All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

Cuz muddy tires rut trails. Then the trails dry, and the ruts are basically permanent for a season.

Well yeah, the PNW is a entirely different...and wet...animal

 

Just to put it in perspective, it snowed today about 2 inches from 6 am to 10 am. Then rain. Then hail. Then rain. Then snow. Then sunny and 45 with clear skies.

 

Hahaha. It was unbearably muddy.

 

Racing my 2016 Yeti ArcC w/ Eagle XX1 up at Chequamegon Fat Tire 40 miler in September 2017 in Hayward/Cable, WI. Can’t wait to start riding my new SB100 this spring. Yeti quiver...

 

Yeah I get it.....we got a trail police here too.

 

it wasn't any built trails. just rippin some mountain ridges and fire roads that day.

 

I lived in Seattle (Redmond) for 15 years. If you weren't willing to ride when it was wet then you weren't riding.

 

My assumption is that in the PNW (well, near the coast or on the west slope of the Cascades) there’s enough rain to constantly relevel the tire ruts. In central California that may not happen, especially near the end of the rainy season. Though properly designed and built trails drain well by definition. The big problem here is people riding around muddy spots ... then the trail gets wider and wider, into meadows and forest where it doesn’t really belong. I put in about 80-100 hours of volunteer trail work a year, but I don’t mind ... what I do mind are trail closures because too many people ride around the wet spots, I suppose because they don’t want to get dirty.

 

Curious to see if you get any responses. I have the MX4, and should have done more homework before getting it. I've been searching for an over bed carrying option for use with the MX4, and it just doesn't seem to exist without drilling into the bed rails. Apparently KB Voodoo makes some brackets that will extend down to the factory rails in the lower position that the MX4 puts them in, which allows you to use their bad rack, which could theoretically be used to mount a bike rack to. But that seems like a lot of rigamarole, and you lose the ability to open the tonneau unless you take the rack off. The Undercover Ridgelander seems like the best option for someone who wants a tonneau, and the ability to carry bikes over the bed, but the ability to use the entire bed ultimately outweighed the desire to mount a bike back there for me.

 

That’s what’s killing me right now. My YETI arrived on Tuesday and I’ve spent the past few days getting it dialed. Problem is it keeps raining every day just enough to keep the trails too muddy to ride without tearing them up. I’m dying to get out there and give her a good breaking in.

 

There was a lot of work on drainage and trying to keep as much of the water as possible off the trails and it rains all the time. I'm in Minneapolis now and it's the same situation you have in CA. A muddy trail gets rutted and then it's a mess so the trails are closed after a rain to let them dry out. The trails will close soon for a number of weeks as the snow melts and the ground thaws out.

 

I love their bikes. The Marshall I built is stupid fun and stupid fast. Fells like a short travel on pedals, and way deeper on descents, and crazy playful. Also can be either 27.5+ or 29. On any trail that's not scary, it's the go-to.
I'm patiently waiting for the new Django. I have a parts bin ready to build one up. The new Horsethief almost got me, but not loving the geo on that.

If you're even in Denver I can hook you up on demos. SloHi in Denver have demos for Devinci or Giants.
And plenty of nearby trails to try them on. Parking lot tests don't tell you shit.

 

I've been looking at Devinci bikes, they look incredible but I don't know anyone who rides them. I'm glad to hear you like the Marshall. I have been leaning towards a Troy, unless the Django gets a 27.5 option.

 

The issue out in Utah/Colorado area is the soil is mostly clay. Whatever drainage you got going on will help, but riding those trails wet creates ruts that need to be fixed by hand. And man-hours out here are hard to come by, the culture is not the same as the PNW when it comes to creating/maintaining.
There're areas that have less clay, more rock, rock-mix, which naturally drain wand dry well. Here in Boulder we can ride mostly year-round despite the snow because there are some trails here that have less clay. But there are only a few, and even those can't be ridden until some of the snow melts.

 

I've had 6 Devincis (Spartan v.1&2, Troy v.2, Marshall v.2, Django v.1). Loved every one. And there was a 27.5 Django until this year. I'm sure you can still find new ones on sale if you look around (try PB).

 

One of my favorite things to do is an urban ride. Its a great way to work on skills, and it allows you to ride when the trails aren't ride able. If there is a school near your area those are normally really fun to mess around at, lots of stairs and cool features. Here's a couple of shots from last march here in Montana. Sadly we are still buried in snow so no riding for me yet...
You can still see the snow above me.

 

Yep exactly!

 

Yep I would be sending it down some stairsets if I had a new bike and only muddy trails

 

@Gunshot-6A

Y'all are killing me.

Drove a bit over an hour to demo some bikes... and theyre outting together a Salsa Timberjack SLX 27.5+ for me to demo tomorrow..

Checked out the Fuze, eh... didnt hate it, but, didnt love it either... price point isnt bad... but, Deore and Suntour 32mm...

Spoke with the guy for a bit about wants, needs, uses, blah blah...

They had a Stache 7, in my size... and he convinced me to give it a whirl... before taking it outside I sat and cranked in the showroom.. at its lowest setting, it was at "ride height"... took the seat out, and took it outside.....

BUT, holy crap, that is more fun than it has a right to be. 29x3.. wicked short chainstays... went to yank on the bars and see how it felt...and had to snag the brake.... wish my Fuel could manual that easy.. stands are effortless, stoppies, etc. But, felt solid and planted, AND compliant at the same time if that makes sense...

Just wish I could get a GG around here.

Just glad my wife wont kill me for bringing home another bike....

Well, pretty sure I am adding ANOTHER bike tomorrow...

Just need to figure out which one.