Just wanted to let everyone know about a few recent updates here on singletracks:

Trail Check-in Points

Singletracks members will now receive 2 points for each trail check-in via m.singletracks.com. As more and more members use this feature we’ll recognize the “trail marshall” (kinda like the mayor) of each trail based on the number of check-ins.

For those who haven’t used trail check-ins before, the feature is only available on the mobile website (not the iPhone app yet – we know, that thing needs an update – in the meantime we’re using the mobile site ourselves). Just login and click the “check in” link on the appropriate trail page; we’ll record your location when you check in and we’ll show you a list of others who have checked in to the trail within the last 24 hours.

On a related note, we re-organized member profile pages a bit with new tabs for trail lists, photos, custom bikes, and other stuff.

Stickers and Singletracks Merch

We just updated the singletracks merch pages with new offers including a singletracks sticker 4-pack for just a buck. Yeah, shipping is still $3 but it doesn’t matter how much you order so throw in a t-shirt and some printed maps to maximize your order!

Mountain Bike Tour Finder

We recently partnered with SWAE Sports to offer info on booking guided mountain bike tours and trips around the world. Browse trips, get more info, and even book through singletracks – it’s super simple to do. Singletracks receives a small commission from each trip booked through the site so it’s a great way to show your support. Now is the time to start planning amazing MTB trips for the summer and fall!

Giro and Crankskins are sponsoring a February contest to help “Pump up the Forums” here on singletracks. Since this contest involves posting to the forum, we won’t give you the details here – head to the forums to get the deets. Talk to ya soon.

Scouting, locating, riding, and logging 29 mountain bike trails in 29 days has meant spending a lot of time on singletracks.com for me (even more than usual – shocking!). Before I talk about trail #29 (spoiler alert: I rode it yesterday) I want to highlight some of the tools I used to plan my 29 trail adventure.

Singletracks Trailhead Map

Before the 29 day challenge began, I started with the trailhead map on singletracks and centered my search on Atlanta (as shown in the screenshot above). I tried to pick a good mix of new and old trails, close and far trails, and short and long trails. After viewing photos and reading ratings and descriptions, I narrowed my list down to about 40 potential trails. I also checked my trail wishlist to see which ones I could add to the list.

Singletracks Mobile Website

Since I was on the road a good bit during the challenge, I found myself using singletracks mobile A TON. The “nearby trails” function helped me navigate quickly to the trail pages I needed where I could then check-in at the trailhead and update trail conditions. In the past I’ve been bad about updating trail statuses on the main website because I’d usually forget by the time I got home, but having the ability to do it at the trailhead was super convenient. At this time of year, current trail statuses are super helpful to everyone worried about rain/snow on the trail – so be sure to update whenever you can!

I also used the mobile website to get driving directions to many of the trailheads along the way. Although I printed out directions before leaving home most days, I found it much easier to navigate using my phone. Normally I’d use the GPS in my car but many trailheads don’t have a proper street address to input. On my iPhone I just clicked the “map” link on the trail listing, then selected “Current Location” for my starting point and Google Maps did the rest.

Singletracks Ride Log

I used the singletracks ride log to document each of my rides and input as much data as I could (temperature, climbing, etc.) about each one. The ride log gave me a good picture of my progress and even calculated summary stats for the challenge (almost 32 hours in the saddle, 8.05 miles per trail, and 7.4mph average speed). Unfortunately I wasn’t able to space out my workouts as I would have liked so I’m not sure how beneficial my “training” really was – guess I’ll see at tomorrow’s Snake Creek Gap Time Trial…

One added benefit to using the ride log is that everyone’s times and distances for each trail are averaged to give others an idea of the trail difficulty. You can find the average speed and time for each trail in the “Trail Stats” box on the main website.

Other Stuff

Of course I also reviewed each trail I rode and added photos and maps where appropriate. For those who are new to the site, we put together a tutorial on all the trail functions available on singletracks so you can get the most out of the website.

