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Erik Timmerman

So much better than a pro
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Easy and Hard, it's all relative, right? I have to say that given the general level of the trail, I'd be thinking "uh-oh" every time I saw one of those exclamation point signs, or when Matthieu warned us about a section, but not one person in our group fell all day, and I rode everything on sight except for two steep muddy uphill switchbacks. As with most things, if you just resisted the urge to grab your brakes, you could ride just about anything. There wasn't anything that required athletic moves like wheelie drops or whatever. I don't know how hard Neilson Est is, but I plan to find out next season.
 

Crank

Making fresh tracks
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Nice video Epic! Looks like a really fun and interesting trail system there. Those bridges would totally freak Robin out!
 

Crank

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I understand, I just bought what the bike shop recommended at the time. I have a few bikes, so I use my bike with the platform pedals for around town, to the pool, etc.. My sister has the pedals that clip on one side, platform on the other on her road bike. I tried those, but was always on the wrong side of the pedal, so I didn't get them.

Yeah, those are awful.

They're not so bad, just take getting used to. The alternative is not being able to ride without bike shoes on or not being able to ride without bike shoes on. Guess if you have multiple pedals you could swap them out. I remember back in the day when everyone had those cage/strap thingys on their pedals. Those sucked the same as the 2 sided pedals because the cage always gravitated to the bottom and you had to use our foot to flip the pedal over so you could get your foot in the cage. It is similar with the one sided pedals, but easier.
 

AmyPJ

Skiing the powder
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Nice stoke, @Monique and @epic!
Epic, that trail looks fun but I'd be exhausted after about 3 minutes of it! Did it smooth out, ever? I can handle bits and pieces like that, but my brain needs a break as much as my body because the mental focus and what not that it requires would have me WORN OUT.

On a totally unrelated note, @Ron, how are the 27.5+ tires treating you? Contemplating next year's ride by switching to the women's version of the Fuel EX 9.8, which comes in 27.5 X 2.8 (Nobby Nics.) I just sometimes feel that the 29er in a 17.5 is a tad big for me. It slays a lot, but if I had a ski comparison, I'd say it feels a bit like my 100mm Santa Anas at 170 length, when I'd rather feel something like my Black Pearls at 88 under foot and 166 in length. I'm going to demo one in a 29er that's a size smaller next week, but unfortunately, they are not bringing any 27.5+ bikes (I don't get that!)
 

Ron

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hey @AmyPJ I havent got much time on the new bike as i have have been dealing with recovery setbacks but I'm making progress. I am going to get on my road bike on sunday. FWIW- I;m on 2.6's which aren't plus's. I can say I really think the 2.6's for trail riding are awesome. No bounce, but gobs of traction and they corner very well. A really nice feel to them, Can't be happier with the width. I see Maxxis is coming out with even more 2.6's next year. I'm not really a fan of the plus tires.
 

AmyPJ

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hey @AmyPJ I havent got much time on the new bike as i have have been dealing with recovery setbacks but I'm making progress. I am going to get on my road bike on sunday. FWIW- I;m on 2.6's which aren't plus's. I can say I really think the 2.6's for trail riding are awesome. No bounce, but gobs of traction and they corner very well. A really nice feel to them, Can't be happier with the width. I see Maxxis is coming out with even more 2.6's next year. I'm not really a fan of the plus tires.
Thanks, Ron! Sorry to hear about recovery setbacks :( I suppose I can always swap the 2.8s out for 2.6s. They are paired with 40mm rims. My biggest concern is slow climbs compared to what I'm used to.

I kind of miss the days when I was too "ignorant" to care about such things. I had a nice bike and I rode it! But as my skills progressed, I started noticing little things that I struggled with. I will say, my skill level since getting the new bike this year has improved a fair amount, which is awesome. I just think I could up my game even MORE :)
 
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luliski

Making fresh tracks
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back in the day when everyone had those cage/strap thingys on their pedals. Those sucked the same as the 2 sided pedals because the cage always gravitated to the bottom and you had to use our foot to flip the pedal over
What I hated about those was when it was all tightened up and I couldn't get my foot out fast.
 

Monique

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The alternative is not being able to ride without bike shoes on or not being able to ride without bike shoes on.

Nah. The alternative is to free the foot and just use flats. At least, that's what I chose.
 

Ron

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Rule #1 there is no perfect _____(fill n blank;bike or pair of skis) so the 29'r may climb a little better but a 27.5 will be really close. Plus, once you throw on a 2 6 you are now at 28.25" or so. There less of a penalty than you may fthink. I'll take the added fun factor and nimbleness and a bit more stability on the down. You will also really appreciate the wider rim. Is that 40mm internal or external? You may really like the 2.8's so don't count them out.
 

