Okay, found this thread:
http://forums.mtbr.com/general-discussion/building-log-trail-ramp-252910.html

I understand log ramps aren't good on multi-use trails. And ramping just half the log on dedicated MTB trails is a good option too.

And of course I also understand the ideal way to deal with logs is PRACTICE getting over them. I'm comfortable up to 12-14"...but higher than that I'm debris, LOL---and just have trouble finding the time to practice crossings that high...but i'll work on it.

Meanwhile, I think well-constructed log ramps can actually be fun...hence my question about techniques for building them to last...

 

logs rot and move, you're better off using rock and/or dirt. There I did the disclaimer. Now, I have log pile ramps all over my trails that have held up for years in the wettest place in Canada, Vancouver Island. I have found that if you stack carefully and use fairly long logs (4' or more) there is not much else required. If your pile is good and solid... kick the crap out of it to test it... it will hold up for a good long time. It's vital to make another path for hikers and horses on multi use trails or risk having your ride-over removed. I put the ride-over as the side trail.

Oh yeah, we have fallen trees over 6 feet in diameter. Anyone who wants to learn to ride over one of those is welcome to try.

 

I've used them just fine for years, too. Yeah, they rot and you have to deal with that eventually, but where I've lived, many riders get mad if you cut stuff out that's in a good size range for a log pile. Sometimes I've seen notches cut partially through larger downed trees so the log pile doesn't need to be quite so big.

Whatever you do, don't haphazardly stack oddly-shaped branches in the process of building one. Sometimes it will seem solid at first, but those irregularly shaped branches move over time and sometimes right when someone is on them. I have been known to entirely disassemble such poorly built log piles preferring to dismount and climb over the downed tree instead of riding that death trap.

 

I have seen several well made log ramps last years. If done properly, the small logs decompose with the tree trunk to keep the ride smooth. I have also seen a few ramps cut from freshly fallen trees by good chain sawers - they have been there for years and still smooth as heck.

Even if there are no "go-arounds," no one has complained where I live; and besides, it's the woods. The hiker or equestrian should be able to get over without destroying the ramp. Maybe if there are many ramps one after the other, a another user might get mad.

The trick is to make them wide, and a "go-around" if available.

 

generally I think they're a bad idea. most people will stack anything and think its a sound structure. Theres a few well built one on my local trails but these were built with larger "good wood" from downed trees. IMO a ladder bridge is a better option if an obtacle is too big. We had a huge downed tree that we decided to build a ladder bridge over the tall part a skinny and a go around so you have 3 options.

 

Wait, is that a yellow dog in that 1st pic?

 

Nothing like a good skinny to make riding over a downed tree fun. Split a log, peel the bark, secure the tops, bury rocks in the ground for the ends to rest on, cut some grooves in the face for wet traction.

 

Can't stand them. Most of the ones I see are piles of 2" - 3" diameter sticks, sometimes only on one side of the log.

 

We have log overs out the wazoo around here. Some are sound and some are downright rubbish. Don't get me wrong, some are fun and some of them have ramps made of burned out half-trunk sections rather than just piled sticks, so they can look and ride a little more interesting.

To me they are the remnants of a bygone time when trail construction was rogue and rapid, done without tools and built to suit XC riders looking for challenges that would be better avoided. There's nothing more disheartening than getting to the top of a pile of logs to find the far side destroyed by horses and motos. There's that oh crap moment before falling into gaps between logs, trying to do a standing nose wheelie while you unclip and avoid falling off trail into the inevitable uncleared stabbing objects. That is not a challenge; rather a stupidity.

Why someone would think a log over on a 15% downslope, 5m from a dodgy, skinny bridge, or a series of them through blind corners, so that the only successful riders are the ones who built and know they are there just escapes me. If you want to prove you can build and ride tech trails, then build something sound, sustainable, something all riders can attempt with basic safety and not just something that makes you look like a big man because you are the only one who even attempts all the features.

Oh and Pascale - does your dog have patches of lemon yellow fur?

 

Oh and Pascale - does your dog have patches of lemon yellow fur?

Thats Fozzy, he's a labradoodle. He's my buddy's dog. He actually dyed him orange last spring so he was yellow for a bit, now he's back to his white coat. Awesome dog, he comes out with us when we build and just hangs around. Wish I could find a dog like him.

 

Interesting points. If I build any log ramps, they'll definitely be on flat sections of trail, and definitely built with good (sometimes green), large logs, at least 4-6 feet long. I'm not gonna take the time to build any that won't a) stay put, and b) last a long time.

