Rides and Races - inhabitants of Santa Cruz

I am building my friend who lives in Santa Cruz a sick bike and also I'll be moving to Santa Cruz in a year to attend the UC and I was wondering what you guys/gals are running up there as far as gearing ?

also how is riding in Santa Cruz?

the riding is a****ingmazing. on and offroad, if you're going to the uc, RIDE THE FIRE TRAILS ABOVE CAMPUS. you will need a mountain bike to appreciate them, and you'll probably want gears. it's worth it.

edit: if you're understandably hesitant to buy a mtb, i seem to recall that the college will rent them to students. i have no idea as to the condition, but you might want to check it out.

it's also a very bikeable city, if you're not living on campus you're looking at a pretty good climb from town in the morning. i remember on my road bike i could ride almost the whole way home from school without pedaling once.

there are a few locals on here who know the area much better than i do, but you're going to have a blast. i miss that place a lot.

what are you studying?

the riding is a****ingmazing. on and offroad, if you're going to the uc, RIDE THE FIRE TRAILS ABOVE CAMPUS. you will need a mountain bike to appreciate them, and you'll probably want gears. it's worth it.

edit: if you're understandably hesitant to buy a mtb, i seem to recall that the college will rent them to students. i have no idea as to the condition, but you might want to check it out.

it's also a very bikeable city, if you're not living on campus you're looking at a pretty good climb from town in the morning. i remember on my road bike i could ride almost the whole way home from school without pedaling once.

there are a few locals on here who know the area much better than i do, but you're going to have a blast. i miss that place a lot.

what are you studying?

i'll be studying latin american/sociology, spanish and possibly portuguese. Instead of a MTB, how would cyclocross fare on the fire roads? I'm looking forward to living in another place other than home and plus all my friends live there. Should be fun.

I lived with downhill guys when I was there. There is great mtb that I sadly never got into. If you are going to have only one bike for santa cruz, get a crosscheck or something similar.

i'll be studying latin american/sociology, spanish and possibly portuguese. Instead of a MTB, how would cyclocross fare on the fire roads? I'm looking forward to living in another place other than home and plus all my friends live there. Should be fun.

cross bike would be fine for riding through, but when i was there there were some spots with dirt ramps and such that you might wish you had a mtb for. but check into the campus bike rentals, as i recall they were decent for the application.

i think the commute from town (straight up in the morning straight down in the evening) would be a little difficult with one (fixed) gear, but with a flip flop you could make it work pretty easy.

also, when you get there check out the ucsc bike co op and the bike church, they're great resources.

I ride a 49x17 brakeless, and go up and down just about everything in the city. As far as commuting to and from campus is concerned, I'd put a brake on (at least to start). The hills are long and the traffic is busy. The west side (Mission St., Bay St., High St. - where the UC is) has a bigger-city feel as far as traffic goes, so watch out. The main arterial in town, Soquel Ave., just had bike lanes installed - USE THEM. We've been fighting for years to get this accomplished.

As far as mountain bikes go, check out the Bike Co-op on campus for a cheap beater, or head downtown to the Bike Church. Both are excellent resources, although I only have experience with the Church.

Let me know if you want any more info.

And I forgot to mention - as far as LBSs go, Bicycle Trip on Soquel Ave. is a good bet. I do work there, so I'm not terribly unbiased. They don't have much fixed related stuff, but they have a very friendly and knowledgeable staff.

Welcome to SC!