Hey Sam, whaddya say we add drama to a mountain bike??

Frankly, I’m with you since reliability is job one. Not to mention the absurd cost. I’d rather bury the cash in a custom frame.

Indeed…even four or five bikes targeted in Moab, which usually seems to be isolated from crime and problems consistent with more populated towns is surprising though. I’ll leave my bike unlocked on camping trips, but this shows that’s a bad idea.

But to echo sunspot, I would never ever leave my nice bike out in the open with a cable lock. Hell, I wouldn’t even leave it out with a chain. Maybe I’m paranoid, but these bikes are really freaking valuable. Kashima is easy to recognize as valuable, ya know.

From an environmental angle……. if the dust blows away, the trail hardens and, hopefully, becomes stable. As noted, this can be helped with various types of armor. Maintaining the trail aggressively — and staying off the rest, is part of our existential covenant.

From a management perspective…….Summer is hot and often dry. Trying to come up with guidelines (and regulations) to decide when to close a trail for dryness sounds like a major nightmare.

Maybe we just have to accept that many popular trails will have to be hardened if they are going to stay rideable………….?

I said 28-30 only because my Switchblade is allegedly 29lbs. I’d have still bought it had it been 31 lbs.

So is riding wet trails in many areas. Alabama, where I live, is ranked 4th wettest State in the US with 56 inches per year behind Mississippi, Louisiana, and Hawaii at #1 with 63.7 inches per year.

I do work trails “officially” during work days and “unofficially” during my rides often. Oak Mountain State Park where I primarily ride allows riding in the evening on Tuesdays and Thursdays only. Sometimes those days, both those days in the same week, get rain. Historically Birmingham has on average 117 days of rain per year. That nearly once every three days for you math geniuses.

There are some trails that we must avoid on those days because it will be a muddy mess and destroy those trails. Others, however, have different surface types and drain much better so we do ride those.

The philips head screwdrivers are probably included mostly for adjusting hi/lo stop on the front derailleur. Obviously not an issue if you only ever ride 1x bikes, but it’s something I’ve needed it for, particularly when I’ve broken my front shifter cable.

Hell, I won’t lock my bike at the grocery while I go in for a few items… They are nasty tho’ and ask me to take my bike outside. My response is to do business only with bike friendly businesses. The other option is to fire up my 427 and pollute.

The title. The meat of the article is good, but the title has more than a hint of protectionism in it. So much of that article is about dry conditions, but the title re-inforces the myth that riding in the rain is off limits.

People hear this myth, than spread it. Man riding wet can be so good for skills and for fun.

I’ll retract my inaccurate description, because I do think you note there is soil dependency at play…but I wish the slant was “obey trail builders’ desires” rather than riding wet trails is bad.

My two current bikes, a hardtail (2022 Roscoe) and a full-sus (2015 5010 carbon), both weigh about 29lbs, but I prefer the hardtail because it feels lighter when I ride it. There are a lot of differences between these two bikes beyond the suspension, but it all adds up to the hardtail being more fun.

I think its how the question is phrased. I mean ideally lighter is always better, we only go heavier because we want strong, reliable components and they are worth the weight tradeoff. But ideally, we’d have those frames and components we like for shredding and the weight of a road climbers bike.

Great point. Riding dry trails is a fact of life in many areas, and with regular maintenance, it can be sustainable.

Right, like you said, it depends on the trail and the soil. I think that’s what I wrote, with a bit more context of course. Is there anything in particular that’s inaccurate?

Haha yes, someone should educate the cattle. In all seriousness though, grazing on public lands is a contentious issue, particularly among environmentalists. We have an article coming tomorrow that talks about some proposed changes at the BLM that are related to this very issue.

Sorry Greg, obviously I don’t know who you are, which means I don’t follow racing, but my point stands… there’s lots of people like me who need information about products from a non racer perspective. I think the Pinion gearbox is an example of a new product that may not be great for racing, but seems like it would be great for people like me who would love to never have to clean and lube a chain again.

Down here on the Mendocino Coast, we see trails lasting into the early fall months without a problem. More moisture for sure. Fortunately, we are an area where trail maintenance is a regular occurrence (once a month+). Mendocino Coast Cyclist is a great group as well.

If you think I qualify as a “former racer” then you don’t have a clue who I am 😂

I’ve ridden in Rotorua 8 days straight in the rain with the biggest trail builders in that area…same with places in the Mid-Atlantic.

It’s irresponsible to ride any trail in any condition if it’s damaging the trail. That’s the story/headline.

Riding trails in the west can be a blast. Have fun doing it if the trails are holding and you are not creating ruts that will stay in form when they dry.

Real dry…enh…come on.

Also the MTB industry seems so preoccupied with what they could do but not with whether they should. Do MTBs need to be able to ride over everything?

I know the industry has “advance” and/or “innovate” but it seems silly to have to throw out old things. I subscribe to Old Shovel in giving old things new life.

I would imagine that for every 1 mountain biker who is obsessed with going as fast as possible all the time, there are at least 20 mountain bikers for whom the benefits of a system like the Pinion gearbox would be more important. 

Ditto,
Inland Empire is a mix of folks but a large contingent is more conservative leaning so his views reflect that and may better suit TN.

I’m glad to hear that Markham Park has trails too. That was one of my other favorite places to ride back in the day. Mostly horse trails and jeep roads back then, though.

Side note: exactly how many houses does this guy own right now?!

There are actually bike rentals on site, but they’re pretty entry-level.

Highly recommend if you’re in the area, and Markham Park on the NW side of the city is excellent too.