[LoneStar]

I finally pulled the trigger and bought one of the Pantera frames from Cambria and had the good folks at Cartecay Bikes in Ellijay, GA build it up with parts from my previous bike. So far I am very pleased. The bike smokes going downhill, and it climbs very well in my opinion. This picture was taken just before a big day at Tanasi in Tennessee. Nice cool fall temps, some fall color, great trail system, and a smokin' new bike. All and all, a good day.

 

[M-U-M]

Gotta love 'em

 

[onepivot]

I finally pulled the trigger and bought one of the Pantera frames from Cambria and had the good folks at Cartecay Bikes in Ellijay, GA build it up with parts from my previous bike. So far I am very pleased. The bike smokes going downhill, and it climbs very well in my opinion. This picture was taken just before a big day at Tanasi in Tennessee. Nice cool fall temps, some fall color, great trail system, and a smokin' new bike. All and all, a good day.

Nice bike Lonestar. You'll love it more as the miles go by! What rear shock are you running? My poor eyesight can't make it out in the photo. I have a Romic on my Pantera but I have been wondering how some of these new air shocks would feel on the bike.

Russ

 

[LoneStar]

It has a Swinger 3-way

So far, so good. It wasn't that difficult to dial in, although I'll probably keep playing with it. So far I have not bottomed it out yet, it goes over the small stuff well, and if it bobs, well, I can't tell. I do know it climbs more like my hardtail than my previous full suspension bike which wallowed like a pig when things got steep.

 

[LoneStar]

One month and lovin' it!

Well it has been a little over a month since I got my Pantera built up and it gets an A on its first report card! I can't understand why this didn't sell well. Oh wait, yes I can...its a single pivot and they just aren't in style I guess. I'm sure some folks can tell a difference in the different suspension types, but I guess I'm not one of them. What I can tell is that the stiffness of this frame has made me a much better rider uphill and down compared to my previous full suspension bike. Technical sections just don't bother me like they used to either. I'm not saying this is the best frame out there (if I had an extra grand I would be on an X5), but for my budget and riding style, I am very satisfied.

 

[D-Rock]

Hola Lone Star,

Good to see a Ventana out at Big Creek today. Makes the waiting on the El Salty even more painful. It's supposed to ship next Friday.

Nice day for a ride in the ATL with 65 degree weather.

Have fun at Tanasi.

D.

 

[LoneStar]

Back at you

It was good to see at least a future Ventana owner at the trail anyways. Not too many of them around here. I feel for you, man. The waiting must be excruciating, but I am sure it will be more than worth it. I am impressed by the loyalty to Chris King components anyways! I think I would have opted for something else, but then I am an immediate gratification kind of guy.

I am planning on getting out a couple of times this weekend, so drop me a line if you would like to meet somewhere. Good chance of Sunday morning at Chicopee.

 

[D-Rock]

I am impressed by the loyalty to Chris King components anyways! I think I would have opted for something else, but then I am an immediate gratification kind of guy.

Well it's going to ship with a XT/717 wheelset that I'll later use on the P. Werks. I'll still have to wait on the CK's, but at least I'll be riding it instead of looking at a photo of the frame.

We're heading to Conyers tomorrow, Chicopee on Sunday may be a possibilty.

D.

 

[DrDon]

Pantera Advice

I was riding my Weyless XP in the mud today and suddenly realized that is was the most trouble free bike I've owned since my steel hardtail. It's like a P47. It works better than it looks. Anyhow, I figure the Pantera would be even better. I'm concerned about mud clearance. The Weyless has it in spades. I believe there is a lot of clay in your neck of the woods. Any input?

 

[LoneStar]

No problems so far

Biggest issue with mud around here (N. GA) is finding the correct tires that will provide traction but clear the red muck. No issues with clearance on the Pantera. I know I could run a lot larger tire than the 2.1 I normally run and I have never had any issues with mud build up.

 

[DrDon]

Thanks. My wife may come into some money and I'm hoping she will throw me a anodized and ball burnished bone.

 

[LoneStar]

Good for you!

