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Now that this roadie has a mtn bike, I wanna know when the trails are ok. Is there some unwritten rules about too early in the spring? We are hitting the 50's for the first time this year but it is going to get cold again. Does this rut up the trails?
A lot of the trails here are also in cow pasture or used by horses, so I don't worry too much about damage I may do. I don't like riding when it is so muddy the mud collects on my tires and eventually accumulates so much the tire no longer moves.
V.
The trails in our area (central & northern Wisconsin) are, for the most part, free of snow all though there are patchy areas in the shaded areas where you will come across snow, it is not 'written' but clearly understood by those of us who regularly use the trails that riders should stay off the trails until after the frost has come out of the ground. This keeps the ruts to a minimum.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barb
Who maintains your trails? A call to someone from your local cycling club or a LBS to find out what the protocol is would probably be appreciated.
Cindy in WI
Yes, talk to your local shops. It's the amount of water on the trails. It will damage both the trail and your bike. The local shops will know which trails drain the fastest.
Thanks. I need to stop in and check out a sale today. I will ask about the trails.
Is the a local mountain biking club? Most mountain bike clubs have that sort of information on their web sites. Some use a red light/green light system.
you can look up your local imba affiliate by state here
http://www.imba.com
It really depends on what kind of soil you have and how fast it drains. Riding in mud is really destructive. People either go around holes and widen the trails, or it just tears up the soil. Your local club can guide you.
irulan
Quote:
Originally Posted by SadieKate
Mud itself will not damage a bike.. it's the not cleaning it off, letting things rust and the lubrication drying out that will mess things up.
Irulan
Irulan, probably depends on the quality of your mud. Some of our mud is like clay and you get huge gobs that can cause your chain to come off, wear your rims if you don't have disks, etc. I've seen paint jobs destroyed from mud causing a chain to derail. You end up having to replace cables and components more often because it just gradually works it way into the casings and other nooks and crannies no matter how good you are about cleaning. I've seen bikes inoperational on the trail because of the mud build-up.
Maybe your mud is friendly! Ours is not!
When I do pick up mud, the bike always gets a thorough cleaning and lubeing as soon as we get home. Most mountain bikers I know don't worry too much about the paint: it IS a mountain bike after all. You are right of course in that mud is abrasive and that it can immobilize components. Around here, If the mud is of that nature mostly I'll chose not to ride as if it's that bad, most likely it's no good for the trails to be out when it's that gooey.
I just thought the comment about mud damaging a bike was odd...dirt riding is hard on a bike and we do our best to get the most miles out of them. Potentail mud damage is not something I'd ever considered, I just keep my bike clean and hope for the best. Then again, I'm not just getting over a very wet Norcal El Nino winter, either.
irulan
That's how I feel about my mountain bikes. They get dirty; there are scratches here and there (and corresponding scratches and scars on my legs). I don't get too excited about them. But I HATE when my road bike gets icky. :eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by Irulan
I keep my road bike pretty clean all the time. I keep my mountain bikes clean to the point of running clean, but maybe not looking clean.
yeah, that's it AG! You can say it so much better than I can. The paint on the Svelte Hawiaiin may have seen better days, but you can eat off the drive train...
;-)
I.
I am the same way! Mountain bikes were meant to get dirty and muddy. But heaven forbid my road bike gets dirty! Plus I hate riding on the road in the rain. The spray from passing vehicles is blinding plus the roads get so slick. Sunny hot weather for the road bike. Mountain bike . . . ANY kind of weather! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Adventure Girl
My road bike looks shiny new (it's three years old) my old hardtail looks pretty good after 6 years of hard riding. My hubby is fanatical about maintenance and cleaning the bikes. Twice a year he completely tears down both bikes. I mean to their little ball bearings and cleans every part! He cleans and soaks all the greasy parts then he regreases the parts that need to be regreased finally he puts the bikes back together. Friends we ride with often kid Joe about how clean our mountain bikes are. He loves working on the bikes. He said almost as much as he enjoys riding them. This year (February) hubby and I finally got full suspension bikes. We hung up our hardtails. The first time I took it out I was really sad to see it get dirty. The feeling was fleeting though! The trails were just great! :p
Sue :)
Sue,Quote:
Originally Posted by Susan126
Whoa, for a minute there I thought you were describing my hubby! Even his name is the same--Joe. The worst thing about an always-clean bike is that people think you aren't riding it as much as you do! Now if I could only find the trick to having him be so fixated on stuff like the furnace or the lawn mower and such. I guess I shouldn't complain about his priorities, though! Have fun in the dirt!
It must be the name?! LOL Hey, I'm glad to hear that my Joe is not the only fanatical one about a clean and well maintained bike. Yea, we get the same kidding about not "riding" enough because our bikes are always so shiny and clean. But we do ride quite a bit! In fact we were out in the mud today! We have had a week of rain and today the rains held off so we rode . . . got muddy and had a great time. And as soon as we got home, out came the bucket, sponges, brushes, and hose! Both bikes are now clean and hanging in the garage waiting for their next adventure! Now Dirt Girl PLEASE if you figure out how to get your Joe to do the jobs around the house . . . could you let me in on your secret! ;) SueQuote:
Originally Posted by Dirt Girl
My DH is named John, not Joe, and he's quite the fanatic about a clean bike, himself.... Ever heard of Bike Lust? Great product for getting that shine back.... Even when he's on night shift and can't ride with the group, he still gets my bike looking nasty clean! Gotta luv that. And, yeah, household stuff is definitely not his area of expertise...Maybe if we could have houses shaped like bikes?? :D
Today was a road ride. The trails are only just finishing with the frost....by mid-week, if the weather continues they'll be ready. And I'll be on my hardtail for the first few rides - make me work a bit harder, and keep the early season mud off the beautiful girl...the Juliana...
Namaste,
~T~
I just want to mention, as I don't think it's been specifically stated, that it's not about when you ride; it's about trail conditions. If your trails aren't closed during parts of the year for wildlife protection, you can ride them whenever, provided that they are reasonably dry (or whatever constitutes "safe from unnecessary tire damage" in your region). If the weather's been dry in the middle of the winter and you have a nice warm day, and you know that a certain trail will be dry, it's probably fine to ride it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barb
One of our local trail advocacy groups has started a site on which people can list the most recent trail conditions. Obviously, this is the kind of thing that requires a certain momentum to be useful, but there might be something like that in your area, too.
Another clean freak hubby! :D Yes, very muddy down here too (south of Seattle), ~LBTC~ Lots of rain down low and lots of snow up high. Yea, my poor trek fuel got really muddy yesterday. Maybe I should have pulled down the old hardtail?! I was hoping the rain would hold off for today but it doesn't appear it's going to happen. Joe and I wanted to get a road ride in early this morning but I'm looking outside my window while I'm enjoying my first cup of coffee and it's raining. I guess we'll have to hope for a nice dry day during the weekday. Now that the days are longer (I hope everyone remembered to set their clocks ahead!) we can get rides in after work! Yippee! One day a road ride the next day a mountain bike ride. During the winter months Joe and I just ride weekends. Oh man I do love the longer days! Now we begin the serious biking season! Whooo Hoooooo! SueQuote:
Originally Posted by LBTC
It's amazing what an hour time change can do for biking morale. I've already planned a ride every day next week (I'm not sure my nether regions are up to being in the saddle every day). Most of our mtb. trails are still muddy and snowy, but can hit lower trails. It's amazing that I can actually go to work and still ride my bike! I just have to keep chanting, please no rain or snow, please no rain or snow, please no rain or snow!