I suppose I could have gotten most of the trail info I needed for the challenge using other sites on the web but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have gone as smoothly and would have involved multiple searches. At the end of the day, that’s why we built singletracks – to make it easy for you to find the best mountain bike trails!

After riding at the 1996 Olympic MTB course in Conyers, I kept going east and hit the Turner Lake Complex Trails in Covington. The trails are located right off I-20 just behind the first shopping center you see on the south side of the highway but feel like they’re hundreds of miles away.

Beware of venomous snakes – they’re the most dangerous thing you’ll find on this trail.

I was interested to ride at Turner Lake because all the singletracks reviewers seemed to agree that these are great “beginner” bike trails. Since it’s been a while since I was a beginner myself, I wanted to get a feel for the type of trail new mountain bikers like to ride.

At the park I was in a hurry to get going and I ended up parking in the wrong spot (at the administrative offices). I rode around the park a bit and jumped onto the first unpaved road I saw – which quickly turned into a utility easement that went nowhere. Backtracking, I made my way to the paved path and sniffed out the (signed) nature trail leading into the woods.

The nature “trail” is a wide, leaf and pine needle covered path that is mostly flat and fairly nondescript. Signage was good – which beginning riders will appreciate – but to me it was missing any level of excitement that might make newbs want to come back for more. I was the only one on the trails on a beautiful Friday afternoon, save for a woman with a young child. If you happen to live in the area, check the trails out for the scenery but don’t plan on getting too many miles in.

Heritage Park

Another favorite on the MTB race/trail running circuit, Heritage Park in Oconee County is always a fun ride. I got to the trail at around 5pm and I was worried it was too late to be hitting the trail. Fortunately I saw another couple just getting started so I hopped on my bike and booked it into the woods.

Mudhunny and I rode these trails for the first time about 2 years ago and I was surprised to find that not much had changed. There are a few re-routes but for the most part, everything is still in place, though with much better flow and signage. After completing the majority of the red loop I wanted to ride a little more so at a familiar intersection I set out in a different direction. After riding for about 10 minutes I got a sinking feeling as I rode further and further from the car while the sun sank lower and lower behind the trees.

After a couple miles I decided to call it quits and bombed down a doubletrack trail back toward the trailhead. Back on the singletrack, I was surprised to see a man hacking at a root on the trail with an axe. He said I was going the wrong direction and I apologized; he said it was ok, just local tradition I guess. I thanked him for his work and as I rode away I think he said “I’m getting paid!” I guess he was a park employee, hard at work, late on a Friday afternoon.

The ride back up to the trailhead seemed longer than usual and I cranked up the tempo even more, fearing my car might somehow get locked inside the gate at dusk. Fortunately I made it back at 6:15pm while the couple I started with were still out on the trail. From Heritage Park I drove to Athens to meet up with my brother for piles of BBQ at the Butt Hutt, happy to be off the trail for a few hours.

We’re stoked to announce four new additions to the singletracks blog team for 2011!

dgaddis (Dustin) – North Augusta, SC

Dustin has been active on singletracks for a while now and we love the single speed perspective he brings to the team. Living in the Augusta area, Dustin has access to hundreds of miles of singletrack and the IMBA Epic FATS trail system which sorta makes us jealous. In addition to competing in races like the Snake Creek Gap Time Trial and the Fools Gold 50, Dustin is active in SORBA and helps organize local MTB races. Check out his recent article titled “My Arch Nemesis: The Ellusive Thurmond Epic.”

Luke_E (Luke) – Waterloo, WI

Luke is new to singletracks (he just signed up for an account after joining the team!) but he brings a wealth of MTB experience to his writing. We’ll let him explain:

Luke is a reformed engineer who realized the bike industry offered everything he wanted in life: lower paychecks, longer hours and plenty of time to immerse himself in anything and everything having to do with human-powered fun. He worked at Advanced Sports Inc. for over two years as a product manager for transportation and utility bikes, and had the unique opportunity to collaborate with Joe Breeze in bringing back Breezer mountain bikes for the first time since the 90s. Much of this involved trips to Europe and Asia allowing for rides in exotic locales like the hills of Taipei, the mountains outside of Zurich or the indescribable trails around Park City.

