bikeage

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?

dirtyphotons

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?

bikeage

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.

genericbikedude

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.

dirtyphotons

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.

el twe

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.

el twe

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.

luvthemas

Welcome to SC!