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OK, the Ride like a girl video has 6 (now) likes. WTF? That was a great vid! You douchenozzles can't like a video? Also, RidingAgain, I've taken the attitude towards you from others with a grain of salt (or less), but dude, you totally come off a bit dickish to the post about the ARR vids. You posted about a local group that put out a great video on Florida riding, but then bash when someone mentions the same thing going on here. Not cool.

Thank you very much for providing this point of view. I feel like so many times people have a 'confirmation bias' based on what they have decided to buy-into. I.e...what they are currently riding IS THE BEST THING EVER, largely based on the fact that they are committed to the purchase. However, you have made that purchase, even liked the bike, but then realized the effect of your choice and then pivoted to something different. IMHO, this gives your perspective so much value and credence in my book. And I think you explained it very well too. @mack_turtle I'm quoting both of your comments because they go hand-in-hand. I'm always intrigued by demographics of riders and how they (we) subdivide into the things we all like or not. There are times when I'm with a group of riders and I'm the only hardtail guy in the bunch (usually on ride in spandex too). Then there are other times when I'm with my normal riding buddies and we are all on hardtails and between (4-5 of) us there may be only 1 dropper post. How we view riding, the rhythm with how we approach the single track, whether we ride to the trail or not, etc.. Its very interesting how we clump together. Your comment about riding a simple bike and taking and almost Amish approach to it resonates with me strongly. My co-worker and I were just recently discussing the GG carbon modular bike and I was lauding it for all of the innovation. However, at the same time I was mentioning that it really just doesn't appeal to ME as a ride. I find all the 'features' to be a bit garish....built in loop strap for your tool bad, a downtube length cover so you don't have to break open your cabling, modular flip feature in the head tube, etc...are all innovative but just a bit clunkish for my taste. I gravitate more towards simple. I love the efficiency of my hardtail. I'm attracted to the lack of monkey-motion because there are no pivots, bearings, linkages, air shock, dampening, flex, etc. You get on it and pedal; it responds always and in the same manner. And I appreciate the elegance of a double diamond frame that has 2 water bottle cages. Do I push my style and preferences on others? Rarely. After owning a bike shop and interacting with numerous higher-end customers over the years, its very obvious that we all have different tastes and predilections. It would be not unlike arguing the merits of white versus red wine? In the end, you still get a buzz while appreciating the craft that went into making it. Good thread! As a former frame builder, I've enjoyed reading everyone's take on this subject. -CJB

Folks, You think these people are inept? You think they'll have creditors lining up at their door soon? -cls

Between 512 and Spider Mtn, those of us with enduro bro bikes now have more chances to see what the bikes can do. I know my bike wonders WTF is happening and when it'll get let off the leash. I hope they find a good business model and grow the place. I look forward to checking it out.

1. Done being salty here. Lets get some park people, and quit whining. We wanted a lift park and got one. (Hopefully with outdoor shower, or garden hose access.) 2. $30 or 40 a day would be nice. $50 when it gets more trails and wooden features like Highland or Trestle. 3. NM is the land of enchantment. I love to visit and it's magical but haven't lived there. ( I miss Questa Honey, and using the outhouse in El Rito while viewing mountains hundreds of miles away.) 4. The ol Lottaburger! Love that and TCloud ripoff Storms. 5. Does their property go down to the lake for a post ride swim? edit 6. True value can only be deduced after riding the trails. If they are truly progressive with lots of airtime and properly built rollers and step-ups, where you can work a trail over and over it would be worth more than just trails and a chair. IE: I hope they are building it right.

