James Crossland

Intro

I’m not totally sure how James takes his tea but I’m willing to bet it’s with a Yorkshire tea bag, strong, barely diluted by anything else, no BS, much like the vessels he creates at Airdrop bikes.

He’s travelled the world riding bikes including Whistler and Queenstown but resides in his hometown Sheffield, if you’ve ridden Wharncliffe woods then chances are you’ve rode something he’s built.

Photos courtesy of Callum Wood and Duncan Hague

Describe yourself and what you do?

Born and raised in Sheffield UK, a simple sole. I like bikes, dogs and good beer. Also partial to corners, hip hop and brownies.

Im happiest when out in my local woods (Wharncliffe), cracking out a few laps with my mates and or Girlfriend with my trusty trail dog partner Obi in tow. Either that or stacking some dirt and building fresh trails.

I work for Airdrop bikes, a small independent Sheffield based bike brand, rider run and rider owned. We are focussed on bringing no nonsense bikes to core MTB riders, no fluff, no marketing jargon, no commercial bull, just bikes we want to ride whilst keeping it core. Its rad to work for a company you can be proud of and know they have best interest at heart. Working with mate’s day in day out and doing something you believe in is pretty sick so no complaints!

What is your job role at Airdrop? 

Being a brand of just x3 staff, defined job roles aren’t really the reality at Airdrop. We all need to muck in and flex from one thing to another dependant on what needs done. Some days its customer emails, emptying the bins and other days its test riding new frames and shooting photos in the woods. So in reality it’s a mixed bag which actually I love, the variety helps keep it fresh and working across all parts of the business means we all know it inside out.

My main focus at work is developing/ designing new products, being a bike brand that’s frames. I would stop short of calling myself a bike designer though as that would elude to some kind of formal design qualification or engineering background, I’m self-taught and a bike rider first and foremost, so rather than coming at everything from an engineering angle I like to approach them as a rider. 

You likely wrote a modest answer there so how about you lis all the bikes you've ever played a role in developing?

When I started at Airdrop the Edit V2 was already locked in and stock was imminent, if I recall correctly Ed did talk to me about geo for the V2 while I was still in NZ but I was just a sounding board on that project really. Since working for Airdrop Ive worked on the Edit v3 and subsequently the V4, the Fade, Slacker, Filter and some other new projects I cant tell you about just yet. 

It's refreshing to see that you design bikes you want to ride and not that fit a brief to suit someone else, how'd you come to be where you are today?

Yeah that’s key at Airdrop, we are designing and developing the bikes we want to ride. We don’t really feel any pressure to adhere the latest industry trends and aren’t aiming to develop bikes based on what will sell best. It probably says it all really when we are a three man brand with a Dirtjump frame (Fade), 150/160mm 27.5 wheeled AM bike (Edit) and a DH bike in the works (Slacker). As of yet no 29ers, no E bike and no gravel bikes haha.

Focussing on the bikes we want to ride and are passionate about makes them that much better. When we develop a bike its very clear from the beginning how we want that bike to ride, we are chasing a certain ride characteristic for that bike a feeling, usually with a focus on fun not all out speed or performance. We aren’t aiming to produce a bike that has been Pidgeon holed in to a defined category based on this years latest flavour. This focus makes it much easier to hone in and prioritise when making key decisions throughout the development of that bike. I think personally I would find it difficult to develop a frame that wasn’t something I believed in and didn’t sit quite right with me.

At Airdrop we are designing the bikes ourselves from concept through to the finished article. Having this ownership over the whole process ourselves and having the whole team onboard and united in those goals makes it much easier to identify changes we need to make and ultimately ensures we are all pulling in the same direction.

How does it feel to sling a leg over a new bike you've developed for the first time? 

First rides for me are a bit of a nerve wracking experience. By the time the first samples land that bike represent months of hard work so it’s a bit of a shit or bust moment. Typically its either really right or really wrong and that’s normally apparent within the first few turns. If all is as expected then its amazing, a proud Dad moment “I am your father”. Nothing comes close to it really, a real sense of satisfaction, we all know that feeling when a bike just feels right.

What's your thoughts on what the rest of the industry is doing?

