hardpack

[Shkenblke]

What kind of soil is hardpack and what areas tend to have it? What areas tend to have the "loose over hard" soil type?

[myron]

What kind of soil is hardpack and what areas tend to have it? What areas tend to have the "loose over hard" soil type?
Heavy traffic+low moisture=HARDPACK

[Repack Rider]

I don't know that the word had ever been used in a mountain bike context, or for that matter any other, before Specialized released the "HARDPACK" tire.

Here is the origin of that name. During the '90s WTB designed a tire for Specialized, and a few samples arrived in the United States. One of them came to the attention of a friend of mine, who reported that there was a "REPACK" tire about to hit the market.

Since "Repack" was the trademarked name of my seminal MTB race (http://sonic.net/~ckelly/Seekay/repack.htm), I took exception through my attorney. The Specialized attorney recommended that Specialized pay me for the use of the name in order to settle the dispute, but Specialized instead chose to modify one letter on the mold and add two more, which was certainly expensive but cheaper than paying me a royalty on every tire.

Thus, "REPACK" became "HARDPACK" (all upper case), a word that had no connection to mountain biking until it became a trade name for Specialized.