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Spider Mountain


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2 hours ago, gotdurt said:

Okay, checked out Spider Mt with Ganderson today, and here's my take, for anyone interested:

We did the green (Itsy Bitsy) first; .... but it is a legit beginner trail.

The blue (Viper's Den) was pretty good at first but got boring after 5 or so runs (for us). It's a mild jumpy-bermy trail, so those that like that stuff will probably wear it out.

[...]

IMO, they need a legit black; something like "Viper's Den" in steepness (and thus length, too), but with the tech of "Stinger".

Unfortunately, we totally forgot about the 1/2 blue (Venom), which is accessible from the green... I'll go back and hit it when they get another trail or 2.

I went out today, too. I ignored the blacks since I have no confidence in my brakes right now, and stuck to the green and blues.

I think your descriptions are spot-on. Itsy Bitsy is pretty swoopy in its numerous bermed switchbacks, so you can get pumpy with that. Stay high and out of the gravel and this trail just got more fun.

Viper's Den has two turns not far from the start that are going to need rebuilding. The berms were blowing out, so by the time I left today, I think it was the one of the right-hander berms that had a huge rut along the upper half. Someone out there told me they had "200 riders" yesterday and attacked like locusts. There were these blown out turns, and numerous holes from the rocks knocked out of the trail.

I hit Venom (the blue that starts 1/2 way down) a couple times. It's a little (barely) more tech than Viper's Den, but empties out into the hardpack jump line. Nice table top jumps (6-8' I'd guess, lip-to-lip), well packed, and good visibility. Definitely a fun line.

Oh, the pricing is $50 for the lift ticket. No land-access fee that we were seeing on the website, just the lift ticket.

And the chicken tacos from that little trailer were awesome.

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Okay, checked out Spider Mt with Ganderson today, and here's my take, for anyone interested:

We did the green (Itsy Bitsy) first; honestly I was wishing I could start over and do something else. Too much pedaling in order to make it fun at all... BUT... that's exactly what makes it ideal for kids and total newbs; some other parks I've been to had a lot of "greens" that I would hesitate taking kids or newbs on, so good on them for that. We hit it expecting it to be more of a fun warm up like big mountain greens tend to be, but it is a legit beginner trail.
The blue (Viper's Den) was pretty good at first but got boring after 5 or so runs (for us). It's a mild jumpy-bermy trail, so those that like that stuff will probably wear it out.
The double black, "Stinger" (AKA Rotor Smoke) was a blast; steep, fun features, and while sketchy, it was fun sketch. But, as a result of the consistent steepness, short. It also sucked when I started getting fatigued[emoji14]. It'll take me a few more runs down it though to find all the best lines and make the most of it.
The black... "Sticky Icky", was sketchier than Stinger, IMO, and not good sketch. I think there are better lines through the off-camber stuff, I just kept ending up in the bad lines, and due to its nature, you can't easily hop lines there. If Stinger is double black (and I'd say it is, compared to other parks), then I'd say this one qualifies as 1.75 black... so round up.
IMO, they need a legit black; something like "Viper's Den" in steepness (and thus length, too), but with the tech of "Stinger".
Unfortunately, we totally forgot about the 1/2 blue (Venom), which is accessible from the green... I'll go back and hit it when they get another trail or 2.
Everything was super dusty and slippery though; it would be a lot more fun a day after a rain.
The single black has gotten way sketchier since even last weekend, and the blue as well with all of the erosion. Before all of the erosion, there was a noticable difference between the single and double black, and blue pretty much had no chunk or loose corners.

They're going to have a lot of trail maintenance to keep up with during the week days to keep those trails in shape, otherwise after two busy weekends like this and those trails will be completely gone.

Sent from my CMR-W09 using Tapatalk

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12 hours ago, gotdurt said:

Okay, checked out Spider Mt with Ganderson today, and here's my take, for anyone interested:

We did the green (Itsy Bitsy) first; honestly I was wishing I could start over and do something else. Too much pedaling in order to make it fun at all... BUT... that's exactly what makes it ideal for kids and total newbs; some other parks I've been to had a lot of "greens" that I would hesitate taking kids or newbs on, so good on them for that. We hit it expecting it to be more of a fun warm up like big mountain greens tend to be, but it is a legit beginner trail.

The blue (Viper's Den) was pretty good at first but got boring after 5 or so runs (for us). It's a mild jumpy-bermy trail, so those that like that stuff will probably wear it out.

The double black, "Stinger" (AKA Rotor Smoke) was a blast; steep, fun features, and while sketchy, it was fun sketch. But, as a result of the consistent steepness, short. It also sucked when I started getting fatigued😛. It'll take me a few more runs down it though to find all the best lines and make the most of it.

