The Surly Mountain Biking Thread

[jw4381 3044]

We we’re on the bikes by 8:30 and pretty much missed the heat thank Zeus. 

[Bodhi 1086]

Spent 4 years as a teenager living in Alaska mountain biking.  Then my family relocated to Southern Illinois and I said F doing that anymore.  A lot of years have passed but I went up to Steamboat Springs over Memorial Day weekend this year with a bunch of friends that are riders.  After day one I was hooked again and knew it was going to be an expensive weekend.  7 weeks later I'm riding 3 times a week mostly doing local blue trails.  Fortunate to live in the front range of Colorado so good access to a lot of trails.  Heading to Durango area in roughly a month for 3 days of riding.  Hopefully I can avoid breaking myself for awhile.

 

[Bodhi 1086]

Got 7 miles in after work tonight.  I can't think of a better way to reset after sitting in front of a computer all day.

 

 

[TwiceHorn 30851]

7 minutes ago, Bodhi said:

Got 7 miles in after work tonight.  I can't think of a better way to reset after sitting in front of a computer all day.

 

 

Bastard.

I hogged out six miles today in the heat before noon.  I pretty much skipped June with the heat dome and that's my usual acclimatization to the heat month, but I'm forcing myself and it's going alright.

[Bodhi 1086]

Front Range Colorado has been kind of the opposite of other parts of the country this summer, wetter and cooler (I think) than usual.  Staying in the 80s this weekend so it makes the decision to ride super easy.  I applaud you for getting in those morning rides though

[Your Mom 4763]

Bodhi, you ever ridden the West Magnolia trails or any of the other stuff near Nederland?   I have this pipe dream of moving somewhere within 2 hours of Denver and being able to mountain bike straight from the house and have skiing within 30 minutes, and not paying Breckinridge prices. Nederland is on the short list.   

[Al_4_ISU 12376]

38 minutes ago, Bodhi said:

Front Range Colorado has been kind of the opposite of other parts of the country this summer, wetter and cooler (I think) than usual.  Staying in the 80s this weekend so it makes the decision to ride super easy.  I applaud you for getting in those morning rides though

We're getting weird ass weather in Iowa.  It's been extremely dry, but not hot.  We're talking low 80's with almost no humidity since the end of May.  It's been incredible for biking.

[sasquatch69 576]

I'm at about 600 miles for 2023 so far, but not much MTB lately.  When I have ridden in June/July so far it's been almost all paved trails - mainly the loop from North Dallas down around WRL and back - because there's more of a breeze.  I need to figure out motivation to get up super early and go ride actual unpaved trails while it's still semi-tolerable out.

[Knoxtnhorn 5908]

Back on the MB after a couple of months.  @TwiceHorn - hit RCP twice, Squabble once.  I've decided that I do not like the blue trail at Squabble.  It's all about the roots.  

By chance, do any of y'all know the best trail to ride in or around Hot Springs, AR?  I'll be there this fall for a week.

[TwiceHorn 30851]

5 hours ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

Back on the MB after a couple of months.  @TwiceHorn - hit RCP twice, Squabble once.  I've decided that I do not like the blue trail at Squabble.  It's all about the roots.  

By chance, do any of y'all know the best trail to ride in or around Hot Springs, AR?  I'll be there this fall for a week.

Is blue the beginning part?  It's a bit of a pain, but I like it.  I'm one of the last people to recommend upgrading equipment, but it has gotten easier with every better bike I have had.

[Bodhi 1086]

8 hours ago, Your Mom said:

Bodhi, you ever ridden the West Magnolia trails or any of the other stuff near Nederland?   I have this pipe dream of moving somewhere within 2 hours of Denver and being able to mountain bike straight from the house and have skiing within 30 minutes, and not paying Breckinridge prices. Nederland is on the short list.   

No, but just added it to my short list. I love Nederland and know some decent dispersed camping sites up there. Might try to give it a go next weekend.

[Knoxtnhorn 5908]

1 hour ago, TwiceHorn said:

Is blue the beginning part?  It's a bit of a pain, but I like it.  I'm one of the last people to recommend upgrading equipment, but it has gotten easier with every better bike I have had.

Yep.  Right out of the parking lot, to the left.

[TwiceHorn 30851]

Got a break from the heat dome Saturday and Sunday.  So, rode Cedar Hill SP medium loop this morning. That's a really fun trail considering how much uphill there is.  It is a rootfest though.

