Single Track?

Well, turns out there are a lot of good mountain bike trails around here. Stuff like Grahm Swamp. I'm getting into it, and was looking for suggestions on bikes/ how to ride.

First, the bike. I've got a Trek 3900 I bought new. It was a commuter for years, before I was into bikes. I just pulled it out of the garage again, threw on some rat cages, real mountain bike tires, and new grips on it, and plan to ride Grahm swamp this weekend. If I decide I really like this, what should I do with this bike? Is it a decent mountain bike, or will it break as soon as I start jumping it? Should I upgrade it at some point, or is it a better idea to run it into the ground, then start fresh? It's this model (not my picture).

Now my next question: how do I ride single track? I rode BMX for years, so I've got bike control down. I can ride the Trek over a picnic table, do a trackstand, hop it left and right, all that stuff. I've just never really ridden on single track. Any tips/ tricks? Will I die?

I wouldn't worry too much about technique on your upcoming ride. Sounds like you clearly know how to handle a bike, and your trackstanding and bunny hopping skills will certainly come in handy. Just get out there and have some fun, learn as you go. I will say, leave a good distance between you and the rider in front, time your gear changes carefully to preserve momentum, and try to pick your line carefully.

As for the bike, a set of clipless pedals/shoes would be an excellent investment for single-track riding. And if you were to upgrade anything on that Trek, I would say the fork, as the current one looks a tad poxy. Although a lot of the old-school/hard-core set often ride with a rigid fork, I, for one, appreciate decent suspension travel/damping/rebound etc.

You should be fine for singletrack, just remember to look ahead, not at your tire.

I just looked at the trail review, seems like a nice mild trail to start out on.

I ride a Cannondale Gemini but I think the riding out here in B.C. is a bit different than Florida.

Shawn

There's no special skill to riding singletrack. Just follow it and don't ride off the track if you get to something difficult. And yeah, look ahead so you can be ready for the next turn/rock/drop/wet tree root.

The guys in BC have some loose spokes - I'm assuming the videos are not representative of the average rider

I used to ride a rigid bike here in the Fruita/Moab area with some pretty good trails. Forces you to really sharpen up your skills at reading terrain. A couple of years ago I switched to a Rocky Mountain ESTX and haven't looked back.

Agreed, I used to be the retro-grouch on our trail rides.

4" travel in the front only, V-brakes, etc.

Then my buddy let me ride his 6" travel, all-mountain rig. Holy crap.

Went out and bought my 7" freeride rig the next day.

I still have my hardtail for cross-country but I love my full suspended, disk-braked, 40lb monster for bombing down the mountain.

Shawn

Trans_Maro wrote: Went out and bought my 7" freeride rig the next day. I still have my hardtail for cross-country but I love my full suspended, disk-braked, 40lb monster for bombing down the mountain. Shawn

The addition of a 250cc two stroke really livens up the climbs as well.

Tommy as for your original question.... i'd ride that bike into the ground and then start fresh. You've already done most of what i would do to that thing to start with, so you're on the right track.

When/if you get a new bike, don't fall into the trap of getting some ridiculous bike for this.

I started out on a Chromo-framed Mongoose that actually had decent components, rode the hell out of it, and then upgraded to a Giant of some sort, which wasn't the step up i was looking for.

So i took the plunge and ended up with a Kona Stinky fully spec'd outt with shocks with huge travel, gigantic tires and all that jazz. It was fun. For about... a month. Then it was boring. The bike would do everything i could do, and more. But, it was heavy and tiresome to throw around, and it just made everything too easy.

I sold it at a huge loss, and got a Kona Stuff hardtail. I'm a die-hard hardtail fan. Lighter, simpler, stiffer where it counts, and you really feel like YOU'RE the one doing the work, not the bike.

/useless anecdote

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: The addition of a 250cc two stroke really livens up the climbs as well.

Chairlift FTW!

If you're going to buy a new hardtail, I'd recommend staying away from aluminum. I've never found an aluminum hardtail that doesn't feel harsh.

Chromo steel and carbon fibre would be my first choice for hardtail, the ride is much more supple. My commuter bike is a 1993 Univega Carbolite and I love it.

Shawn

Trans_Maro wrote: I still have my hardtail for cross-country but I love my full suspended, disk-braked, 40lb monster for bombing down the mountain.

All I do is cross-country - mostly fairly technical singletrack, which we have lots of here - but I found the geometry of the ETSX (ESTX? I can never remember) put the power down on climbs better than any other rear suspension bike I've tried. Basically, it's a double-wishbone rear instead of a strut suspension, and this means the designers can screw around with virtual pivot points - what we'd call roll centers, I think. Whatever, it climbs like a demon and is light like a cross country bike instead of a big bruiser. It's a suspension system I can work with instead of one that takes over.

Although it was fun chasing the suspended guys in my rigid bike. No front suspension, V-brakes, etc. Then I started riding with a guy who's 10 years younger and 50 lbs lighter who runs a full suspension bike, so I needed more speed on the fast stuff...

Here's some footage (not of me) on one of the local trails I ride a fair bit. It's steeper than it looks in the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca5DcjVXebQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj3FpQFtA3E

That trail is considered a black diamond on Burnaby Mountain, it's a green compared to Mt Fromme.

The real crazies ride Mt Fromme:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WezRvZwnQZg

I'm not that skilled and I'm kept humble by the fact that I -know- what happens if I don't nail those stunts correctly.

Shawn