ScareyH22A

My buddies and I are relatively new to the sport and we've been riding a local trail for a few months and wanna blow off steam at Big Bear by taking lift chairs and descending. Plus the lift tickets are only $20!

I ride a hardtail and use a basic Giro helmet. Do I need to buy armor or a full face helmet? I know most people riding downhill will be riding a FS bike but I don't have a choice. Will a HT be fine? I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be taking it easy anyways. Plus they have a no DH bike policy.

ken cummings

No problem. I do less rocky trails on my touring bike using fatter tires.

ScareyH22A

What about armor?

dminor 

There is no more DH-style riding at Big Bear. Leave the full face and armor at home or they'll brand you as "one of them" and not let you ride.

There was no National at Big Bear this year because the operator banned DHing to stay within the lease terms with the Forest Service

Hawkear

I'll check it out this weekend for you.

I'm heading up there with my Hardrock Pro.

dminor 

Here is the official word from their web site:

"The resort will continue to haul conventional (cross-country) mountain bikes for general public on the Sky Chair, with access to off-site Forest Service trails and roads. The resort has taken this action because of the liability exposure and forest damage from downhill bikes. Furthermore, there will be no more biking of any kind on the ski runs.

Any one of the following four factors will disqualify a bike from being transported on the chair:
1. Bikes must be less than 35 pounds.
2. Designated tire size must be less than 2.5.
3. Front shock must have less than 6 inches of travel.
4. Bikes must have three chain rings unless they are single speed."

Flak

"4. Bikes must have three chain rings unless they are single speed."

I wonder how strictly this is enforced. My bike is under 30 (just), runs 2.3 tires, and i only have 100mm of travel. But they would bar me because i got rid of my big ring? Surely they would make an exception for my clearly XC bike?

Hawkear

I'll find that out, too - my GF has the '06 Hardrock Pro with the bash ring instead of a big ring.

FF 6800

those are the two reasons i didnt go to big bear this summer...
my bike weighs 36 lbs lol and like hawkear's girlfriend i have a bashring on my hardrock pro

Hawkear

I talked to some guys in a bike shop there, and they said that the people manning the lifts are relatively lenient. If you don't have an obvious downhill bike, then you should be fine.

BTW - If you want to hit some fun singletrack, head across the lake to the Hanna Flats. Tons of fun.

ScareyH22A

How do I get to Hanna Flats?

Hawkear

It's just north of Fawnskin. You can park there and ride up, or drive up to the campgrounds and park (it might cost you money, though!). There's a trailhead near campsite 47.

Grab Franko's map of Big Bear if you get a chance.

Flak

Cheers for letting us know. Might go hit the place up now

ScareyH22A

Ok.. went to Big Bear Snow Summit this past Sunday. It was pretty nice. The lift dropped us off at about 8000'. There was plenty of climbs on the trail we took that rode the ledge of the mountain along the lake. We rode about 13 miles and I was pooped. The scenery was absolutely amazing. Not used to all the trees since I'm pretty much a city boy. The fresh air was great and you could see the lake from some areas at the top.

Surprisingly, there was a few guys on DH rigs, full motocross helmets, and armor. The lift peeps didn't give a ****. The trail just right from the top of the lift is where they went down. Must be pretty hairy.

There was a lot of sand through out the trail which I wasn't comfortable with. My wheels would hit that stuff and I'd be almost sideways on a lot of the turns. Besides that, there's some huge banking turns and quite a lot of ruts and ridges to navigate around or over. My computer indicated 37mph at the end so there are some steep xc decents.

The weather was terrific. Plenty of sunshine but when you get into the shade offered by plenty of overhanging trees, it was damn near frigid. It felt great.

When we got down and have to go thru the town, we stopped by a busy Starbucks and had pizza next door. The final stretch up Big Bear Blvd and then up Summit Way was what killed us.

All in all, it was definitely fun. The lift was $10 for one time or if you come back again with the ticket, and pay an additional $10, they give you an all day pass. It was totally worth it because it was out of the norm from my local trail. Will be going again soon.

Serendipper 

Great report. Looks like another tack added to the adventure map!

clifford_bgrddg

yah i was bumbed to hear snowsummit banned people from the runs. im not a freerider, but i do love long, fast decents.

btw, adam craig runs 2 rings. i wonder if they'd ban him too.

FF 6800

so they dont have any dh runs whatsoever? even the intermediate or beginner trails? lol im goin there on saturday. any suggestions since i cant just take the lifts up and then ride a trail down?

ScareyH22A

Here's what I saw..

I saw a group of guys on their DH rigs and full armor get on the lifts before us. Then when we got off, they were getting ready to ride down. Then I saw them start the decent just right of the lift. There's a few trails on there but I believe that's the quickest way down.

If the lift is at the 6 o'clock position, we took the 1 o'clock trail. Their trail was the 4 o'clock.

FF 6800

do you have any idea as to what difficulty of the downhill trail was?

ScareyH22A

I'm sure it can be done fine with even a hardtail because they specifically say no DH bikes on their site. The scenic route we took was not difficult at all. I bombed down most of it on my HT although there was a ton of sand and that always gets me on edge.

FF 6800

yeah... i have a hardrock pro hahaha its been great ever since i got my pike and new wheels. oh god i hate sand! alright well thanks a ton for the info