Any NT Mountain Bikers?? Check in here

[zen baller]

Cross Country?
All-Mountain?
Freeride?
Downhill?
4x/DS?
Dirt Jump?

Just got back into it after like 10 years and I'm way psyched.

Post a picture of your bike!

Here's mine...well not really mine, but I have the same model, with all stock parts. Might end up buying something with more travel at the beginning or inthe middle of next season, 2007 Kona Coilair. 6" in the front and back. Ridden it at Diablo in Jersey and Plattekill in upstate NY as well as Highbridgepark in washington heights and Cunningham Park in Queens. Love it so far.

Post your favorite spots to ride as well!

 

[kdwallace]

Nice, Kona is on my list of manufacturers to look at when I change my mtb - hopefully next year.

I'm more of a roadie but I ride a Rockhopper sometimes. Stock except for an uprated spring in my Manitou Axel Elite (because I'm over the 150lbs orwhatever is recommended for the standard one), Easton bars and stem, and a Selle Italia Turbo saddle because I have that on all my bikes.

I also had a long break from mountain biking - stopped in the mid 90's and tried again about 4 years ago - but I can't do it anymore. Maybe I'mjust more aware that if I break my leg I'll be in serious trouble for work or something but I don't have the guts to go screaming down hills anymore.

Looks a bit like this - but mine looks better for some reason - just the change to the bars, stem and saddle make it look better IMO.

The only thing I don't like about it is that it feels a bit short in the top tube, maybe I'm just a funny shape but I feel kind of cramped.

 

[b4n30n3]

I don't have I pic of my bike but it is pretty sick. I built it myself all custom parts raceface,thomson, top of the line sram, XTR, saint and mavic stuff.

 

[zen baller]

Maybe I'm just more aware that if I break my leg I'll be in serious trouble for work or something but I don't have the guts to go screaming down hills anymore.



yeah man, part of it is just getting older. When I was like 13/14 years old I was an IDIOT on a bike, I would wail off of anything on my department storeRoadmaster bike. The kona is the first bike with any kind of suspension that I've ridden and the hardest part has been just trusting the suspension tohandle the terrain. I've gotten so much better in just a couple of months though.

Kona does make some great hardtail bikes, and they're known for giving you a quality component setup at a relatively low price compared to othermanufacturers (I know that specialized has sort of a reputation for overpricing their full suspension bikes, not sure about their hardtails). If youhaven't checked out www.mtbr.com definitely start your research off there when you're getting a new ride. It's the NT of mountain biking.

Are you in England? How's the riding over there? (sorry i might be confusing you with another NTer)

 

[zen baller]

I don't have I pic of my bike but it is pretty sick. I built it myself all custom parts raceface,thomson, top of the line sram, XTR, saint and mavic stuff.


Did you build the frame yourself too? I ran into a guy at the dirtjumps in washington heights who is just starting his own framebuilding company and was ridinga bike that he had literally built himself. Kind of blew my mind a little, never knew people were that grassroots about it.

 

[b4n30n3]

No not the frame or the wheels. I have tried to build wheels before, it is very hard to do. I will try to get some pics up if I can get my sisters camera.

 

[aggies2011]

I have a Trek--with Manitou shocks. I love bike riding. It holds it own on trails on Lake Bryan too.

 

[vq35dett]

Just ordered a Cannondale F5, getting back into biking after many years. The 6 mile run in central NJ is pretty good, you guys should check it out.

 

[ac4three]

I used to be an avid mountain biker, but I haven't gone riding for several years. I think I'm going to get back into it next summer though...

 

[zen baller]

The 6 mile run in central NJ is pretty good, you guys should check it out.


Is that like cross-country type riding? I'm actually trying to get into Freeride/Downhill, but I think eventually I want to have a few bikes I can use fordifferent purposes.

I used to be an avid mountain biker, but I haven't gone riding for several years. I think I'm going to get back into it next summer though...



check out www.mtbr.com . If you still have a bike there are probably some trailssomewhere near you. They have an extensive section of their website dedicated to descriptions of, directions to, and reviews of trails all over the UnitedStates. What were you riding back when you were "avid"?

