Long before a pro cyclist shreds their way down a mountain, trail builders have spent hundreds of hours preparing the path. That work isn’t cheap, either. In fact, creating trails for mountain biking can cost $10,000-45,000 per mile, according to Shimano.
The money pays not only for the materials, tools, and labor but also for costly environmental impact studies that are often required for building trails amid wilderness areas. So it’s no small thing that Shimano just announced a $10 million commitment over the next 10 years for MTB trail building. It’s part of the cycling brand’s new Trail Born Fund, which aims to improve bike trail access around the world.
While an expensive endeavor, the return on investment is “priceless,” Shimano said in a news release this week.
“Supporting trail building and trail advocacy helps protect and expand trail access,” the company said in a statement. “And that means more places for all of us to ride — and more opportunities for new riders, like kids, to discover this amazing sport.”
Shimano Trail Born Fund
Which groups and MTB areas will get funding through the new Shimano program? We’ll have to wait and see. Specifics on the funding will be shared later on in the process of starting the program, Shimano said.
But the company is aiming for global reach. Initially focused on “select areas in North America, Europe, and Oceania,” Shimano already has plans to expand into Asia, Africa, and Central and South America by 2026.
Shimano’s history with mountain biking goes back to the 1983 launch of DEORE XT M700, the brand’s first MTB-specific component set. The company was one of the first cycling brands to take MTB seriously, and it has continued supporting the sport ever since with specialized gear.
Now it’s time to support the trail creation that makes mountain biking possible, the brand said.
“Shimano also quickly realized that unlike road riding, where the required terrain exists by default, mountain biking requires collective collaboration to create and maintain unique and desirable places to ride,” the company said in the release. “Indeed, the roots of mountain biking are trails and without a strong root system the proverbial tree will come crashing down.”
