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

couldn’t disagree more. Don’t waste your time out here. It’s trash. Way crowded, and not that cool

 

Is that because you don’t ride when it’s muddy, to preserve the trails? I’m in California and have only ridden in Utah a handful of times but at least two of those there was serious mud. The road to Gooseberry was undrivable and the trails further down near Hurricane weren’t exactly dusty either. So I associate Utah with mud. Maybe not as much as what we have in Santa Cruz now - but stickier.

 

Secret's out!

No one on free lunch yesterday though, which is the best trail there.

 

… I was on free lunch yesterday

 

Well damn! I'll have to let you know next time I'm down that way.

 

For realz. I was the cat on my e bike riding up it . Not pedaling of course.

For real though, there was no one out there yesterday lol

 

The mud in Utah blew my mind when we rode out there last year - coming from the Northeast, our mud is loamy/chunky but sheds off quickly. Rode dead ringer and the JEM trail early morning and caught the sunrise at the top of the mesa. Did a quick loop up top and started heading back to the truck; that 20 minutes was enough to turn the trails into peanut butter. The tires were so caked up that we had to constantly stop and clear them off with a stick.

I felt terrible that we were riding on the trails in that condition and I can fully understand why people in that area do not ride the trails when they are muddy.

 

hahaha. yeah, it's like a clay mixture that gets REALLY sticky with any amount of moisture. it'll also potentially break your bike. either scratching it like crazy or getting so gummed up that something breaks. no bueno. basically it's a combination of preserving trails and not dealing with trying to clean/fix your bike. i got caught in a freak rain event near my house while on the trails. it was less than 5 minutes of moisture and my bike got totally covered.



this was enough to get me completely covered in mud and gum up my drivetrain. Cleaning this up took me the better part of an hour.

 

mud like that is the worst. getting it on any stanchion is a real risk too. i've been in peanut butter mud that cakes the tires so bad the wheels will not spin at all. i felt so bad i had to do a couple extra trail days that season to make up for it

 

As some said, it's mostly clay soil here so when it gets muddy it's a complete mess. This can completely stop bike tires from spinning and ruin components. As far as the trails go, any imprints you leave in the mud will harden like a clay pot once it dries, making it nearly impossible to get the trail flat again. Overall, it's a very dry part of the country so it's usually not muddy outside of spring time snowmelt.

 

It has arrived...

 

Headed to Snowshoe in June. Second proper bikepark trip after getting to Windrock last year. Anyone have Snowshoe recommendations on food, trails, or lesser known areas?

 

Now that I've had a job that makes semi decent money for a while, has me wanting to sell my 21 rallon and move to a newer rallon or pivot firebird or sb160.

My current rallon is now 2 gens old and can't fit any larger than a 160 ish dropper in it for the size large that I now feel kinda cramped on. I know I ride abt 60% park and honestly don't care abt the uphills but like the ability to do so without a climb switch. I know any of those 3 I'd be stoked on as long as I got one of the newer generations that can fit a 200mm dropper and has a bit more space than my size large with a 455 reach. I'm aiming for in the 490 ish reach area and got to be able to fit a 200mm dropper with my body proportions. Tiny now compared to most 29er enduros. I'd consider a trek slash and evil wreckoning too depending if I can find a deal.

Regardless of what happens, this season I'm going coil, whether its on my current 21 rallon or whatever new(used but new to me) bike I go with.

 

Got another rear wheel side wall puncture along with it going through the tread casing as well tonight. E*thirteen all terrain enduro/control was a good tire for the price (black friday deal) id say but the Maxxis DD casing seems to be most durable for my areas so far, just dont like the price tag luckily had an insert in the rear and bumbled my way down to the bottom to catch a ride home.

Not sure why im telling everyone this, but here I am.

 

Take a look at Planet Cyclery. Got an email from them the other day with more sale prices on Maxxis. I ordered a bunch of tires from them before the holidays at $35-40 each.

 

The new Epic Evo really has me considering euthanizing some of the bikes in the stable.

 

I’m very curious about running a down traveled bike. I like the 150 ish fork though. The Canton Spectral 125 and the Commencal Tempo have my interest but I’m not in the market for another bike (actually need to unload one)

 

Yeah, the ebike stays - but I bounce back and forth between Chameleon and Stumpjumper Evo. Really should have just kept my normal Stumpjumper.

 

What is everyone’s opinion on the cross country dual suspension bikes like the Santa Cruz Blur and other similar offerings?

My local dealers have a waitlist for a demo because they claim that not a lot of people buy them.

 

Several comments in the PB Epic Evo article about the Stumpy being such a minimal weight gain on the Evo frame it’s almost silly not to go to the Stumpy. Unless you’re wanting full on weight weenie in which case you stick with the regular Epic.