How are you carrying a saw?
 

I doubt i'm the only one whose local trail system likes to drop trees and limbs on the trails. What do you have available? How do you carry it down the trail when needed?

A little Folding saw is easy enough to drop into a jersey pocket or camelback. Those run out of capacity really fast as sticks get bigger.

Around a 2.5' to 3' one-man Crosscut saw with lattice edging sheath over teeth can be kinda balanced on the bars, or run along side of bike frame.

I can't figure out a way to carry a Bowsaw that's not just akward and sketchy.

I'm not worrying about carrying a Chainsaw since i'm not certified as any level of saywer through trailbuilder groups. Plus that needs more support equipment like fuel, oil, chaps, a spotter...

Sven saw in a CamelBak

You can do a lot without tools of course by simply dragging stuff off the trail. A backpack with some basic winching equipment would let you do more in that vein.

If you are getting into whole trees across the trail, you might have to lift the bike across until somebody comes with a chain saw and makes quick work of it.

The Silky company makes a series of folding Japanese saws with blades up to 1 meter in length. The one I carry in my pack is their Gomboy 310 with a 310mm blade which, with some effort, can handle trees up to about 16 inches in diameter. I seldom come across deadfall any bigger than that in my neck of the woods. There's the very rare 3 foot diameter Douglas Fir that falls across the trail, but at that point it's usually easier to reroute the trail if there isn't a land manager who can send out a crew with chain saws.
Brent

I haven't been carrying anything bigger than my little folding saw lately because others get to the bigger stuff pretty quickly and I am getting old enough to let them worry about the bigger stuff. That said I have used a home made buck saw in the past. It is a wooden frame that breaks down into 3 pieces and I used a bow saw blade in it. I typically carried it in a little 18 liter backpack with some pruning shears, work gloves, and what not. I like it better than the Sven saw which I found to be kind of flimsy. In the more distant past I have carried a chainsaw and stuff in a trailer.

On another note...
I have recently purchased a pole trimmer that has a lopper and a saw on the end of a long pole. Mine is from Fiskers. Anyway the blade is 14" long and even working with the long pole I managed to cut some branches as thick as 6" or so. That blade mounted on a much shorter handle might be pretty effective and easy to carry.

Also possibly consider a battery recipricating saw like a saw all. I saw 9" pruning blades that I'd think would work well for some of the stuff you would want to cut.

You can often do a lot to facilitate easier lifting over and or squeezing through by some work with pruning shears and maybe a little folding saw.

Winching equipment is something I haven't considered. Having been a whitewater boater for many years in the past and having unpinned stuck boats and rafts I could do a lot with some rope and a few carabineers, but it never occurred to me to apply those skills to this application. Have you actually used that approach?

Oh, I forgot about this saw... It would be fairly easy to carry and cuts well. It will manage moderately big stuff with it's 17" blade (Note that I am not sure if they might call it an 18" blade). I may have to rig up a blade guard and set up a little back pack for those times I want to take more cutting capacity than my Corona 7" folding saw. The 7" one is a great saw, but obviously limited by size. This 17" is probably a good place for me to draw the line since I don't want to lug the chainsaw any more.

I have had this saw for a number of years and am not sure if they still make the same wooden handle model. They have a plastic handle one on their web page and I see that it costs a lot more than I think I paid. I've had good luck in general with Corona stuff including their pruning shears.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...805526dc8d.jpg

I’ll let the e-bikers carry the saws.

No.

The cheat code might be a 20v battery powered reciprocating saw with about a 12" pruning blade. Many places that specifically ban chainsaws forget about this little gem.

Another plus 1 for the Silky saw. I haven't used mine yet on trails because my trails are well taken care of because they are also heavily used by hikers and nature walkers and they just do a fantastic job but there is a gravel trail near me that sometimes needs help and I also got it for firewood and just because it is cool. On the gravel bike it lives in a small fork pannier. If I carried it mountain biking I would probably have it either in a zippered pocket or if I carried a hydration backpack in there but I also have a frame bag for my HT so I would probably carry it in that.

We have an extremely active trail maintenance organization where I ride. Stuff gets cleared fast here.

If you are packing light though, why not a folding wire saw? They take a little bit of practice but they cut fast. In my experience, they work better on dry than wet wood but will cut either. If you really want to get crazy, it wouldn't be hard to fashion a bow from sticks in the forest if that helps.

Cheap and light enough to carry 2, and always have it in your bag

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...075a7bc1ad.png

Still heavier than I'd ride with. With a 12"+ demo blade, these things work great. I recently cut down a really big tree in my yard and wanted to remove all the limbs before chopping it down. Due to lightness, I managed to get in position up the tree easily and remove all the limbs with it. Several were bigger around than my (skinny) legs.

I've used it a ton for trimming things around the house instead of hiring an arborist. Aside from several safety concerns that don't matter if the tree has already fallen, the main tips are a 12" blade from a good manufacturer, plan a cut so it doesn't cause the blade to bind, and a minimum of a 3 aH battery, 4 or 5 is better. The 1.5-2 amp batteries that come with some drills just won't get the job done on a sawzall.