[Your Mom 4763]

   

 

Scotland is cold and wet. Beautiful riding.  We finished day 3 of 6 today. Long days in the saddle. The last 2 days were 43 and 47 miles, 3300 and 4000 feet of climbing. Long slogs up.  These aren’t really mtb trails, just paths and gravel roads.  
Tomorrow we will hit two designated mountain bike trail centers instead of focusing on point A to point B.  

I’ll compile all my other clips into a way too long YouTube when we get home. 

 

[Knoxtnhorn 5908]

Effing hell.  I got one spot of poison ivy on my arm - about the size of a half-dollar.  This led to some sort of immune system attack.  I am now covered in hives, on Benadryl (which I hate), and multiple steroids.  I was really beginning to enjoy the switch from road biking.

[TwiceHorn 30851]

Well, went to ride at Moss at nearly noon because I consider my acclimatization nearly complete.  Heat was the least of my problems.

Finally paid the piper for my increasing speed in the tight and twisties.  Curiously, as far as I could tell, it was a rear wheel washout.  But that baked clay is like concrete.

Spoiler

 

 

[Bodhi 1086]

Yikes, heal up. I tried to do that myself multiple times yesterday. If I continue on with my current approach I should be sharing similar photos in the future. 

[TwiceHorn 30851]

My wife laughs at all the little holes in my shins and calves from pedals, briars, and such.  I skin a knee or something about once every 18 months.  She says I'm like a little kid fresh off the playground and she's not sure she wants to be seen in public with me wearing shorts.

We often have loose over hard here, but this stuff is really hard and I have been noticing more slippage, mostly front this summer.  I suppose a lot of it is newfound speed from weight loss and new bike?  The other thing is the bike came with Hans Dampf front and Nobby Nic rear, and they're not real popular tires around here.  They are fat as hell, and have a pretty conventional tread pattern and big knobs, but the knobs may be too big for around here.  I have also been running them a little higher pressure than I did with Rekons to help the rolling resistance.  Funny thing is, though, they are so stout and stiff compared to Rekons that I can run the pressure ridiculously low before I get squirm.

Edited July 28, 2023 by TwiceHorn

[Al_4_ISU 12376]

Ouch, man.  That doesn't look like fun.

[Bodhi 1086]

Got 8 in today in Lyons, CO. Mostly blue but that didn’t stop me from eating crap. Back tire spun during a technical section killing my momentum. At least there were several large rocks to catch me. Thankfully I was climbing at the time so damage was minimal. That said, it was still a great day. 

[Your Mom 4763]

Here’s a recap of the trip to Scotland with my son.  It was a group tour with Wilderness Scotland.  Coast to coast from Aberdeen to Acharacle.  We were a group of 5, plus 2 guides.  The guides alternated riding with us and driving the van.  We stayed in bed and breakfasts each night and ate good meals at local restaurants.  All meals were covered in the price.  

Each day we’d meet for breakfast at 8 and then start riding around 9.  The van would drive ahead and set up a coffee/tea and cake stop about an hour into the ride.  Then a couple more hours of riding until a picnic style lunch stop at the van.  A couple more hours of riding after lunch and we’d get to the next hotel and relax a bit before dinner together in town.  

Weather was generally in the 50s and 60s.  We got rained on a little bit maybe half of the days.  And spent hours in a cold rain one particular day.  

The riding was a mix of gravel roads,  footpaths, single track, and a little pavement.  More gravel than anything else.  We hit two bike parks along the way.  One of them was Nevis Range, site of the UCI Dowhill World Championships this week (starting today I believe).  One of our guides lives there and we had a blast running all his local trails, unfortunately it was at the end of a day and the GoPro had died by the time we hit that.

We covered about 200 miles and 13,000’ of climbing in 6 days.  Longest day was 47 miles and 4000’.  Not much tech, just a little on the 2 bike park days and a bit of “adventure riding” in a couple spots where there was hardly a trail at all and you had to just make your own trail.  

As usual, I had a hard time trimming the video to something as short as I wanted.  If you want to skip to the better riding it’s starts at 4:50

 

[Bodhi 1086]

Great video and sounds like an amazing experience.  Any issue with varying levels of skill or fitness in the broader group?

[Your Mom 4763]

12 hours ago, Bodhi said:

Great video and sounds like an amazing experience.  Any issue with varying levels of skill or fitness in the broader group?

Not much.  99% of the riding was not technical.  We had different paces but regrouped often.  3 of us generally went faster than the other two but we’d get some guidance on what to look for ahead and where to stop.  The other two were never more than a few minutes back. The bike parks were optional and one woman opted out.  My son and I skipped a couple of mostly road sections because he had some knee pain by the end of the week.  
They offer trips for different levels but this one was marketed specifically for people who have been riding a long time and can cover the mileage.  They ask a lot of questions to make sure you know what you’re getting into.  It was a good group.  A couple in their 50’s from New Zealand, a pudgy Spanish guy who could actually ride his ass off way more than appearances would lead you to believe, and my son and I.  One guide was about my age and is a full time guide for bike trips, backpacking, backcountry skiing, etc… The other was a young downhill racer/bike mechanic.  

