Bull_Dozer profile

How do they compare to the Shimano ME7?

Yeah I came across the Indy recently and they looked like the perfect knee pads for North Shore pedally rides - light but still with real knee protection. The charge seemed more like beefed up leg warmers to me (not saying that in a bad way, just serve a different purpose…much more on the XC side of things).

For someone who isnt a weight weenie - are these an obvious choice over the more expensive XT & XTR versions, or are there other things to consider as well (someone mentioned durability above)?

Bike park individual day lift ticket - on the website it says $83. Is this the same as the walk-up window price or is the $83 a discounted price for buying in advance?

So is a gravel bike much different than a commuter/hybrid style bike?

Posted by: craw

Totally. My mountain bike rides require a drive and then tend to be super intense due to the nature of the shore. An instant steep long climb with no warmup then white hot intensity the whole way straight down. I prefer my mountain bike when I want to 100% clear my brain, replace it with 100% focus. My gravel bike is for the opposite experience. Ride straight out the door. Look at stuff, cruise, drift in and out or maintain tempo, explore new places, at intersections opt for the way I haven't been before, etc. I find if I need to clear my head I ride the mountain. If I need to think and work through stuff the gravel bike is a better choice for turning stuff over. Reconnecting with spaces is a nice change to riding defined trails. There are so many spots around Vancouver you would never bother to ride on an enduro bike.

Good post - I totally get what you are saying. 

So what are some examples of locations & routes where you guys take your gravel bikes? I know it would do the trick just to ride around town but would you specifically drive out to like an FSR and just cruise around?

Can someone explain gravel bikes to me? I'd never heard of them up until about a year or two ago, and now it seems like everyone has one. 

Does it just feel like riding a road bike (with slightly beefier tires) on a dirt road? Or is the bike more forgiving than a road bike in other ways too aside from just the tires? 

Can you ride a gravel bike on the road with similar efficiency to a true road bike or is there a pretty significant difference?

Is it anywhere near as fun as mountain biking?

Any idea when they'll be bringing the singles line back and letting unrelated people sit on the lift together? Possible for this to happen this season or is this a 2022 thing? Because I think that's the main bottleneck now, right?

Posted by: PaulB

Posted by: Bull_Dozer

Not sure if that's a serious comment or not...? Assuming it is serious, what do you mean by environmental damage? Bunch of people walking on a relatively short path in the woods is an issue... to what?

I can't see the BP trail getting any worse than it already is, but over the last year, Cove Runner, which used to be not much more than a goat path, has been completely beat down due to all the traffic it has been getting as an alternative to the BP.

Yeah that's the point I was trying to make... how is Quarry Rock any different than any other hiking trail near a populated area? 

Re. environmental damage - what does that even mean? Like are there endangered species plants in the direct route of the trail? Are the people hiking causing some sort of pollution to our drinking water? Or are people just worried that there's a walking path in the woods? Assuming it's the latter... Canada is like 99% untouched wilderness, and in terms of environmental issues, people using the wilderness for personal recreation are the the least of your worries... compared to mining, forestry, oil and gas, real estate, etc. 

I really disagree when people use the environmental argument to say that building mountain bike trails is bad (aside from very specific circumstances). Why is a 2 foot wide path in the woods such a bad thing?

Posted by: LoamtoHome

word on the street is that Quarry Rock is/will be permanently "closed".  Too much of a shit show and the environmental damage is huge.

Not sure if that's a serious comment or not...? Assuming it is serious, what do you mean by environmental damage? Bunch of people walking on a relatively short path in the woods is an issue... to what?

So is Quarry Rock still closed? Or are we waiting for daily Covid cases to get into the single digits for it to reopen? Probably will be able to go to a sold out Canucks game before hiking Quarry Rock again...

Where is the best place for mountain bikers to park in the area as an alternative? Parkgate park? Would be good to have some sort of designated acceptable parking area for mountain bikers as parking seems to be a consistent issue in most areas as the mountain bike specific parking (for lack of a better term) is almost always way too small. Is this something that the NSBMA deals with? I always thought that the parking lots of local schools would be a good option as they are rarely used on the weekends, which is also when you get the most mountain biker traffic.

Posted by: FLATCH

Posted by: Brother-Lu

35 minutes your at the woodlot:)

Shhh...   ...parking is already thick there.

I've only ridden the Woodlot once and the parking area that I was in only had enough spots for a handful of cars. Is that the only parking? Where would the overflow areas be?