I agree with all of this. Another advantage that is less important clearing trails is the length of the saw plus the blade extends your reach quite a bit.

For packing purposes, battery powered tools can be packed separate from the batteries.

How heavy (and bulky) of a saw I am willing to carry depends on a few things and there are levels.

• Level 1 - Pruning shears and a 7" folding saw might go along on daily rides if there is any likelyhood at all of trail blockages.
• Level 2 - Same as Level 1 plus maybe a bigger saw after a storm.
• Level 3 and beyond - whatever is needed for a specific job

For me here level 3 is generally not needed given that there are others doing maintenance and they are generally quick getting to it. With me being in my mid 70s I don't take on the bigger jobs when other much younger folks get to them promptly.

This is what I came across on yesterdays ride. I do have a folding saw with 10 inch blade but those trees are just too big and too hard for for such a small saw. I just carried my bike over and continued on my way.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...aea37d36b3.jpg

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e0c3564e44.jpg

Few weeks ago I came across a sharp pointed tree stump right in the middle of the trail. I cut it down with my folding saw which I carry in my backpack

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...57db666e4f.jpg

Walk in carrying a saw or use an ATV to get there.

I normaly carry a small Fiskers saw and pruning shears in my hydration pack. That is unless I plan on going lighter and not stopping anywhere. If I know of larger logs like over 7 inches or so I take a Silke saw. It is the Silky Professional BIGBOY 2000 Folding Saw 360mm XL Teeth (356-36)Silky Professional BIGBOY 2000 Folding Saw 360mm XL Teeth (356-36). This is too large for my hydration pack. I have these rubber strap blocks I use to strap the saw to my bars. It is a carbon bar so I wrap the saw in a towel and make sure the exposed blade is not towards the bar or me.


GUP (GÜP) Industries Holster Utility Strap, One Size, Self Fastener Bicycle Canister Carry Solution With Non-Slip Rubber Grommet To Protect Bike Frame From Canister Multi-use hook loop strap closure https://a.co/d/7m6TQsQ

Oh also wrap the Fiskers saw in a small dust rag so it does not wear holes in the hydration pack. The pack has a large storage pocket.

Only thing I don't like about a Sven is the small throat toward the front, which greatly restricts sawing through anything over a couple inches diameter.

On the other hand, anything sizeable is going to take forever with most folding saws.

Bow saws are low cost and can be had in a 21" blade size, which could be lashed to flat handlebars underneath, with a good blade guard.

More expensive but folding compact is the Lee Valley Agawa Canyon saw, with 21" blade, and has a deeper throat the whole length than the Sven. Not cheap, $82:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a62f21e978.jpg


My own personal multisaw is a really fantastic Lenox high-tension hacksaw frame, with a 12" bowsaw pruning blade fit to it, I only needed to round the blade ends with a grinder. This is a photo from online and not mine, but it's really great with the wood blade. A bit longer blade and frame would be nice, but I also want to use standard 12" fine, medium, and coarse metal blades, and a diamond impregnated blade, all of which fit in the top beam, along with the deep wood blade:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8afe7058fa.jpg

EDIT: There are copies of the Lee Valley Agawa as shown above but with 12" blade instead of 21", on ebay new, for $22 with free shipping. I'd look first to see if same can be found on Amazon, as returns are free and without trouble to them, versus ebay. There's also the back-tension type frame, some listed in the same ad on ebay, also an option, but make sure you know which one you are getting. These are a great price, but a 21" like the Lee is going to cut a lot easier and faster than a 12" blade.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...eb1686337e.jpg

luckily my trail is owned by the county and they let me ride a 4 wheeler in there to blow leaves and get trees out of the way.

fwiw, word of advice, a long skinny tree is still heavy, even tho it's skinny

had a catastrophic back sprain, 30? years ago, 4wheeling alone in southern NH. the thing looked easy enough to move. wound up on my back, alone, in the middle of nowhere. took a long time to get myself back in my truck, find some tylenol (almost useless for this) & head home. had to cell call Wifey so she could help me in the house. at one point had to get out of bed to use the bathroom & sneezed while standing unsupported. thought my eyes were going to pop out of my head, the pain was so extreme. couldn't even make it to a Drs office the next day. Dr called in a cpl muscle relaxers for Wifey to go get. now my back is prone to back strains & over the years have had several bad ones requiring pharmaceuticals. I have no physical limits & I stay in shape w/ weight training & stretching, so those episodes are rare now

but word to the wise, don't bend over at the waist & lift something very heavy & certainly don't try to move something very heavy while hunched over. it could lead to a lifelong injury

Smart words. If it's small enough to hand saw and safe to and at a comfortable height, go for it. Otherwise, just go around with the bike and leave trail clearing to the pros, or if on your land, come back with more people and proper tools.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8c96e42586.jpg
Im all set.

I used a large and beat-up old messenger bag that I didn't care about to carry a saw and a hatchet.