About Mountainbikevibes

The beginning (2019)

In late 2019, my girlfriend asked if I’d enjoy writing about my favourite hobby and sharing some inspiration. She already had several successful blogs under her belt, so I could tap into that knowledge…

The website quickly grew into a well-visited platform, peaking at over 30,000 organic visitors per month. Besides inspiring blogs and stories, I started creating product reviews and comparing products in buying guides.

In 2021, Mountainbikevibes became my full-time gig — and I absolutely loved working on it every day.

Then in September 2023, disaster struck. Google rolled out an update that wiped out all our traffic overnight. Although this update affected websites worldwide, we still made several attempts to turn things around… Unfortunately without success.

Besides Mountainbikevibes, we had about ten other websites, and they all lost their traffic — and income — just as suddenly.

This led us to take a different path in 2024. One where we’d also work with physical clients, to become less dependent on something beyond our control (Google, in this case…).

And so the curtain fell on Mountainbikevibes… It broke my heart.

The seed (2024)

Meanwhile, my girlfriend and I threw ourselves into our new business, Centrum Nexus. Of course, I kept mountain biking — maybe more fanatically than ever. Because as much as I loved writing, during the busiest periods it had started to feel a bit like work…

In August that year, I rode the Stoneman Arduenna in one day for the second time. It was the perfect preparation and test for the Stoneman Miriquidi, which I nearly completed in one day a week later. Unfortunately, a torrential downpour threw a spanner in the works when I was just 20 km from the finish… Despite that setback, the seed was planted for what is now Mountainbikevibes 3.0…

In the second half of this Stoneman, starting from the official start in Oberwiesenthal, you ride from one bike park to another (three in total). The routes and trails in between were certainly worth it too. Yet it’s the bike park trails that stuck with me and ultimately inspired the new concept.

I kept thinking back to those amazing sections during the German Stoneman. I thought to myself: I want this in Belgium too. We do have our own Stoneman, of course. But compared to the German version, it left me wanting more…

Concept (2024-2025)

The route reviews I’d created in the past were widely read, and I regularly received requests to share the GPX files. On top of that, I’d been building my own routes for several years. Simply because routes I’d found online often disappointed in reality — outdated or nothing like what I’d expected.

A route can make or break your ride, and I wanted to avoid the latter as much as possible… My current riding buddy was always very happy with the routes I put together for us. I kept putting more effort into perfecting them — from the parking spot to squeezing in an extra juicy trail somewhere along the way.

Because of that, and the seed planted during the Stoneman, the itch returned. We also happened to notice that visitors to the website (which was still live, of course) were rising again for some reason…

That combination of triggers, ideas and renewed enthusiasm made me decide to pick up Mountainbikevibes again. I first considered doing it under a different name, but Mountainbikevibes still sounds cool, if I say so myself! Plus, it perfectly captures the new approach.

Mountainbikevibes 3.0 (2025)

In this new concept, adventure, fun, enjoyment and experience take centre stage. I stepped away from the numbers, statistics, speed and pure performance. I started to enjoy, experience and embrace the adventurous side of mountain biking again (in various forms) — just as it was always meant to be.

Mountainbikevibes 3.0 will therefore mostly revolve around the experience. You’ll be able to download the routes I create and ride myself. You’ll find reviews of products and accessories I actually use. And when I have a good story to tell, I’ll share it.

The old concept with reviews of everything imaginable is buried and far behind me. This gives me not only peace of mind and much more time, but also inspiration for everything yet to come.

At its peak, running Mountainbikevibes alone had become nearly impossible. This led to a small team helping to create content. I shouldn’t forget my girlfriend either — she handled the technical side, and with her background as a photographer, she could capture products beautifully.

Below is an overview of the former team. The two copywriters won’t be contributing to the new concept, and Elke will assist me with technical matters when needed. I’ll handle everything else myself, in a controlled and relaxed way so it stays fun at all times — that’s my most important resolution for this new approach.