Mountain Biking - Coming to grips with your region...

I've showed pics of the scrub-style chunk we have. I've shared animated .gif's of some ladder drops. The truth is, the majority of my region is pedally. No long morning climbs to 30 minute downhill. No dirt jump parks. No ski lift.

Sure, the trails are littered with baby-head rocks that shake you to death...even with 6"of travel. The tough part is that you need to pedal through it instead of coasting through it DH.

I've been experimenting with what works best given all the pedaling. I've noticed how many people buy into the market hype and think they need to ride an All Mountain bike. (even when they don't really need it)

I rode a loop the other day on the Krapper now that I'm back to single speed. This loop previously took around an hour and a half with a 29# geared hardtail. On the Krapper it only took 53 minutes.

The Krapper is less than 23# now. Rigid fork makes standing and honking a dream. You have to hunt and peck the rocks, but when it opens up, it's unstoppable.

I'm man enough to admit that i usually overkill when it comes to the bike that will work best for me. I'm getting to the point now though, that I think I'm willing to accept the reason that 85% of the riders around here are on light weight 29ers. I've seen first-hand how well they roll over pedally baby-head sections. How the angle of attack really keeps you're momentum up. How the Taro, Honzo, Yelli, Paradox, and Mason are the new breed that will soon take over my region.

I concede.

They excell in areas where they should to be sure. Just sux you live in one of those areas.

Word

Your terrain sounds a lot like out desert stuff. Bootleg Canyon has 10-12 downhill trails. For $15 you can take the shuttle all day long.

I still like the work and reward of just good ole cross country riding. Lock outs make the F/S a nice marriage. But I have wondered lately what it would be like to go rigid. There is a kid riding out here on a 90ish NIshiki. He is kicking everyones butt every where. It is the Indian not the arrow.

I get tired of never having a tree to find shade under. Ever tried leaning up against a cactus?

Sounds like tubeless country.

Krapper has gotten a little love lately:
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/09/15/2epugy2u.jpg

R&R Crankset, BB
EA70 HiRise bars
32/15
SB8 2.1 / SlantSix 2.35

They excell in areas where they should to be sure. Just sux you live in one of those areas.

:lol:

I know you were speaking to Ed, but you've described how I sometimes feel.

Great thread topic, btw. One does need to come to terms with what's available nearby. It's the trails we ride most often that shape us. It is difficult to develop Whistler-worthy skills when everything surrounding you can readily be ridden on a gravel bike like Salsa's new Warbird.

Part of coming to terms for me is realizing that the bikes that most fire my imagination are not a good match for my local terrain and riding style. The bike that gives me most enjoyment riding locally is not necessarily the one that fires my imagination when I read the magazines.

I came from an area where I had 30+ miles of buffed and bermed rolling singletrack a 5 minute pedal from my house and hundreds of miles of top notch stuff within a couple hours drive.

Now I need to drive 25 minutes to find the one bit of trail in the region that, although the locals are excited about it, is just sort of okay.

The thing I do have now is 100+ miles of dirt bike trails right out my back door. So now I ride moto almost exclusively these days. Adapt and overcome, variety is the spice, etc.

I seem to have adapted to the crappy few trails that i have close to home. Not all of us can live in good riding areas.

:lol:-01

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:-66

:lol:-01

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:-66

What???? why do you laugh at an old man?

I love where I live. This is about 15 mins drive from my house. :D
Not my pictures but these are the trails I ride.


http://i.imgur.com/cjNMh.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/BXL3z.jpg

Again...this is not my picture but my signature picture was taken near by this trail. :D

http://i.imgur.com/lsPKel.jpg

Road riding is awesome no matter where you live!

Just as some people dress for the job they want, I ride a bike for the terrain I want :D

I'm with you. The Trance-X is getting a lot of love lately. The big bike is way overkill for most of my local stuff.

I'm contemplating swapping the TX frame for a Pivot M4X and shortening the fork down to 5"...

Big travel isn't really needed around here. Most of the descents are short and techy enough you can't really open it up like other spots, but I still prefer the short and slack geometry. It's a lot of coin for a frame, and I have no way to test ride one around here, so it'd be a leap of faith. Heck, I only need one kidney...

Lookin for sympathy! When its hot here, it is DANG hot!

273613273614273615

Its hard to get conversation out of these little guys, no trail updates!

^^ It is obvious that you are a masochist to live in such a hellhole. And it goes against my being to offer sympathy to a masochist.