 

[Jaymatik]

I rode BMX when I was in high school and have been mountain biking since. It's definitely a fun sport. I currently have a 2004 Santa Cruz Heckler, 2006Specialized Epic S-Works and the a 2007 Stumpy that I've been riding lately (Check the pics below). I'm considering buying a 2008 Trek Fuel EX-9because of it's new pivot design and it's one of the best looking bikes I've seen in my 12 years of riding.

 

[kdwallace]

^ that is nice.

I had one of those once - for about a week. I didn't even ride it though I was really tempted. I had my Giant TCR stolen and my insurance company said Icould have anything I wanted so I got that - because I thought it would sell well.

I sold it on ebay for about $300 below retail, bought my Rockhopper (on Ebay - same deal, some guy had an insurance replacement) and used half the money to buya plane ticket for my wife to visit her family.

I'm definitely looking at Kona next year - that and the new Rockhopper - the M3 frame is nice - and possibly Trek - their midrange hardtails look goodvalue. Saw a nice Yeti hardtail a few weeks ago too which looked nice - bit more expensive though.

 

[kdwallace]

I'm in Scotland, not England. Nice riding around here.

The closest well-known place is Glentress. About 45mins from me in the Borders region. You could ride all day there and there is a nice cafe at the bottom.It's kind of in a valley and they've built tons of trails of different difficulty level.

There are 4 or 5 centres like that around here as well as just tons of mountains with trails and stuff. The downhill World Champ's was near Fort Williamthis year too - and you can go and ride that course too but it's nuts - huge boulders to ride over and stuff.

 

[zen baller]

Those specialized XC and AM bikes are just so pretty they make me want to pedal....but not that much, haha. I remember back in the day when the stumpjumper wasstill a hardtail. Then I walk into Sid's bikes in NYC and see a stumpy with an air shock in the back, definitely made me double take. My friend that I ridewith has one of the 2008 Enduro SL Comp's in the white/yellow/orange colorway. One of the prettiest bikes I've ever seen.

Jaymatik, it took me a while to figure out how the linkage on the epic frames works. Definitely unlike any other system I've seen being used on bikes rightnow. You've got a serious stable man, props.


Where do you guys do your riding?

 

[zen baller]

The downhill World Champ's was near Fort William this year too - and you can go and ride that course too but it's nuts - huge boulders to ride over and stuff.


At the beginning of November I went up to Plattekill mountain in upstate new york. It's a lift-assisted park where you and your bike go up the mountain ona ski lift and bomb down to the bottom on various trails. They were having a race there the following weekend so my friend and I rode a little bit of the DHcourse. Definitely very hair raising but we managed to stay on the bike for some of it! I can't wait til I get better at this so I can ride something likethat fast. Of course I'll need more than 6" of travel for that, but one thing at a time....

 

[nachobroadweezy]

Dirt jumps in Washington Heights and a trail near Parsippany, NJ, but nothing beats riding over the GWB. $2Hundo off Craigslist. Photography is my 1st passion, so after I purchase my DSLR, I'll then upgrade. All Mountain & Cross Country.

 

[zen baller]

Dirt jumps in Washington Heights, across the GWB, and a trail near Parsippany, NJ.


Highbridge park is pretty awesome. You should check out the trails in there too, they're pretty fun to ride, varying degrees of difficulty. I was actuallythere the day they opened the park back in may, that was when i was still living in Manhattan.

Where do you ride in Parsippany? I just moved back to Jersey and parsippany is like 15 minutes from my house. If it's a secret trail or something Iunderstand, if you feel more comfortable PMing me, go ahead.

 

[nachobroadweezy]

HBP is great for being just about the only park for NYCers, but if you're in Jersey, this trail is actually near Mountain Lakes and the park is called TheTourne.
http://www.mtbr.com/trails/NewJersey/TheTourne.html
a little bit of everything, cool, pleasant, relaxing ride. You'll love it ten-folds over the Heights.

