fontarin

Anyone happen to check out the trail today? Still looked pretty wet from what I could see from the paved/gravel trail, but I'd guess Deception proper might dry out faster.

Yep, I highly recommend the BSS Club! We have both racers and non-racers - very nice group of people! There are some nice perks with the club and some additional perks for volunteering for rides and such. Happy to answer any questions you have about it.

Great deal - the older frames (not the MB) but still very good.

Sorry, that's outdated. We're on BOOSTULTRAMEGA+166mm now.

29er Trail - 2.35-2.4 tires 29er XC - 2.25 F/R Cutthroat Drop Bar MTB - 2.25 Ikons F/R I used to have a Hightower that I rode 27.5+ 2.8 when it was really loose and 29 otherwise.

Sea Otter has gotten much bigger in the past few years. Manufacturers like to toss new gear out there because you can actually see it being raced or ridden in the various events. Want to show off a prototype MTB on an actual race course? They have pretty much every type of event for both pro and amateur racers. Downieville is another one that's rising in attendance for the same reason.

Hate Ardents for the same reason as others above described on the front. I'm liking the Rekon more for a light duty tire these days and Minions for a beefier tire as needed.

Based on what I've seen, it's been overshadowed by other events - Sea Otter, Eurobike, etc. New tech doesn't really follow the yearly release model anymore, with individual companies doing press events, etc, and with many of the builders (especially MTB) getting stuff out at Sea Otter, at least in prototype form, for press coverage. Bikes are also released to social media as they're developed, so it's become less of a 'what's new' show. It also doesn't have big events/races to go with it. i'm not terribly surprised at the announcement.

I've got a md. Canfield Epo frame that I'm looking to get rid of. Super fun hardtail but I moved to a Canfield Riot and transferred the parts over. I ran it with a 140 fork and it was great at Deception. Frame/Headset included (might have a shimano BB too laying around, don't think I transferred that) Here are the specs: http://canfieldbrothers.com/frames/epo-carbon-hardtail-29er If you're curious about fit, I'm 5'6" but have a long torso and short legs. I ride a md Hightower and Epic.

Yeah, removable valve stems are the way to go. I have one of the small bottles of stan's (like 2 or 4 oz, can't remember) that I just fill up and squirt in through the valve and it's super easy.

I'm probably just going to do a lap on Saturday due to some stuff that has come up on Sunday. Hope y'all have a good ride and the rain holds off.

How's Brushy looking? Assuming it's not dry yet, but curious about Thursday afternoon/Friday.

Thanks! Looks like I'll just be taking the cross bike and exploring New Braunfels area while I'm down there.

Yep, I build up a new bike in August too. It's seen the trail twice. I really wanted to get more tuning in before LGT next weekend but guess we'll see how it goes!

Anyone know how well Madrone holds up to rain? Been ages since I was there. We're close this weekend and it looks like there was only 0.3 inches of rain last night and none earlier in the week.

Lol, that's great. I'm tempted to go put a few reviews in making fun of other bikes and see if they publish those too 😛

It's probably been 4-5 years since I've done it. I had planned on doing the first loop this year but I have a back injury that gets aggravated when I stand up on the bike - so yeah, this ride is out. 🙂

Always wipe any dirt/dust off with a cloth or something after each ride. I usually do service on mine once a year and it's fine. If it's been especially bad or I've been riding a ton, maybe I'll do it after 8 months or so, but that's not the norm.

Here's what we hit on our trip 2 years or so ago: 1. Dead Horse Point - Easy-ish trail, but fun, and a good warm-up for the area. 2. Klondike - Fun, but climby - this would probably be last on the list of all the trails in the area for me next time I go. I'd probably want to try it again though to give it a shot. We rode Mega Steps - > Baby Steps - > Salty - > UFO - > Sidestep - > Dino and back to lot. 3. Brand Trails - Fun, especially the easier loops. We rode these a few times because they were an easy ride from the RV park and a good afternoon ride after a harder morning ride. 4. Porcupine (shuttle) - Started at Hazzard cause that's where they were dropping off at. To be honest, I think I'd prefer to start at Koko if given the choice of the 2. Hazzard was rutted and lots of babyheads and honestly wasn't that fun for me - not to mention the climb @ elevation to start it out. UPS and below were all super fun and had some good technical sections. This was probably my favorite ride of the trip. 5. Mag 5 (posted above - shuttle) - Started on 7Up. We rode the top portion and bailed to Gemini Bridges Road right before the start of Gold Bar.

When we did Mag7 last time, we decided to do what I called 'Mag 5' - basically turning off onto a jeep road before Gold Bar and riding that out. It dropped us right outside the brand trails. Also allowed us to skip Portal because I realllyyy don't like exposure. There was a pretty decent climb out (500ish feet), but it was at a decent grade and on easy jeep road so it wasn't that bad.

I'll also have a Santa Cruz Hightower up for sale soon in 27.5+ shoes. Welcome to try it out.

From what I've found when looking up weather (also doing a trip the week after Tgiving up there) it seems like it can be hit or miss, but they only average 5-6 days of precipitation. It'll be chilly (highs in the upper 40s, lows in the lower 30s) if it goes according to average.

Also consider a DVO Topaz or Jade. I've got a Topaz on my Riot and really like it so far. Bit cheaper (at least the Topaz is) than Fox and almost as good as my Float X2. The company is also very responsive and answered a few setup questions I had quickly. http://www.dvosuspension.com/products/topaz-t3air_/ http://www.dvosuspension.com/products/jade/

Very unlikely. Someone posted some pics to the ARR page showing mud and standing water on sections of the trail yesterday afternoon. I'd guess it'll probably need several days to dry out.

Anyone know how the trails are? Thinking of riding there Sunday.