[TwiceHorn 30851]

Any of yall gettin jiggy with the e-shifting?  My best riding buddy upgraded the GX on his Tallboy with the AXS thing and likes it.  This Transmission thing is very intriguing technically.

That said, I'm pretty impressed with the DeOre 12-spd.  I've been riding it a year and a half and haven't even had to turn the barrel adjuster.  I can't say that about the NX 11 on my last bike, which went fully wonky after about 2-2.5 years although it may have been a bent derailleur hanger that evaded detection at two pretty decent shops.

I'm pretty agnostic as between Shimano and SRAM, but my experience with DeOre has been objectively better than lower-end SRAM.  Shimano seems to be getting completely pantsed on the derailleur innovation front, though.

[Bodhi 1086]

Well, I didn't hate Steamboat.

 

 

Edited August 14, 2023 by Bodhi

[TwiceHorn 30851]

1 minute ago, Bodhi said:

Well, I didn't hate Steamboat.

 

 

Jelly, but won't give you the bird this time.

[TwiceHorn 30851]

Odd ride this morning.  Went to Rowlett Creek about 830.  It was sprinkling some, and appeared that the land o Gar got some extra rain, the parking lot was wet.  Started off cool and nice, rain picked up briefly kind of in the middle of it.

I had kind of hoped that the bit of rain would make something more like hero dirt, but it didn't.  Large stretches of the trail were still parched, others were getting toward downright muddy.

Like most nawf Texas trails, Rowlett Creek is pretty rooty.  One of the challenges you see referred to by riders in the PNW and East, where they can ride in wet or damp conditions is wet roots.  We don't get to experience them much or ever.

I tend to avoid roots where I can, but that generally means front wheel, and often means the rear wheel hits them a glancing blow.  When they're wet, that's  . . . . interdasting.

[sasquatch69 576]

First-time visit yesterday to Barber Hills trails up north of Paris (about 5min from the OK state line). Really impressed - lots of variety between easy (like RCP or Harry Moss) and intermediate (Northshore, Big Cedar, Boulder etc). In 2 hours of moving time I covered 15 miles and 1,299’ of elevation gain, but it’s mostly pretty subtle climbs so it didn’t wear me out. And you get the benefit of some fun downhills, piney tree cover, loamy soil and pretty views of Pat Mayse Lake. Topped it off with solid BBQ from Scholl Bros. in downtown Paris. A good day overall. 
 

 

[Al_4_ISU 12376]

10 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

Odd ride this morning.  Went to Rowlett Creek about 830.  It was sprinkling some, and appeared that the land o Gar got some extra rain, the parking lot was wet.  Started off cool and nice, rain picked up briefly kind of in the middle of it.

I had kind of hoped that the bit of rain would make something more like hero dirt, but it didn't.  Large stretches of the trail were still parched, others were getting toward downright muddy.

Like most nawf Texas trails, Rowlett Creek is pretty rooty.  One of the challenges you see referred to by riders in the PNW and East, where they can ride in wet or damp conditions is wet roots.  We don't get to experience them much or ever.

I tend to avoid roots where I can, but that generally means front wheel, and often means the rear wheel hits them a glancing blow.  When they're wet, that's  . . . . interdasting.

Wet roots are the devil.  Much like wet limestone.

[TwiceHorn 30851]

7 hours ago, Al_4_ISU said:

Wet roots are the devil.  Much like wet limestone.

Got lots of limestone, too, but not very many large slabs or boulders and there's not a lot at RCP, so didn't get to experience that.

[Bodhi 1086]

Back to Steamboat, CO this past weekend.  Some memorable riding.  Day 2 the group I was with ascended a mountain in ~90 mins with 1500' gain in elevation.  I was feeling good and decided to drop down the backside of the mountain on my own then climb back to the peak.  When I got to the bottom I spotted a black bear off trail.  Watched in awe for awhile then realized I wasn't at the top of the food chain any longer, I was completely alone, and I had a 90 minute climb out before I was around anyone.  The second climb of the day was full of paranoia and anxiety thinking every shadow was a bear.