:D

Road riding is awesome no matter where you live!

I just threw up in my mouth a little.

The only redeeming thing for me in this area is that I am relatively close to good street and DJ spots.

1 hour drive in all directions to some of the best riding KY and IN have to offer.

^^ Now you I have sympathy for.

I just threw up in my mouth a little.
I ride on the road for exercise, it's great for that and way better on my legs than jogging.

road riding in NYC or another ultra-urban area is suicidal. road is safe in Kansas, but pretty boring.


regarding your MTBing quandary, I would buy a used FS 26" or buy a new one. they work just great and often cost a lot less than a 29er since they're not the FOTM. there are many really good suspension systems for pedal-centric trails like in Kansas.

I just threw up in my mouth a little.


From pushing too hard on the climb?

I just threw up in my mouth a little.Easy on him . . . it imparts that wind-in-the-hair rush that curling can't give him.


. . . and I hear the golf courses at Whistler are awesome too.

Hey...at your age, shouldn't you be playing golf instead of still pretending you're a kid?

I like golf. Why you such a hater?

I just have to say that this is the worst thread title ever. Every time I see it I think about a completely different topic.

:D

I like golf. Why you such a hater?


You're old like D so it's expected!

Reading a thread like this just shows me how spoiled I am. I can ride spectacular trails right out of my backyard. And I mean literally out of my back yard - I don't even have to use a car to get to a trailhead.273820273821

I ride on the road for exercise, it's great for that and way better on my legs than jogging.

road riding in NYC or another ultra-urban area is suicidal. road is safe in Kansas, but pretty boring.


regarding your MTBing quandary, I would buy a used FS 26" or buy a new one. they work just great and often cost a lot less than a 29er since they're not the FOTM. there are many really good suspension systems for pedal-centric trails like in Kansas.

LOL...I have had and still have a 26" dually. Sure, my current one isn't made for that:lol: but just riding that across some of the trails around here make me think I'm barking up the wrong tree. I've been a staunch 26'er forever. I still ride the gnar on my 26" hardtail, but when I go do a more XC oriented ride...It's alot of work when I could just bonk through some of the tech sections and then stand and honk up a hill. I rode tonight on my 26" rigid SS with a friend on a HT. At times...I couldn't see his headlight behind me. Not b/c I'm fast or KEWL or anything...I just had the right tool for the job tonight.

I was talking to a guy riding a Honzo the other day and he said (since your'e a Kansan) that Shawnee Mission Park and trails that are similarly smattered with chop are really a breeze on his Honzo compared to his old 26". If I can get that angle of attack going for me but still have a tough enough bike to do waist-high drops widdit...I should be golden.

Trust me, I thought I'd never be having this conversation with cyberspace, but until recently...a good 29'er never existed. Now, they seem to be creeping up everywhere...the latest being Mason.

You're old like D so it's expected!

I like golf as well, and I'm not old. Just can't stand watching it.

^^ Now you I have sympathy for.

It's OK to be jealous I understand.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

There was one day a few years back when some magazine was shooting bikini models close to the cacti. I had a stupid Government issue Blackberry with no camera. That was a day I enjoyed my terrain, but I never "came to grips with it." Ya stinkin perverts! :notamused::notamused::notamused:

I actually simulating pedal strokes on my drives while golfing. Push down the back leg on the back stroke, power down the front leg as I blast through the ball. Hasn't helped much, but it gives me something to think about.

^^ How's about whipping up a pedal-driven golf cart?

It's OK to be jealous I understand.

Why should folks that live where there is world class mountain biking out the back door and also within an hour's drive be jealous of someone who is stuck with the "best" of IN/KY riding?

It's all about experience and perspective.

^^ How's about whipping up a pedal-driven golf cart?

I'm on it! Any excuse to fire up the welder is a good day! I bet I can hijack a couple of golf carts when the old coots make a run for frozen yogurt.

Why should folks that live where there is world class mountain biking out the back door and also within an hour's drive be jealous of someone who is stuck with the "best" of IN/KY riding?

It's all about experience and perspective.

I think you missed the point and the sacrasm in my voice but that's OK I still like ya.

I think you missed the point and the sacrasm in my voice but that's OK I still like ya.

It's awesome that you like me now after I have caused you so much heartburn in the past!

Viva IN/KY, MTB meccas!

road riding in NYC or another ultra-urban area is suicidal.

LOL. You haven't lived until you have rocked it up 6th Avenue in Manhattan at rush hour.