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

very helpful insight for research!

 

Can confirm the DuPont routes @Dr. Doom Says mentioned above are worthwhile, and will fit perfectly within your daily/time constraints.

I’ve only ridden Burnt Mtn once, counterclockwise. It resulted in an almost immediate hike a bike for the short bit. Honestly it was steep/wet enough (plus stairs) that I’d prolly be hiking down if going clockwise.

My Pisgah riding is limited to Black Mtn and Avery/Bennet. Shuttle Avery if possible. I haven’t ridden Black since they redid middle and I believe upper has been redone as well. Supposedly middle is way more chill/flowy than the old route.

 

And keep in mind, Bennett’s Gap is absolutely 100% NOTHING like black mountain.

 

Not much more to add than what everyone else has said. If you're staying in Asheville Kitsuma and Heartbreak Ridge are closer- both are classic WNC rides. Pisgah is raw and technical. Dupont is intermediate rider paradise and the crowds reflect this. But make sure your fitness is solid before setting out on any ride in the National Forests - this time of year is brutal

 

TW advice: as you remember I punched a hole in the sidewall of a rear Enve M630 rim. Was quoted nearly $800 to second owner warranty the rim.

Fast Forward: I bough WeAreOne so I don’t need this wheelset anymore.

How much or how should I sell the Enve Wheelset. dt240 hubs, Enve M630 rims.

Option 1: sell wheelset as is with a good front wheel and need to be replaced rear wheel/rim. I was thinking $400?

Option 2: replace rim and list as complete set with new Enve rim for $1300?

 

okay, so this is probably already contentious and everyone has their opinions. but chain lube.

What do you use?
I recently had a race in Ely, NV....SUPER dusty and SUPER dry. Most of my friends used a various different sets of lubes and halfway through the ride, their drivetrains were grinding...HARD....like i'm sure they burned through their chains.

My bike, however, was on muc-off and it was not only silent through all 30+ miles and 5k vert...but it was still clean at the end. Idk about you, but that's a pretty good showing for the mucoff lube and gives me a good pause to consider keeping their lube in my arsenal.

 

I'm running Pedro's wet lube for my chain. I may switch to a dry lube for the summer, but we really don't get terribly dry and dusty here, not like out west.

 

Personally, I'd try to sell as-is. Someone might have a rim with a blown hub that they want to swap onto it. You don't have to risk spending the $800 and not making much back. Just be honest with what they quoted for replacement and let the buyer decide what to do.

I use White Lightning Clean Ride. It's a wax lube, doesn't collect dust. Which Muc Off are you using?

 

I'm a wax zealot. Once you're setup it's the best especially in dry and dusty conditions. I keep three chains for each bike on the go. Wax them once a month in a crock pot.

If you're looking for "traditional" lube Squirt and Rock N Roll Gold are my favorites but you need a bit of prepwork the first time you apply to a new chain.

We use ProLink in the shop. It's a great general lube with no fussy application process.

I don't know what your friends were using but even the crappiest lubes should last 30 miles.

For some real contention I'll go out and say that any wet lube shouldn't exist. It only exists for those that don't maintain their stuff.

 

Don't leave the rest of us hanging... what were the various other lubes used?!

I've been using the Rock N Roll Absolute Dry with good results (yes, I know it's recommended for road). I recently just picked up some squirt at a friend's recommendation...

 

I've been rockin that SCC Slick that @Gunshot-6A mentioned a while back. I'm a fan.

Once I finish setting up my shop in the next month or so (just moved) I plan on getting a small ultrasonic cleaner and giving wax a try though.

 

I got a sample of the SCC stuff at Sedona MTB Fest this spring (they were the booth next to us) and I've been really impressed with the longevity of the application. A little "grimier" than some of the other lubes I've used, but not bad either.

 

We camped out at Hartman Rocks. Holy crap is there a lot of camping out there, and right in the middle of the trail system no less. My group elected to do a partial shuttle of Dr. Park so we could ride other stuff in CB that afternoon, so I only climbed from the river crossing on. That water was knee high and colder than sin (and I may have slipped and dunked my shoes) but the 4x4 road climb isn't too bad, except for a third of a mile where the grade kicks up quite a bit.

 

hartman rocks is like an hour from CB? you can camp at the bottom of pearl pass, that may be cement creek campground. its not too far south of CB

 

Monarch looked to be improving, but there's still snowbanks here and there. I think Absolute Bikes updates conditions on their website as they become available. Last I heard from another FB page from the area is that they're shooting for an early-mid July clearing of the trail, so we'll see. It sounds like it can be ridden now if you're not picking about hiking through some snow and you know which trails are rideable as you plan your exit for the route.

The GFC has been great so far, I've only had it for ~2.5 weeks now and have 8 nights in it already.

 

It is a bit further south, but it worked out well for our group. Everyone I was with are currently residing in Albuquerque and I came from west Denver, so it was a shorter drive on a Friday evening. We only rode CB on Saturday, so we just took a couple cars up there and were very focused on putting in a loop at Hartman on Sunday before we all left to go home.

 

I've seen them put on the rock n roll and I think it was squirt. I've used the gold lube as well. But something about it..didn't work for them. Maybe they didn't apply enough/correctly? I'm not sure.

I was on either muc off c3 dry or their standard dry. I literally grabbed whatever bottle the night before in the dark at camp and just applied it without thinking. lol. So either one of those should be the one i'm using.

But yeah, to your point, even the crappiest lube should've lasted 30 miles but they totally didn't. They were absolutely gone after about 15-20 miles and 4k of climbing in literal moondust.

 

Good chance they didn't clean their chain first, applied over a different lube, didn't let it setup overnight, etc.

Lubing a chain doesn't need to be complicated but a little care and attention will make not only the lube last longer but also your parts.

With $300 cassettes and $100 chains putting some care into your bike can save a ton of money too and help you still enjoy the ride after 30 miles.

 

All good info, Idk if I'll make Dupont being a 1 hour each way trip. Given I haven't gotten the Airbnb's address yet from family so these times may be skewed slightly. I'm basing travel time off of generic Asheville,NC in google maps.
At the moment if I can make 3 mornings that's a good week, and it's looking like Bent Creek, Kitsuma, and Berm Park are going to be the easiest rides to get to and get going.

I'm going to use trail forks and youtube to decide loops and trails on that.

 

Running Muc Off C3 ceramic dry lube. In the dry it is PHENOMENAL. One creek crossing and it sheds off the chain like a stripper's top at a frat party. Squeaky hell for remainder of ride results.