The black... "Sticky Icky", was sketchier than Stinger, IMO, and not good sketch. I think there are better lines through the off-camber stuff, I just kept ending up in the bad lines, and due to its nature, you can't easily hop lines there. If Stinger is double black (and I'd say it is, compared to other parks), then I'd say this one qualifies as 1.75 black... so round up.

IMO, they need a legit black; something like "Viper's Den" in steepness (and thus length, too), but with the tech of "Stinger".

Unfortunately, we totally forgot about the 1/2 blue (Venom), which is accessible from the green... I'll go back and hit it when they get another trail or 2.

Everything was super dusty and slippery though; it would be a lot more fun a day after a rain.

 

7 hours ago, gotdurt said:

Oh, and if you have rotator cuff issues, you're going to hate the bike hook system on the lift...

so, mostly complaints. got it!

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5 hours ago, Seths Pool said:

 

so, mostly complaints. got it!

Some forward-thinking purveyors of products and/or services might see this as observations and feedback from their customers.

For years people riding at Rocky Hill have come to enjoy the trails with the attitude that because they pay for use that someone else should maintain the trails. It has always been a challenge to get volunteers there to help out. Most of RHR's business comes from Houston riders. When the occasional call for volunteer help goes out most who have shown up are coming from Austin. Moral of the story, the largest user group is also the least likely to pitch in to help with maintenance.

This is at a place that offers basic trails through the woods, totally unlike Spider Mountain who targets a specific user group with promise of lift access flow trails.

With a facility offering this and asking five times the price to ride there compared to other private riding areas, it doesn't seem all that far-fetched to expect that SpiderMtn have in place a plan to keep the trails at some minimum state of repair. I suspect their experience with other similar MTB resorts should pay off, though the trail surface here may be made of different stuff that requires another approach than what has worked for them elsewhere.

From personal experience I can whole-heartedly share how taking on the mantle of responsibility by volunteering to maintain trails that others pay to ride will significantly cut into the volunteers' riding time. Though there is much satisfaction to be had from the creative process, and pride to be taken in the work completed, and for those who can Zen out while doing trail maintenance it can be therapeutic. 

These "complaints" seem valid and based upon observable facts regarding the perception of value from a paying user's perspective and it would be foolish for any business to dismiss them out of hand.

 

Edited by Ridenfool
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4 hours ago, Seths Pool said:

 

so, mostly complaints. got it!

[queue theme song: "Everything is Awesome!"]
Mood: Happy thoughts, sparkles, hearts, rainbows and unicorns!

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).

2 hours ago, Ridenfool said:

With a facility offering this and asking five times the price to ride there compared to other private riding areas, it doesn't seem all that far-fetched to expect that SpiderMtn have in place a plan to keep the trails at some minimum state of repair. I suspect their experience with other similar MTB resorts should pay off, though the trail surface here may be made of different stuff that requires another approach than what has worked for them elsewhere.

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.

Edited by gotdurt
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Quote

 

I can see people volunteering to do some trail work out there in exchange for a free lift pass.  However, at that point it's not really 'volunteering'. 

Personally, I'm stoked to see Spider Mountain right at our backdoor.  At $50, it's orders of magnitude cheaper than driving to Angel Fire or Trestle.  I don't expect those types of trails because I'm a realist but I'm going to give them a shot.

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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.

 

Edited by Ganderson
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23 minutes ago, Bamwa said:

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

As long as you have realistic expectations, then yes, I think everyone really needs to check it out. I didn't really count the runs, guessing 9 or 10 from about10am-2pm, but we stopped a little early when my shoulders and wrist really started talking to me and Greg's brakes were getting wonky. They close at 5, so if you start early and hit the lift when it opens, then ride to close, I'd guess you could double that without too many long breaks.

Edited by gotdurt
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13 minutes ago, Seths Pool said:

if anyone/everyone wants spider mountain to grow and develop into "whistler in Texas", they will need everyones support during the early stages, too.

they didnt build Rome overnight. 

 

Heck yeah. I totally support them using their deep pockets to more add trails and wood features asap so I can justify a $170/day throwdown.

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Can anyone intelligently speak to the kid-friendly nature of the GREEN run?  $50/day is fine for me, as I've got quite a few park trips under my belt, but I'm dubious of how "holy cow, that was awesome, dad!" a few runs down the green would be.  Angel Fire was ok for my girls (the eldest loving it), but we had fishing, Razr-ing, etc. to do and we were in the mountains. I also rented them full-blown DH bikes at AF.  Would decent (Specialized Hotrock 24 with v-brakes and Trek Skye 26") kids mtbs be ok?  Brakes are the main concern, but at 350' vertical, i can't imagine terrible pad glaze.....