Monique

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There less of a penalty than you may fthink. I'll take the added fun factor and nimbleness and a bit more stability on the down.

Do you mean to say that 27.5s are more stable than 29 on the way down?
 

Crank

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Nah. The alternative is to free the foot and just use flats. At least, that's what I chose.

I hear ya. Not for me though. Especially on the trails I feel more confident and ride better clipped in. On longer road rides I like being clipped in. For a casual ride around town or down to the beach, etc. flats are fine. If I were ever to get a third bike it would be a beach cruiser with flats of course.
 

AmyPJ

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Rule #1 there is no perfect _____(fill n blank;bike or pair of skis) so the 29'r may climb a little better but a 27.5 will be really close. Plus, once you throw on a 2 6 you are now at 28.25" or so. There less of a penalty than you may fthink. I'll take the added fun factor and nimbleness and a bit more stability on the down. You will also really appreciate the wider rim. Is that 40mm internal or external? You may really like the 2.8's so don't count them out.
And then, to throw a monkey into the wrench, I rode downhill on a trail I haven't ridden down since June, right after I got the new bike. (Can't swim upstream against all the Xterra riders here training! It's useless. I turned around and rode with them. They were all awesome!)

Anyway, I KILLED my previous DH times on the entire ride by at LEAST a minute on every segment, and these are not long segments. So, the new 29er is a LOT faster and more nimble than my old 29er, it's just that I've been riding the same direction on the same trails all summer and haven't noticed how much faster I've gotten. Switchbacks that I used to barely make, I am cutting way shorter.

I wish bikes were as affordable as skis to own a quiver. "Hmm, I feel like bombing on the 29er today" or "Hmmm, I think I'll go flick my 27.5 around on some rock gardens and tight turns."

I've grown a lot on this bike this summer, but I think I've hit a bit of a plateau and so the question is, how to bust through that plateau. :huh:
 
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Monique

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I've grown a lot on this bike this summer, but I think I've hit a bit of a plateau and so the question is, how to bust through that plateau. :huh:

Please explain how you're beating previous short-segment records by over a minute, and yet you've hit a plateau? Perhaps you're expecting a bit much ...
 

Mike Thomas

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In Epic's video, the wooden bridge sections were the "OK, cool... relax for a second" parts of the trail. EVERYTHING else was a jigsaw puzzle of finding a line and committing to it, an unrelenting technical test. So much fun, so rewarding but a physical beatdown. It really is a spectacular trail, it seems really hard... but if you keep pedalling and avoid the mental mistake of panicking, everything is 'makeable'. The stonework has been done so well that tires roll over all the chunder. Focus on where you want to go, don't look at where you don't want to end up. Easy... sort of.
 

Monique

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In Epic's video, the wooden bridge sections were the "OK, cool... relax for a second" parts of the trail. EVERYTHING else was a jigsaw puzzle of finding a line and committing to it, an unrelenting technical test. So much fun, so rewarding but a physical beatdown. It really is a spectacular trail, it seems really hard... but if you keep pedalling and avoid the mental mistake of panicking, everything is 'makeable'. The stonework has been done so well that tires roll over all the chunder. Focus on where you want to go, don't look at where you don't want to end up. Easy... sort of.

I hear what you're saying - but while a trail that wide would be easy-peasy, a bridge that wide makes me think WHAT IF I FALL THOUGH?

As always, 90% mental and the rest in your head.

And to be clear, I did not mean to imply that the stuff between the bridges was easy - I'd be walking most of that, too!
 

AmyPJ

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Please explain how you're beating previous short-segment records by over a minute, and yet you've hit a plateau? Perhaps you're expecting a bit much ...
In the past month or so, I have. I'm looking forward to riding some tacky trails (it POURED last night!) which always help me gain some confidence. :)

In Epic's video, the wooden bridge sections were the "OK, cool... relax for a second" parts of the trail. EVERYTHING else was a jigsaw puzzle of finding a line and committing to it, an unrelenting technical test. So much fun, so rewarding but a physical beatdown. It really is a spectacular trail, it seems really hard... but if you keep pedalling and avoid the mental mistake of panicking, everything is 'makeable'. The stonework has been done so well that tires roll over all the chunder. Focus on where you want to go, don't look at where you don't want to end up. Easy... sort of.
Yes, fun, but yes, BEAT DOWN and for me, both physical AND mental. It does look amazing. But it would exhaust me in a hurry!
I remember my first two years mountain biking, I would get as exhausted mentally as I did physically. It requires so much focus! I love it.
 

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