I completed the ride which was 4 hours in total, 23 miles, and ~3000' of climbing.  I bonked hard afterwards and felt terrible for hours.  My body was up for the challenge but I don't have appropriate knowledge regarding refueling.  Certainly a painful lesson.  Nonetheless, a guilt free burger and several IPAs later helped.

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by Bodhi

[jw4381 3044]

Good to see y’all getting out there. 

im happy to report my speed is up. 
Last week we had a couple of bighorn sheep rams run by us. That was pretty ok. 

 

 

 

[Bodhi 1086]

Heading to Crested Butte, Ouray, and Durango for a week.  Anybody with trail experience in any of these places?  Mostly stick to blue and blue/black.

[Dbeasy 14790]

I’ve been gone from this thread for a long time after developing some serious health issues. I’m still not back on the bike, but thought I’d pass along some news about a new mountain bike park under construction outside Austin.

I met a young guy who it turns out is one of the top mountain bikers in Texas, and nationally. Avid bikers apparently all know him. 

Anyway, he’s building a premium mountain bike park outside Burnet that will supposedly blow away Spider Mountain. It is scheduled to open November  

 

[Bodhi 1086]

Managed to survive a week of MTB across Colorado without serious injury.  Rode in Crested Butte, Ouray, Durango, and Monte Vista.  Crested Butte was the prettiest but Durango was the most fun without a doubt.  We either rode or hiked 3-5 hours daily then refueled on pizza and craft brews every evening.

 

 

[Buzzrock 14785]

Neighbor’s 14 year old is a beast. Entered a three-hour race in the open expert class (hardest class, no age limits) and won by three seconds. The guy standing on the 2nd place podium was taller than he was standing on first place.

Earlier this year he pushed his bike to a respectable place finish…with a bruised lung from a crash.

[Al_4_ISU 12376]

19 hours ago, Bodhi said:

Managed to survive a week of MTB across Colorado without serious injury.  Rode in Crested Butte, Ouray, Durango, and Monte Vista.  Crested Butte was the prettiest but Durango was the most fun without a doubt.  We either rode or hiked 3-5 hours daily then refueled on pizza and craft brews every evening.

 

 

If I didn’t have to work, this is how I would live every single day.  Incredible 

[jw4381 3044]

Crested Butte is indeed epic for riding a mountain biking.

Got a bucket list weekend coming in 2 weeks - the White Rim Road Trail in Canyonlands NP. 100 miles in 2 days with vehicle support. Gonna give Phil's World a whirl outside of Cortez, CO on the way there.

Should be a good time. 

[Bodhi 1086]

I've heard other Mountain bikers tell stories of flying down a trail and seeing a rattlesnake sunning itself on it.  They stated they saw it too late and had no other option other than to try and hop over it while praying.  I've encountered several bull snakes while climbing but no rattlesnakes thankfully, until yesterday.  I was riding through a relatively flat section when I heard a very abnormal noise and noticed movement to the lower right.  I thought I startled a prairie dog and the noise was half fear/half fight instinct.  I stopped to investigate and saw a rattle snake coiled on the side of the trail.  I must have rode inches from it.  

Is this something that's just going to happen periodically?

[TwiceHorn 30851]

10 hours ago, Bodhi said:

I've heard other Mountain bikers tell stories of flying down a trail and seeing a rattlesnake sunning itself on it.  They stated they saw it too late and had no other option other than to try and hop over it while praying.  I've encountered several bull snakes while climbing but no rattlesnakes thankfully, until yesterday.  I was riding through a relatively flat section when I heard a very abnormal noise and noticed movement to the lower right.  I thought I startled a prairie dog and the noise was half fear/half fight instinct.  I stopped to investigate and saw a rattle snake coiled on the side of the trail.  I must have rode inches from it.  

Is this something that's just going to happen periodically?

Yeah.  

No rattlers down here (well, relatively few), but shitloads of copperheads and non-venomous types, water snakes, racers, coachwhips, various kingsnakes.  I have seen very occasional reports of strikes at riders riding (on mtbr) but it doesn't seem to be much of a real issue.  I think about 99% of the time, a rider riding is going by too fast for anything to perceive a threat and react to it by striking and even then the odds of hitting you are pretty slim.

Also, among those that have been bitten while actually riding, it seems dry bites are not uncommon, which might speak to the speed at which snek must strike.  There was a dude on mtbr showed two small punctures above his ankle, but none of the other earmarks of a snakebite and no adverse effects.

Snek needs a bit of provocation to strike, most of the time.  They want to be left alone about as bad as we do and the snakebite fatality rate for a full-grown, healthy adult is like 0.5%.  