 OOOO, this is a deep one, could dig myself a pretty deep hole answering this. Growth, money, vlogging, trail etiquette, dilution of MTB culture, the constant pursuit of flogging the latest and greatest, where to begin haha.

As I get older I’m definitely becoming more of a cynic and getting saltier by the minute. I don’t have much time for marketing jargon, MTB politics or riders BS. I think its blatantly obvious that a lot of brands, organisations and publications ONLY have a commercial interest and to be honest that saddens me, it saddens me even more when customers just lap it all up spending there hard earned cash supporting brands that don’t represent there own values.

Bikes for me are more than just a hobby, it’s a lifestyle so something I’m naturally quite protective of, so I get pretty upset when both business’ and individual motivations are selfish and for personal gain not for the good of the sport.

The culture of MTB to me is what makes MTB so rad. Growing up MTB to me was effortlessly cool, it had something extra, at the time I didn’t really understand why it just was. MTB spoke to me it almost felt anti-establishment, underground if you like. But looking back that was without a doubt the culture. Iconic publications, inspirational role models, quality original content and a strong UK scene.  The strength of MTB culture was an education for me.

So seeing that culture get diluted over the last few years has been pretty hard. We are all to blame really, some more than others, but the pursuit of growth and financial gain has certainly seen some moral compasses thrown out the window.

Both personally and at Airdrop I try not to get to wrapped up in it all as it has a way of bringing you down. Instead I prefer to just focus on myself and my own actions. I/we don’t want to be a part of the problem. 

Any companies that you're particularly fond of what they're doing?

I don’t know if company is the right word but I’m a massive fan of what Stuart at Shredder is doing, I’ve never met the dude or even spoke to him, but I love the mag and reading the articles feels like the exact same conversations I’m having with friends and colleagues so its rad to have Shredder to identify with. You get the impression that both Stuart and all the riders/photographers and artists contributing or doing it for the right reasons and that’s what I’m all about.

I think what the 50:01 boys are doing is unreal as well, building a brand around themselves whilst pushing the sport in a different direction with that skate/bmx influence, I think those guy really embody what riding bikes is all about FUN and not taking yourself too seriously, and that comes across in spade fulls in their own content. I think those guys are great role models for the next generation of riders and I really admire that they keep everything completely original and true to themselves without being sucked in to the wants and needs of sponsors.

What's your thoughts on the bike markets trends and direction currently?

If we are talking product then personally I’m lukewarm on most of the current trends in terms of the kind of bikes the industry is pushing haha. 

Don’t hate me but I’m not a big wheel man, I completely understand why riders love them, but they aren’t my thing. In that same respect I’m not on the super long geo band wagon either. So combining both of those things in to the latest and greatest long legged, Super-Enduro, do it all, ride anything, plastic fantastic monster truck, that’s not a bike I want to ride. I completely understand why riders love them but it’s not really my thing. And anyhow Enduro is a race format, I don’t ride Enduro, I’m not racing everywhere, I’m just clowning around in the woods trying to keep up with my mates so why would I ride a bike like that.

I think as a whole we all focus on performance alone too much, and an absolute way of measuring that performance is time. Riders want bikes that flatter them in measurable ways, be that shaving time off descents or enabling them to keep up with friends they couldn’t have before or ride terrain/lines they wouldn’t have previously attempted. By that same logic I think we often lose sight of why we are riding bikes, the experience and feeling we get riding bikes, slapping turns and high fives not Strava and GPX files. I think we are all suckers for buying products that we perceive will make us better riders when in reality we should focus on self-improvement and just enjoying riding.

Hmmm kind of went off on a tangent there. I guess what’s good right now is you will struggle to buy a bad bike, no-one really makes bad bikes these days. There is a bike out there that fits everyones requirements and everyones budget, so with enough hunting around the right bike exists for everyone.

Dare we ask about E-Bikes?

Haha Eeeeb’s. I don’t hate E bikes I just hate the people who ride them haha. Narr I’m joking well kind of anyhow, but they do pain me a bit. There is no arguing with the fact the bikes are mint. They enable riders to go further, do more and so on, so I can’t argue with that. I’m aware how good they are but I just don’t want to be force fed them. Nothing E-Bike riders love more than telling you how great they are and how much more riding there doing than you. Leave me alone and stop force feeding me your E-Bike spiel Judas.

