TrailCentral.com Community - Recent Topics

Brighton Beginner

Lee Contreras | I have a mountain bike and very limited time to ride. If anyone rides super early in the morning and wouldn't mind a beginner riding with let me know. I have a mountain bike with no knowledge about biking except that I need to know how to ride a bike.

East Coastie seeking Dirt

percious | Hey guys,

I'm just getting back into dirt after a 6 year hiatus. I peaked out as a sport-class rider in 2003 before taking the ass-end of a bike-vs-car accident while on a training ride. My primary ride was totaled, and I just recently obtained the funds to fix it properly.

Lately I've been commuting 9 miles to my job and 9 miles back when the weather/legs permit, so I'm still in reasonable shape. Anyway, I'm seeking anyone who'd like to show me around. I moved here 2 years ago but have been focused on rock climbing. I am wiling to trade guided rock climbing for some good 'ol dirt.

cheers.
-chris
chris <-at-> percious.com

Volunteers needed for data entry

thebikedepot | The Park Hill Bike Depot has been gearing up and is ready for Summer! Our goal is to increase access to bicycles, promoting safe, bike-friendly environments. We aim to improve health and foster personal development of youth and adults through community oriented educational and recreational bicycle programs and services. The Park Hill Bike Depot, located at 2825 Fairfax St, Denver, is a nonprofit community bike shop that gets and keeps people bicycling by helping them fix the bicycle that they already have, earn a bike that has been donated and fixed up by our volunteers, and learn how to ride safely.

We are looking for volunteers to greet individuals who come into our store and help put their information into our database. All you need is to have a great attitude and some data entry skills.

To learn more about our friendly community and how you can help, check out www.thebikedepot.org, email volunteer@thebikedepot.org, call 303.393.1963, or just drop in at 2825 Fairfax Street, Denver, CO.

The Bike Depot - Volunteers of all levels needed

thebikedepot | The Park Hill Bike Depot has been gearing up and is ready for Summer! Our goal is to increase access to bicycles, promoting safe, bike-friendly environments. We aim to improve health and foster personal development of youth and adults through community oriented educational and recreational bicycle programs and services.

We are looking for volunteers to help in the front office as well as wrenching on bikes. Whatever skills you have, we will be able to put them to good use. Some areas where help is needed include:
- Answer and return phone calls
- Database entry
- Financial support
- Fixing flat tires
- Cleaning bikes
- Brake adjustments
- Refurbish bikes

To learn more about our friendly community and how you can help, check out www.thebikedepot.org, email volunteer@thebikedepot.org, call 303.393.1963, or just drop in at 2825 Fairfax Street, Denver, CO.

Trail suggestions?

mike_8 | G'Day all,
Can anyone suggest some day MTB rides anywhere in the USA, that offer great scenery and are easy to find. I am currently in Texas at the moment but on my days off want to fly to a location to ride for a few days to see the what the country has to offer.
Cheers

OFFERED: seat, shock pump, tuibes

era | Can anyone use these items? I'm offering them free if someone can use. I can just mail them to you.

Bontrager RL seat, brand new, off new EX9. (Too hard for my butt.)

Avenir 400psi shock pump, perfect condition. (Barrel depth, 5/8", is too long for an EX9 rear shock.)

Two brand new tubes off new EX9. (Went tubeless.)

Colorado Trail - Best time and Direction?

amayer | Hi,
coming from Germany I am planning a 3 week bike trip to colorado. We plan for a couple of great bike spots and a 1-2 week tour with backpack. Surfing the web I found some great reports on the Colorado trail.
Is it worth the trip or are there any better multi-day tours that you can recommend?
What is the best direction for the Colorado trail?
What is the best time of year for biking colorado?
Any other spots that you believe are a "must ride"?
We are pretty experienced in the european alps and fine with 50miles and 6000 feet vertical per day.
Thanks in advance, regards
Alex & Heidi

Crank Brothers Cobalt Wheels

Brady | For the rider that needs to be noticed...

I had a pretty good conversation with a co-worker yesterday about the new Crank Brothers Cobalt Wheels (picture below).

Crank Brothers use to want to be know for simply designed pedals that provide maximum performance with minimal design. So why didn't they apply that to their new wheel?

