Ganderson

1/4 and DD are GTG, aside from a few deceptively slick spots... started my ride by throwing it hard into Rainy Day Berm expecting hero traction, but RDB instead threw me down HARD... so fast that all I heard was "VVVVVVVVVVT!" from my back tire, and my bad shoulder was instantly augered into the ground, the same shoulder that kept me off the bike for the past year. Oddly enough, it's my right shoulder, but I also somehow gouged up my left knee and bruised my left heal, left palm and my right thigh... lol. Like I said, it happened fast, and I'm still trying to figure out the geometry of my impact... something like Seinfeld's "magic loogie"...
 
 

What about the Vipers?
Were any disturbed, or were they only amused?

I can't believe your walked away from that!

I rented one of their full face and put it to good use on the first blind run down Vipers Den as can been seen at 7:40 in this vid:

It was dry as a bone this afternoon.. go get some.


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I found the critique to be good reading.  Is it worth $50 plus gas money yet is what I want to know. How many runs did you get in from when to when? Thanks

It was a good time, and I agree with your review pretty much.

I wasn't really feeling the green, too much pedaling to maintain speed and didn't really find a flow on it.. I'm not the target audience I suppose.

Loved Stinger and really enjoyed Viper's Den.. even had a crazy crash first run down that one, glad my full-face was a rental!

Sticky Icky was ok, but man so blown out.

Speaking of the dirt, man it was generally pretty sketchy and it took me a while to figure out the grip, just lots of fluff. I'm sure that will all settle and pack in with time, rain and traffic.

That said, I'm a bike park noob and it took me half of the day just to get my rebound dialed down to the point where I wasn't sketchily springing and pinging off everything.. it was just a different type of riding for me. My rear brake also took a shit early on and caused me some terrifying moments, but I still feel like I got my moneys worth.

I definitely had a great day but probably will wait until they get some more content before considering a season pass.

42 minutes ago, gotdurt said:

 

Quote

[queue theme song: "Everything is Awesome!"]

Only if you read it with a glass-half-empty attitude, looking for criticism... after re-reading, I don't even see any true complaints, and the rotator cuff comment was toungue-in-cheek (although some can relate and should know about it). It seems that there is a group of people (not just on this forum) that are projecting their own negativity onto others, only because others might see things for what they really are, all for the sake of drama. Pretty much everyone I've talked to directly feels almost exactly the same way about their experience at SM. When a product is created, people are going to judge it... what would you want me to say...?

With that said, my overall feeling was positive, and if you actually read what I said, I think that translates. There's always room for improvement. You also know me well enough to know that I have a matter-of-fact, tongue-in-cheek nature, and I'm not going to sugar coat anything... I gave an honest review, based on my experience; I felt it was mostly positive, and wanted others who haven't been yet to know exactly what to expect, and should someone from Spider Mt come along and see it, they would get an honest review that might help them. That's positive.

Bottom line, some people (myself included) want to hear realistic thoughts and experiences, in addition to the Pollyanna enduro-bro stoke. Likewise, businesses and investors with a lot to lose want to see and hear what their target customers have to say about their experience (speaking as a business owner myself).

I don't even expect a certain state of repair; I actually enjoy deterioration. Honestly, I can't even think of anything I would change on the existing trails... just some thoughts on what I'd like to see for new trails to come. Selfishly, I'd love to see lift racks more like those found at other bike parks, but I'll find a way to adjust if that never happens.

I appreciate you taking the time to share your experience. I've read a few other reports of people feeling like their smash is overly harsh. They were riding different air shocks and coil shocks, so I'm not sure your particular shock is the problem. Of course, I've also read many reports of people not feeling that way at all, so hard to say how much of a pattern it is. I like a firm platform with high efficiency but within reason of course. 
 
I've also been very impressed with their customer service with my various questions. The best I've experienced actually. I'm not sure if I should worry about the frames only having a one year warranty. It would be nice to have longer given it's a brand new technology. Sometimes problems take a while to reveal themselves. If it was another company I would pass due to the warranty issue. Their customer service has been so good though I feel like they would take care of me. That's just a feeling though. 

Man, it’s gotta 100% be that rear suspension set up. How tall are you? Do you wanna take my large aluminum smash for a spin? with an X2 rear shock on it, it’s the butteriest plushest tits ride ever. 
Same thing on my V1 megatrail. Also with X2
I also rode one of their smashes at cat mtn when they were down here doing 209 bike testing with a rock shox RC deluxe coil and was impressed also. 
im happy to meet up with you and let you ride mine, it should definitely change your opinion on that. You’ll be happy with X2
 
 
 

If you are considering a GG bike/frame, here are a few things you should know:

The level of precision and quality adhered to in the aluminum frames is impressive. If they apply this same standard to the carbon frames they will be built really well.

