Over the weekend you may have noticed some changes we’re rolling out to the MTB review pages here on singletracks and I wanted to talk about some of the new features. In terms of look and feel, the gear pages are following the template of the trail pages with tabs, key stats at a glance, and an enhanced dashboard. For those following along at home, take a look at the review page for the Garmin Edge 705 GPS.

Info tab: Keeps most of the same info as before but we’ve also added gear recommendations to the page. We’ll continue to tweak the recommendations based on member ratings and offer more in-category links to help you find the best stuff. We also moved stats from the left side of the page to the front and center. Reviews follow the official product details and specs.

Pro reviews: Element22 has written dozens of detailed reviews of MTB products from wheels to brakes to bikes and this tab links you directly to applicable articles. Of course many products still don’t have Pro Reviews so on this tab you can find out how to contribute your own detailed product write-up to singletracks!

Photos: This functionality has been around all summer but now it gets its own tab. View member photos of MTB gear in action. For example: Did you know singletracks has 55 photos of the Trek 4300 mountain bike alone? Scary.

Video: Now you can view and share videos of the best mountain bike products. We’ve been really surprised at the quality and quantity of video reviews, instructions, and promos already available online so we created this tab as a place to get all. Help us fill this tab up by adding product videos you find on sites like Youtube and Vimeo!

How-to: Like the Pro Review tab, this is the place to find articles explaining how to install, repair, maintain, and operate all types of mountain bike equipment. So far we have articles on servicing Manitou forks, loading data on Garmin Edge GPS units, and installing disc brakes.

In addition to the new stuff, you can still sign up for email alerts for items, add stuff to your own/wish lists, and write product reviews. Add your content to improve this MTB review resource!

ckdake may be tough to beat with this pic.

Just a couple more days left in the Tri-Flow “Dirtiest Drivetrain” contest. Post your pics to the dirty drivetrain photo album for consideration by the end of the day, October 1, 2009 and we’ll pick the winners. Right now we’re seeing plenty of mud but not much rust, grease, corrosion, or nasty black gunk. Worst looking drivetrain will get a prize pack from Tri-Flow plus a Titec saddle with additional prizes for second and third place.

No need to be embarrassed  - just tell everyone you submitted a pic of your buddy’s bike

Rust. Dirt. Grease. Grime. Mud. All of this adds up to a dirty drivetrain which can seriously harsh your ride. Fortunately Tri-Flow offers a full line of products to help you get your chain, derailleurs, cassette, and crank into shape for conditions from wet to dry.

Send us pics of your dirty, muddy, rusty, and grimy bike chains and cassettes for a chance to win sweet lube and de-greasing products from Tri-Flow! Hit the ‘dirty drivetrain’ album and upload your pics (make sure to tag them ‘dirty drivetrain’ to be considered) and we’ll pick the winners on October 1, 2009. If you’ve already uploaded some worthy pics, just add the ‘dirty drivetrain’ tag for consideration. And be sure to rate the dirty pics you like!

Top three photos win product from Tri-Flow and Titec - full prize list below.

1st: Tri-Flow Citrus Cleaner Degreaser, Superior Foam Lubricant, and Synthetic Grease PLUS Titec Hellbent Nemesis Expert saddle
2nd: Tri-Flow Citrus Cleaner Degreaser PLUS Titec Honcho Prolite seat post (30.9×350 mm) OR Ritchey WCS 10 Degree Sweep Flat Bar
3nd: Tri-Flow Citrus Cleaner Degreaser

This summer we’ve been busy giving away other peoples’ products here on singletracks but now it’s time to give away some of our own gear. This contest is simple and it’s a “fastest finger” style contest so listen up and act quickly! (this time everyone will win something)

Just add a link to singletracks.com from your website or blog (Facebook or MySpace links don’t count) using one of the codes below. Then fill out this short form so we can check your link and will know where to send your loot. First 5 submitters get a 1-year Pro membership to singletracks; next 5 submitters get a singletracks t-shirt; everyone else gets singletracks bike stickers. Pro membership and t-shirt winners will be notified via email and you can submit links through Friday, September 18. One entry per person.

