Becker’s Orthopedic & Spine Review posted a short article summarizing a study from The American Journal for Sports Medicine showing women were roughly 33% more likely to be hospitalized for biking injuries than men. The study analyzed roughly 200,000 injury reports from 1994 to 2007 and only looked at patients older than 8 years old.

According to the study, 6.1% of injured women were hospitalized compared to just 4.5% of men. Although it doesn’t sound like the report speculates why this might be the case, we reckon it might have something to do with macho guys waving off serious injuries that deserve medical attention. In fact we wouldn’t be surprised if the rate of injuries that should be treated in a hospital are actually higher for men than women since men tend to mountain bike more aggressively. Then again, maybe some women go to the hospital in cases when it’s not really necessary.

Aside from the main finding, several statistics from the report are actually pretty interesting. The study points out that upper extremity fractures are the most common injury in biking accidents (does the head count as an extremity?). In a bit of good news, the report shows the annual number of mountain bike-related injuries decreased a whopping 56% over the period, perhaps thanks to increased awareness and better equipment. Finally, patients between 14 and 19 years of age sustained a disproportionate number of the annual brain trauma cases which sounds like teens aren’t wearing their helmets when they should be.

We want to hear from you – why do you think women are more likely than men to be hospitalized for mountain bike injuries? Have you skipped professional medical treatment when you probably shouldn’t have?

Giant is recalling approximately 370 2011 Anthem X 29er mountain bikes because “the frame can crack at the junction of the seat post and top tube, posing a fall hazard to riders.” Fortunately no injuries have been reported but owners should stop riding the bikes immediately and contact their Giant dealer for an inspection and repair. The full suspension mountain bikes, including the 1, 2, and 3 models, retailed for between $2,200 and $3,500.

Two mountain bike news items from this weekend:

Beardance trail near Bigfork, MT. Photo by AK_Dan.

New MTB Trails Proposed – In Montana

In what might be considered a bit of a peace offering, the US Forest Service is proposing 33 miles of new mountain bike trails in the Helena National Forest, Montana. The proposal comes on the heels of a recent bike ban in Montana wilderness study areas (WSA) that came down this spring. Admittedly 33 miles of new trail doesn’t make up for the hundreds of miles of Montana trails closed to bikes in 2010 but hey, it’s a start…

Bend Woman Rescued After Bad Fall

We don’t normally report on stories of injured or lost mountain bikers just because there are at least 2-3 in the news every week but this one caught our interest. According to the Victoria Advocate, Shoshana Foxwell was riding on Ben’s Trail west of Bend, OR Friday evening when she went over the handlebars and sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries. Shortly after her fall, a member of the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue (SAR) mountain bike team (!) happened to ride past and immediately began treating the woman. Now that’s a first class response!

In all seriousness, we’re impressed that the SAR mountain bike team even exists and that there are enough members (volunteers?) to ride the trail regularly. Of course riders should never count on SAR or even IMBA Bike Patrollers being around to provide assistance but man, what a difference it makes when these resources are available.

This also brings up the point about riding alone which is never a good idea, especially in the evening. If no one had come by the woman might have been stranded in the woods all night. Bring a friend if you can and tell someone else where you’re going and when you’ll be back. Cell phones are nice to have “just in case” but you can never count on getting a signal when you might need it the most.

Yesterday IMBA released its 2010 list of Epic mountain bike trails and the six selections represent a diverse group of trails scattered across the US. The organization claims the trails on this year’s list “provide something for everyone” and we have to agree there’s a lot of variety represented.

photo by Terry_Tiessen

Black Rock (Falls City, OR) Trails for all skill levels, including some with amazing wooden freeride structures like the one shown above.

Fresno-Saucedo Loop (Big Bend Ranch State Park, TX) Miles and miles of trails and old 4×4 roads to explore in the area! Looking at the photos you might think these trails were located somewhere like Fruita or the desert outside Las Vegas.