I hate running over them and will do my best to avoid it, including things not very good for self-preservation.  And, it may not be wise to stop and muck around in the vicinity of a venomous snake.  Especially a rattler rattling.  Copperheads seem mostly pretty docile and it seems the most common mode of being bitten is by stepping on them, due to their fantastic camouflage.

 

Edited October 9, 2023 by TwiceHorn

[jw4381 3044]

On 10/8/2023 at 7:04 PM, Bodhi said:

I've heard other Mountain bikers tell stories of flying down a trail and seeing a rattlesnake sunning itself on it.  They stated they saw it too late and had no other option other than to try and hop over it while praying.  I've encountered several bull snakes while climbing but no rattlesnakes thankfully, until yesterday.  I was riding through a relatively flat section when I heard a very abnormal noise and noticed movement to the lower right.  I thought I startled a prairie dog and the noise was half fear/half fight instinct.  I stopped to investigate and saw a rattle snake coiled on the side of the trail.  I must have rode inches from it.  

Is this something that's just going to happen periodically?

Yes.

[Bodhi 1086]

On 7/21/2023 at 11:21 AM, Your Mom said:

Bodhi, you ever ridden the West Magnolia trails or any of the other stuff near Nederland?   I have this pipe dream of moving somewhere within 2 hours of Denver and being able to mountain bike straight from the house and have skiing within 30 minutes, and not paying Breckinridge prices. Nederland is on the short list.   

I have now, 3 hours of riding today. Thanks for the recommendation, easily my favorite stuff in the front range so far. Far more flowy and less technical than Lyons, Boulder, Golden. Also, no trip to Nederland is complete without a stop at Knotted Root brewery. 

[jw4381 3044]

Moab was awesome except for a very lame barbecue joint. Didn’t even finish my brisket. 
 

39 miles on day 1 and 40 on the second day. I was toast. 
 

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by jw4381

[Bodhi 1086]

That looks amazing.  Some serious miles you put in over 48 hours.

[jw4381 3044]

1 hour ago, Bodhi said:

That looks amazing.  Some serious miles you put in over 48 hours.

I didn’t get any pics myself on the first day nor the map of the first day because my phone had died. The most incredible view was that of the drop-in switchbacks. 1100 feet down in less than a mile I’d guess. It was impressive and steep. 
 

The dust was absolute hell on our drivetrains. 
 

 

[Pescado_Rojo 19262]

Anyone have experience with DVO suspension? Revel has a hell of a Black Friday deal on a new Rascal X01 build, but it's got DVO suspension and I don't know shit about DVO suspension. I've always thought they were kind of niche for downhill bikes, but looking at their website, looks like they make a fairly full range of products. Can't think of any other OEMs that use them, though. 

[Braff Zacklin 13299]

No direct experience. My impression of DVO has been they are a high-end boutique brand, i.e., Fox and RockShox for us normal folk, DVO for those big spendaz who wanna show how much they've spent.

 

But maybe they're going more mainstream now. Power to the people!

[TwiceHorn 30851]

DVO products get great reviews on mtbr, short and long term. I believe ibis specs them on a lot of bikes, too. 

If I ever need or want something different on my ripley af, DVO is first on the list. 

No personal experience either. 

ETA:  I suppose one caveat is that there is a fair amount of "foxshox" fatigue on mtbr.  The last few years of Manitou products get great reviews too.  Fox gets dumped on a lot and so does everything RS except the "ultimate" variants of the Pike and Lyrik.

You see a lot of "I hate the Grip 2 damper on Fox Factory, wish they put a Grip or Fit in there; and I want to change out the damper in my Pike Select" etc.  You hardly ever see such complaints on DVO or Manitou products.

My sense, though, is that Manitou is resurgent and has some nice products and DVO Is mainstream.

Edited November 18, 2023 by TwiceHorn

[TwiceHorn 30851]

20 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Anyone have experience with DVO suspension? Revel has a hell of a Black Friday deal on a new Rascal X01 build, but it's got DVO suspension and I don't know shit about DVO suspension. I've always thought they were kind of niche for downhill bikes, but looking at their website, looks like they make a fairly full range of products. Can't think of any other OEMs that use them, though. 

If you are in the market for a new bike, you may want to consider something with a UDH, which is required to do the latest sram "transmission." 

Not sure about the rascal or that model, but it is something to consider. 

ETA:  I looked and it appears the Rascal does not have a UDH.  Probably not that big a deal, but Transmission is getting great reviews, despite being heavy and spendy, and I am not one that upgrades, but if I ever buy another bike, I would want that option.

Edited November 18, 2023 by TwiceHorn

[jw4381 3044]

What’s up, vatos?

Here’s the drop in: