Scoping the lines: Assessing the mountain biking research terrain and calling for a holistic scholarship agenda

Abstract

Since the 1980s, mountain biking (MTB) as an outdoor recreation activity has grown rapidly worldwide. This trend has become more apparent during the COVID-19 crisis, as individuals seek opportunities to recreate outdoors and away from crowded spaces. Along with this growth as an activity, MTB research is growing across many academic disciplines, from medicine to outdoor recreation and tourism research. Despite the growth in MTB participation and research, few to no publications have analyzed MTB research trends or identified areas for future research. We conducted a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed research published between 1993 and 2021 that focused on MTB. We qualitatively examined the qualifying sources (n=150) to better understand the history of MTB scholarship, parse topical and temporal trends, and identify areas for future contributions. In particular, we focused on how the managerial, resource, and social impacts of MTB are defined and discussed. Our results show that research on MTB is fragmented. We focus on where needs remain for cross and interdisciplinary work in eliciting and addressing impacts. We encourage researchers to fill in these gaps to support decision-making by land managers, recreation planners, and other decision makers. This systematic literature review works toward identifying the research gaps while advancing a research agenda related to MTB.