MoCo Loop (Montgomery County, MD) Forty miles of trails connecting 9 (!) county parks. Plans include a connection to the 180-mile C&O canal path. Can you say bikepacking?

photo by bluejudad

Hurricane Cliffs (Hurricane, UT) This Epic route includes the JEM trail, Hurricane Rim trail, and Gould and Gould Rim trails. The Hurricane Cliffs route also hosts the 25 Hours of Frog Hollow race each year.

photo by trek7k

Oak Mountain State Park (Birmingham, AL) Of the six inductees, Oak Mountain State Park is the only trail I’ve actually ridden (yet). The park features great trails with decent climbs and a dedicated club maintaining the singletrack year round. Look for even more trails – for 30 total miles – to be added in the coming years.

photo by drdiederich

Rock Lake (Cable, WI) Thirty miles of singletrack in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

Add these and other IMBA Epics to your singletracks trail wishlist to explore in 2011!

Four mountain bike news items to start off the week:

Easton Seatpost Recall

Easton is recalling approximately 200 EC90 Zero seatposts manufactured in 2010. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the carbon top clamp on the seatpost assembly can crack which, as you can imagine, would really suck for the rider. The release we read made it sound like the seatposts may have been included on some Turner and Ibis bikes so if you bought one of those bikes this year, check your post and the Easton website to see if yours is affected.

Although no injuries have been reported, consumers should immediately stop riding the bicycles and contact any authorized Easton Sports (dealer) for a free replacement top seat clamp.

Croc Trophy Race Wraps up “World’s Hardest” MTB Competition

photos courtesy crocodile-trophy.com.

To be more specific, race organizers claim the Croc Trophy is “the world’s hardest longest hottest and most adventures (sic) MTB race in the world” and this year’s competition just wrapped up a few days ago at the northeastern tip of Australia. Apparently the course takes riders into the Australian Outback and some daily stages are nearly 100 miles long. Just to finish all 10 stages of the Croc Trophy takes serious stamina – congrats to this year’s winner Urs Huber who finished 5 minutes ahead of second place finisher Bart Brentjens and 40 minutes ahead of third place finisher Mike Mulkens. Now’s the time to start training for next year’s epic!

Singlespeed World Champs Recap

We wrote about the Singlespeed MTB World Championships a couple weeks ago ahead of the competition in New Zealand and today we discovered ESPN.com’s entertaining take on the event. My favorite quotes from the article:

“If you are riding really, really fast but don’t want a tattoo, then don’t win the race. The winner will be tattooed at the finish line so decide before you start if you want a tattoo or not.”

If “The Dude” from “The Big Lebowski” was into mountain biking instead of bowling he would have been a singlespeeder.

I think this is one of those things I gotta experience for myself at some point – sounds like a blast! Though I guess that means I’ll need to shed some gears first…

Loch Raven Reservoir Cracking Down on Mountain Bikers

Mountain bikers in Baltimore have been enjoying the 30+ miles of trails around Loch Raven Reservoir for years but lately rangers have been issuing $100 citations for things like night riding (read the recent trail reviews for more examples). According to this article, land managers are becoming concerned about erosion issues affecting water quality and it seems mountain bikers are an easy target. Specifically new “unofficial” trails are popping up and land managers want it stopped – though hikers are just as likely to create unauthorized “social” trails as bikers. Keep an eye on this issue as local club MORE works with reservoir managers to resolve the situation…

After 25 years (!), Mountain Bike magazine will cease publication with the November, 2010 issue. Parent company Rodale Inc. plans to fold the content into Bicycling magazine and Bicycling.com so all is not completely lost. In a lot of ways this isn’t a huge surprise – over the past few years Mountain Bike magazine only existed as a bi-monthly supplement to Bicycling magazine. Here’s what one Rodale exec had to say about the decision:

“More and more Bicycling readers are also riding mountain bikes, extending their passion from the road to the trail, or in places like the northeast, carrying on their training through the colder months,” said Chris Lambiase, SVP / Publishing Director for Rodale’s sports titles. “Integrating Mountain Bike into Bicycling brings a new dynamic to the industry, allowing us to deliver more mountain biking content to the largest cycling audience in the world.”

