Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

Leaves......

4K views 22 replies 20 participants last post by  raisingarizona 
#1 ·
Why is the standard getting rid of them? Leaving them makes the trails less prone to erosion from riding, and from rain.

We have one local trail system where there never is any leaf blowing and the trails stays in WAY better shape than , the majority of local trails that leave blow every last inch of trail. The leaf blown trails tend to crumb apart in dry periods, get more braking bumps, close down more to wet weather, and even the best condition have way less grip than the Loamy trail where the leaves were left. Also the non leaf blown trails tend to have less roots popping up as well.

From my eyes the only reason to leaf blow is to see the trail.....IMO just ride them in. The pros are just overall better riding experience year round.
 
#2 ·
Leaf blowing

I ride in North Jersey and have never seen leaves blown off the trail in any State or County Park and it not part of any JORBA trail maintenance I am aware.

Do you mean people actually use leaf blowers and/or rakes on trails?Maybe rail trails and walking paths but trails in the woods?
 
#3 ·
Here, they clog the drains of the trail, leading to more erosion and puddles, they also decompose in place and make a nasty slick layer, that also helps to trap puddles and water, contributing to erosion, also making an organic layer that isn't as solid as dirt.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rebel1916
#11 ·
they also decompose in place and make a nasty slick layer, that also helps to trap puddles and water, contributing to erosion, also making an organic layer that isn't as solid as dirt.
On the local Fb page they were saying this is the organic layer they work to remove when they cut in a trail. here's what they said,

The same stuff we need to remove when building a new trail is the same stuff leaf litter becomes, creating a soft mushy absorbent trail surface. During a heavy rain the organic duff runs down the trail and settles into the berms and low spots creating black mucky spots.



Mineral soil is what you want for trails, it compacts and stays firm while also shedding water. This is what we dig down to when creating new trail.

Organic soil is what you want for flower beds, it's soft and friable, which allows the roots to spread out and flourish while also retaining moisture for growth. This is bad for the tread of a trail.
 
#9 ·
Leaves? Yeah they are slick but a few laps and locals who love to slide seems to clear them fast. Now acorns en masse? Freaking slick as snot, hard to clean, pile up in the low spots. Lots of locals complaining about them right now. I tell them they have feet too. Use them!
 
#12 ·
no one blows the leaves off of the trails around here...the wind and the riding get them where they need to be for the most part...
 
#14 ·
As far as I can tell, the answer is.... depends.

On some older trails or trails that are not well designed and are already not draining/shedding water well, the leaves can help with erosion.

On newer trail that are draining/shedding well, the leaves often end up creating an organic berm on the outer edge of the trail, keeping it from draining well.

I think you need to take it situation by situation.
 
#17 ·
As far as I can tell, the answer is.... depends.

On some older trails or trails that are not well designed and are already not draining/shedding water well, the leaves can help with erosion.

On newer trail that are draining/shedding well, the leaves often end up creating an organic berm on the outer edge of the trail, keeping it from draining well.

I think you need to take it situation by situation.
I think the problems occur when people ride the trail when it's still wet. Good packed-in mineral soil will shed water, dry faster and stay firm when there's somemoisture in it. Organic soil stays wet longer and then riders start to leave tracks where water collects and then starts to flow causing erosion to the whole thing. Add in freeze-thaw cycles to loosen up the underlying trail bed that's wet due to the water collecting in the tire tracks... It's the same reason riders shouldn't be locking up their tires, it loosens the top layer of soil so it can get washed away leaving a spot that can fill with water starting a cycle of erision.

The need to clear leaves is going to be heavily location-dependent.
 
#18 ·
Location dependent for sure. Rocky/sandy soils can actually benefit from leaving the leaves. Clay/silt based soils, which take forever to dry, need leaves removed in the spring so sun/wind can do their thing to dry soils and prevent ruts that would need to be fixed. Removing the leaves is a lot easier than tread repair in this case. We maintain trails in a few dense hardwood forests where the leaves accumulate to around an inch thick after the fall/winter seasons and hold in moisture like Saran Wrap.
 
#22 ·
We have talked about this, at length, several times. It still "kinda" depends. Although I am 100% with the idea that if your trail drains properly, the presence of leaves is irrelevant. Unclog the drains, but otherwise, do nothing! Our trail mgr has flip-flopped on leaf blowing (yes, no, and currently yes). Our trails have never been in such bad shape in the early Spring season as when they have leaf-blown in the Fall. The frost heaves have been extensive. Every spot that wasn't leaf blown is in fine shape. I don't know what the disconnect is. To my eye as well, it seems obvious (for our trails).
We do have a couple trails where traffic can be sparse, making navigation through 12" deep leaves challenging. Yes, 12". The leaves seem to all drop at the same time in places. You navigate by feel.


(not here :LOL:)

-F
 
#23 ·
I keep a leaf blower with me while machine building. Not for leaves though, it's how we blow out the radiator when it's getting loaded with dust, duff and dirt. For a little while we struggled with keeping the machine from overheating here in the hot, arid south west. If you run into this problem the leaf blower is clutch, use it for a minute once or twice a day and problem solved.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top