Last week we shared Luke’s article, Nothing but Time to Ride.

maddslacker (Corey) – Denver, CO

Corey is another top contributor here on singletracks and living in the Denver area allows him to stay connected to the Colorado MTB scene. Just five years ago Corey bought his first real mountain bike – a used Specialized Rockhopper – for $150 and has been hooked on riding ever since. These days he spends “as much time as (his) wife will allow” on the trail, riding all over Colorado and Moab, UT.

Goo (Greg) – Dahlonega, GA

Greg has been a singletracks member since 2008 and he was the first (and still only) member to receive “World Champ” designation with more than 5,000 contribution points. Living in North Georgia, Greg has access to some of the most challenging and scenic trails in the southeast and regularly scouts new MTB trails to share on singletracks. Greg is a member of the Airborne Bikes Flight Crew and also has his own blog at GregRidesTrails.com. Check out Greg’s 2010 guest posts about the Jackrabbit Trails in western NC.

Guest Contributors

In addition to our regular contributors, we’re also gearing up to share more guest posts from mountain bikers across the country. We’re stoked to share these new MTB perspectives with you in 2011 so please help us welcome our newest team members!

Sometimes it’s not about the bike at all. Sometimes, through circumstances outside of your control, you’re taking a ride outside your comfort zone. But regardless of the gear, the weather, or the crew we still love the ride and all the variables that shape it.

At one time I had my pick from a manufacturer’s demo fleet most only dream about. Prototypes, carbon fiber World Cup models, skunk works wheels, forks and brakes. Vendors begged me to ride their new hotness. I was “in the biz” and had all the perks that came with the long hours and low paychecks. My only regret was not being greedy; I could have bought one of these with my employee discount. When you’ve got access to the newest and best rigs out there, why choose one? You’re likely to pay for it with your hard earned dollars only to let it gather dust in the garage while sampling the cornucopia of exciting new gear that’s endlessly streaming though the office.

Unfortunately, 2010 brought with it an economy straight out of a 1930′s newsreel. Sales of bikes, especially the feature-rich trail weapons we all get hot and bothered for, dropped like a lead balloon. The company I worked for took the route of tightening belts and downsizing departments and suddenly I was out of a job. That meant sweatpants, internet job hunting, and a severe lack of my own bike – I had sold my mountain bike when I realized I had my pick of the best in the demo fleet. All that was left in my stable was a 1980s road bike with graphics straight out of Miami Vice, a single speed town bike for beer runs, and the tandem cruiser my wife and I rode at our wedding.

My good friend Jim was generous enough to lend me a bike in my time of need. With nothing but time on my hands this was the perfect opportunity to get in those day-long odysseys I used to dream of from my desk at the office. Jim’s bike had seen better days since he upgraded, so I took a day to install new cables and housings, made some adjustments and gave everything a clean and lube. It was a lesson in the timeline of technology: I had spent the last two years exclusively riding the newest, lightest, and best the bike industry had to offer. Now I was “making due” with a slightly porky rig that was top of the line in its day but would be considered outdated by current standards.

I packed up my borrowed bike, my gear, and a lunch and headed south to Newark, Delaware. My favorite trails of late were in White Clay Creek State Park. It has fast, flowy singletrack with an incredible network of looping, interlocking routes to choose from. There was even a BC-style board track skills course. Jim and I had been stringing together short- and medium-length rides whenever we could get a free weekend afternoon, but today was my day to put it all together.

What transpired that day was nothing short of transcendental. Freed from the clock, spinning at my own pace on a borrowed ride that was just right, I was able to leave behind concerns about my job search, what the traffic would be like on the way home, what’s in the fridge, what’s in the bank. I stopped when I saw a perfect spot for a picture; I doubled back on particularly tasty sections to try a different line; and I rode for the simple pleasure of being singularly focused on the immediate moment. It was a day without time. My own power, the help of a friend, and miles of great trails showed me that the race for the Next Big Thing can sometimes be shoved aside for that simple joy of a ride in the woods.

