The Death of Montana's Greatest Dirt Bike Trail
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 24 ส.ค. 2023
- Bangtail Divide was once a world-class flow trail nestled in the mountains just outside of Bozeman, Montana. An overhaul in July and August 2023 took away everything that made this trail so special. This is a shared used trail, and nobody who enjoys recreating on two wheels benefitted from the changes. I am told these changes were implemented in order to mitigate speed, but in the process one of the most unique and epic trails of all time has been destroyed.
This video is much different from my normal content, and I imagine I will see a lot of opinions from both sides in the comments. This is something I'm passionate about, and I felt compelled to share my point of view.
Thanks to Grant and Jani for filming and helping to make this video happen.
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Music from Epidemic Sounds:
Like Clockwork by Benjamin King
The Snow Flakes by Ruiqi Zhao
Happiest I've Ever Been by Big Girl - กีฬา
I think it’s time we stand up as a community and fight for our right to ride. We’ve let “environmental conservations” look down on our love for too long. Trying to push us towards electric bikes like we produce some obscene emissions and neglect the dirt we love. The motocross community knows how to be loud and it’s time to use it. Been humble in this regard for too long.
Motorcyclist are kinda…. Pussies.
Cyclist organization is better.
Best motorcyclists hide in their homes like always.
Everything these days is disappearing. Makes me miss the 1990's when everything was better.
Really good riding though.
Maybe carve your own trail one day.....the path of a pavich.
Keep up the work. Best channel by far.
Started riding in 79'.
We rode everywhere, very rarely saw a no-trespassing sign, and when people saw you having fun on a Dirtbike they would wave Hello. Many of those tracks/trails are subdivisions now. We did not realize how good we had it.
Want things better? Vote republican.
Its actually insane how easy it is to tell that the people or team that designed or put in the "work" here dont know anything about riding either MTB or Moto. Extremely unprofessional changes imo that looks actually unsafe for both classes. Terrible changes
Up here in Idaho the forest service contracts loggers and one of the things the loggers do when they leave is destroy any single track in their logging area, completely unearth the trails or leave miles of single track covered with laydown…. I’m under the impression it’s part of their contract from the forest service as a request before they leave their logging zones…. Almost a “well we can’t really close it down, so we will make it untravelable” it really blows….
That’s frustrating for sure. We lost some really good single track to a firebreak this summer so I know how you feel but what makes your case so much worse is that they spent so much money to make it worse for no reason at all. Most of the single track in my area is really tight and tech, looks like what you had was a blast. Sorry for your loss mate.
Sorry for your loss. But the trail will develop as it gets ridden in too, the berms will come back. Might not be what it once was, but it will get better. When you described it i was reminded of the Entiat trail system in Washington.
Love tye riding content keep it up man
Had a few flow state rides on my KX500 nothing else like it man I felt like the fastest man on a dirt bike
KX500!!! That's a man's bike for sure! Just kick starting it is for men only! 😁👍
Sad that people that don't understand anything about riding eather dirt bikes or mountain bikes get to change things
That's a fact. I live in Brazil and the local trails here are built by people that know shit about mtbing and just make some random stuff...
WTF, family lives in Bozeman and I ride that at least once a year on moto and mtb each. Funny thing is a lot of those lines will get ridden back in straight over time so all that labor/money will be for nothing in a year or two. But a lot of that looks genuinely unsafe, can't believe it was signed off as 'good enough'.
Eres el mejor... Saludos desde colombia
Unfortunately trying to get rid of the motorized bikes on the trail, but also trying to prevent more serious injuries possibly, regardless it's unfortunate and the sad music kinda fits perfectly 😅
Unfortunately this isn’t single case happenings, I’m in northern Utah and all of the trails I used to love for mountain biking this exact thing happened to, it is so bad, Ive sold the mountain bikes because I have no desire for that kind of trail. It went from what you described as “flow state” to now hair pin turns and flat as can be uninspired trails. Awesome enough it got me into dirt bikes, but the end of last season they started work on the single track spot I found and I’m terrified to go back come this spring because I know it’s going to be the final product there too.
Well told bro!
FS hired a local with a mini excavator and no supervision or training. He dug bomb craters up and down bangtail and the trail to Ross pass leaving piles of loose rock stumps and tree snags. It's no longer even a decent walking path and has lost all flow for mountain bikes or motorized who are the primary users. It's going to take loud and unified voices and hundreds of volunteer hours to fix this mess.
