Trails

Trails is the BMX discipline of riding long lines of dirt jumps built by hand, almost always in woodland or scrub. Where dirt jumping in contests is about the biggest trick over a few jumps, trails is about flowing through a dozen or more jumps in a row with speed, style and control. The building of the jumps is as much a part of the discipline as riding them.

What it is

A trails spot is a network of jump lines dug into a hillside or a flat patch of woods. Each line is a sequence of doubles, step-ups, step-downs, berms and hips that a rider takes in one continuous run, pumping each landing to carry speed into the next lip. Lines are often named, and a spot may have a beginner line, a main line and several options branching off.

The culture values things that contests cannot measure. Style over a jump, the way a rider pumps through a line, how smoothly a tabletop is held, and how the jumps themselves are shaped all matter more than rotation count. A perfectly clicked turndown over a big double is worth more at the trails than a double flip done ugly.

Trails riders are also builders. A spot takes months or years to dig and needs constant maintenance. Crews of riders spend as many hours with shovels as on bikes. This is why trails riders are protective of their spots and why the discipline has a reputation for being insular. Most spots are on land the diggers do not own, and publicity brings attention from landowners and councils.

Where it is ridden

The modern trails scene grew up in the north-eastern United States, where wooded hills and clay soil suit digging. Pennsylvania in particular became the centre, with several spots that have been running for decades. The UK has a strong scene for the same reasons: suitable soil, woodland and a long history of riders building their own jumps.

In Australia, trails exist in bushland around the major cities and in regional towns, but drier soil and bushfire regulations make long-lived spots harder to keep. Many Australian riders ride council-built dirt jumps instead, which blurs the line between trails and dirt. See BMX in Australia.

Wherever they are, trails spots share features:

• A steep roll-in or a pedalling run-up to generate speed
• Doubles that get larger down the line
• Berms to turn the line back on itself
• A water source, tarps and tools stashed nearby
• No signage and no official status

Typical bike setup

Trails bikes are the most conservative in BMX. They are built to go fast, stay straight and survive.

Part	Typical choice	Why
Frame	21 to 21.5 inch top tube, 74 to 75 degree head angle	Long and slack for stability through fast lines
Chainstay	13.75 inch or longer	Long rear end keeps the bike tracking on landings
Brakes	Rear U-brake, often front too in the past	Speed control on steep roll-ins and wet days
Rear hub	Cassette	Instant engagement for pedalling into the line
Tyres	2.3 to 2.4 inch, treaded	Grip on loose dirt, see tyres
Tyre pressure	45 to 65 psi	Soft enough to grip and absorb
Pegs	None	Pegs catch on lips and add weight
Cranks	175 mm	Longer cranks for more leverage on the run-in
Gearing	28 to 30 tooth with 9 tooth driver, or 44 and 16 on older bikes	Taller gearing for speed over distance
Bars	9 inch or taller, swept back	Comfortable position for long sessions

A rear brake is more common at the trails than anywhere else in freestyle. Brakes or brakeless explains why.

Key tricks and skills

The first skill is speed management. A trails line only works if the rider arrives at each lip at the right speed, and the only way to get there is to pump every landing and berm. Learning to read a line and carry speed without pedalling takes years.

Tricks at the trails favour shape and extension:

• Turndowns and tabletops: the tabletop is the signature trails trick. The bike is laid flat in the air with the bars turned.
• Lookbacks and inverts: variations on turning the bike sideways and upside down while keeping the line.
• X-ups and no-handers: done big and held late.
• 360s: usually over the largest double in a line.
• Can-cans and one-footers: body variations that show control.
• Transfers: jumping from one line into another using hips and step-overs.
• Flips and whips: present but less valued than at contests. A backflip done with style is respected; one done to tick a box is not.

Pure trails tricks are judged by the people standing at the top of the line, not by scorecards. A session at a good spot is as much social as athletic.

Culture and media

Trails culture is tied to the north-eastern United States. Mike Aitken became the most influential trails rider of the 2000s through his video parts, especially in Fit Life, where his style on dirt set the standard. Chase Hawk brought trails flow into park contests and video parts for brands including Cult. Both appear in Stew Johnson's Anthem II (2010), Aitken with its opening section, and the first Anthem (1997) is one of the classic trails videos.

Fit Bike Co and S&M Bikes built much of their identity around trails riders in the 2000s. Brands like these produced long, stable frames aimed at the discipline, and the influence of trails geometry can be seen in street frames today.

Trails riders generally avoid contests. The exceptions are jams: informal gatherings at a spot where riders session together with no judging. Large jams have been hosted in the United States, the UK and Europe for decades, and are the closest thing trails has to an event calendar. Some crossover riders compete in dirt jumping at X Games and similar events.

In the web edit era, trails became one of the most popular subjects for filmed sessions, partly because the settings are beautiful and partly because the riding photographs well. This has also created tension, since online attention can get a spot destroyed.

How to get started

1. Learn to jump at a public dirt jump park first. See dirt jumping.
2. Find out who rides trails near you and ask, politely, if you can come to a dig day. Show up with a shovel, not a bike.
3. Dig. Pack. Water. Earn a place at the spot before you expect to ride it.
4. Start on the smallest line and roll it until the speeds make sense.
5. Learn to pump rather than pedal. Watch how locals carry speed.
6. Never ride wet jumps. One wet session can undo weeks of work.

A helmet is standard. Gloves help on long dig days. See how to start riding BMX.

Related

• Dirt jumping
• Park
• Mike Aitken
• Chase Hawk
• Fit Life
• Pump
• Line