The Dust Zamboni Is Your New Best Friend for Dry Mountain-Bike Trails

Bend, Oregon, experienced a very dry summer in 2021, and the quick afternoon thunderstorms that did pass through left hiking and biking trails with less than ideal conditions. Rainwater turned singletrack into muddy streams and swept away the ground’s top layer, revealing hydrophobic soil high in silica, so water beaded up on the surface instead of saturating it. As a result, the trails were drier—and dustier—than usual. Enter the dust Zamboni, the mountain-biking equivalent of an ice Zamboni. With two sprayer tanks that hold a total of 14 liters of water, and mounted on Old Man Mountain Divide racks, this contraption kept the dust at bay, making rides more enjoyable for cyclists. Check out Old Man Mountain‘s The Dust Zamboni, above, produced by Reverb Films.