Better get out there and ride today or tomorrow. Based on the forecast, it might be the last chance for February. I rode today, the rocks are still slick but it's rideable. I asked the City if they could leave me a pile of any excess dirt from the sidewalk construction. I hope this is it..it's hhhuuugggeee

Important meeting ! On Tuesday, February 12 at 6:00 pm the Army Corps of Engineers will hold a meeting and open house. The location is 500 Lake Overlook Drive, Project Office, Georgetown, 78633. The purpose of the meeting is to provide information and receive public input regarding the revision of the Master Plan for Lake Georgetown. After a short opening presentation, we can view current land use maps and provide comments to the ACOE regarding the lake, its lands and particularly the recreational uses of the property. The current plan is dated October 1973, so this is our chance to be heard and give a voice to the mountain bike community....................The ACOE has been a great partner for local mountain biking at Lake Georgetown. Other ACOE properties in the Ft. Worth District support mountain biking at those properties, also.....................I encourage everyone to come out, learn and make your voice heard...................Lee Compton Georgetown Master Plan - Letter Notificiation to Stakeholders Final-sign....pdf

Agree with that assessment. Spidermountain front splash screen is the same view as thunderbird from lake overtop the resort looking at the hill. Now it is looking like a much better investment - skiing, biking, adventure central. And the fam can come and enjoy while I bike!

Deepening the relationship between machine and rider. I do this every time the top tube and my neithers touch.

I, for one, would like to welcome our robot overlords.

Doesn't matter what kind of company each is. Point is, leaders cannot be said to be competent based solely on their status as leaders. Or recent financial performance/successes. -cls

Hate to tell you this, but theres more to living in a state than mountain bike trails. Austin is a pretty good example of this. I lived in NM twice, once by choice, and couldn't get out of that place fast enough. NM ranks at or near the bottom of US states in every possible metric. Last I checked it had a negative net migration for this very reason. Lived in a majority of the states in the SW/Western US and also California. NM is 3rd world in comparison. We'll stay friends regardless as you know the trails, and I have extra bike parts you need🤣

What I mean by a threat is what you are seeing reflected in the pricing. $50 for lift pass and trail access or $50 for trail access. If they priced it at $50 for lift and $10 for trail (to match RPR) then people with e-bikes could pay the $10, ride everything down and use the battery to take them back up. In essence, they are not able to amortize the cost of the lift as quickly if they allow people to bypass it. They already have a tenuous business model to begin with (lift access in a region without huge elevation and a very high per-usage cost relative to alternatives.) Add in a competitive threat to their lift service and their high fixed (and sunk) cost will give them razor thin margins. When you consider that AF can do bikes in the summer and skis in the winter, they have an almost year-round service. While, theoretically we have year-round seasons as well here, when it is 100F for 12 weeks straight or rains every weekend for 2 months, what happens to that season? Realistically, because Austin is not a "destination" for biking like AF is, people are more likely to skip a ride there because there is nothing compelling them (like a 12-hour drive does for AF). When you are at AF you drove that distance, you will ride every day that you planned to, but if you were going to go to SM this weekend and it rained on Friday you might skip it. I am highly skeptical of their business model and unfortunately, from what I am seeing, they are taking more of an elitist view of the market ("we're the ONLY lift in TX") instead of having an ear to the community. Why are they not being more forthcoming to the market? Why have they not reached out here? Why have they not said more through social media. Bikers are a very talkative bunch. Everyone here is frustrated on the lack of information - that will eventually bite them in the ass because they are not taking the time to cultivate the market they plan to serve.

Buy it. Do it. Buy it. If you buy a new FS (even a pure XC bike) these days will have a slacker HTA than 68*. Why obsess over whether this trend lends itself to our geographic region or not? I was going to sum it up with the same words as Motopail. Confidence inspiring. Now, go buy a big, plush, slack bike, slam it into some rocks, and remember how much fun it is to ride a bike.

Clearly you have overlooked the undercurrent to prevent anybody from buying a bike until we've had a long dry break in the weather. Sorry, you aren't going to get any sort of serious encouragement to do something that could further jeopardize everyone from being able to ride. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the you.

Kill it with fire

It's cool to see insanity at a slow, methodical pace.