My experience with their customer service has been beyond reproach. From all the questions, ordering, etc, they are fast, friendly and very helpful.

With the one “issue” I’ve had, their warranty process was fast and painless... I had a new part in hand within like 3 days.

This surprised me because my frame took 2 months to receive even though I was told 3 - 4 weeks. Shit happens in small shop manufacturing, but it gave me time to decide I wanted a different decal color than originally ordered.

The really steep seat tube angles they use are a compromise. It works as advertised in keeping the front end more planted on steep climbs, but you may find it more difficult to pop the front end up and over stuff in wheelie like maneuvers. That front end wants to stay planted when seated all the time. This can be tuned by moving the seat back further.

I’ve heard others others complain about stand over clearance. Even with the “humpback” aluminum frame I have never noticed it to be an issue, and I am not a tall long legged dude by any stretch. The carbon frames improve on this anyway.

Unfortunately I have NOT been impressed with the sensitivity of the rear suspension. I ordered with the Rock Shox Super Deluxe and in general when I have the shock set up with the sag/support that I want, the rear end is harsh. If I get rid of the harshness, it’s not supportive enough.

Until I prove otherwise I’m chalking this up to the stock tune of the rear shock and am currently leaning towards a Fox x2 as a replacement for its tunability. The guys at GG generally favor coil on these bikes and I’m staying open to that but like the versatility and ‘pop’ of a good air shock.

There is nothing particularly sophisticated about the kinematics of the GG suspension design. It’s a solid Horst link implementation and works fine, but there are fancier designs being used by other brands that are probably a bit more refined. The main trait that annoys me about the GG Freedom Linkage is the amount of pedal kickback.. there’s a lot. It’s especially noticeable around here if you put some power down though chunkier sections. It works fine overall though.

I greatly prefer the frame in “gravity” mode, even for trail riding. Unfortunately the BB is a bit too low in that mode for me around here. I’m running 165mm cranks and have to be pretty careful with pedaling.. I got a little complacent a couple days ago and had a pretty good high speed pedal strike/ejection.

The angular contact bearings do require attention here and there. You’ll need to maintain their preload and develop a feel for that or you’ll end up with a creaky mess.

Greg


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beautiful bike! 
 
did you use my bamf code on this? maybe i don't remember if we have chatted about this shred dog

Gotta be honest GG bikes never did anything for me. Although I haven't ridden one, always thought that they were kinda ugly. This bike here is a game changer though. They did a great job of engineering this bike. It looks good and seems it will a be a very versatile ride with plenty of adjustments for us GEO nerds. Job well done GG!

Ugly? I kinda like the lines on mine. Digging the innovation on the new ones but they aren’t giving me upgraditis.

Ugh, does it not show up? It shows up for me when I’m on my PC but I don’t see it when I use my phone. Whomp whomp [emoji24]

I left a comment on his Strava ride...go do the same.


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God damn... it’s these fuckers that should be shamed into paying for the signage


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I don’t understand why prominent signage wouldn’t be acceptable to the county.



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Man. Best ride of 2018 so far Sunday. Weather. Shiiiit. Dirt. Shiiiiiittttttt. Just. So good. 
I rode all the trails from my apartment. Don’t hate. It’s a long ride for me, especially if I’m going for flow.
My mantra the entire ride was: “Paper Cranks”...my friend once told me to act like my cranks were made of paper. It was amazing. I was staying on top of my gear and the power was there when I needed. 
Old school type ride. I dabbed Squeeze Play (east to west) and rode it two more times before making it. I used to never miss that one. Trail channnnge. I take a diff line up now. 
Fuckin had a CLASSIC self-doubt moment on EBD. I grabbed a tree at the flat just before the ledge. I charged it and got all the way up and unclipped in a moment of doubt. Dabbed forward, clipped back in and yelled, “Fuck! Almost! Next Time!”
After Snail Trail, I merged with what looked like to me a high school mtb team entering Daves Ditch from BCRT. They peeled immediately left and up and I kept rolling up the ditch to my preferred bail about 2/3 way up....real punchy techy climb to beginning of Rim Job. 
Bombed Rimjob and Picnic X and Picnic out...practiced wheelies all the way across the dam and then ate a bar and rode home. 
Man. That was awesome. Oh, rode the new Peddlers stuff. I started to think, “That could use a berm”....but then I remembered who’s building that shit. Lol.

Well shit.. I may have to research this trail report further


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