Clearly many factors probably played into the decision – new niche MTB competitors like Decline, the rise of the internet, and the desire to broaden the appeal of Bicycling magazine. Still, 25 years was a long run – RIP Mountain Bike Magazine.

Just as high school mountain biking leagues are gearing up across the country, an elementary school in Lake Placid, NY will become one of the first to offer a mountain bike program for 3rd through 5th graders. The school’s PE teacher, Matt Young, has been working with others to write up grant proposals and create an MTB curriculum in time for a spring launch.

The school will purchase 21 bikes from Rocky Mountain Bicycles and local bike shops are offering discounted helmets and safety equipment for the program. The class will last 3 weeks and will take advantage of the beginner mountain bike trails around the Lake Placid area.

By now we all know the benefits to mountain biking: it’s good exercise, it teaches confidence, and it’s a great way to stay fit and active. With programs like this and IMBA’s “Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day,” the sport should continue to grow and become even more accessible. Who knows, maybe this elementary school program will inspire kids to get their parents into mountain biking!

photo courtesy NPR’s State of the Re: Union.

A couple mountain bike news items to share today:

2012 Olympic Mountain Bike Course Takes Shape

Over on Echo News, reader Andrew Batty shares pics of the Olympic mountain bike course being constructed near Hadleigh Castle. From the pics it looks like there’s a high hill that will provide much of the elevation for the course, though no word on actual climbing numbers yet. The area looks to offer a good mix of open areas and forest groves which should make it ideal for spectators.

Oakridge, OR: Mountain Bike Capital of the Northwest

National Public Radio has a new series called Re:Union and a recent article (episode?) featured the Oakridge, OR mountain bike scene. The story looks at how Oakridge, a rural town suffering from a collapse in the lumber market, is reinventing itself as a mountain bike destination. We’ve heard great things about the riding around Oakridge and the annual Mountain Bike Oregon weekend seems to get bigger and bigger each year.

The whole idea of embracing mountain biking (and other outdoor activities) to help boost isolated economies seems like a win-win. In fact there’s plenty of opportunity for small towns around the country to do the same (Appalachian communities here on the east coast seems like prime targets). Even if you don’t live near Oregon, start thinking about mountain bike trips you can take to expand your riding horizons AND to help local economies.

This year WTB is rolling a well-tested new wheel system for the XC -Trail rider. Perhaps you might recall the TSC tires that we reviewed a month or so back (Mutano and Weirwolf). Well, to complete the system, WTB now offers a wheel set that perfectly matches their tires.

WTB’s new TCS (Tubeless Compatible System) Wheel System features light-weight tubeless tires, rims, and wheels so riders can customize their set-up for specific terrain and riding style. The new wheels sport WT69 metal alloy, tubeless compatible rims with lightweight rim tape, bladed WTB spokes, alloy nipples, and a stainless steel cartridge bearing system with dual labyrinth seals. The Stryker XC is one of the first complete TCS wheel systems from WTB.

WTB worked with a team of engineers and professional riders like Mark Weir and Jason Moeschler to develop the TCS Customized Integrated Wheel System. The new TCS gear is compatible with all UST, ISO and ETRTO standards, tires, rims, and wheels.

If you check out the WTB website you can see the boys (and girls) from WTB have already notched numerous wins with these fresh wheels on their bikes. No doubt this gave them plenty of time to hammer out any issues that might arise with a new wheel system. Being one who is always interested in what’s new and wonderful in our industry I am looking forward to testing these out.

As far as I know the TCS system is the first mountain bike wheel system (tires, rims, spokes, hubs) that is entirely produced by the same manufacturer. Who knows, very soon you might see the TCS wheel system available for higher end OE wheels on your next bike. Stay tuned for more information and hopefully a review in the not-too-distant future.

