Rocky McRockface due to...?

danncam

Likes Dirt
Most of us here are middle aged, I assume, and have moved from 26 HTs with 1.95 wide tyres, through 26 trail FS with a whopping 100mm travel up to our 29 FS 150mm+ travel (some with cheater mode as well).

Is all this faster wider tyred, longer travel, bigger wheeled riding roughing up the tracks into rock strewn gnar (Charlotte's at Red Hill seemed way chunkier today than I remember).
OR
I am getting old?
 

leitch

Feelin' a bit rrranty
Charlotte's at Red Hill was also a stage on the national enduro champs course which ran in October in pissing rain... so it's copped a beating and probably less maintenance than some others there given it's also a bit off the main trailhead. But yes probably a bit of both. Plenty of people getting round on big (and heavy, thanks to e-bikes) bikes that inspire confidence and maybe outstrip experience skidding down trails.
 

slimjim1

Fat boomers cloggin' ma leaderboard
It is true that A lot of the trails have copped a beating through multiple la Nina’s and covid riders, and especially covid riders who don’t respect trail builders who have to repair the damage from riding wet trails. Definitely a lot of trails are the roughest I have ever seen. It’s generally more braking bumps and ruts rather than roughness as a feature , if that makes sense , which is shite to ride IMO.

Funnily enough, all the new stuff popping up is smoother than ever ,generally wide open / straight , minimal roots and rocks. No one seems to be able to climb anymore , especially tech. Some of the slower techier trails around Canberra are now virtually unridden .

this is , as you said , despite the bikes being more capable than ever and many being way overbiked.

you also cannot deny that e bikes are causing damage due to the sheer volume of people who otherwise would not be out there. The fact that you’ve got a motor doing the work means overall weight , suspension travel and tyre rolling resistance become non factors which does allow people who probaby wouldn’t have the bike handling skills and or trail sympathy to get into situations or ride in certain ways they other use wouldn’t .
 

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
Combination of things. Some locations are more prone to weathering than others due to topography and soil type, and I think Red Hill/Arthurs Seat is more susceptible to wear than other locations. It's steep and the topsoil is relatively shallow, so it doesn't take much to make the underlying rocks grow.

That said, the general trend to bigger, more capable bikes which can give inexperienced riders a false sense of ability, then the added eee-ness and the basic physics of mass & gravity combine with natural forces to accelerate trail wear.

I've been riding Red Hill for more than a decade, I'm still on a 100mm FS 26", but my tyres have grown to a whopping 2.25". Yeah I'm getting old & soft, but even Wombat, which used to be a sweet flowy descent has developed some sections which are pretty hairy on a little bike, when they didn't used to be.
 
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