Link codes (or roll your own!)
Mountain Bike Reviews @ singletracks.com
<a href=”http://www.singletracks.com/mountain-bike/reviews.php”>Mountain Bike Reviews</a> @ singletracks.com

Mountain Bike Trails @ singletracks.com
<a href=”http://www.singletracks.com/mountain-bike/trails.php”>Mountain Bike Trails</a> @ singletracks.com

Mountain Bike Blog
<a href=”http://www.singletracks.com/blog/”>Mountain Bike Blog</a>

Mountain Biking @ singletracks.com
<a href=”http://www.singletracks.com/”>Mountain Biking</a> @ singletracks.com</a>

For those who have purchased or are thinking about purchasing a singletracks premium subscription, just wanted to let you know about some recent improvements.

High resolution trail maps in PDF

We’re rolling out high resolution versions of all our mountain bike trail maps (780 and counting!) that subscribers can download in PDF format. That’s in addition to the printer-friendly and interactive versions that are currently available (not to mention the raw trail data in GPX, KML, and TCX) . So far more than 125 PDF trail maps have been posted - look for the rest to come on line this fall!

Training app updates

Ahead of a major overhaul of the premium ride log, we’re spiffing up the charts and graphs to make it even easier to visualize your training progress.

More cool stuff to come in the next two months, stay tuned!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the VholdR contest last month. Maddslacker ran away with the lead early on and never looked back. Soon he’ll be the proud owner of a slick VholdR Contour HD helmet camera and we expect to see some sweet videos from him soon!

By the end of the contest, members linked 437 new trail videos to singletracks trail listings and added footage for more than 100 trails. The video tab on our trail pages is quickly becoming the most popular destination and with sweet HD video it’s no surprise

Thanks to VholdR for hooking it up on this contest! Stay tuned for more contests in September…

Over the past few weeks we’ve been working hard to improve the trail mapping tools here on singletracks and I wanted to talk about some of the progress we’ve made so far. If you submitted GPS trail data recently you know we’ve been super slow approving stuff but hopefully by the end of the week we’ll be all caught up.

One of the things we found this summer is that a lot of people are getting into riding with a GPS but they aren’t really sure how to format and share the resulting data. Admittedly we haven’t done a great job organizing our GPS tutorials here on singletracks but it’s definitely on the to-do list. In the meantime, I’ll sum up our philosophy on mapping trail systems: 1 trail system, 1 map. If it takes multiple trips to map an entire trail system, use software like TopoFusion or GPSApp.net (more on that site later) to combine all the tracks into a single GPX file for the entire park.

Last week we made sweeping changes to the back end of our map serving system and while you may not notice any visible changes right away, this allows us to do some cool stuff in the future (like color coded trails, individually named trails within trail systems, and custom waypoint icons). We’re even looking at ways to allow subscribers to “mash up” trail maps to create their own routes by combining multiple trail systems - something our old system wouldn’t allow.

This week we also added the ability for subscribers to rate and comment on shared routes in the GPS Activity Tracker and linked those shared routes on the “official trail map” tab. So in addition to the “1 map, 1 trail system,” you can also see and download specific routes others take within a trail system.

Finally, I want to briefly mention a beta project we’re working on called GPSApp.net. The site allows you to upload data directly from your Garmin GPS device or GPX data file and provides tools for formatting, grouping, and cleaning up your GPS trail data. The site is free to use and we’ve even set up a forum thread here on singletracks to collect feedback. Many of the features found on GPSApp.net may eventually migrate to singletracks so if you want a preview of what’s to come, check out GPSApp.net!

