Mountain Bike Accessories for Trail Work

Introduction

Mountain bikes. You find them on nonwilderness trails everywhere. Continual improvements in bicycle suspensions, brakes, structural materials, and other key components allow mountain bikers to travel faster, farther, and with greater ease and dependability than ever before.

It should come as no surprise that mountain bike enthusiasts who also maintain trails have seen the benefits of using mountain bikes for trail work. This case study shows how the Seward Ranger District on the Chugach National Forest uses mountain bikes. In addition, it describes how the Missoula Technology and Development Center (MTDC) worked with the District trail crew to develop a bicycle-mounted chain saw carrier and evaluate several single-wheeled bicycle cargo trailers.

The Situation at Seward

Set in the beautiful and mountainous Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage, Alaska, the Seward Ranger District has a short summer season, high visitation, and a shrinking trail maintenance budget.

In her project proposal to MTDC, District Trails Coordinator Irene Lindquist (Figure 1) provided some details about the trail program:

"The Seward Ranger District has a spruce bark beetle infestation which has been spreading for the past several years. Each year, more dead trees are falling across the trails. Removing 2,000 trees with diameters averaging 15 to 24 inches is beginning to be the norm."

"We are not located in a wilderness and the preferred method for trail employees to remove fallen trees is with a chain saw, adding to the weight of standard camping equipment. Heavy backpack loads combined with continuous mounting and unmounting of the pack and walking several miles cutting trees is physically and mentally exhausting."

"We have been experimenting with mountain bike travel for early season tree removal and have noted an incredible savings of time by 50% over backpacking. We have found mountain bike travel to be fast and easier on the body and mind than hiking with the gear and equipment in the proper situation. For the trails and circumstances where mountain bike travel is appropriate, we believe a good system with specially designed equipment is worth investigating."

"Currently we mount a chain saw in a scabbard on the rear rack. Our front rack holds a set of panniers. A second traveler on mountain bike usually has panniers on front and back for the gas/oil and ax. We are trying new and more advanced designs of mountain bikes for the 1995 season. We have not come up with any new designs for carrying a chain saw, gas/oil, and ax. We would like to design a bike and accessories capable of holding a chain saw (size similar to a Stihl 036 with a 20-inch bar) and 1.5 gallons gas, 2 quarts oil, wedges, ax, safety and first aid equipment, and personal gear for the day."

At MTDC's suggestion, the Seward trail crew also agreed to evaluate single-wheeled cargo trailers.

Benefits of Bicycles

We don't want to turn trail maintenance into another Extreme Sport. Picture it. Barely-in-control cyclists careening down mountain trails, chain saws in tow, grinning fiendishly as hikers scatter like terrified sheep at their approach.

To the contrary, we want to show you how members of one trail crew found that using mountain bikes for logging out some pretty tough trails allowed them to double their production without taking extraordinary risks.

The Seward trail crew has used mountain bikes since about 1989, but has increased the use of bikes markedly during the past 4 years. Currently, the District fields three, two-person bike teams to log out trails at the beginning of the summer season.

Irene Lindquist reports:

Mountain bikes improve dramatically every year. In 1997, the District had six bikes:

• Two Novara Arribas without shocks, purchased in 1990
• Two Trek 970's with front shocks, purchased in 1994
• Two Specialized Rock Hoppers with front shocks, purchased in 1995.

Front shocks are a prerequisite for any new bicycles purchased.

The Seward District's mountain bikes are used hard and require constant maintenance and repair. Brake pads, in particular, need to be replaced weekly, or even more often when bike trailers are used. The District expects to spend about $150 in parts for each bike per year, not counting the labor to install the parts.

The Seward trail crew is experienced. Crews use loaded mountain bikes on single-track trails considered moderate to difficult for ordinary mountain biking. Their use as described in this report represents difficult conditions and heavy wear. The scabbard and trailers described in this report make more sense and would be safer on easier trails.

On the Seward Ranger District, mountain bikes work best for logging out trails early in the summer. A two-person crew typically can log out 8 miles (12.8 km) in a 12-hour day. Crews have logged out as much as 11 miles (17.6 km) of trail in a single day. This is about twice as much trail as a hiking crew can log out in a day. Being able to return to the trailhead fairly quickly often eliminates the need for camping out. That means crews don't have to carry camping gear and food in addition to their equipment.

Mountain bikes have also proven invaluable for trail contract inspection. Irene Lindquist rode 20 miles (32 km) to check a contractor, then rode out, all in a single day. Hiking 40 miles (64 km) would have taken her 3 days.

Not for Everyone

Riding a mountain bicycle on any trail takes considerable skill. The rider needs to be in good physical condition. Controlling a heavily loaded bike on rough mountain trails requires much more-exceptional skill, endurance, strength, and experience. Make sure your crew has plenty of experience riding mountain bikes before loading one up with a chain saw or attaching a trailer.

Look at your own situation carefully before committing to a bike-mounted trail crew. This is not an easy decision. The easier the trail, the more mountain bikes make sense. Mountain bikes and other mechanical devices are not permitted in designated wilderness.

In Appendix A, we've enclosed two job hazard analyses prepared by the Seward Ranger District, one for using the mountain bikes and the other for using mountain bike trailers. Tailor your analyses to the local conditions and hazards-you might have cactus to contend with instead of bears.

Panniers

Irene Lindquist also wanted MTDC to investigate panniers that would hold 10 to 15 pounds of equipment:

• "We have tried several good-quality panniers and have had problems with the attachment system keeping the panniers on the bike racks. Because we are riding on trails which are not always smooth and have lots of bumps, our panniers have bounced free from the racks, and have blown seams."

MTDC chose not to evaluate panniers because so many good ones are available. Basically, you get what you pay for with panniers. Generally, the most expensive bags are the strongest. Pay particular attention to the weight of the fabric, quality of stitching, and reinforcement. PVC-coated fabrics look especially strong and weather resistant. Bags with some sort of locking clip or clasp instead of open clips prevent the panniers from bouncing off the racks.

Quality retail and catalog suppliers carry a good selection of panniers that should meet your needs.