It’s time to ride.

Over the summer I posted some pics from a 1989 book called The Complete Mountain Biker and it was pretty amazing to see how much things have changed since then. Little did I know, I had another book on my shelf, Pro Mountain Biker, with full color pics of bikes from 1995, including some full suspension designs that will blow your mind.

Joe Breeze showing off a 1993 Breezer. Could this be the original Sh*t bike from Bike Magazine? It’s definitely the right color…

Outside of world record DH speed attempts, you don’t see too many mountain bikers wearing skin suits these days. The caption on this pic reads: “John Tomac is dressed in an aerodynamic skinsuit for maximum speed on a downhill course.” Good thinking.

Check out this early disc brake. The rotor looks like it weighs a pound and the overall mechanics look a little sketchy. I do like how the brake attaches to the fork – no need for disc mounts!

Notice the brilliant weight-saving circle cutout on this mountain bike frame!

When I was starting mountain biking in the mid-1990s, the Klein Mantra was the kind of bike my buddies and I would dream of owning one day. The book says “This Klein full suspension bike is one of the most radical designs around.” Rad indeed.

I’ll give everyone a moment to guess who this is. The bike looks like a Jeff Jones but in fact, it’s a Gary Fisher (who also happens to be standing behind the bike).

And you thought Lotus was only a sports car manufacturer. This bike actually features an early carbon monocoque frame and “the choicest components.”

Frankly I’m not sure what to make of this bike from Muddy Fox Interactive. “This design links the front and rear wheels so that hitting a bump with the front fork compresses the back at the same time.” Too bad the design ultimately ends up with more pivots than a tango lesson.

This bike appears to use matching shocks (front and rear) and you can just make out the Michelin sticker on the rear shock strut. Pro Mountain Biker says “Until 1995 the most suspension racers would use would be a front suspension fork. In 1995 several racers, including the ’94 World Champion Henrik Djernis, switched to full suspension bikes. Full suspension makes fast racing more comfortable.”

Aside from the white (!) tires and V-brakes, this design looks surprisingly modern for its age.

This doesn’t look like any Yeti mountain bike I’ve seen before! Note the disked rear wheel – and I’m not talking about brakes. The front chain ring on this beast is enormous – can you imagine shifting down to the smaller ring? The caption says “Yeti spend (sic) a lot of time testing their products on the race track.” I wonder if they spent any time testing this on the mountain bike trail?

This guy’s outfit (minus the exposed legs) says DH but the bike says XC baby! Skinny tires, V-brakes, and clipless pedals don’t really cut it on the slopes these days.

As a beginning mountain bike rider I always wanted a set of Spinergy wheels and it seemed like the only guys who could afford them were middle aged guys with more money than skills. Notice the circle cutout in the frame again and the chain retention device.

Another carbon fiber mountain bike, this one from Trek. Those wheels really look top of the line!

A specially designed “snow bike” with disc brakes, studded tires, and fenders. Oh, and a ridiculous looking frame and saddle that looks ready to dump the rider onto the top tube.

This type of mountain bike was probably pretty common back in 1995 and it’s awesome to see this guy getting air on a rigid bike with reflectors on the wheels. Ride on Mr. Ponytail Tight Shorts!

Another “snow bike.” This one looks more like a time trail bike than a mountain bike but I’m sure it was fast as hell in the right conditions.

Another Pro-Flex with a slightly different rear suspension configuration.

Many of the bikes shown above are in the hands of collectors these days and restoring (and riding!) vintage bikes isn’t uncommon today. We’ve even created a thread on the forum to share pics of vintage mountain bikes.

All the photos above come from Pro Mountain Biker by Jeremy Evans and Brant Richards. You can still purchase used copies of this book (in hardcover!) at Amazon.com, often for less than $4.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Diamondback Gear Review contest on singletracks this month. With nearly 1,000 new reviews and 4,000+ products added this has been our biggest contest by far and frankly we were a bit overwhelmed by the response. After combing through all the submissions over the past few days we’re ready to announce our winners.

1st place: joetutt (1,911 points) got an early lead and despite a serious threat during the third week of the contest, he was able to hold on to clinch the grand prize – a 2010 Diamondback Sortie Black mountain bike frame. We all expect un-boxing pics and in-depth reviews of this sweet ride!

2nd place: jbelmont earned himself 1,313 points to take home a set of ITS System 4 mountain bike tires. In recognition of his big effort we’re also throwing in a 5-year singletracks membership PLUS a singletracks t-shirt. Well done!

3rd place: Goo’s 269 points earned him a gnarly set of platform pedals from Xpedo which should making shredding the north Georgia DH runs even more exciting.

Wild card: Drum roll please… stevethousand added the ITS 909 mountain bike tire to his gear wishlist and Santa got the message loud and clear. A brand new set of 909s is on its way to Nebraska!

And for everyone who earned at least 1 point in the contest we’ll be sending out singletracks stickers in the mail. We’ll send everyone an email asking for shipping info (including our 4 big prize winners) later this week so watch your inbox.

Thanks again to our sponsors and to all who participated. Happy New Year!

As we close out another year of mountain biking we thought we’d look back on some of your (and our) favorite posts from 2010. Here are five articles we think are worth going back and reading again or reading for the first time in case you missed them!

Durango to Moab

Over the summer I got a chance to ride a 220-mile hut-to-hut trip from Durango to Moab with some friends and it was epic to say the least. We rode singletrack above treeline, forest roads shaded by Aspen trees, and descended legendary Moab trails including Hazard County, Kokopelli’s Trail, and Porcupine Rim. Read the daily ride reports here: Day 1, Days 2 & 3, Days 4 & 5, and Days 6 & 7.

In 2011 I’ll be starting the year off with a new “29 trails in 29 days” adventure.

Banshee Legend II Build

This article got everyone drooling, including XC-weenies like me. Element22 recently built up a sick DH machine based on the Banshee Legend II frame and he’s already started giving us some preliminary component reviews. Once the snow melts in 2011 we’re looking forward to seeing and hearing more about this monster bike!

Trestle and Northstar Bike Park Reviews

We got a chance to sample DH trails at Trestle Bike Park (Winter Park, CO) and Northstar (Tahoe, CA) this summer and as you can imagine we had a blast. Admittedly mudhunny and I aren’t the most experienced DH riders so we got a little professional instruction that paid off a ton. Now we can’t wait to get back on the slopes again!

IMBA World Summit

In May we attended the IMBA World Summit and learned about the practical side of mountain bike trail advocacy. One of the articles that came out of the trip, about Illegal Mountain Bike Trails, spurred some interesting discussions about the topic.

Singletracks iPhone App

We got a lot of comments on an article announcing the free singletracks iPhone app, though admittedly many folks were asking when we were coming out with an Android app! Have no fear, we’re increasing our mobile efforts this year and hope to have more similar news in 2011.

Of course there was a lot of news from 2010 we weren’t able to mention here (Interbike, product reviews, trail reports, etc.) but these highlights should give an idea of where we’re heading in 2011. Happy New Year!

I have a feeling this article is going to be a lot more interesting (or perhaps comical) when you read it five years from now. When I sat down to make a list of mountain bike trends from the past year none of it seemed revolutionary: carbon frames & components, endurance racing, 29ers, wide bars, and purpose-built trails are all pretty mainstream at this point. But if you had asked someone about any of these topics just 5 years ago you might have gotten a blank stare. Only time will tell if you’ll get the same reaction 5 years from now…

Carbon Components

Mountain bike frames made from carbon fiber were unthinkable several years ago and even now some riders scoff at the notion but the fact is carbon fiber is a material that’s here to stay. These days carbon is also showing up in mountain bike components like handlebars, crank arms, seatposts, and even water bottle cages. Thanks to advances in manufacturing and design, carbon mountain bikes are not only getting lighter, they’re also getting stronger and more affordable.

Endurance Racing

Ultra endurance mountain bike races like the Leadville 100 have gained national attention in recent years while older endurance racing formats like the 24-hour race are starting to fade. Stage races and multi-day epics like the Arizona Trail 300/750 and Trans North Georgia will only get bigger as individuals seek new ways to challenge themselves and their gear.

29ers

To say 2010 is the year of the 29er isn’t really fair but big-wheel bikes have never been more popular. We predict the platform will only grow in popularity over the next 2-3 years and over the long term 29er bikes should definitely stick around.

Wide Handlebars

This one sorta took us by surprise and as a trend it seems a little faddish (though we could be wrong). This year virtually everyone – from pro-riders to schmo-riders – was gushing about how great wide bars are for mountain biking. Yes, you can get more leverage and control out of wider bars but if you ride narrow, tree-lined singletrack there will be a trade-off. It does seem a little odd that no one thought of riding wider bars before…

Purpose-Built Mountain Bike Trails

In the early days of mountain biking, riders only had access to trails that were built for hiking. Today, groups like IMBA have established best practices for trailbuilding which results in more sustainable trails but also trails that are even more fun to ride. The private sector is also stepping up its game with new sculpted summer DH runs opening at most major ski-resorts and indoor ramps designed for MTB. In some ways mountain bike technology is adding to the push for more progressive trail features and today’s trailbuilders are happy to oblige.

We’re stoked to see how these trends play out in 2011 and to see what new mountain bike trends pop up in the coming year!

With just a week to go in the Diamondback Gear Review contest we thought we’d give everyone a little update. At this point a clear front-runner has emerged but there’s still plenty of time to catch up. Remember, anyone who earns points in the contest will receive free singletracks stickers PLUS we’re still waiting for someone to add the wildcard prize to their gear wishlist. Whoever adds the secret item to their wishlist first takes the gear home!

As you can tell from the leaderboard, some folks realized early on that there’s a limit to the number of legitimate reviews any single person can write. Instead, the leaders have been busy adding new products to the singletracks gear review catalog (more than 1,000 in December alone). We know of several MTB companies out there with loads of products that still aren’t listed on singletracks yet – all you gotta do is find them!

The other way to earn a lot of points quickly is to find product videos on YouTube. For example, this search for “Specialized Stumpjumper” results in almost 700 videos alone! Just be sure to link up the video to the correct product on singletracks and check the forum thread for tips on the types of videos we’re looking for (hint: just because someone is riding a particular bike in a helmet cam vid doesn’t make it helpful as a gear video).

We’re stoked to see who ends up with these great prizes at the end of the contest and can’t wait to read the winners’ reviews!

As a mountain biker, winter can sometimes get a little depressing. Memories of summer epics have long faded while the cold temperatures keep us (and our buddies) indoors more often than we’d like. Frankly I’m a little tired of my own excuses for not riding more in the winter so I decided to challenge myself to ride 29 trails in 29 days (on a 29er).

The plan is to kick things off on January 8, 2011 by riding the Snake Creek Gap Time Trial #1 in Dalton, GA. Although I’ve never ridden “the Snake,” I’ve been told by many riders who are much better than me that it’s a tough course so it should be a good wake-up call. Then, on day 29 (February 5) I’ll ride the same course again to see how my time has (hopefully) improved. For the first race I won’t do any extra training beyond what I would normally ride.

Since I’ll be riding the same trail on day 1 and day 29 (the Pinhoti Trail) I’ll need to ride two trails on one day during the challenge. In fact I plan on riding multiple trails some days to leave other days open to give myself a little scheduling flexibility. I’ve already mapped out a potential list of trails spread across 5 states in the southeast; about half the trails on my list are trails I’ve never ridden so I’m stoked for the adventure.

The 29 day challenge should also give me a good chance to put some of my gear to the test. In particular I’ll be reviewing the new SRAM X0 2×10 drivetrain to see how it holds up under wet, potentially icy conditions and nearly continuous wear and tear.

Throughout the challenge I’ll be sharing race reports, gear reviews, and trail descriptions along with training updates and more. We’ll also post up a schedule of some upcoming rides in case anyone wants to join me on the trail.

29 trails in 29 days – I can’t wait to get started!