Bike racks these days seem to be designed for a very specific application: they’ll work well with one type of bike, but not with others. Or they might attach to one sort of cross bars, but aren’t compatible with a different one. Well, RockyMounts just announced their new, versatile Brass Knuckles tray, which is designed to accommodate virtually any bike type and to mount on virtually any system of cross bars:

Read the full article here.

While most of the Big Mountain Enduro races are spaced about a month apart, the Durango event follows right on the heels of the Snowmass event, taking place the next weekend. One thing is certain: it’s going to be a busy couple of weeks of riding, traveling, and racing!

Read the full article here.

In an intriguing shift, Yeti has completely eliminated the World Cup Downhill race series–and downhill racing as a whole–from their pro team racing schedule for 2014. Instead, they are focusing solely on Enduro racing, with their pro racers competing in the Enduro World Series, the Big Mountain Enduro series, and the Oregon Enduro Series.

Read the full article here.

The requirements are definitely high. In addition to riding the Great Divide route, you’d somehow have to blog and be involved in social media along the way. Exactly how you’re expected to be electronically connected while you’re disconnected from everything in the backcountry isn’t really explained. Also, you’d be expected to spread the word about the Blackburn brand and their products, attend “Ranger Camp” at the Whiskey Off-Road event, and provide product feedback to the Blackburn team.

Read the full article here.

Here on Singletracks, we love Strava… at least, for the most part. Jeff, Leah, and I, as well as almost all of the members of our editorial team, use Strava on a near-daily basis. As a result, we are currently working to capitalize on a some of Strava’s innovative features, and mesh them with Singletracks.

Read the full article here.

Now, I’ll be the first to claim that road bikers take themselves way too seriously, and way more seriously than the average mountain biker does. While I enjoy road biking too, Sacred Rides’ recent article titled “10 Reasons Mountain Biking Is Better than Road Biking” is right on the money. And while mountain bikers are way more chill than road bikers, the question is unfortunately still on the table: do we take ourselves too seriously?

Read the full article here.

Some people have mixed feelings about the Bull/Jake Mountain trail system, one thing is certain: this trail system is one of the premiere mountain bike destinations in North Georgia. Sure, there are better trails in North Georgia, but there are definitely worse trails, too. If you're looking for riding in the Dahlonega/Dawsonville/Helen area, this is undoubtedly the place to go.

Read the full trail description here.

The Browns Creek Trail starts just down the road from the Browns Creek Trailhead, according to the map. 

The lower portion (1.2 miles) of the Browns Creek trail is horribly washed out and extremely rocky, filled with massive baby heads. I would advise against trying to ride up it, although it's rideable (except for one hike-a-bike portion) on the way down.

Read the full article here.

We wrote back in December that the Bell Built Grant was returning for 2014, and now the applications are open! Bell and IMBA are now accepting applications here from January 13 to February 28 (2014).

Read the full article here.

This 5-day epic will feature four days of heinously-difficult backcountry mountain biking, with the fifth day/stage held at Evolution Bike Park at Crested Butte Mountain Resort. The race course still hasn’t been finalized, but it is guaranteed to feature “big climbing transitions that will literally take you to the top of the world overlooking majestic peaks.”

Read the full article here.

Blankets Creek is one of the premiere mountain bike trail systems in the Atlanta Metro Area. While perhaps not technically in the metro area (depends who you ask), this Woodstock trail is close enough to the city to draw a flood of riders up here every day of the week.

Read the full trail description here.

Blackjack is advertised as a technical, black diamond freeride trail. Don't believe it because all of the other trails at Buffalo Creek are so buttery smooth? Believe it.

Read the full trail description here.

Blackburn State Park really isn't a state park anymore as it was shut down back in the 70's or 80's. There has been talk of late of Lumpkin County taking over the park and developing mountain bike trails here. This would be a great area to create a trail system for beginner to intermediate riders, as the Bull Mountain trail system is really pretty advanced.

Read the full description here.

Bent Creek is the go-to trail system for the greater Asheville area, and with the deeply-ingrained mountain bike culture in the Asheville/Brevard area, and Western North Carolina in general, Bent Creek sees a ton of traffic. There are several different trailheads and ways to access the trail, and many weekends all of the trailheads are all filled to overflowing. Cars that can't fit into the parking lots line the nearby forest roads, and Lake Powhatan Campground is usually filled as well. This might be the busiest mountain bike trail in North Carolina... and as you'll see if you ride here, there's a good reason for it!

Read the full trail description here.

The Arkansas Hills Trail System is the closest singletrack trail system to downtown Salida... and by that I mean that it begins directly from downtown! Just cross the F-street bridge, hang a right through the fence, and follow the tire tracks to mountain bike heaven!

Read the full trail description here.

As the singletrack climbed up the hillside, I began to encounter more and more rocks along with some fantastic views of the surrounding area. All of the rocks were easily rideable on the XC rig I was aboard, but there were plenty that served up great drops and jumps. As I climbed higher and higher, the high-quality construction became more and more apparent, with rock-armored turns and creative incorporation of rocks and other natural features.

Read the full article here.

Petro’s presence and volunteerism, coupled with his skill as the most renowned builder of wooden mountain bike features in the nation, is undoubtedly a massive stroke of luck for OMBA. While the trails at Santos were already great, these new features and the reworked older features will only continue to fuel Santos’s rise as a regional, and even a national, destination.

Read the full article here.

It’s hard to believe that 2013 has already come and gone! I don’t know about you, but my 2013 was packed from beginning to end with awesome, unique mountain biking adventures! With over 3,500 miles of riding (road + mtb), I covered a lot of territory and accomplished quite a few goals.

Without further ado, here are some of my mountain biking highlights from the past 12 months:

Read the full article here.

If you were to land the job, the two of you would get to travel the nation for two years in a Subaru Outback, shredding singletrack, teaching others how to build trail, and educating people about trail advocacy and the benefits of mountain bike trails to local communities.

Read the full article here.