This move means Shimano joins the likes of SRAM, Santa Cruz, Specialized, and others in financially supporting and safeguarding the trails we love and ride.
The world’s biggest bicycle component manufacturer, Shimano, has announced it will be financially backing global MTB trail building projects under the name of ‘Trail Born Fund’. The Trail Born Fund is aimed at increasing the number of mountain bike trails and the access to trails across the world. The brand will donate $10 million over the next 10 years to help facilitate this.
This isn’t the first time a cycling brand has become involved in trail advocacy – Specialized has spearheaded the ‘Soil Searching’ movement which provides dig days and fundraising opportunities through ‘ambassadors’ like former DH champ Manon Carpenter. Santa Cruz also has the Pay Dirt fund, and SRAM supports projects like the DMBinS in the UK.
The new fund will provide financial and other support to trail builders across the globe
What will the Trail Born Fund entail?
According to Shimano, the brand plans to work closely with “trusted partners” to ensure “meaningful and sustainable gains are made.” This looks like it will include trail builders both on a local and global level.
It’s no secret that maintaining or even building decent trails is expensive, time consuming and often difficult in places like the UK where it can be hard work getting landowners on board. Shimano states a figure of between $10,000 – $45,000 per mile including impact studies, tools, labour and material.
And if that’s the case, then more projects like these from Shimano are desparately needed. In the UK, the recently formed UK MTB Trail Alliance aims to act as a voice for mountain bikers, grouping together trail groups and landowners to give bikers more of a voice over what’s developed, where and how.
Initially, the Trail Born Fund will focus on Europe, Oceania and North America. By 2026, Shimano aims to add in Africa, Asia and Central and South America. The brand will use the fund to tell stories of people and places behind legal trails, and “aid in the identification and acquisition of additional funding from other sources.”
If you’re interested in applying for funding, information on how to do so will be shared after the programme’s inital launch.