Apparently the rim is suppose to be super strong because there are no drilled holes and the spokes actually attach to flanges welded to the rim. Ok. I can see why the rim would be stronger, but it seems like weight is sacrificed with such a design. It looks like they use a 24 spoke - mirror pattern. The odd thing is that they are using super short spokes and super long nipples. Good luck finding a cheap fix if you should break a spoke... I don't know. I think this wheel rates high on the bling factor, but it weighs in at 1540g, which isn't the lightest build, especially when considering the price.

I guess I get confused why mountain bike wheels need to have such funky designs. I'm a bit of a function over form guy when it comes to wheels. You can save money, have a comparable weight, and have a strong (if not stronger) wheel doing a traditional 32 spoke 3x design.

Just my two cents.

Good Luck Moabites

reporterkyle | Weather's calling for rain. Looks like it could be another muddy year at 24 Hours of Moab, though hopefully it won't be as bad as 2006. Good luck to Brady and the Feedback crew racing this weekend.

1st race of the season

Stu | My 'cross season proper got under way on Sunday and it was a good race. The course was fast with a good mix of technical and open road sections. It was mostly flat with a short steep "mound" to get over. I did a 75 mile off-road ride from London to the coast on Saturday with my wife so wasn't too sure about how good I would feel, but I felt fine during my warm up so was feeling confident.

I made a good start and was settling down in about 6th place at the halfway mark. My bike then started making a strange "tick, tick, tick" noise which I knew couldn't be good. Turns out I had a pin stuck in my back tyre so it slowly went down. I was gutted as I was feeling really good (and I flatted at the same race last year!), but I approached the pit area and was able to borrow a wheel of someone who had pulled out of the race.

I lost a few places but was happy to be able to make these up before the end of the race. I caught the last guy in the last few metres as his chain had jammed, perhaps karma!

I ended up 6th overall, 4th senior as there were 2 Vets ahead of me. I think without the flat I may have been 4th outright as I reckon I could've passed the vets, but the top 3 seniors were a bit out of my reach.

Racing again this Sunday, however I have a wedding on Saturday so will have to control myself!

Stu

October 2008 - Trail of the Month - Posted

TC Guru | Epic day in Larimer County
Written By: TrailCentral
Posted: October 01, 2008

Devil's Backbone - Blue Sky - Lory - Horsetooth
Location: Larimer County
Distance: 30.14 miles
Elevation: +4766 / -4691
Difficulty: Intermediate/Difficult (Route Specific)

Only a week after the epic ride called the Tour de Front Range I again set my sights on another epic day in the saddle. I'd heard of the Blue Sky Trail and how it connects the Devil's Backbone to Lory State Park, but in all the time it has been open I've never made the effort to ride it.

Continue Reading the Trail of the Month:
http://www.trailcentral.com/tom/index.php?key=57

Aerial View

Elevation Graph

need headlamp info

hairy legs | I am looking to buy a rechargeable headlamp so I can still
get in my evening rides but need some input from some
others that have them. Not sure about helmet or bar mount,
hid or led. I like the jet brand from what I've seen on the web but would like to hear from anyone about their setup
and any recomendations.

I'll gladly listen to any bright ideas anyone has.

thanks Greg

Thanks for a great tour everyone

hairy legs | I just wanted to thank Kyle for all his time effort in planning
the TDFR it was a great experience.
Sorry I wasn't able to make it to the BBQ, would of liked to
talk to everyone more.

Thanks again Brady for the ride back to White Ranch although I was looking forward to winning the longest ride
trophy. My name is Greg Hakanson so you can ad it to the
list of finishers.

Thanks to everyone for making this such a fun event and in
making me feel so welcome.

Thoughts on Avid Mechanical Brakes?

Brady | Hey All,

I'm looking for more advice. I've been running Avid mechanical brakes for the past 4+ years. My rotors are warped and I priced new rotors and they run $40+. The avid mechanical brakes w/ calipers,brakes, and rotors run $60. Since I'm running an older model and it is only a few bucks more, I was thinking of just buying new Avid brakes.

Avids are significantly cheaper than any other brake system I saw, which is a great selling point. But since I'm thinking of new brakes does anyone recommend another braking system? Is Avid as reliable as it was years ago when I bought my first system?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Weather is looking good

reporterkyle | Calling for 73 and sunny. Last year was damn hot, so I'd be happy with temps under 80. We're looking good right now.