Without discussing the MTB adult pros perspective, could any dads give me opinions?   I saw some FB pics of a few father/kid folks having fun.

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I'm with Bamwa. I'll wait for more variety and expansion before making a trip that to get the most of will incur an overnight stay and fuel costs, which in addition to the cost of admission could easily exceed $200 for a day of riding.

As Seth pointed out, Rome wasn't built in a day. I get that, and feel this operation has good organization and backing enough to make the venture a success over the long haul.

It is just that I've seldom been an early adopter, though I encourage others with the interest and/or passion to support SM as it gets rolling. These early, returning customers will be the best source of feedback and suggestions for where the focus should be placed by the management.

Edited by Ridenfool
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4 minutes ago, spicewookie said:

Can anyone intelligently speak to the kid-friendly nature of the GREEN run?  $50/day is fine for me, as I've got quite a few park trips under my belt, but I'm dubious of how "holy cow, that was awesome, dad!" a few runs down the green would be.  Angel Fire was ok for my girls (the eldest loving it), but we had fishing, Razr-ing, etc. to do and we were in the mountains. I also rented them full-blown DH bikes at AF.  Would decent (Specialized Hotrock 24 with v-brakes and Trek Skye 26") kids mtbs be ok?  Brakes are the main concern, but at 350' vertical, i can't imagine terrible pad glaze.....

Without discussing the MTB adult pros perspective, could any dads give me opinions?   I saw some FB pics of a few father/kid folks having fun.

Definitely, like I mentioned earlier, it's ideal for kids and newbs, probably more suitable than most greens I've experienced at parks; it's a true green. What's also good about it is that it's slow enough that you won't have to worry about kids getting clobbered by people over-riding it.

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1 minute ago, gotdurt said:

Definitely, like I mentioned earlier, it's ideal for kids and newbs, probably more suitable than most greens I've experienced at parks; it's a true green. What's also good about it is that it's slow enough that you won't have to worry about kids getting clobbered by people over-riding it.

Sorry that I missed your post.  Thanks for the input!  V-brake compliant, I imagine?

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9 minutes ago, Ridenfool said:

I'm with Bamwa. I'll wait for more variety and expansion before making a trip that to get the most of will incur an overnight stay and fuel costs, which in addition to the cost of admission could easily exceed $200 for a day of riding.

As Seth pointed out, Rome wasn't built in a day. I get that, and feel this operation has good organization and backing enough to make the venture a success over the long haul.

It is just that I've seldom been an early adopter, though I encourage others with the interest and/or passion to support SM as it get rolling. These early, returning customers will be the best source of feedback and suggestions for where the focus should be placed by the management.

There will be a Mandatory Team MeatWeapons meeting held at Spider Mountain on/or around April 30 for TMW Celebration of Birth-a-Palooza.  Ride till you puke and then we'll grill and chill the rest of the night away.  I'd plan for $201 for that trip....

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11 minutes ago, spicewookie said:

There will be a Mandatory Team MeatWeapons meeting held at Spider Mountain on/or around April 30 for TMW Celebration of Birth-a-Palooza.  Ride till you puke and then we'll grill and chill the rest of the night away.  I'd plan for $201 for that trip....

Random drawing, winner gets an aquarium???

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21 minutes ago, spicewookie said:

There will be a Mandatory Team MeatWeapons meeting held at Spider Mountain on/or around April 30 for TMW Celebration of Birth-a-Palooza.  Ride till you puke and then we'll grill and chill the rest of the night away.  I'd plan for $201 for that trip....

Trying to force my hand with a reasonable and well thought out argument involving bikes, bacon and beer. 🥓🍺🚲

You are the crafty one. :classic_cool:

Edited by Ridenfool
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39 minutes ago, spicewookie said:

Ride till you puke and then we'll grill and chill the rest of the night away.

This does raise the question as to whether there is camping or RV spots available at SM. I think these are alluded to somewhere on the website, though a casual review of the Thunderbird Resort link made no mention that I was able to spot.

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Just now, Ridenfool said:

This does raise the question as to whether there is camping or RV spots available at SM. I think these are alluded to somewhere on the website, though a casual review of the Thunderbird Resort link made no mention that I was able to spot.

That will need to be thoroughly ironed out prior to TMW Fest.  You're in charge of camping.

Kindest regards,

Meatball Throwing Star

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