This thread strikes a chord with me, especially lately. Starting on BMX/freestyle in the 80's, then moving to mtb in '88, I've had the luxury of experiencing all of the riding disciplines, trends, fads, tech, etc; all of "the emporer's new clothes"... I've also become very tuned to my own "style" and riding preferences over that time. I'm always open to trying new things (within reason, some things are clearly gimmicks or just aren't aimed at me); some I adopt, some don't make it beyond a test ride. In my earlier years, I preferred bikes to be as playful as possible, as I was like a pinball, bouncing from side to side down a trail, turning every hump, log, root etc into a feature, bunnyhopping "all the things", etc, so as a result, I trended toward smaller frames, usually a size or two "too small" for me (at 5-10 I've owned several 16" frames). I liked things simple and easy, and I steered away from suspension for a long time because I felt it dulled the ride, input and feedback. Little by little though, my frames grew, suspension travel got longer, and I got sucked into the wormhole of complexity and tuning, as well as the LLS trend... FWIW, I also rode dirt bikes during much of this time... Long, Low, Slack... One thing that has changed for me over the years is free time and physical condition; it has shown me what I enjoy most in a ride, which is descending and tech. I'd rather not be bothered with too much pointless pedaling, other than what is needed to reach the beginning of a fun descent (although if I do have to climb, I prefer it to be technical). I don't care about comfort or efficiency on the climb, as long as I make it to the top. For pure descending speed, I've found the longer, lower, and slacker I go, the "better", but speed is only a small part of what I enjoyed, and I only spend a few days a year on extended, fast downhills, the rest was making the most of trails around here. Longer bikes, while stable at speed, tend to feel like a handful; the longer they are (combined with low and slack), the more they fight your input (the same trait that makes them stable at speed), are pigs in tight turns and maneuvers, and they exaggerate the low bottom brackets that tend to come with them with pedal strikes and gouged chains (if you like ledges and rock gardens, like me). Likewise, slack head angles also add to the stability, make the steeps less puckering and soften input mistakes... however, it also increases your wheelbase which, combined with "long and low", makes slower, tighter, technical trails even more of a challenge... The low BB adds to stability as well, and low COG makes cornering at speed more fun, but things like wheelies, manuals and bunnyhops require more energy and input. Another new trend is steep seat tube angles; while many claim to love it, I hated it, so much so that I sold what I thought was my dream frame (Nukeproof Mega) in only 8 months of owning it. The climbing advantage was minimal, and I didn't like the seat location in relation to the BB while standing; it always felt in the way, whether up or down, and I found myself dropping the seat more often. So, for my personal preferences and the riding I do most, I've backed off the LLS trend a little, and settled on a medium (17-18") frame, long-ish, low-ish, but still pretty slack (at 5-10, I like 425-430mm stays, 435-445 reach, 64.5-66* HA ("effective"/sagged for a hardtail), and BB drop depends on a few factors. With this reach range, I'll run a 32-45mm stem and 780-790 bars. I've found this geo mild/small enough at my height to be maneuverable, fun and "poppy" enough around here, while still being a blast when I head to the mountains and bike parks. Simplicity vs... not Now I'm finding myself at a stage in life where I'm craving a reset; I miss the days of simplicity, when the ride mattered more than what I rode, and I find myself frustrated with constantly having to mess with shocks, linkage, tuning, hydraulics, maintenance, repair, etc... I'm tired of playing musical frames/musical shocks, getting the tuning right, etc, and am finding that I enjoy my smaller, all-mountain SS hardtail (although it isn't a SS at the moment) with BB7 mech brakes more and more, and I'm even considering switching to BB7s on my 6" FS (gasp, I know). The HT is always ready to go, always right, never a headache, and in many ways, more fun... I manipulate the trail more, I have to work to keep things smooth and graceful, and while this does require more effort and energy, it's also what makes riding fun, as I'm more involved in the ride as opposed to plowing over everything in a straight line, letting the suspension to all the work. This epiphany has recently come to a head, and I'm currently working on a new experiment: a custom steel hardtail, taking what I love most about both of my bikes, and merging it into a simple, low maintenance, do-it-all hardtail that I can ride more than I wrench...

