Western NC - Ride and Camp 2020

Dang. I left the keys to my G6 in my other pants.

 

I’m out of town when it has its opening, but anyone here hitting up Ride Kanuga in the next few weeks? Looks pretty sweet

 

Looks like it could be fun, but $400 for a season pass? They better be the best trails in the country with lots of "free" services.

 

It’s about an hour and 10 minutes for me, so won’t be season passing it. But will probably hit it a few times a month

 

I’m in.

 

Let’s do it! We will see how I long I go on a hardtail before I decide to save up for full suspension

 

One lap on a buddy’s or rental and you’ll be selling the hardtail.

 

I’ve got too many expensive hobbies to buy the best gear for each one haha. But yes I rode a Giant Trance lately and was a big fan.

My little fathom will need to last long enough for me to find a well priced, used, full suspension haha

 

I foresee the used market being plentiful for the next few years. Well priced will be the shortage.

 

There’s a great deal on a Stance near me but I would rather get at least a mid-level full suspension

 

I sold my tallboy a few months after building a Timberjack because I didn't ride it anymore. It was a capable bike, but I have so much fun on the Timberjack that I don't miss it.

 

Cross posting this question to get more beta from people that use their rigs for purposes similar to mine.

Awning owners/user:
What logic do you use when determining which side of the vehicle to mount your awning? I know most are universal, but I am entertaining the notion of a 270 awning and your're pretty well married to your chosen side once you purchase. A 180 or smaller are not off the table either as I'm still in 'research' phase, but we all know bigger is better.

It may be worth mentioning that I currently do not have a RTT, as I understand that when open they can impact awning deployment.

 

Mine opens on the passenger as does the RTT. If I ever have to pull off the road to camp or use the awning (like for a race or something), it's not in the road.

 

While my awning is not mounted yet, and I still need to develop a mounting solution (I'm open to suggestions), I planned on mounting it to the non ladder side of the RTT rack because I don't have a roof rack. I'll need to raise it significantly, though. I'm thinking some kind of swing up/fold up will be necessary to get it to a suitable height since my rtt rack is a mid rise (9" over bed rails).

 

Another guy in the GA thread mentioned a similar ideology for passenger side placement. I can dig it.
Couldn't recall which side your ladder was on but I knew you put the awning on the passenger side. Pretty sure I bounced off of it when I failed to load my bike up there

 

Yep, dont know if it would work as well with a 270 awning. Mine just comes straight out as you know.

 

Newbie here when it comes to researching full suspension bikes. Looks like, in my potential budget, it would either be 27.5's with 150 front travel and 130-140 rear, or 29er but with 130 front travel and 115-120 rear.

Any thoughts/recommendations on those? I ride a 27.5 hardtail now and like it, but I haven't ridden a 29er in quite awhile.

Is the 29 inch tires worth the loss of travel? Most of my riding will be trail in Paris mountain, pisgah, etc. Will probably hit up Kanuga once or twice a month. Any place like Snowshoe with bigger jumps and harder downhill, I would rent a bike.

 

First off, you are going to get a lot of opinions between 27.5 and 29. But one thing to know, is that you can get away with less travel with a larger tire. So those tire/travel numbers you put work either way. That said, with modern geometry, I very much prefer 29ers over 27.5.

 

From what I've read, 29 is recommended for taller riders. I am 6'3 so that is what I was leaning towards as well until I saw the 20mm front and rear travel difference. Good to know the 29 helps make up for that.

Thanks!

 

Yeah.....I'm 5'7". 29 for life. Unless you are 5' anyone is fine on a 29er