SHIMANO is proud to announce its new Trail Born initiative aimed at helping increase and sustain mountain bike trails and trail access around the world. Delivering an unprecedented level of industry support, Shimano will donate $1 million (USD) per year over the next 10 years to “boots on the ground” trail projects and trail advocacy organisations.
Working closely with these partners to ensure truly meaningful and sustainable gains both on a local and global scale, Shimano is proud to support the hard work of dedicated and passionate people.
Building and maintaining great trails is expensive. Really expensive. Cost typically ranges from $15,000 to $80,000 per kilometre, which includes everything from permitting and impact studies to tools, materials, and labour. But Shimano believes the return on investment is priceless.
Supporting trail building and trail advocacy helps protect and expand trail access. And that means more places for all of us to ride—and more opportunities for new riders, like kids, to discover this amazing sport.
TRAIL BORN In Action
At initial roll out, the Trail Born program will focus on select areas in North America, Australia, and the European Union. In 2025, locations will further expand across both continents. And by 2026, Trail Born will aim to effect change across the mountain bike riding world, with the addition of Asia, Africa, New Zealand, and Central and South America. In all cases, support will be earmarked for legal and sustainable trails, and funds will be allocated only after a thorough review of the advocacy organisations and proposed projects.
Shimano will also help promote these chosen projects, telling the stories of the people and places behind these critical efforts. We’ll also aid in the identification and acquisition of additional funding from other sources such as private donations and government grant programs.
TRAIL BORN In Australia
Included in the initial funding allocation will be support for a new “Blended Earth” hand-cut trail to be built in partnership with the Blue Derby Foundation and Dorset Council in Derby, Tasmania.
This project will see local trail builders construct an intermediate single-track trail which is sustainable, challenging, unique, state of the art and old-school!
Delivering an experience which is different to a machine-built trail. This new trail planned to be opened as part of the towns 10-year trail anniversary in early 2025.
Expanding SHIMANO’s MTB Legacy
With the 1983 launch of Deore XT M700 – the world’s first MTB-specific component group – Shimano helped give life to the emerging sport of mountain biking. From the beginning, Shimano recognized that this growing discipline was different from anything the cycling world had seen before. And that meant delivering the right gear necessary to help evolve and enhance this new and exciting form of two-wheeled adventure.
In the ensuing decades, Shimano’s commitment to progressive product development and precision engineering of discipline-specific components has consistently set the standard for performance, durability, comfort, and control.
During this time, Shimano also quickly realised that unlike road riding, where the required terrain exists by default, mountain biking requires collective collaboration to create and maintain unique and desirable places to ride. Indeed, the roots of mountain biking are trails and without a strong root system the proverbial tree comes crashing down. Again, Shimano has done much to help bolster the sport, supporting countless trail advocacy and trail building efforts through the years. And now, with Trail Born, we’re taking things a step further. Because just like you, we’re riders, too.