Yes it is worth it. And soon the road part will almost all but go away. You can create a pretty long route if you Start at Red Horn/Peddlers. I do that trail (suburban ninja) it spits you out by Gumdrop/Anklebitter. Then you do Gnargasm and Caddyshack. Then onto the bcrt over to Peddlers then(maybe Mulligan) to Decpetion to Rim to Snail. Then Bcrt back to Picnic X and Picnic then (maybe do Mulligan ) and then Bcrt either back up Sub Ninja or just take Parmer or neighborhood adjacent to Parmer back to the the Peddler bike shop/ Red Horn. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

Water variety, as they mention boat rental. Though a good once-a-century Winter storm could make use of the lift for a few days of snow skiing ...

So doing everything once yields me about 20-21 miles now. Maybe 22 miles when all of Peddlers Pass and Mulligan dries up. I think the only thing I've never bothered to add is The Peddler's bike shop out-n- back. For anyone who's ridden that bit, is it a worth while addition given the neighborhood spin to get to it? It looks like the trail portion is almost 2 miles, and the road spin is only about 1 miles. So my total ride would work out to be maybe 26 miles.

I can see a lot of reasons why wireless actuation of mechanical bike bits is awesome. For 99% of riders, it will just make bikes more expensive and needlessly complex with disposable parts.

I know of at least one person who has the Shimano DiS version on a road bike and absolutely loves how it functions. It auto-steps gear ratios between front and back derailleurs.

Working on that. It's looking like we may have pre-approval from PARD for having workdays on Tuesdays as long as we give them notice first thing the day before. So if we have a rainy weekend, we'll be able to plan a S&I the day before and get it quickly organized in time to have a solid crew (hopefully) show up.

Please keep personal attacks off this forum. Thank you, ..Al

Agreed until the dropper post. Those things are amazing. Even a minimalist SSer can love them. I still have my full squish, but more and more as of late I find myself choosing simple fun over plush speed.

woah woah woah there buddy. F@ck New Mexico? you're doing something wrong. I don't know if we can be friends. why dont you like New Mexico? IMO the trails themselves are better than everywhere I've ridden in Colorado. which I know is a big statement but I stand by it. and Angelfire us without a doubt better than winter park, keystone, and crested butte bike parks

AB really hit all the high points above. With participation in local MTB forums, and a clear attempt to offer competitive choice in destinations they could easily establish themselves from the get-go. A brilliant step in this direction would be a $10 day use fee and $5 per lift ride policy. Give people the opportunity to pedal to the top, try the trails. Then, if they love them they can get a ride to the top, or not. At least it would encourage riders selecting a destination for a ride as a comparable option, cost-wise. If they were to create a second revenue stream, by adding a Saloon and Grill (maybe have live video of action on the trails), and run this side of the business by opening to the public the way that Rocky Hill Saloon once did. They could easily cultivate a steady customer base from locals and visitors to the area to supplement revenue. Add a small RV and Tent Camping area for more income. Make it a destination for a diverse cross-section of area traffic from lake users, motorcyclists, and locals wanting a burger and a beer. The MTB community could be the focus, but not necessarily the sole source of income. Perhaps not even the primary source of income. Back in the day, RHR had half of its gross generated from beer, food, and camping, and half from day use and event admission. These factors did not play into the demise of the saloon, management factors were the biggest contributor to that perfect combination falling by the wayside. It could have as easily grown and been developed if there had been a plan for growth. As Spider Mountain has been pitched, my guess is they will either change policy, or, will be scratching their heads in a year or so still trying to figure out why the creditors are knocking at the door and traffic to their facility isn't what they expected. They seem to be out of touch with the demographics from my armchair quarterback perspective. It is early yet, and this could change, or there could be aspects yet to be revealed. Some marketing strategies aim high at the beginning to measure response with the full intention of adjusting to the market in order to reach a working balance. The fact is that most new businesses fail. This is because those involved with running things have blue sky expectations and live in denial of factors which should have been given more consideration. They don't plan for contingencies or have a strategy to compensate for when their get-rich dream falters. Without this mindset and attitude of catering to the customers, business owners can run out of options pretty quickly. Not because the options weren't there, merely because they couldn't see them. Spider Mountain is essentially our version of Bentonville's Coler Mountain Bike Preserve, except it is private. The essence is the same, purpose-built flow trails, with the addition of a lift. If Sam Walton's grandkids installed a lift to The Hub at Coler would anyone pay $50 a day to use it? I don't think so. Would someone pedal up twice, then fork out $15 to get three lift rides to the top. I think I might.