Cross Season is starting up soon!

Brady | Normally I don't do cross, but it looks like Boulder Racing is putting on races with a single speed category and I'm finding it hard to come up with reasons not to do it.

Kyle, any interest racing the SS there?

I think I'm going to give it a go.

First race is :
Sept 27th Broomfield Interlocken East Park, 300 Interlocken Blvd, Broomfield. From Denver take Hwy 36 west to Wadsworth (287) turn right at top of the off ramp heading south. At the next light at 128 (Interlocken Loop) take a right heading west. Make your first right on Interlocken Blvd. Look for signs to park.

I'm ready to suffer ... I think

reporterkyle | Man, I am so excited about the TdFR this year. It's going to hurt like a sumbitch. It will be my longest ride of the year on an MTB. I plan to go slow, too. I may even show up on the rigid SS 29er. We'll see on that one, mind you.

UST Rims

Brady | I'm feeling a bit dumb for having to post this, but I am clueless about tubeless tires and how they work. Specifically when choosing rims for my new wheel set.

I've recently purchased two new hubs for my xc bike. When I started looking for rims, my natural instinct was to build with what I know, which happens to be on Mavic XC717 rims.

However, I started thinking I should go tubeless, since I am building a nice set of racing wheels for my bike.

I did a quick price check on what it would cost to go tubeless using UST rims via (regular rims + Stan's Conversion) and the wallet says to go UST.

I guess my question is what is the difference between UST and regular rims? I've looked at websites, but don't really understand. In fact, the weight of a Mavic UST is higher than a standard... Not sure why?

I have obviously never seen a tubeless rim and I'm guessing just looking at one would answer a lot of my questions, but without seeing one, how does it work? Are their spoke holes on the inside of the rim? If so, how do they become air tight and more importantly how do you thread the rim with spokes? Are special tools required?

Anyone willing to give me a lesson 101 style on tubeless?

Thanks!

Team Evergreen's Epic Weekend (9/12-9/14)!

schnauzers | CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

http://www.teamevergreen.org/images/stories/tesepic2008webflyer.jpg

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

2008 TdFR - Analysis - White Ranch - Apex

Brady | Hi All,

I spent some time this past week riding the first part of the course with my GPS. I've since uploaded the track to the GPS directory. Please feel free to view the GPS details or download the track to your GPS so you can go out there and pre-ride it.

I'm in the process of writing up a quick summary of the trails. A link will soon follow. In the meantime, check out the first leg of the course by visiting http://www.trailcentral.com/gps/gps_details.php?key=357.

Leg One Map:

Leg One Elevation:

2008 TdFR Date and Route

Brady | Ride Date:
Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008

The Route:
ESTIMATED DISTANCE -- 59.35 miles

WHITE RANCH -- meet at 8:30 a.m., wheels rolling at 8:45 -- Belcher, R on Whipple Tree, L on Longhorn (new, challenging climb), R on Shorthorn, L on Longhorn, L on Maverick, L on Belcher and back down (8.65 miles).

ROAD -- Ride Highway 93 to Chimney Gulch (4.1 miles)

CHIMNEY GULCH -- usual route up Chimney to Apex (4.6 miles)

APEX -- Enchanted Forest, RIGHT Apex Trail, (NEW ADDITION STARTS HERE) L Sluicebox, Grubstake Loop, LPick 'n' Sledge, L Apex Trail (5.8)

ROAD -- Colfax Avenue to Matthews Winters Parking Lot (2 miles)

LUNCH @ Matthews Winters Picnic Area

MW -- Village Walk, L Red Rocks Trail, R Morrison Slide Trail, R Red Rocks Trail, X Highway 26, continue on Red Rocks Trail over hogback to Alameda Pkwy (4.3)

ROAD -- R Alameda Pkwy, L Rooney Road to Green Mtn Parking Lot (1.5 miles)

GREEN MOUNTAIN -- Take trail over C-470, STRAIGHT at the 3-way junction and follow usual route until you hit the 4-way trail intersection near the water tower (do you know which one I mean?), L on gravel road to Alameda. (NOT SURE ON MILEAGE -- 2.5 - 3 miles?)

