![Seymour Logging Road cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Seymour_Logging_Road_cropped.jpg)
Singletrack (or single track) describes a type of
mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...
trail that is approximately the width of the bike. It contrasts with double-track or
fire road
A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebre ...
which is wide enough for four-wheeled off-road vehicles. It is often smooth and flowing, but may also feature technical rocky sections, go over tree roots, and include berms, banked turns, switch-backs, hills,
drops
Drop, DROP, drops or DROPS may refer to:
* Drop (liquid) or droplet, a small volume of liquid
** Eye drops, saline (sometimes mydriatic) drops used as medication for the eyes
* Drop (unit), a unit of measure of volume
* Falling (physics), allowi ...
, jumps, and so forth. Singletrack which descends significantly, and in the most downward direction, is said to be following the
fall line
A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is typically prominent where rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the coa ...
.
Many mountain bike riders prefer singletrack over other types of trails, as singletrack is usually designed specifically for the sport, and therefore can have elements which highlight features of the sport (whereas other trail types will usually be more straight, and not exhibit as many hills and other special features).
[https://www.trailforks.com](_blank)
Technical Trail Features. Some singletrack includes
TTF's (technical trail features) designed to challenge riders, such as
log piles,
log rides,
skinnies,
rock gardens
A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small A ...
,
gap jumps, and
wall-rides.
Doubletrack (or double track) contrasts with singletrack in that it has two paths, which are approximately parallel.
Jeep trails and fire roads are examples of a doubletrack trail.
Trail building
There are often volunteers, both organized and informal, that maintain and create singletrack in many places. Organized volunteers coordinate with park districts or land owners to modify the natural woods or terrain to accommodate singletrack bikers. Some paths are created from scratch, while others are modified hiking paths.
In one report, the
USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...
highlights several potential problems when it comes to trail building: effects on natural resources, use of designated wilderness, conflict with other users, and notable safety issues.
These regulations are devised to make mountain biking sustainable; the
IMBA IMBA can refer to:
* Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Vienna, Austria
* International Masters of Business Administration
* International Mountain Bicycling Association
* Imba, a full-stack web programming language
* Gaming slang for game imbal ...
strives to promote mountain biking in a way that trails made are done so according to previously ordained regulations and the idea that if built properly, trail maintenance and environmental impact will be minimal. In one example, Singletrack Advocates (STA) is a nonprofit organization that strives to build and maintain singletrack around Anchorage. Since its beginnings in 2007, STA has prevailed in legislation and construction of over 20 miles of new trails in the Anchorage area (Alaska).
Trail maintenance
In 2000,
Clemson University
Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...
(South Carolina, U.S.) Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences conducted a study on mountain biking and the sustainability of the sport as it relates to the natural environment. The researchers outlined four capacities that must be met in order to sustain a trail or trail system: Physical Capacity, the amount of space a given activity demands, Ecological Capacity, how much damage the environment can withstand before detrimental effect, Facility Capacity, what a given population needs in order to enjoy such recreational areas; and Social Capacity, the point at which one decides how many users the trail can accommodate comfortably at any one time.
Mountain biking is a sustainable sport in that once a trail or trail system is made, it can be used for many years, but like accommodating for specific carrying capacities, there are many concerns in maintenance and use. Resource managers, typically employed by private or federal agencies, are in position to make judgment on how and when trail maintenance needs to be done. Resource managers take care of outstanding trail conditions such as the following: erosion control, trail widening and or rutting, shortcuts, soil decomposition, damage to drainage structures, damage to flora, fauna and water structures.
In order to preserve the sustainability and progress the mountain biking community has seen in the most recent of years, trail maintenance must be continual, from being proactive in legislation, to environmental awareness in physical maintenance.
"Rules of the Trail"
The IMBA has developed a set of rules "to promote responsible and courteous conduct on shared-use trails." Every trail may have a slightly different set of rules. Most commonly, the rules include provisions such as the following:
https://www.imba.com/rules-trail
IMBA "Rules of the Trail".
* Mountain bikers must yield to ''both'' hikers and riders on horses (equestrians), unless the trail is clearly designated and marked for bike-only travel. Hikers yield to equestrians.
* Downhill riders yield to uphill riders (unless the trail is clearly marked for one-way or downhill-only traffic).
* " Leave No Trace" - Mountain bikers should ride in a way that does not cause damage or ecological erosion to the trail. Riders should not cut switchbacks. If there is standing water, riders should not ride around it if it causes erosion at the side, or will cause the trail to become wider. Litter
Litter consists of waste products that have been discarded incorrectly, without consent, at an unsuitable location. Litter can also be used as a verb; to litter means to drop and leave objects, often man-made, such as aluminum cans, paper cups, ...
ing is never acceptable.
Other rules are often posted for the considerations of specific individual trails.
See also
* Fall line
A fall line (or fall zone) is the area where an upland region and a coastal plain meet and is typically prominent where rivers cross it, with resulting rapids or waterfalls. The uplands are relatively hard crystalline basement rock, and the coa ...
* Mountain biking
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...
* Downhill mountain biking
Downhill mountain biking (DH) is a style of mountain biking practiced on steep, rough terrain that often features jumps, drops, rock gardens and other obstacles. Jumps can be up to and including , and drops can be greater than .
The rider c ...
* Enduro (mountain biking)
Enduro in its most basic definition is a type of mountain bike racing where the downhills are timed, and the uphills are mandatory but not timed. Riders are timed in stages that are primarily downhill, with neutral "transfer" stages in between. ...
* Cross-country cycling
Cross-country (XC) cycling is a discipline of mountain biking. Cross-country cycling became an Olympic sport in 1996 and is the only form of mountain biking practiced at the Olympics.
Terrain
Cross-country cycling is defined by the terrain on w ...
* Glossary of cycling
This is a glossary of terms and jargon used in cycling, mountain biking, and cycle sport.
For ''parts of a bicycle'', see List of bicycle parts.
0–9
; 27.5 Mountain bike: A mountain bike with wheels that are approximately in diameter and ...
* Singletrack Magazine
* IMBA (International Mountain Bicycling Association)
*
References
{{reflist
External links
IMBA Resources: Bicycle Management: The Importance of Singletrack
Single track video
Mountain biking
Trails