So we’re heading to Interbike next month where we plan on recognizing the best mountain bike products of 2009 while previewing the new 2010 stuff. Based on your reviews we’ve put together a draft list of the best mountain bikes and accessories from ‘09 which you can check out right now. The list will be finalized on September 1, 2009.

That leaves just a couple weeks for everyone to get in last minute reviews of their favorite MTB gear. The top products in each category are selected based on a weighted average of the following criteria:

- Average rating in 2009
- Number of reviews in 2009
- Number of member wishlist entries
- Number of members who own the item

If you haven’t updated your lists or reviewed your MTB gear, do it now so your vote is counted! Then be sure to check back in September to see which products make the final cut.

A little while back I wrote a review on Mavic’s Crossline wheel set which was and still is a great set of wheels. But I recently got a chance to ride with the Crossline’s big brother, the Mavic Crossmax SX, and the experience left me impressed. Now don’t think the big brother is larger or heavier than its sibling; in fact the Crossmax SX set weighs 300 grams less!

The 2009 Crossmax SX wheel set has a completely redesigned rear hub that drops 165 grams of weight and makes use of the same ITS-4 (instant transfer system 4) pawl cassette engagement found in the Crossline set. This means that 2 pawls are in engagement at all times and each pawl is separately sprung. The hubs’ look has also been updated and sport a white finish which fits nicely with the awesome white graphics on the rims.

Mavic has always been known for great looking, high performance wheels and this year they’re keeping the pedal to the metal. The 2009 Crossmax SX wheels sport a new gray anodized finish and fresh white graphics - but don’t think these rims are all style without any substance. After the rim is shot peened it is put through a chemical anodization process which adds a very tough micro hardness exterior layer to increase the life and durability of the wheel. While forming and shaping the rim, Mavic welds and machines everything flat in a process called SUP for extra precision. Mavic is also able to save weight through their inter spoke milling process using a CNC machine to remove excess material between each spoke.

The Crossmax SX wheels roll with 24 straight pull Zicral spokes (aluminum) compared to 28 steel spokes on the Crosslines. The front axle is available in a 20mm configuration only while the rear can either be a 12×135 through axle  or 9×135 QR. The Mavic Crossmax SX wheels seem to fit best on bikes with 140 - 160mm travel and tires that are 2.3 - 2.5″ wide.

Mavic Crossmax SX wheels are UST meaning they can used with tubeless tires. Looking at the inside of the rim there are no protruding spoke holes and therefore nowhere for air to leak. The rim also has a drop center that provides a small channel for air to inflate a UST tire and force the tire over safety ridges to hold the air-tight beads in place. Mavic even created a special manufacturing process called FORE to fit the special Mavic M7 spoke nipple which makes the wheel much stiffer and more fatigue resistant.

It took me very little time to get the Mavic Crossmax SX wheels up and running. Seeing that these are tubeless I grabbed a set of  tires that I happened to have around and got to work. Installing a UST tire is pretty much the same as a tubed tire, just use soapy water and wet the sidewalls of the tire before inflating (it really helps popping the tire is place with less pressure).

On the trails I really felt the difference the wheels made right away, especially when comparing the Crossmax SX running UST tires vs. Crossline wheels with tubes. Right off the bat I lost a total of  630grams (or  1.38 pounds) of rotational mass after making the switch. The coolest part: there is zero strength lost and the Crossmax SX wheels feel super stiff. That stiffness gives the rider greater freedom to change lines more quickly and with less effort while tracking oh so well in tight berms. I had an awesome time on the trails smashing my way down slopes with a much greater degree of control and freedom than I had before.

These wheels are also incredibly efficient in acceleration. Remember these are not DH wheels and they’re not meant for very big hits or fast descents through rock gardens. But after a good thrashing I must say these wheels held up great, though I did have to use the M7 truing key (supplied with the wheels) to take out a small wow on the rim after encountering a rather large log. Speaking of tools, Mavic supplies you with everything you need to service these wheels including an M7 truing key, 12 and 9mm frame supports, rear QR, and a bearing adjustment tool. They even toss in the UST valves if that’s the way you want to go.