NLand was sold to a Kelly Slater's company in December. https://www.tetongravity.com/story/surf/kelly-slater-wave-co.-buys-austins-nland-surf-park. One thing to keep in mind about surfing: I grew up on Sunset Cliffs, right across the street (literally) from the ocean. I could be on my board in the water in <5min. Still, I would've done a surf park if they had one. Surfing in is highly variable. Conditions depend on wind, tides, seasons, storms, etc. You can go sit in the water for an hour without seeing a good wave. When conditions are right, you've got to go then and now. It's not like MTB, where you say trails are G2G, I'll go after work. Surf parks offer the perfect wave (smooth, tubed, with a good break) consistently and on demand. They provide the type of break you either have to wait for that perfect offshore day, or go to Hawaii, to surf.

Cool bike

If I was only taller or if was a small, good luck with the sale. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

I rented a Stache from BSS for $57 for two days of riding on the Greenbelt. It's a hardtail so I thought I wasn't going to huck it off any drops but it really is damn capable of doing it. It was so much fun, I bought a used one the next week! I've been riding it exclusively since then because the it has been muddy and it's a fun bike to just plow around the hike and bike trails. That being said, I think that I will still prefer to ride my full suspension bike when there are drops and fast downhill stuff. Low pressure, 3" tires take out the small rocks and roots but there is only so much they can do. The 'whooosh' feeling of having 160 mm take a hit is something I can't do without.

Interesting- I've never ridden a motorcycle, on or off road, and don't have a desire to do so. So much of "progress" in bicycle design is pushing them toward handling more like motorbikes, sometimes not stopping at putting a motor on it. But pedal powered bikes are still often becoming more Moto. This works for some people, especially those with a Moto background. As I spent 20 years riding BMX, this is the opposite of what I want in a bike. I don't want a bike that inspires me to plow over everything but a bicycle that handles like an extension of myself. It's hard to explain, but the way people talk about riding the new generation of bikes just sounds boring to me. I read on some forum a while back someone who was complaining that the new LLS bikes he had ridden felt like he could not throw them around, and it was hard to lift the front tire, to which someone replied ( I kid you not) "you don't have to." I read on and he implyed that newer bikes are so advanced and plush that you don't need skill, strength, technique, or finesse to ride a technical trail, just sit and pedal and let all the suspension do all the work. I know that's hyperbolic but I almost choked when I read that. Impudent strumpet! How f-ing BORING to engage in activity where the challenge is being engineered out by the equipment! I ride because it is challenging, so there's a threshold at which a more capable bike just feels like cheating. Combine that with dumbed-down trails and you might as well push for a Zwift trail VR "experience" sans mosquitoes and actual effort. Is that what's driving us? Get off my lawn!

So 100 bux a month.

Trek Stache, one of the most versatile and fun hardtail you can own, especially so if its going to be your primary bike, -CJB

Hopefully if their pricing does not work out as they planned, they can adapt quickly. Not encouraging is they state they will think about changing the closing time of 5:00 pm in the summer. 5-8:30 is prime time in Central Texas summers. That is our peak twighlight hours - cheap admission just like a golf course is what is called for.