I’m not ready for one just yet. When I decide I want my bike to feel like a lifeless sack of spuds I will make sure to get one on order.

In all seriousness though I see there being a few issues around E-bikes that are getting glossed over. I certainly haven’t heard any E-bikers proclaiming how “I can do twice as much riding in half the time, so I have more time to trail build now”. More riders venturing further and ultimately doing more damage, has the potential to enflame user group conflicts and access rights. It would seem being courteous and polite with an additional 250W of power is also harder. I guess these issues aren’t really exclusive to E-Bikers but it certainly feels like they are fuelling the fire.

I definitely think there is some logic behind the easier we make it for people to go riding the more entitled and complacent riders become and the more likely we are to invite poorer on trail behaviour. So I guess as a whole the industry needs to own the consequences of enabling more people to get out there and go further, be that education and promoting core mtb values, funding trail advocacy groups or finding a way to support the little man who maybe isn’t doing things legally but embodies what MTB is really about. Im being a knob about the whole thing not all E-bikers are bad it just feels like they might be that last straw that broke the camel’s back. In hindsight I shouldn’t pin all the issues in MTB on one group.

Are there any bikes you've got a particular soft spot for or that have a backstory to their creation?

The Slacker, its still a work in progress really but it’s a bike I’m really in to. I’m all about DH bikes, I think they are still incredibly relevant and have a bit of a personal beef with the whole “one bikes does all you don’t need a Dh bike movement”. For me  there is no substitute for DH bike, its one of the only bikes you can develop without much compromise. The Slacker is supposed to be the kind of DH bike we want to ride, more of park bike than a race sled and it should be the ideal bike for bike park trips and uplift days.

Any product launch or content you were involved in that you'd like to delve into?

The Slacker again haha, the whole idea with the Slacker was that it would be an open book development project, share a bit of info about our process and give people the opportunity to get onboards and see the bike develop all the way through. I think its fairly unique to be able to follow a bike through its development and it’s a nice change for instead of keeping it all a secret.

Tell us about park rat life, notching up 1000 laps in queenstown. Any adversity in that or purely passion driven?

 Yeah man Queenstowns a pretty good spot and the bike parks insane. It’s a lot more low key than the big bike parks like Whistler, its all real riders trails, loved it. 

 In all honesty I never set out to do 1000 laps I just really like riding big bikes and bike park laps. When I got to 800 laps I started thinking about breaking the 1K mark and thought it would be cool to do it but didn’t want to talk about it too much as thought that might be asking for trouble with having a big rag. At no point did it become a chore. Think I ended the season on like 1040 laps or something around that, loved every minute of it. I was working at Vertigo bikes while out in Queenstown so shout out to those boys for not making me work too much and to my girlfriend Nush for putting up with me spending most of my time lapping.

You ended up in Whistler prior to that too, how did that trip come about and what did you get up to there?

Yeah me and Craig Evans went to Whistler for a season at 20, it was our first time away from home so a bit of a mad one. You think your all grown up at that age but your definitely not. Did some silly stuff, drank a lot, rode a lot, was mint. Definitely didn’t experience all Whistler had to offer but I was cool with that. Spent as much time as possible in the bike park, did minimal work as a bike park coach, lived off a diet of Tuna Pasta and Brownie mix. We washed all our clothes with cold water and the housemates washing up liquid as didn’t understand top loading washing machines and didn’t want to spend money on washing powder. We used to steal toilet rolls from bars so we didnt have to buy it, toilet roll was optional, keeping the bikes running and drinking was compulsory. I Think doing Whistler seasons should be a bit of a rite of passage for all young riders needs to be done.

What impression did Whistler leave on you? 

Skirvy. A season of only beige foods and a loads of alcohol doesn’t leave you in peak physical condition haha.

The riding out there is amazing and that was the first time I had rode flow trails and jump lines that actually worked. I think the rest of the world has caught up now but at that time Whistler was where it was at for riding flow trails everyone feels like a hero in Whistler. I remember thinking it was crazy how normal riding mountain bikes was in BC compared to home. It certainly felt like bikes were a very normal part of life over there, even the checkout assistant at the supermarket wants to know what you’ve been riding.

