I'm sure most of you have heard/went to Diablo, I went on their website, and visited their forums, I keep reading how "only" Downhill bikes should go to this place, and that air shocks are not recommended (only coils). Ok so what's the deal here, this place looks like a lot of fun, I have a Cannondale Prohet 600, I know that I have the setting for XC to Freeride on the swingarm, but the way I they make it seem on the forums is that nothing will do except a downhill specific bike. I know my limits with my own bike & I know its not a downhill bike, if it were just an XC bike, I wouldn't think about taking it over there, The C'dale is an All mountain bike, but I know I can't take 6ft drops either... what do u guys think
Diablo Freeride Park
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i have never been there...
like i said i have never been, but if i were to go, i would probably rent something there (they do that right?) - just to beat the hell out of their rental crap and not my ride (since i can't even afford to have me rear shock rebuilt as it is...)
...but i think x/c, freeride and all-mountain bikes (and riders) can hack some of the stuff there - like you said you're not going to do a 6 foot drop - and thats where i would want a downhill bike.Ruben C said:
like i said i have never been, but if i were to go, i would probably rent something there (they do that right?) - just to beat the hell out of their rental crap and not my ride (since i can't even afford to have me rear shock rebuilt as it is...)
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the site seems to indicate that Mountain Creek's park is almost exclusively for downhill use. the funny thing is that i could swear a couple of years ago they were touting their miles and miles of nice singletrack. i always thought they had cross country skiing in the winter, so using those trails for xc use would be easy. maybe i'm mistaken...
Top of Mtm. Creek
Two good crosscountry trails on top of mountain. You can take gondola up and down if you want or ride down when your done. If you go a little further north to Waywayanda St. park there is some really good single track. RIGHT ARM OH I MEAN RIDE ON!
Two good crosscountry trails on top of mountain. You can take gondola up and down if you want or ride down when your done. If you go a little further north to Waywayanda St. park there is some really good single track. RIGHT ARM OH I MEAN RIDE ON!
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Ruben C,
your Bike will be fine there. The trails are very challenging, but stay within your ability and you will be fine. Their DH trails are top notch. A DownHill bike would be nice. Heck I've seen one guy "I think he runs the trails" blow right past me on a Hardtail.
I never rode the XC trails on top of the Mtn. Why bother when there are so many other great places to ride.
Btw, The above post asked about BIke Rentals. All I can tell you is while shopping for bike parts this morning I spoke to the owner "who ran the rentals at Mtn Creek last year" and he said he is not doing it again this year and I forgot to ask who will, because my son was running all around the shop and I got distracted.
later!
your Bike will be fine there. The trails are very challenging, but stay within your ability and you will be fine. Their DH trails are top notch. A DownHill bike would be nice. Heck I've seen one guy "I think he runs the trails" blow right past me on a Hardtail.
I never rode the XC trails on top of the Mtn. Why bother when there are so many other great places to ride.
Btw, The above post asked about BIke Rentals. All I can tell you is while shopping for bike parts this morning I spoke to the owner "who ran the rentals at Mtn Creek last year" and he said he is not doing it again this year and I forgot to ask who will, because my son was running all around the shop and I got distracted.
later!
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Downhill shmownhill i'll be riding my hardtail there. Never been there but at my lbs theres a kid there that has the same bike as me and he rides all summer. I have a spesh p2 by the way, it won't be the most comfortable but it should hold up. Oh and remember safety first.
I'll be there opening day May 14th maybe we should set up a newb group ride for the people that don't have 5'000 gravity sleds
P.s i'm in ocean county if anyone needs a ride i got room for another bike/rider it might make the 2 hour drive less boring.
I'll be there opening day May 14th maybe we should set up a newb group ride for the people that don't have 5'000 gravity sleds
P.s i'm in ocean county if anyone needs a ride i got room for another bike/rider it might make the 2 hour drive less boring.
Before it was Diablo
I used to go there every weekend with a DH specific bike (8" front and rear) and full on DH gear. My buddy would ride with me with his Specialized 3 1/2" travel FSR and pretty much keep up with me. Granted, he's a darn good rider and probably better than half the guys that call themselves freeriders, but its all about how you ride terrain. A longer travel DH bike makes up for lots of mistakes and can let you go bigger, if that's your thing, but you can do just fine on an all rigid singlespeed in you know how to ride it right. Even with my DH bike I still didn't ride every part of every trail at Diablo, and I stay away from any ledges I can't walk down without jumping (so 3 or 4 feet is my max on a good day).
Personally, I think a really good set of brakes is way more important on DH trails than suspension. This way I can stop quick enough once I realize I'm coming upon a 6 foot drop!