If thats accurate, this place will be posting groupon deals in 6 months. For $50, im cool with going a few times year but their current pass pricing is not worth it. I lived in NM for 18 mos and probably made 6-8 visits total at the bike parks, and I lived minutes from one of them. Heres some comparisons: https://www.skiapache.com/summer/mountain-biking/ http://sandiapeak.com/index.php?page=summer-rates-tickets https://www.angelfireresort.com/activities/summer-activities/bike-park/lift-tickets-season-passes/

This is stupidity. They were supposed to open a few weeks ago and the season pass was $199 through April 19. Shave 3-4 weeks off of that and it gets reduced to the bargain price of $199, for a savings of $0. Either shift the season or drop the price, you missed your deadline, that is not the way to endear yourself to customers. Said a marketing professional. Who is currently working on a marketing plan for mountain biking. Fools. They will learn, but probably not soon enough.

Their success will be dependent upon getting people out there to ride, then, returning to do it again. Pricing any new service in the Stratosphere is not generally considered to be a good marketing strategy if increasing the number of returning users is the goal. If all they want are a certain specialized subset of the MTB community to participate, and a high price point for a smaller target customer base can sustain their operations, go for it. Just because they are the only lift access bike park in Texas doesn't mean the place is the only place to ride in Texas. I hope that they realize their competition for the MTB dollar is priced between free and $10/day, and, further hope they don't shoot themselves in the foot with exorbitant pricing in the hopes of recovering their investment over too short of a term. Honestly, I don't think I could get motivated enough to spend $50 for a day and feel good enough about it to plan a trip. Were I paying $5/lift I could easily see myself spending $50 or more and coming away happy, but, it would the the $5/lift that would get me out there with little concern of value being met. Their website pricing of $50 for "Pedal Only Access" that does not include use of the lift is patently absurd. Their Season Pass doesn't seem to be very well thought out at all. This is Texas, the "season" is year round. Make it an X-number of months Pass, but don't put an expiration date in the description that provides less and less value as each day closer to that date passes.

Spider replied to my question on their opening FB post. The $199 Season pass is good/valid for riding through 04/30/19. I asked what happens after that? How much for the next season? How long is the next season? No reply yet. Interesting that the season pass that was supposed to be from 12/18-04/19 for $199 isis still $199 for 02/08/19-04/30/19. But I am not their target audience. A day lift ticket makes more sense for me and the amount I will ride out there.

Now you have truly ruined it for me. Given that I have liked pretty much all bikes I have ridden around here, without regard to setup/geometry, and my strong propensity for confirmation bias, I should have just gone ahead and bought a new bike without asking here. Then again, maybe the geometry on my 90s Gary Fisher Aquila was beyond its time.

So the pricing remains secret until you drive out there?

I think the pendulum will swing some time soon. The LLS idea works for some highly skilled riders in certain situations. It's not for everyone, everywhere.

You guys suck with all them reasoned opinions. What I needed were unqualified endorsements of the recent geometry trends, and how they were going to transform my rides so I can buy a new bike with less guilt. Even better would have been talks of added safety I can show my wife. I did like the comment about really needing three bikes, and I am 2/3 way there with my singles speed 29er and my 140mm 27.5. I wish I could find time to ride another bike, but my neighbors already look at me side ways when I head out to ride instead of tending to my admittedly weed infested yard. Oh well, I guess I'll go look at some new handlebars or something ....

Basically this. If I were looking for a general purpose bike today I'd ride everything with geometry similar to the Primer and pick the one I actually liked best. Nothing beats actual demos. That's what I did a year ago and ended up with an SB4.5 because I liked it a little more for mostly unquantifiable reasons.

check out my thread from a few days ago. get one of GG's new bikes and be able to transform it into any bike you want with the modular platform. that or an intense primer is a pretty much perfect bike for central Texas regular do everything bike. IMO

Just got the email. Opens Friday Feb 8. Might have to call in sick due to a ... spider bite.

They should just get a 14 year old to show them how to drive it back out.

The short answer is... literally NO ONE KNOWS...... literally. Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

That's the exact attitude that has turned this forum against you