ROAD -- I'm not sure if you dump out on Alameda or Bear Creek, but we want to take Bear Creek Road south to Morrison Road, cross Morrison Road and enter Bear Creek Lake Park. (1.7 miles)

BEAR CREEK LAKE PARK -- Follow any trail you like west toward Morrison, eventually picking up the bike path near Bear Creek Lake entrance station. (2 miles???)

ROAD/BIKE PATH -- Follow the Bear Creek bike path to Highway 8 in Morrsion, turn Left. Turn Right on Forest Ave, Right on Vine to Mount Falcon Trail Head. (2.5 miles)

MOUNT FALCON -- Climb Castle Trail to upper parking lot (3.8 miles)

ROAD -- Ride Mt. Falcon Road to Parmalee Gulch Road, turn RIGHT and ride to Pence Park/beginning of LOB trail (3 miles)

Pence Park/LOB -- Standard route (8 miles)

ROAD -- Descend Hwy 74 to Morrison (4.4 miles)

END -- Dirt Parking lot at Morrison Road and Rooney Road

BIG ASS DISCLAIMER:
This is not an official event, and you can choose to do all of it or parts of it. The course is not marked, there are no course marshals, and there is zero, nada, zip support. You are on your own and will be riding AT YOUR OWN RISK. The only thing that Brady and Kyle do is decide the route, pick a start time, and suggest a place to go afterwards. The rest is up to you and requires your own planning.

AND FOR THE RECORD:

1) The Tour de Front Range is scheduled for September 20th at 8:45 AM and will be starting from the lower White Ranch parking lot.

2) There will be a car that is dropped at Matthews/Winters that will hold coolers of water and food for people. This will be coordinated in a later post.

3) This will be a point-to-point ride so arrange a shuttle with a friend or expect an additional 5+ miles to be added to your ride since you will need to ride from Morrison back to your car at White Ranch.

mueller state park

dav532 | Heading to Florissant, Co this week. What are some close mountain bike trails that are fairly easy. I have a 14 and 13 year old boys that will being going for the first time?

Thanks

Winter Park or MSC

cwilhelm | There are two races this weekend so close to home. Winter Park XC on Sat, and MSC at Sol Vista on Sun. I'd like to do both, but I don;'t think I'll have the legs both.

Since I have prepaid for the WP series I'll end up doing that. I don't think I'll have a chance to do well on Sunday, and would probably be a waist of my $$.

What are other doing? Who are the animals doing both?

Curt

iPhone App

clarkjus | iPhone App

Ok guys-

Who is going to dev one? Any software guys out there? Come on....... You know you want to!

Think of all the trail info utilities that this site provides including maps of and to trails, posting about trail conditions, weather, hazards, etc! Now think of all that info readily available for riders and well as editable, right there on the trail with your iPhone.

GPS Coordinates for Hazards.
Geotagging for Photos
Accelerometer data
Access to Music/ipod media (custom ride music based on aceelerometer/gps)(this one might be stretching it)
so much much much more (how about live status about how many users are logged in and who is riding what)

the sky is the limit. Any takers?

-jc

a very muddy outing....

Stu | Something foreign to you Colorado lot is mud (apart from during the Spring melt!).

Well, I did a race on Sunday and there was lots of mud. It was a round of the Southern XC (an XC series based in the south of England) and also the Southern Championships. I haven't been able to do many "proper" XC races this year (just shorttrack) so was super keen, and aiming for a Top 10 finish (there was no singlespeed class).

I did the same race last year and it was super, super muddy. Truly awful with times you could hardly walk let along ride. This year was looking better with nice weather all last week, but the heavens opened on Sunday morning and the course was drowned. Thankfully the rain stopped just before we started so we could at least stay dry on the start line. Once we setoff though we were quickly covered in mud and not really able to see much, or control the bike!

The course was mostly rideable, although I had to run more than most on the SS. Towards the end of the race there were a few more people joining me on foot. Hey, it's all good practice for the 'cross season!

I made a good start and got up to 5th at the end of the 1st lap. I went out slightly too hard (to used to racing short track) so slowed a bit on the 2nd & 3rd laps and lost a few places. I then had a strong 4th lap to hold my position.

I was thinking I might've been 10th or perhaps lower after being passed by a few riders, but I ended up 7th so was happy with that. Not sure what happened to the other riders, perhaps they didn't finish - which is something I was contemplating at one point when the conditions were pretty miserable.