[GoldenGoose]

What kills me about the wooden water bars is the fact that they rot out and turn to mush seemingly quickly. I'm guessing they use pine because of the abundance in many locations but cedar would last so much longer since it's naturally resistant to rot and insects.

[CraigCreekRider offline]

What kills me about the wooden water bars is the fact that they rot out and turn to mush seemingly quickly. I'm guessing they use pine because of the abundance in many locations but cedar would last so much longer since it's naturally resistant to rot and insects.

I am pretty sure some of them were pine. This one looks like it might be poplar, which is just about as bad for rot resistance.

Could be hickory which would be a little better. Cedar or locust would be the best local wood. Rolling dips seem to be the preferred method these days.

[Jared13 offline]

Here's a link to the Trail Construction and Maintenance Notebook created by the USFS. The entire book can be accessed on line. It has a lot of good information although I don't agree with everything covered (the use of waterbars for instance).

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rec ... 06/toc.cfm

You can also order the notebook and other materials at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rec ... ailpub.cfm

I got the notebook, "Trail Training DVD Series," and "Building Moutnain Bike Trails: Sustainable Singletrack" DVD. It only took a week or so to get the materials. I'm going to start watching the DVDs while riding the trainer so I'm not sure how good the DVDs are.