Anyone who’s ever been on the fundraising side of trail building knows – new trails can be expensive. According to Shimano, the average cost to build modern trails typically ranges from $10,000 – 45,000 per mile. It’s not just the labor itself, those costs can include costly impact studies, materials, tools, and more.
To help offset those costs and expand on Shimano’s MTB legacy, the brand just announced the Trail Born Fund. Initially focused on “select areas in North America, Europe, and Oceania,” Shimano plans to expand into Asia, Africa, and Central and South America by 2026. The fund will deliver an impressive $10 million over the next 10 years. Thanks to the Shimano Trail Born Fund, the mountain bike trail-building community looks like it will have more support than ever in the next decade.
Press Release:
SHIMANO is proud to announce its new Trail Born Fund, 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 $10 million USD, over the next 10 years, to support and facilitate trail projects and trail advocacy organizations.
Working closely with these trusted partners, Shimano will ensure truly meaningful and sustainable gains are made — both on a local and global scale — and is excited to support the hard work of dedicated and passionate trail builders.
Building and maintaining great trails is expensive. Really expensive. Cost typically ranges from $10,000 to $45,000 per mile, which includes everything from permitting and impact studies to tools, materials, and labor. 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
The Trail Born Fund will first focus on select areas in North America, Europe and Oceania and will further expand across these regions through 2025. By 2026, Trail Born aims to effect change across the mountain bike riding world, with the addition of Asia, Africa, 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 organizations 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.1
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. We’ve been there from the very beginning, recognizing that this growing discipline was different from anything the cycling world had seen before. For Shimano 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.
