Korbinian Engstler: WHY NOT?

A German Pro Rider, a Film Crew and the Trails of Hengill

When Korbinian Engstler set out to make WHYNOT, his mountain bike film about chasing less and feeling more, Iceland was one of three places he chose to answer the question. Canada and Namibia made the list, too. But Iceland was the one that starts with lava fields and ends with a rider disappearing into rhyolite mountains on a single-track that barely exists on any map.

Who Is Korbinian Engstler?

If you haven't come across Korbi yet, here's the short version: German pro mountain biker, sponsored by Ghost, over half a million followers and a reputation for riding things most people would walk away from. Steep technical descents, big air, high speed. He films it all, stages it well, and shares it with a community that keeps growing.

But WHYNOT is a different kind of project. It's not a highlight reel. The film follows Korbi, filmmaker David Karg and photographer Janik Steiner across three continents. At its core, WHYNOT is a film about freedom. About letting go. About asking better questions instead of pretending to have the answers.

WHYNOT: Chasing Less, Feeling More

The premise is simple. Too much of modern riding culture is about metrics, progression and performance. WHYNOT pushes back on that. It asks what actually makes a great day on a bike. The answer, it turns out, has more to do with the people you ride with and the places you find yourself than any personal best.

Iceland was a logical place to test that idea. There are no race courses here. No flow trails built to spec. What we have are raw, natural single-tracks in some of the most surreal terrain on the planet.

Hengill, Reykjadalur and Þórsmörk

Icebike's own Magne handled logistics and guiding for the Iceland leg. The crew rode trails around the Hengill volcano and made use of the Icebike trail centre in Reykjadalur, a geothermally active valley where steam rises from the hillsides and the single-tracks wind through a landscape that feels entirely its own. These are trails the Icebike team has spent years building and refining, narrow lines through lava fields, moss and hot springs.

From there, the trip took them to Thorsmork, the mountain valley carved between three glaciers in the southern highlands. Dramatic ridgelines, fast descents, river crossings. The kind of terrain that makes you question every easy trail you've ever ridden and immediately want to come back for more.

The highlands are something else entirely. No infrastructure, no crowd, no noise. Just the wind, the mountains and a trail that drops off into a landscape that looks like the planet is still being made. You earn those views. The riding is not easy, and the weather does what it wants.

That's exactly the kind of riding WHYNOT was built to capture.

Why Iceland Works for a Film Like This

Iceland forces you to slow down and pay attention. The trails are technical enough to demand full focus. The scenery hits hard enough that you stop mid-ride just to take it in. A day of riding here rarely goes according to plan, and that's the point.

Korbi and the crew got the full experience. And the trials delivered.

Come Ride Them Yourself

The trails Korbinian rode around Hengill, Reykjadalur and Thorsmork are the same trails we take riders on every season. They're part of our multi-day eMTB and MTB trips, and they're available as day rides through our guided services.

If watching WHYNOT has you wondering why not Iceland, we have a pretty good answer waiting for you.