I've been riding my steel softail Dekerf everywhere, with my rigid fork, and the other day I passed a guy more out of shape than me at Mahlon(we were on a climb) I stopped before the rocky descent, and he tells me I've got the wrong bike for this place, I need something with 5 inches or more of travel to properly handle the trails. ( I've got a Turner Burner which I normally would ride there, but I'm still enjoying my sub-23 pound rigid (almost, anyway) bike. He started down the descent first, and I very methodically and carefully passed him with a smile. And I wasn't even going that fast. So you can ride anything, and probably still be a better rider than someone who has a bike "more proper" for a given terrain.
BTW, I'll be taking pictures of my newer DH bike and posting it in the classifieds in a couple o' days (once the rain stops). Its a 2000 Yeti DH-8, with a Rock shox Boxxer, so if anyone is interested I'll post some spam once I get the ad. Great bike for Diablo, and I'll deliver it anywhere in Jersey, or the tri-state area.
I used to go there every weekend with a DH specific bike (8" front and rear) and full on DH gear. My buddy would ride with me with his Specialized 3 1/2" travel FSR and pretty much keep up with me. Granted, he's a darn good rider and probably better than half the guys that call themselves freeriders, but its all about how you ride terrain. A longer travel DH bike makes up for lots of mistakes and can let you go bigger, if that's your thing, but you can do just fine on an all rigid singlespeed in you know how to ride it right. Even with my DH bike I still didn't ride every part of every trail at Diablo, and I stay away from any ledges I can't walk down without jumping (so 3 or 4 feet is my max on a good day).
Personally, I think a really good set of brakes is way more important on DH trails than suspension. This way I can stop quick enough once I realize I'm coming upon a 6 foot drop!
I've been riding my steel softail Dekerf everywhere, with my rigid fork, and the other day I passed a guy more out of shape than me at Mahlon(we were on a climb) I stopped before the rocky descent, and he tells me I've got the wrong bike for this place, I need something with 5 inches or more of travel to properly handle the trails. ( I've got a Turner Burner which I normally would ride there, but I'm still enjoying my sub-23 pound rigid (almost, anyway) bike. He started down the descent first, and I very methodically and carefully passed him with a smile. And I wasn't even going that fast. So you can ride anything, and probably still be a better rider than someone who has a bike "more proper" for a given terrain.
BTW, I'll be taking pictures of my newer DH bike and posting it in the classifieds in a couple o' days (once the rain stops). Its a 2000 Yeti DH-8, with a Rock shox Boxxer, so if anyone is interested I'll post some spam once I get the ad. Great bike for Diablo, and I'll deliver it anywhere in Jersey, or the tri-state area.
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I would also make sure that your Prophet is in the "freeride" position. You want that slack headtube angle as some of the hills there are pretty steep. I'm happy to have my Gemini there over my Jekyll for sure. Stay away from the double diamond trails unless you are a really good technical rider. I am pretty good but I don't have to much fun on those trails. There are plenty that I do love though.
Tom
Tom
I have a Giant VT with 5" front/5.75" Swinger air shock in back and the first time I went to MC was last year with about 5 guys who had downhill bikes and 2 who had setups similar to mine. These guys knew the routes very well and kept a fast pace and I just followed right behind them. Following right behind them was the key, because if I had gone by myself, I probably would have backed out of doing a lot of things. (There are always "wuss out" options) Because I didn't know what was around each corner or over the next hill, there were many times I just took things head on with no time to react and definitely pushed my shock to it's limit, but it did save me each time. Anyway, I would continue to ride there with the setup I had, but I had an extra coil shock laying around so I'm going to switch out with that before I go again.
As for riding a hardtail there... I was the last of my group to finally go full suspension, and I used to think I was badass for hanging with them on a hardtail. I would do just about anything on it still, but no way in hell would I ever take it there and expect to have a fun time. I respect people who push the limits of hardtails, but come on. They're not meant for this kind of riding unless you have a thing for self-mutilation. Also, if you have v-brakes, I wouldn't even bother.
Warning: MC is a 2.5 hour ride for me from Philly and it's a shame because I just can't look at the usual spots I go riding the same way after riding there. It's the most fun I've ever had on a bike. I can't wait for opening day, but I wish it were less of a drive. That, and Snowshoe...
As for riding a hardtail there... I was the last of my group to finally go full suspension, and I used to think I was badass for hanging with them on a hardtail. I would do just about anything on it still, but no way in hell would I ever take it there and expect to have a fun time. I respect people who push the limits of hardtails, but come on. They're not meant for this kind of riding unless you have a thing for self-mutilation. Also, if you have v-brakes, I wouldn't even bother.
Warning: MC is a 2.5 hour ride for me from Philly and it's a shame because I just can't look at the usual spots I go riding the same way after riding there. It's the most fun I've ever had on a bike. I can't wait for opening day, but I wish it were less of a drive. That, and Snowshoe...
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