I’m sorry to hear all that. I know what it feels like. I’ve got trails near my cabin. And there were super fun parts of the trail but unfortunately they were flattened off. But I still always have tons of fun with what I can. And so can you. ❤
MOUNTAIN BIKERS GOT BORED PEDALING OF THE LONG STRAIGHTAWAYS OF THE TRAIL!!!
At least you can still ride in nature .alot of countries aren't so lucky
I know how that feels because people have set traps on one of the single tracks I made with family like big rock
That's a felony
They gonna built a dual lane 3-mile highway on that remaining stretch...
If they close it, you’ll be at the top of the list of the reasons why.
This is what happens when the government gives jobs that dont need to be worked. Ride your own ride.
Sucks that this is happening all around the world. Here in Ireland it is illegal to ride anywhere outdoors now, and if they see you out and know who you are and where you live, they can just come and take your bike from your home without a warrant and squash it.
Its accualy insane how controlling goverments are getting, can't have no fun anymore!! Just work and pay taxes..
Wait so it’s illegal to ride at all? So what’s the point of owning a bike? Are there still moto tracks, and they want you to stick to those?
@desertcougarmotorsports2995 There is about 2 or 3 tracks, And yeh in the Republic of Ireland it's now illegal to ride anywhere without the land owners permission.
Lol, that isn't true.
@desertcougarmotorsports2995 no, they are being facetious.
Why? it was done to slow people down. Apparently someone felt folks were riding too fast and were risking injury.
#BringThatBangBack
There must be a way to find out the Who and Why of the changes... It's so sad when people who have no understanding of the sport try and make it "better" or even worse "safer."
Do more rebuilds
Definitely looks like there are some anti-dirt bike chicanes, whether they intended it to be that way or they were just building it with only mountain bikes in mind and lacked execution it remains to be seen. As a dirt biker this trail drops further down the list of favorites every year the more bombholes it gets. Still has great sections.
Dirt bikers - if you want trails designed for dirt bikes, get involved and pick up a shovel - no dig no ride. Don't expect others to fix your ruts for you, ride mindfully and keep wheelspin to a minimum on shared use trails when possible if you have no intention of digging or giving back to trail maintenance in other ways, or relax and enjoy all the natural chunky trails MT has to offer.
Shouldn’t need to use your clutch at all ;). Straight gas homie!!!
So bummed for Bangtail and what they have done. RIP to dope single track 😔
Trail regrowth. Happens here in Utah all the time.
Thank you for shedding light on this, I think the public needs to give their input.
We experienced the same situation riding in the Big Sky area last year. The old road/trail followed the natural contour of the open park up the ridge line. The Forest Service apparently contracts with someone who convinced them that the trail should make 50 zig zags back and forth all the way up the mountain. These are not switch backs, used to climb steep hill sides, these are completely unnecessary back and forth turns. They disrupt miles of soil and vegetation that were previously undisturbed. Sounds good on paper right, we installed 10 miles of new trail. Truth is the old 2 miles were suffice for 75 years, and the new trail is absolutely obnoxious to walk, ride, or mountain bike.
In my opinion, I do not believe the public benefits from this new "style" of trail construction, it has to cost a ridiculous amount of tax payer money to build zig zags rather than maintain the existing trail and it is definitely not more environmentally friendly. Obviously someone is getting paid by the mile...
I’m so sick of the forest service ruining our public lands!
Im sure this was intentional and not someone just not knowing what to do.
Likely just trying to slow dirtbikers down IMO. Sucks for sure but doing over 60 on a shared use trail is probably not helping our cause.
Yeah, I figured this comment would come around at some point. The section of the trail I hit 60mph is wide open at the top of a meadow. You can see 1/4 mile ahead of you. I wouldn't be putting anyone at risk there, as you would 100% be able to see any oncoming traffic. That said, the 3rd/4th gear stuff in the trees is where the danger lies for sure.
@@KincadePavichdont get me wrong id be right there with you , well maybe 45-50 lol but id be trying to keep up. Just saying we gotta be careful what the other people see…
Absolutely terrible that Imba is ruining dirt bike trails on top of their long legacy of killing mountain biking
Who's responsible for this outrage? Vote them out! Also, direct us to the 2nd best trail before they ruin it too.
