woodyak's posts

I just rode one for the first time. I have to say, I don't get what the hype is all about.

Instead of getting into it, just read this: http://factionsk8.blogspot.ca/2015/01/fat-bikes-hmm.html

It was only one ride, although I did come back with a good sense of how they perform because conditions were varied.

I read your blog review of your fatbike experience and you have some valid points. Before getting a fatbike I've ridden my skinny bike hundreds of times in snow and slush (out of shear boredom and/or stubbornness) so I know the limits very well. If your sole reason for riding a fatbike is to glide over deep snow and make snow rides just like dirt rides then you will be very disappointed. If your looking to pin snow and rail corners then you will be disappointed. Just like you, I noticed that if the snow is soft and mushy the pedaling will suck even with the fattest of tires. If the snow is super-packed then you can get away with riding your skinny bike. So what happens when you ride your skinny bike on snow is your confined your riding to the "rideable" trails. With the fatbike you can expand what is rideable and when you adapt to how it rides you'd be surprised how much more you can do.

Here's a good example of a ride I recently did. I went on a ride the other day and the trails in the lower sections had about 5" of snow and weren't packed down very well. On a skinny bike I wouldn't of gotten 5' before turning around. With the fatbike I was able to struggle through the entire trail. Once we started climbing it was very packed down and I was able to start hammering. The trail then got very steep and I could still keep pedaling. I did have some hike-a-bike but it was very tolerable. On a skinny bike I would've been fine until it got the least bit steep then my tire would dig in and I'd be walking the entire climb (or turn back). When I got to the top there was a stamped down line down some pretty long steep bits. This is where the fatbike held on nicely. It would've been impossible to ride the skinny tires on this (although I would've tried). In the end we did a 3 hour ride that I wouldn't have even attempted with the skinnybike. Yeah, it was only about 10 miles but we worked hard and had a blast. Probably the coldest beers I ever had were on that ride :)

Now dirt on a fatbike is a whole different ballgame that I wont go into. I'll just leave it as it's way more fun than you think it could be. Give it a try and you'll see.

I had my buddy build me this one. It's low, slack, and strong for riding in snow and dirt and rock. The frame is steel and the total bike weight is 32lbs. I was kind of expecting it handle and ride sluggishly but I couldn't have been more wrong. The bike pedals surprisingly well and the tires just plow over chunk.

For my maiden voyage I did a long ride in the snow with a bunch of different conditions from super packed to 5" of fresh. We also hit some pretty steep climbs and descents that got the bike up to speed really quick. Overall I came away with big grins on my face from a killer ride in the snow.

I did a ride last night on my local rocky technical trails and was blown away at how well it rolled over the chunk and how much traction I had for climbing. The slow technical stuff was more of a challenge but once you got your momentum going it would plow over things that would bottom out the shocks on a skinny bike. I felt like I was just as fast and maybe faster than on my skinny bike.

I've had pretty good luck with RF Carbon Cranks. I ran the older SixC's for a season in super rocky New England with tons of lift days and thrashing. I did have one of the inserts come loose so it made the pedal wobbly. My LBS worked with RF and they got me the 2015's under warranty. I love the new cinch interface, but I am going to have to pick up one of those BB tools for the future.

I've also been running an older pair of Next SL's for over a season and they've been great as well. I had them on my XC/trail bike before I got rid of it. I kept the cranks and used them for a few months on my bigger bike. They handled lift access days and a 9 day trip to Sunshine Coast/Squamish/Whistler. Overall I'm very happy with RF's stuff.

The 2.3 29er AM looks nice. Decent weight. Tread looks like a cross between a HD and a DHR2.
How has it been for tackiness vs wear?
Is it roughly the same size as a 2.35 HD?
Have you used it front and rear?
Have you used it in the wet yet? My memory (however skewed) is that WTB tires are bad in wet weather.

I had the 26" version of those tires. They rode great front and rear. They did wash out a little upfront, especially when worn, but nothing crazy. They were solid in the wet as the rubber is pretty soft. I did find they wore out pretty quickly. I got about 2 months of hard riding out of them but I was on borrowed time during the last 2 weeks.

I don't think AL is dead but it looks like it will be relegated to the lower end bikes/models. Kinda like what Santa Cruz is already doing with their line up. I still think there is progression to be made with AL but you'll probably only see the smaller companies jumping into that.

As far as ride goes I gotta say I was a doubter but I love my Evil Uprising frame. Super burly, light, pedals well and takes a big beating. I'm still on season1 so I can't comment on long term durability but I have buds with older Nomad C's that are a couple seasons old and no problems. NOT siked on the higher prices though.

Don't even get me started on 650b…

After discussing with the guys we decided 3 days at Sunshine Coast and the rest of the rides will be based out of Squamish. Looks like we'll hit that new Bike Park on 1 of the SC days. What would you recommend for the other 2 days? I've looked at the maps but it doesn't really help figure out which would be best to hit. We'd be looking for pretty big rides on both days. I'm thinking around 20 miles and 4 to 5 hours each day.