Other than the dirt jumps, HBP is too narrow, too difficult for my novice self, too many broken bottles and one time I almost ran over a bum while he wassmoking. Maybe I'll enjoy it when my skills are ready. I have El Diablo on my hitlist for this spring.

I'll hit u up in the spring, get a crew together for a ride.

 

[zen baller]

Other than the dirt jumps, HBP is too narrow, too difficult for my novice self, too many broken bottles and one time I almost ran over a bum while he was smoking. Maybe I'll enjoy it when my skills are ready. I have El Diablo on my hitlist for this spring.
Yeah there are definitely parts of the HB trails that are really technical. I don't think I'd have such a problem if they weren'tUPHILL, haha. Diablo is something that anyone even remotely interested in MTB needs to experience at least once. I went back in september and since allI've wanted to do is go back. I'm planning on getting a season pass for next season, and like I said earlier I'll probably need to buy a burlierbike as well. I can't express how much fun Diablo is. . Dammit, still 6+ months til opening weekend

. Hopefully by then I'll be living in NYC again so get at me in the springand we'll set something up.

Oh yeah, you might want to check out Cunningham park in queens if there's a random warm weekend during the winter. WAY more relaxing than HB but still hassome cool technical sections and a DJ/Pump track area.

 

[trax06]

stumpjumper comp 07

 

[theprocessofbelief]

No pics, but I currently ride a Specialized Big Hit. I had a Rocky Mountain Fusion, but it got ripped off.

I ride alot in Fernie and Kimberley, British Columbia during the summer months. See a ton of people getting into the sport, compared to even 5-6 years ago.

I do alot of Freeride....no comps or anything, I am not that serious. I used to prefer hardtails, but full suspension is a God-send on the knees. I alwayswanted to put my own Bike together. I remember saving up for Marzocchi Monster T's in high school... but spending the money on shoes...

 

[zen baller]

I ride alot in Fernie and Kimberley, British Columbia during the summer months.


Awesome, dude. BC is like FR Mecca from what I've read and seen. I'm not really familiar with the geography of BC but do you make it out to Whistler atall? My riding buddy and I have a long term goal of making a trip out there. I could watch Whistler footage for hours, that place looks like so much fun. Iwish there was more North Shore type stuff in the North East but I guess we've got our "east coast gnar". Still, ladder bridges look like morefun than sharp rocks.

I've heard good things about the bighit. Lotta Spesh fans on NT for some reason. They do make some very good looking bikes.

 

[Jaymatik]

Zen Baller said:

Jaymatik, it took me a while to figure out how the linkage on the epic frames works. Definitely unlike any other system I've seen being used on bikes right now. You've got a serious stable man, props.


Thanks. I love my Epic. I spent a lot of hard-earned money on it. It's a great bike for speed on the mountain. My 07 Stumpy Elite is my newest one and isonly about 6 months old. It was an early b-day present. I'm going to test ride the 08 Trek Fuel EX-9 this weekend and see how it rides. I'm readingthat it's an entirely new bike system compared to the older models and man do the 08s look hot! If it rides well, I'm most likely going to buy it,although my gf wouldn't love that idea.

Where do you guys do your riding?


I live in Northern California, which gives me a lot of choices to ride - Saratoga Gap, Santa Cruz Mountains, Redwood Hills, Grant Park & Oakland Hills. Ialso head out to Northstar in Lake Tahoe for some serious downhill and that's when I borrow my friends 06 Enduro or use my Heckler.

AND... www.mtbr.com is niketalk for mountain bikers.

 

[zen baller]

I also head out to Northstar in Lake Tahoe for some serious downhill and that's when I borrow my friends 06 Enduro or use my Heckler.


Been hearing awesome things about NorthStar on MTBR and other places. Is the Enduro enough for you on DH courses? Not sure about the 06 but the 08 is only150mm front and rear, which is a little on the short side for DH. You must be a finesse rider.

Recently got into MTBR and I'm already posting there more than I do on NT (outside of this thread, haha)

 

[Jaymatik]

For the way I ride the Enduro can handle the trails at Tahoe, unless it's a hard drop. I even use my Heckler on the more forgiving hills.