I just always called it flow. Flow state is a great word to describe it. Been there and done that. Its a awesome feeling. That blows about you trail. You can likely thank the MTB community or hikers for that fail. Some well intentioned folks went out there to do work and make it more "Friendly" for others. The crazy thing is they overlook the folks that actually made the trail (very likely dirt bikers). At least the 4 wheel dingous on quads or SXS have not turned it into a highway yet. They maybe even had a little dingo trail maker to do do the work. I'm sure after some beat in time it will get better. Its obvious by the "sticks" they left on the edge of the trail they were not used to going fast on it. At slow speeds they pose no danger. At speed they become a spear. I hope the trail re-finds it character soon. With use it will. Change is inevitable though. Be active in the community to stop dumb stuff from happening.
this is sad and i get it, not trying to take away from that. BUT i think you should take this and use it as motivation to cut your own secret trail that fits everything you love ab bangtail. ik that’s not a simple thing at all but if you could get your buddies to dig w you it can be done to an extent.
(you should also make a series of videos ab this trail!!!)
That pisses me off. They totally ruined that trail. Same thing with Olsen creek and most of the Bridger range. Complete destruction did they have any clue wtf they were doing? Yes the trails needed work from the wet spring we had but you call that fixing a trail?
Why would you go to the mountains and still wanna hit 60mph,👎 that's what moto tracks are for!
I love fast single track! Wide open in the mountains is so much fun to me.
Wow, they absolutely massacred that trail.
But, you've still got trails you can ride on at all, that's not something you can take for granted. Nothing like this exist here in Germany. Heck, ride your dirt bike outside of a privately owned and completely fenced-in property and you'll lose your drivers license, get a hefty fine and maybe even lose the bike depending on the mood of the cops.
Just means youll have to buy some land, build a replica track/trail! I got 120acres to build a Pastrana Land setup on🤘
Taxpayer dollars at work!
I totally get the "flow" thing BUT.
At 57 years old and many broken bones over the years I prefer lower speeds and tighter trails. I love to cut trails tight, twisty, and technical. If and when it goes all wrong... At least I'm not tapped in 4th heading for a rockpile or big I'm tree.
Embrace the twisties✌
It is because people advertise bozeman, and specifically my favorite trail on TH-cam. Too many people have moved here and have ruined it. I was born in bozeman and now I see videos like this wherever I turn and when I walk the streets of my town people don't even look at me let alone be friendly and say hi. I live in a city with city people. I go to the store and there is no one to work and I go to bracket/bangtail and there is 100 people. IF YOU WONDER WHY THIS HAPPENS ITS BECAUS OF VIDEOS LIKE THIS AND TOO MANY PEOPLE. The forest service calls it too many incidents with hikers and bikers. BOZEMAN IS NOT AS NICE AS THE COMMERCIALS YOU SEE IN COLORADO OR CALIFORNIA OR TEXAS.
Racing a two way trail is just plain stupid. It's basically to slow the traffic down and save lives. Want to race single track, race an enduro, Everyone is going the same direction. Really a no-brainer.
Fair enough, thanks for your input.
your a no brainer bud
You have a point.
My thought was "mountain bikers do not dig sharing a trail with WFO dirtbikers"...
Same thing essentially💡
I love riding fast. But I didn't like getting into a head on collision with an idiot on his brand new husky 300 trying to ride over his head. Like.
In many other parts of life, stupid people ruin things for everybody.
Is this federal lands?
I spent 12 years building and designing trails and would also love to hear what the thought process here.
The amount of resources damage done to add curves to a trail is crazy. And something we have dealt with here from the MTB community.
If it’s fed then they should be aware and able to answer
Questions. And if they aren’t aware.. then the MTB club should be held accountable.
It is sad when stuff like this happens. There is no engineering thought process in what areas I could see in your video.
Bummer man..
Here's some advice for future reference. Actual riders don't wanna see cuts of the trail. We wanna see the entire trail from start to finish; capture the entire riding experience on film.
Had this been your goal in the beginning, not only would you have it documented for your future memories, but also the rest of us who will never get a chance to ride it now; or even to see it ridden, apparently.
There is a video of the entire trail on my channel from a couple years ago.
@@KincadePavich Sweet, tyvm!!