juan really is making a special effort to sprout irate illegible gibberish of late.
Bike Forum
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Do big bikes (AM or whatever) wreck trails??
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Posted 2 years ago #
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Just one thought. Trail centres will require ongoing maintenance, I think I'm right to say that almost all money for trails at the 7 stanes now goes into trail maintenance and there is very little if any for new trails. So if people want new trails then we all have to ride a bit smoother and make the trails last a bit longer otherwise all time and money will be spent solely on maintaining what is already there.
Posted 2 years ago # -
juan really is making a special effort to sprout irate illegible gibberish of late.
he is french - its in the Job description
Posted 2 years ago # -
There are some braking bumps at Swinley Forest on one of the 'downhills'. Does make me laugh.... I suspect that the bike the person rides has nothing to do with it, more just skidding rather than braking properly.
Posted 2 years ago # -
For another dead hero:
Cutting corners or taking the racing line?
Cock of the day...
There is no such thing as a racing line. There is the trail, and then there is cheating. If you can't beat people by going around the switchbacks and you have to cut through to beat them, it's a cheat, simple as that. Last enduro I opened, the rule was for each corner cut, you would geta 30 second penalty. And guess what, no one cut any corner...See I kinda agree with the OP. Here we have seen numerous trails getting trashed by DHer.
It may be a factor of both over bike and under skill, but it's generally the same modus operandis. Normal people included the trail X in their 5 hours ride. So ride it once, being careful not to cut through corners/switchback, and working hard to do it (yes we have rather sharp switchback down here).
Then DH[/b]er found the trail. Gather with other rade/gnarly [b]mateand jump into a van. Get to the top of the trail and hammer it down. No respect for other users or the trail itself. Cut straight through corners becasue they can't be bothered/don't have the skills to take the switchback. To add to the guilt profile, they usually are not even that good nor are they members of a club that gets involved in trail maintenance.
It comes with the image we are giving of our sport. It's not an extreme sport any
more, where you have some respect for your playfield/outdoors, t's just a way for middle aged IT bloke to spend money.Posted 2 years ago # -
There are some braking bumps at Swinley Forest on one of the 'downhills'. Does make me laugh.... I suspect that the bike the person rides has nothing to do with it, more just skidding rather than braking properl
It's rear suspension that causes braking bumps - bouncing up and down - I reckon (no, I'm not an engineer - and wouldn't be civil if I was!). You didn't see them until you got lots of full sus bikes.
Posted 2 years ago # -
I am an engineer (well by training at least). And it's not. You start off with a small dip, someone skids over it, the wheel pops off, and hits the ground. Repeat to fade and you'll get a serious of bumps. If anything a full sus should reduce it a bit (as it'll at least absorb some of the impact - although single pivots lock out (a bit) under braking reducing this).
Posted 2 years ago # -
Does this imply that it's a trail centre, so there to be used in a way that doesn't take sustainability into consideration?
No, not sure how you got there. Just saying the trail didn't seem very eroded.
It's this acceptance of trail damage being unavoidable that worries me - or will as and when it leaks onto 'normal' multi user trails.
My local 'normal' trails are much, much worse than anything I saw at Whinlatter. If you'd seen what the MXers have done to my favourite bit of singletrack last weekend I think you'd have a heart attack.
I know you didn't need 6" travel and 2.4" tyres, but did they make it more fun do you think?
I had that bike for the weekend in the Lakes, Whilatter was just a warm up. I'm really not with you on longer travel bikes/wider tyres causing more damage at all though. My logic says it's just people braking in the "wrong" place.
For what it's worth though, I thought the trails were (mostly) really well designed, so that you didn't need to brake too much anyway.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Awwww, thanks Juan :love:
Posted 2 years ago # -
Perhaps you should go and ride road bikes if you find off-road trails a bit too tough and are concerned that they are becoming too eroded.
Posted 2 years ago # -
Ok just had a quick scan on the responses here so hold ya horses before you pull ya punches. A longer travel bike set up correct will cause less damage than a shorter travel bike or hardtail, the bike should be supple so it does not "patter" across the surface, hardtails patter. Aggressive tyre's will also cause extra erosion and these are associated with longer travel bikes. Moto X bikes make a massive mess not because they have more travel but because they have huge aggressive tyre's and a throttle connected to some serious torque. THE MAIN REASON trails become eroded is because of a lack of skill from the rider and trail builder, well built robust trail lasts longer and the design at Whinlatter was 5 years old before work begun (thank the council for a lengthy planning application). Riders brake in the wrong place and set up bikes to stiff, most trail designers/builders don't jump and build inappropriate features accordingly. Want to learn how to set up ya bike properly and ride in a smoother manner just hit me up at http://www.mtbskills.eu
Cheers
ClivePosted 2 years ago #
Topic Closed
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