At $899.00 USD ($1340.00 CDN) these are not cheap wheels but if look carefully you may find them for a lower price. Ultimately these wheels are worth a few extra bucks because they hold up to abuse and won’t hassle you with any worries or problems on the trail.

Cheers.

A quick thanks to the folks at OGC for the Mavic wheels and of course Opus for a stable and reliable bike to do my testing with.

In case anyone was worried that I was lying on the side of a trail somewhere due to the lack of blog posts this week - good news! On Tuesday mudhunny delivered a 7lb, 2oz baby girl named Kendall. We’re back home now and are already trying to figure out how to attach Kendall to a bike!

Anyway, you may notice it takes longer to reply to your emails or approve your submissions over the next couple weeks but we’ll be back strong soon. element22 has some great reviews coming down the pipe and we’ll try to get a few of them posted starting this weekend. In the meantime, get out and ride while you can!

Post your mountain bike cable nightmares on the forums this week for a chance to win a set of bomb-proof Gore RideOn Derailleur Cables. If you’re not familiar with Gore cables, these cables are nothing like the ones that came with your bike - they’re quick, precise, low friction, and highly evolved. Read element22’s blog post about his RideOn experience and you’ll be sold!

So… what exactly qualifies as a cable nightmare? Here are just a few things we’ve seen go wrong with cables over the years:

- Snapped cables due to snags
- Cracked and loose cable housings
- Incorrectly installed cables
- Excessive cable stretch
- Frayed cables and cable ends
- Seized cables due to cable housing friction
- Inconsistent shifting and braking
- Rusted cables (seriously!)

Tell us about your cable nightmare on the forums and if we pick your story to share on the blog next week you’ll score a set of Gore cables ($65 MSRP). Nothing scary about that!

Heil Valley Ranch map courtesy Boulder County. (you are not actually “here” )

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: singletracks.com exists to help you find the best mountain bike trails. We’re serious about making trail information more accessible and we’re always adding new features like the interactive trailhead map to help you find the best dirt. We’ve put a lot of thought into organizing trail information over the last 11 years and with all the new members on singletracks this summer we thought it would be a good time to talk about our trail organization philosophy.

Perhaps the most important question to start with is: What makes a trail a trail? We actually wrote about this 2 years ago in detail but I’ll try to boil down our ideas to a few simple points:

1. Just because a trail has a name doesn’t mean it needs its own listing or map on singletracks. Places like Palmer Park have at least a half dozen named trails contained within the park but it gets just one listing. Same goes for open spaces, trail networks, preserves, etc. This makes it so riders don’t have to look at 6 different pages just to see what a MTB destination is all about. The image above shows a map of Heil Valley Ranch which contains 4 named trails but a single listing.
2. Length is important. The Colorado Trail is hundreds of miles long and it’s impossible to ride the whole thing in a day. In this case it makes sense to break the trail listings into single trip segments that start and end at established trailhead areas with convenient parking even though it is technically a single trail.
3. Trails need to be open to mountain biking on a regular basis to be listed on singletracks. Clearly this means illegal trails should never be listed but it also means trails on private property that are only open for occasional races shouldn’t be either. Some trails are open opposite hunting season while others are only open one month a year - these are ok to be listed, just be sure to make closure information clear in the description.

Unlike some other MTB sites you may have used, we’re constantly checking for duplicate trail listings and updating trail info based on member feedback. We’ve even set it up so all the reviews, photos, wishlist entries, etc. are transferred when we have to consolidate duplicate trail listings to keep all the info in one place. Sweet.

Want to add a trail but aren’t sure if it needs a new listing? First, search the site to see if it’s already listed using the trailhead map or the search box at the top of the page. Also feel free to email us if you have questions - we’re here to help and we love finding out about new trails!