So nice to have an understanding wife! I really enjoy my Pantera. For my riding style, it suits me just fine, and the price is pretty outstanding. I also noticed the X5s are on sale. Depending upon how understanding your wife is, you may want to look at it also. $1500 is a great price, but it is still almost double what the Pantera costs. Good luck and hope you join the Ventana clan soon. Are you in Georgia? There seems to be a number of new Ventana owners cropping up around here. The more, the merrier.

 

[SSINGA]

Nice looking bike Lone Star - I really like the classic black and silver color scheme. I need to get up to Tanasi and give those trails a try this spring. Is that a Z1 on the front? What is the rear travel?

 

[LoneStar]

Why thank you

My little darlin' is looking even better these days with some new rubber and a new saddle to boot. The Pantera's only have 4" of rear travel, but for the normal cross country stuff I ride, it is fine. I have a Marz MX Comp w/ETA in the 105 size up front. While not necessarily the Cadillac of shocks, it seems to do a good job. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a shock in the $200-300 range (while I love my wife, her understanding has its limits!).

You owe it to yourself to try the Tanasi trails someday. While not overly technical, they are just a lot of fun. Add to it the river scene during the spring, summer and fall, and it just makes for a nice day of riding. There is a nice campground there that my group hopes to try someday so we can ride another trail system nearby (Chilhowee or something like that). Maybe even sneak in a group rafting trip during the heat of the day. There is a lot of other good riding in the general area, such as Bear Creek and the Blue Ridge trails.

 

[SSINGA]

Tell me more about the camping area. The wifey wants to take the kids (3 & 5) camping this spring - if it was somewhere that I could get a ride in that would be the icing on the cake. Are the trails easy enough that I could pull the Trail-a-bike for a lap?

 

[Hardtail in Georgia]

The campground at Tanasi is right at the end of the trails and as for pulling a trail-a-bike I don't know if you would want to try it on the main system but there is the "old copper road" trail that would be good, you can ride to it from the campground and get in ~6mi. You could also try the "Brush Creek" trail that would be excellent for towing, it's about a 7-8mi loop and you could ride to it from the campground which would add another ~6miles to the ride but I wouldn't recommend riding to it with the trail-a-bike.

Tucker<-biding my time until I can order my X-5

 

[LoneStar]

Great camping facilities. Good sites, nice restrooms with running water and showers from what I can tell. Similar to Tsali, only with a big river out your back door! I think you would be able to get in a number of miles on the trails with your kids in tow. It seems like most of the singletrack is connected by doubletrack or fire roads so you would be able to get in a number of miles and some excercise. The singletrack varies in difficulty. They opened a new trail recently a couple of miles from the campground that is fairly easy, about 15 miles I think out and back. I've never towed kidos, so I don't know what the limitations are, but from what I recall the trail was pretty wide. Lots of other activities in the area as well.

 

[LoneStar]

Post overlap

Brush Creek is the name of the trail I was looking for! I didn't think it was a loop though. At least the topo maps they give away at the whitewater center show it as an out an back. We only rode about four miles into on our last trip since we had to meet some folks back in Ellijay.

 

[Hardtail in Georgia]

Brush Creek is the name of the trail I was looking for! I didn't think it was a loop though. At least the topo maps they give away at the whitewater center show it as an out an back. We only rode about four miles into on our last trip since we had to meet some folks back in Ellijay.

Brush Creek as an out and back is just unneccessary pain. I know the map looks different but once you reach the end you can just ride back on Hwy. 64. It only about a half mile or so and is nice and wide shoulder, heck half of the trip back is a Scenic rest stop. Just ride west on 64 on the left side of the road until you get to the Boyd Gap overlook sign and turn onto that road once at the top you will be where you started the Brush Creek trail.

Fun as a loop but I wouldn't really want to ride back up all of that downhilll.

Tucker

 

[LoneStar]

Yeah, its hard to totally enjoy a downhill at the beginning of a trail knowing you have to hit it on the way out. Last time out we decided to try this trail after killing ourselves on the main trails. We were toast by the time we finished! It isn't as bad as it seems fortunately. A steady gradual climb but no real steep killer section.