What's your take on Canada vs New Zealand?

Both are insane, very different but good for different reasons. If we where talking Queenstown VS Whistler then Queenstown definitely takes it for me, Queenstown is way more laid back and has a much small tighter nit community and there’s a lot less ego.

However if we are talking Canada Vs New Zealand im not sure, the extent of my Canadian riding was limited to the sea to sky corridor really so I’m sure there’s a lot more variety outside of that. Most of the riding I did in Canada be that inside or outside the bike park felt really feature oriented, most of the trails have big features be that jumps, rock rolls, drop or ladders, but there seemed to be a focus on linking together bigger features whereas riding in New Zealand isn’t like that it comes at you quicker and one thing quickly links to the next.

There must be some shenanigans in those seasons, any you can actually share with us?

Yeah there definitely was, not really any I want to share though. Craig did remind me yesterday of the Growers challenge/ Edward Cider hands thing we did at a party, 4 litres of really bad 7% cider in sub 30 minutes. The result for me was immediate pass out on completion, so not that greater story.

You've been around the globe riding but settled into life on the edge of Wharncliffe woods, what does Wharncliffe mean to you?

Wharncliffe is life. I grew up riding Wharncliffe so it’s always going to be my local even if it isn’t. I think you’re always going to be fond of your home trails.

On a side note Wharncliffe is terrible don’t ride there.

You're not shy of slinging some dirt, what’s your ethos behind your trail building?

Trail building is part of riding bikes, you cant ride bikes without trails to ride them on. I enjoy digging just as much as riding and its my way of giving back. I guess trail building is a bit of a creative outlet its cool to work with the terrain to make something you want to ride and the kind of trails you build probably speak volumes about the kind of rider you are.

It's apparent the Downhill culture had a big influence on you, who or what did you look up to and what first drew you in?

For sure, growing up Downhill was in my opinion the cool side of MTB, the zero fucks attitude, don’t take yourself to seriously, and the riding was closer to what we had at home. And I’m from Sheffield so Steve Peat haha.

Trail bikes back then sucked so it was all about pushing heavy bikes up short steep hills and sessioning a few corners all afternoon. It wasn’t really a case of looking up to one individual in particular, ive never been one for idolising individuals seems a bit creepy. It was more the hole movement collectively, with publications like Dirt and Videos like Earthed who wouldn’t want to be a part of that.

Where do you think you'd be without bikes?

I have no idea, in the local boozer supping foteen pints er flat ale on a Friday neet, chanting Engerland!

In all seriousness though I’m not sure, I try not to give too much thought to what ifs. I’ve been working with bikes since my first job at 13. Its where I met most of my friends. It was and is a reason to travel. And its still very much at the top of my priority list. Without the travel and lifestyle decisions I’ve made to ride bikes I certainly wouldn’t be the same person I am now, but Im not sure what’s different. I think having something that your incredibly passionate about makes it much easier to get your priorities in order in terms of what make you happy and having a good work life balance, I’m pretty sure it take some people a while to figure that out so I’m grateful to get that dialled in at an early age and have not wasted time pursuing education and a career in a field I didn’t really care about.

What's your current go to for motivation or inspiration?

If I’m in a weird head space a solo ride with the dog normally sorts me out. The dogs a good listener. That time riding when you’re not able to think about anything when your sole focus us on the task at hand but things are happening without forethought or anticipation, that works for me. I also spend a lot of time binging on deep summer slideshows too, oh and moving dirt.

Any characters in the bike world that you're stoked on what they do?

Ed for sacking off his career and sinking his life savings into starting a bike brand as well as giving me a job. Stuart At Shredder for making a print publication that is the epitome of core MTB culture. Craig Evans for being a unbelievable talent on the bike, growing up watching Craig ride has always been a treat. All the trails builders doing it for the love and giving up their spare time to build trails we can all enjoy. And all my mates for just being GC’s (good cunts).

Any one liners or words of wisdom?

A few actually. 

To quote Rob Campbell “It’s there for doing”. 

“Set and forget” don’t spend too much time worrying about your bike and setup just ride the damn thing.

“No dig no ride” not literally but you really ought to be giving back and making your local scene better in some way. No excuses.