable business plan for helping others conduct their own programs. “We’ve grown so much with this concept that we decided to transition from a nonprofit business to an LLC with it,” he explained. The change has provided him with the flexibility to offer his services to other organizations - mainly for mountain biking clubs in the region - whom he helps create and support venues for these unique educational events.
“We partner with these groups to create their own ‘Introduction To Mountain Biking’ skills clinics,” Little said. “We help event organizers determine their needs and then we help with the staffing and logistics to carry out fun, safe, events.”
He also explained that a common focus for his skills clinics is to get people past the mindset of needing to be a heavily-skilled, big-jumping rider to enjoy mountain biking. “We’re trying to show people that you can go out and ride trails like Art Roscoe (cross-country ski trail at Allegany State Park) where there aren’t any mountain bike features (berms, rollers, etc.) and you can get the same concept as if you’re riding a single track mountain bike trail.”
Little and Milanowski are Trail Stewards for the trail system at the Golden Hill State Forest outside of Great Valley - a trail system which Little says is adaptable to all skill levels of riding and especially beneficial for being non-threatening to new riders.
Also a member of the production and sales force at Brewhouse Bicycles in Bemus Point, Little explained how Changing Gears will be collaborating with Brewhouse Bikes this summer for regular Sunday rides, with a tentative plan to alternate between the single-track mountain bike trails at Golden Hill and the Art Roscoe gravel trail at Allegany.
He was excited to talk about his upcoming project between Brewhouse Bikes and the GROC club (Genesee Region Off-Road Cyclists) for a series of four “Taco Tuesday” evening rides at the Dryer Road Park in Victor for riders of all skill levels, which he says will be introduction/exposure events, geared toward skills improvement and getting families out to ride together.
Little affectionately refers to the Taco Tuesday rides as ‘No rider gets left behind’ events, which will feature stronger riders out front, less experienced riders following and a special rider (nicknamed The Sweeper) to make sure everyone makes it back home. “We tend to build these rides to go about 3-5 miles and try to keep the skill set to where people are comfortable,” Little said.
Little also said he looks forward to the handful of opportunities for “Introduction” events to be held in Ellicottville this summer and says he anticipates announcing dates for other events as tentative spring calendars turn into firm summer schedules for the area’s mountain bike clubs. He says he has teamed with the Northern Allegheny Mountain Bike Association to help design and set up skills clinics at a bike park in Erie, PA.
Looking to the future, Little has plans to launch a weekly podcast that will cover all aspects of his business and the local mountain biking scene. He also plans to broadcast some of his events live so people can get exposure to his message without being physically present.
For anyone interested in improving their skills in the sport of mountain biking, or for those who are interested in buying a bike or new cycling gear or even looking for advice on a great place to ride, check in with Burt Little at Changing Gears Mountain Bike Consulting on his Facebook page and open a whole new world of outdoor adventure while pursuing a more fit lifestyle.