I also got the info for the Helo/Rainbow Mountain trip. BearBack says it's about a 20km ride and about 2 to 3 hours of actual riding, which seems on the light side. Have any of you done the trip? Was it worth it? Just trying to get a feel. Would hate to be let down.

Thanks!

Thanks guys! Definitely going to check out the Sunshine Coast. Helo trip sounds cool too.

Cheers!

Some may recall a couple years back I posted a similar thread for ideas for our Vaca in your neck of the woods. I want to re-thank all those that responded and helped. We had a great trip (well my friends did I broke my shoulder) which involved Bellingham, some days in Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, the NS, and a Tyax trip. This year we want to do something similar (w/o the shoulder breaking) but replace the Tyax trip with maybe a trip to the islands. So I was hoping you guys could chime in with some ideas.

Here's what it looks like right now…
6 dudes, 1 RV, 6x6 AM/Enduro/yada yada bikes. Flying into Seattle 9/11 returning on the red eye 9/20.

We're thinking instead of setting and tearing down camp everyday we make base camp in Squamish and do day trips from there with possibly spending 2 or 3 days on the islands.

Day1 is Bellingham (that worked out very nicely last year) unless others have a recommendation that is close to the Seattle and camping.

Day2 is where I'm stuck. I kinda want to go do an island trip but I'm not sure about the logistics. Can we bring the RV on the ferries? Where is the best place to go for an "epic" all day backcountry style ride for 2 or 3 days? Is there camping or do we need to look into hotels? Can we island hop? Which island is that new bike park on? Wouldn't mind hitting that up.

Or do we make our base camp in Squamish and do our Island trip on the back end of things?

Let me know what you think. Thanks for your time.

Cheers!

My experience with LB has been sub-par. I picked up the AM 26" wide rime setup less than a year ago. I got about 3 months on the rim before I put a large crack in it on a trip out west. I don't recall any significant hits while riding it but I'm sure I hit something. So I e-mailed them pics and about 2 months later and $30 in shipping charges I had the DH version at my doorstep. Thinking I'll give them a 2nd chance with more confidence in the beefier rim, I mounted them up immediately and got about 3 months of AM riding on them before I got another crack. This time no warranty. They offered me $15 off their newer rim which "is supposed to be stronger".

Keep in mind I'm not a thrasher. Yeah, I'm hard on equipment and my trails are boney and technical but I've never cracked any sort of rim before. Most I've done is put some dents and flat spots in them. My last set of Stan's Flows lasted 3 years, including many days on the lifts, and are still in service. Also, my buddy has been riding the Easton XC carbon rims for longer than I've had my LB rims and he IS a thrasher and his rims are fine. Just figured I share my experience.

Craig doesnt roll like that.

Yah, he's more of an engineer geek type when you talk to him. It's like talking shop with an engineer that knows way too much and speaks to you like you know exactly what he's talking about. Kind of a funny conversation actually.

I reckon 90% plus of mountainbikers should turn their thoughts to actually learning how to ride a bike before thinking some miracle fork upgrade is gonna hieghten their trail experience.

I agree with this 100%. I was actually very much on the fence with this upgrade myself as both the 36 and Pike are pretty solid stock. What really put me over the edge was the low maintenance of the Open Bath fork. I put a lot of hours in and so I end up changing my bath oil about every month from April to November and do my seals 3 or 4 times a year. I also bleed the damper once a year and I should be doing it at least twice a year. Craig was telling me with the Open bath I might open the fork once a year. That alone to me is worth it.

Before plopping down a bunch of mine to customize your fork you should try and figure out what you want to get out of the fork. Put the fork through its paces, beat on it a little, and look for flaws or wishlist items. For me I really like the PIKE a lot but it's not perfect. I've found that the fork dives a little more than I want on things like bigger drops, landing nose heavy when jumping, and really steep rollers. I also have a Fox 36 and that fork is awesome too but it's not nearly as plush as the PIKE and I bottom it out on medium level hits, but the midstroke is spot on. This is where I called Avalanche and see what they could do for me.

I spoke with Craig for almost 2 hours. The guy know his stuff ridiculously well. He actually told me about flaws in both forks that I had never heard of. I asked him for a recommendation on which fork and he was on the fence as he said he could make either fork feel the way I wanted it. So I ended up going with the Open Bath Kit for the PIKE. I should have it in a couple of weeks.

Thanks guys. I'll definitely check out those areas.

Doesn't necessarily have to be Backcountry, just something off the beaten track. We still need to get some time on the shore and Whistler and such.

Yeah, we'll be RV'ing it for sure. We're RV pros now.

Cheers!

You guys helped us out greatly a couple years back (which we are eternally grateful for) and now we're coming back for more. We're flying into Seattle middle of September and spending 9 days in your backyard (we promise to be cool). We're thinking we'll do Bellingham day1 and the shore on day2 and make camp in Squamish so that we can do day trips to Whistler, Pemberton, The shore, etc. Last time we did a Tyax trip, which everyone loved. This time I'd like to do something similar to Tyax, but not Tyax. We'd be looking for more of a backcountry style ride for 2 maybe 3 days. Or maybe visit one of the islands and camp out. What would you guys recommend?