Landis on his custom BMC mountain bike in 2006.

We’ve heard about some pretty sweet mountain bike deals on websites like Craigslist recently but this good-old-fashioned garage sale find has to be one of the best. Greg Estes thought he got a pretty decent deal when he found a BMC mountain bike for $5 at a Kentucky yard sale and figured he’d fix the flat tires and resell the bike for a couple hundred bucks. Little did he know he found Floyd Landis’ custom bike that he rode in the 2006 2007 Leadville 100 mountain bike race.

For the cycling history buffs out there, 2006 was the year Landis “won” the Tour de France and also the year he suffered a nasty crash during the Leadville 100 before finishing 2nd overall. Loren Foley, manager of Cyclo-Path Bicycles in California where the bike was purchased, estimated the bike could be worth $5,500 to $6,000 on the open market. As a collector’s item it could be worth even more (or less, depending on your feelings about Landis).

The bike’s seller claims her family found the bike on the side of a Kentucky interstate. The seller figured the bike wasn’t worth more than $5 because of the flat tires and the broken-looking pedals (they were clip-ins, probably eggbeaters).

Most of the mountain bike deals that seem too good to be true on Craigslist usually are (or they’re stolen) but it sounds like this is a rare, lucky find. Don’t be surprised if you see this bike for sale again – though next time it will probably go for more than $5.

photo via Leigh Fazzina’s tweetphoto account.

According to internal surveys, only 11% of singletracks members are on Twitter now – but perhaps that will change once you hear Leigh Fazzina’s story. Fazzina was competing in an off-road triathlon in Connecticut last week when she got lost and found herself far from the main trail. On a downhill section she hit some roots, crashed, and couldn’t get up on her own.

Good old fashioned yelling didn’t help – she was too far from the other racers for anyone to hear her. Fortunately she had her cell phone on her but voice calls didn’t go through. She was, however, able to connect to Twitter to send out an emergency tweet – “I’ve had a serious injury and NEED Help! Can someone please call Winding Trails in Farmington, CT tell them I’m stuck bike crash in woods.” (that’s 138 characters for those keeping count).

Within moments several of her 1,000+ Twitter followers, some as far away as California, sprang into action and contacted local authorities. Fazzina was eventually rescued, bringing a happy ending to her off road emergency. She even recorded a short video on her cell phone as she was wheeled away to the ambulance (watch here if you’re interested). What can’t cell phones do?

When I first read the headline I thought the story sounded a little fishy – why wouldn’t someone just use their cell phone to call 911 instead of Tweeting? However, according to a cell phone expert quoted in this USA Today article, it’s not unusual to be able to send a text message in areas where there is no voice coverage. It’s not clear whether Fazzina sent a text message to her Twitter account or whether she connected to Twitter via her phone’s internet connection. Either way, it’s good to know there’s more than one way to use a cell phone to get help in an MTB emergency! Start collecting Twitter followers now, you never know when you’ll need ‘em.

Now this is a troubling development: officials in South Wales, UK are warning spectators at this weekend’s Kona Mash-Up at Glyncorrwg Mountain Bike Centre to keep a tight eye on their rigs because organized criminals may be lurking behind the scenes. Apparently at an MTB event at nearby Margam Park last month thieves made off with roughly $45,000 worth of bikes!

Clearly these crooks are organized and they’ve done their homework to know downhill bikes are expensive and easy to swipe in a big crowd. Just imagine, you lean your bike against the outside wall of the restroom – sixty seconds later the bike is gone.

We’ve heard too many stories lately about mountain bikes being stolen – and not just campus cruisers, nice, custom rigs. In fact today I lost my Yakima roof rack and two bike trays in the Home Depot parking lot near my house. Working in broad daylight in a busy parking lot means these guys are pretty brazen! Of course in this case, like many others, I bear most of the blame myself (left the car door unlocked which made it easy to remove the rack clips).

Bottom line: keep your bike stuff locked up tight wherever you find yourself this summer – the bad guys are everywhere!