I like the idea of making log skinnies over other logs...will have to look into that.

Scott

 

You dyed your dog orange? For hunting season? What?

 

he's a hockey nut, so he dyed his dog orange. We're Flyers fans in south jersey. personally I'd never dye a dog, kinda crazy.

 

A windstorm dropped over 200 trees on the school trails. We started just cutting them out and tossing them off the trail. Then we got a little creative.

 

Nice work!! :thumbsup:

 

Just a couple more.

I dug down about 2' and you have to duck a little for this one.

The 6 inch gap is a real confidence builder for a 10 year old rider. You could roll it, but they don't know that.

A whole log on the ground and then a log split in half placed round side down on top of that makes a smooth "ramp" and holds together very well with no nails or bolts.

 

Looks like you guys used split fir for your tread/decking? How does that work? Typically have seen cedar used.

What part of the country is this?

 

That is some awesome use of materials at hand and makes for very nice riding too! I'm impressed..

 

We have a lot of them on our local XC loop. It's called the Tree Farm for a reason... never a lack of fallen logs to fix them with.

It's singletrack... some jogging but no one complains (myself included.)

Rarely are they filled in... just logs in a pile and go.

 

Umm, why not just cut the blown down logs out ?

 

Hell, why not just ride on concrete :thumbsup:

 

When mother nature provides gifts, the trail gnomes are expected to get creative and make good use of them. :rockon:

 

When i have a fallen tree a a god spot for a ramp i put a few metal spikes front and behind it so it doesent move then i gather some gradually smaller logs and put them down in layers with some soil in between.

 

Your metal spike will be there in 30 years for someone to fall on top of. Consider spiking with a pointy dowel rod or survey stake. That way, everything rots away together.

 

If a fallen tree can add to the trail experience by adding a feature that fits then incorporate it with the trail, if it is in the way then slice and dice it out. If a ramp / berm / skinny / bridge would add to the flow then why not.

 

:thumbsup: That is a great way of changing up the trail while using what is there already rather than schlepping stuff in. Sometimes that can't be avoided but using what is there, is IMHO the preferred way if possible.

 

Wow, wish my school allowed us to make trails in there forest!

 

You ever ask them? I kept hearing from other people that it "wasn't allowed". I asked the landowner (a multi-national local logging company). They said "sure", nobody had ever asked before.

It wasn't quite a simple as that but the main point is that it doesn't hurt to ask.

 

I've certainly piled up logs against another log and covered it all with dirt, works well enough, the next year it usually needs some more dirt, but then it needs minimal/no maintenance. I do like logs just laying across the trail, no ramps, but depending on speed/corners ramps might be the best option.

 

I've certainly piled up logs against another log and covered it all with dirt, works well enough, the next year it usually needs some more dirt, but then it needs minimal/no maintenance. . . . .

yep, like this. very easy, quick job. roller or jump.... i left some of the log showing through the top on purpose, so it would seem a little more like a log feature and not just a dirt roller....

not to mention what you can do with a lot of logs.... a table-top-ish jump, or something you can roll up and over with some bump bump bump... i took this pic at Keystone:

 

i've been building some trails this summer, and have a few log rides.

where i am at, the trail i worked on sees very little mixed use, and was un hikeable, let alone bikeable.

now, the trail is totally rideable, and way more fun. i think it depends on how much use the trail gets whether or not to make log rides, and how to make them.

mine are of the the "pile of rotting logs" type and are holding up fine, but i think i may be one of the few users of this trail. if it got more use & mixed use, they may not hold up so well.

 

Interesting thread.

There are lots of log piles at my local trail. Some are good, some are really bad. The good ones use long logs and become very solid, the bad ones have shorter and skinnier logs that bounce around and often move.

This past weekend I witnessed one bad accident, took part in another, and almost had another . The first, basically guy goes over big log pile but on other side logs had moved and his front wheel got turned and wedged in there so he endoed into the next pile. Mine was similar - went over a log pile that I don't usually ride and found that there were no logs on the other side (there were on one part but not the part I was on) and I endoed and unfortunately face-planted into the frozen singletrack. Got my bell rung good. Third, on other side there's a skinny loose log that flopped up and almost wedged itself into front wheel.

Point is, log piles require maintenance. And the lesson for me is: always assume there's nothing on the other side, and treat it as if it weren't built up.

Funny, because after recently riding the trails in Chicoppe just outside Atlanta and complaining that they were boring, overly-maintained, and "for the love of god could you just leave one friggin' log in the trail".