How to Build a Mountain Bike Trail

This site contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Creating a mountain biking trail is not difficult, but it takes a little bit of time.

When you think of building a mountain bike trail, it is not as difficult and you don’t need to spend a lot of money either.

It is something that can be done easily by an expert mountain biker or a professional.

To build a mountain bike trail, first of all; you need to find a location that is ideal, devote a lot of time and effort to its construction, and then keep it maintained.

Process of Building Mountain Bike Trail

  • Selection of best location
  • Mark trail track
  • Build trail track
  • Prepare trail track
  • Make Hurdles or jumps in track
  • Take a ride
  • Maintenance of trail track

Selection of Best Location

Picture Credits: www.instructables.com

For the trail of your mountain bike, first of all, you have to select the best suitable place to perform this process because it is considered to be the most difficult task of this process.

It is also important to decide what will be included in your trail, as well as who will be using it.

Mark Trail Track

Picture Credits: www.instructables.com

Create a basic map of your trail after you scout the area. If you want to make sure the trail is marked, you can walk through the area and tape it. 

If you’re familiar with the area surrounding, then you can skip the tape and sketch on paper instead.

Build Trail Track

Picture Credits: www.instructables.com

To provide a proper trail track to mountain bike riders, you should have to build or make some preparations for it.

Pull out different tools you need like a shovel, handsaw, clippers, a sithe to clear out the brush, and the weed-eater; will be very helpful for grass. 

Make sure that the track is clear of hard stuff, bushes, and trees on its way.

Prepare Trail Track

Picture Credits: www.instructables.com

Once you have cut the trail to dirt or thin grass, it is time to create a plan for certain areas that can erode if left alone.

An angle of more than a degree needs to be maintained in areas where trails are inclined.

Trails should always be slightly slanted to shed water, but when they are at a large angle, they need to be cut off.

If the trail is left as it is, then the people riding on this track will slide down.

Hurdles or Jumps in Trail Track

Picture Credits: www.instructables.com

Now, after the preparation of the trail track for mountain biking, it’s time to make mountain biking a healthy and fun activity up to some extent.

You can add some hurdles, jumps, rollers, bridges, etc., to the trail track so that the mountain bikers can enjoy the activity.

We are doing this because most of the people are adventure-loving, so this would be helpful for them to ride the trail track.

Take a Ride

Picture Credits: www.instructables.com

Take a ride on the trail for a few hours, and everything will smooth out soon. At the start time, you should not ride too fast, because you don’t want to have people losing control and wrecking the trail.

Once the trail track is down to dirt, let the mountain bikers go as fast as they want.

You should not be disappointed if your trail is bumpy.

Maintenance of Trail Track

Picture Credits: www.instructables.com

In order to keep your trail safe in the future, it is very important that you maintain it. It is considered as best to repair any damage as soon as possible, as any problem left unattended will only worsen.

FAQ's

What are the expenditures to build MTB trails?

To give you a sense of the cost of building a mountain bike trail, typical construction costs for bike trails are around $3-5 per foot (about $15 – 25K per mile).

But a foundation would cost $10-15 per foot (as much as $80K per mile).

What are the steps involved in clearing a forest trail?

In the forest, you should go from small to big when clearing a trail. So, start by cutting short trees and shrubs, then bigger trees, and then stumps and boulders. 

The width, height, and level of difficulty of your design standards determine the amount of clearing you need.

What tools are required for building a mountain bike trail?

The tools like spade, shovel, folding saw, splitting axe, Flexi tub, garden hoe, mattock, wood rod, weed trimmer, topographic map, and first aid kit, etc., would be your partner while you are building a mountain bike trails track. 

Leave a Comment