[cesslinger]

Well, today a few buddies and myself decided to go up Javelina, took Mormon to National and then went down Geronimo.

Wow, that was the scariest thing I have done all year and it is only the first day.

If there are any rigid riders that take downhill routes, can you hook a brotha up with some tips? I chose the lines as best as possible, but I ended up crashing into a thorn tree and also made my front tire belch and deflate instantly. Oh yea, my hands still hurt from holding the brakes.

A little road rash and some thorns are not going to scare me away. The hardest parts were the steep switchbacks and riding the brakes the whole way down (hands really hurt like when I rock climb).

Any suggestions (not buy a new bike).

Thank you

 

[PrincipalRider]

Geronimo on a rigid.....my best advice is get a suspension fork.
I don't consider Geronimo that difficult anymore, but I have a 5 inch travel FS bike.

On a rigid, I would think it would be a nightmare.

Keep riding it to gain some confidence so you know where you can let the bike go and when you need to brake. Other than that, learning to trackstand might help with getting the bike aroound the switchbacks slowly. Last, if I was on a hardtail or rigid, I would just remember to let the bike run. I tell myself that a lot when I am bouncing through some nastiness on the trail.

"Get your butt over the rear tire and let the bike run!"

It usually works out when I do that.

 

[funboarder1971]

what kind of bike is it?

for example,

if its a newer bike with hydraulic disc brakes you should only have to 2-finger the levers to come to a complete stop. if its an older bikes with cantis you'll probably have to pull with all your might to even get the bike to even consider slowing down.

if its an older bike with a really short TT and a long stem, that would make it a scary trip also. a newer bike with more modern geometry would probably not be so scary.

i've done geronimo several times on my gt peace 29er singlespeed without an issue. in fact, i'm hoping to hit it again in a week or two, depending on how fast i can get my house packed up.

 

[Crimson]

Cess,

You ran into a lot of the problems many of us ran into when riding Geronimo for the first time. The ultimate solution that many of us did, was buy a new bike. However there are a few things that can help. I am not a pro nor do I ride a hardtail anymore but I can share some things that worked for me.

I will assume you are running a tubeless system with what you said. A lot of people soften there tires for downhill with tubeless only to have the tire burp and have a hard crash. I did my first time down. I now will not run tubeless for that same reason. I had good luck with tubeless for xc but I don't want have to worry about my tire burping and losing 20-30 psi in one second.

I would look into larger tires and decide if you want a dedicated downhill tire for the extra safety and performance or not. A favorite of many including myself are Kenda Nevegals. The soft downhill compound is incredible but it will be too slow someone doing a lot of pedaling. A 2.35 Dual Tread Compound with a kevlar folding bead will work great and keep the weight down for you.

To help your arms here are some tips. Do not go for carbon bars. While they absorb shock extremely well one wrong fall and you can throw them away. Wide bars can really help with control and arm fatigue. Move your brake levers in so you can only use on finger and adjust your lever reach so they just clear your knuckles of your other fingers but will still lock up your brakes. This will keep your fingers more comfortable. The more you ride the stronger your hands and arms will get and the smoother you will be which will also help.

I would consider running a chain guide with a bash ring or a bash guard under taco. Look into E-13 and MRP and figure out what you need for your bike and riding style.

Good luck
Crimson
Did some one say GOLD?

 

[cesslinger]

Thanks for the tips.

Funboarder, when you want to go let me know.

At the moment I have BB5's but the adjustment is not so hot on the levers. There is quite a pull before there is engadgement. I need to mess with them a bit.

I will put my seat lower next time in order to be a little more nimble on the fore aft part.

All in all, I had a lot of fun and am still a little puckered up.

 

[cesslinger]

:deleted:

 

[funboarder1971]

Thanks for the tips.

Funboarder, when you want to go let me know.

At the moment I have BB5's but the adjustment is not so hot on the levers. There is quite a pull before there is engadgement. I need to mess with them a bit.

I will put my seat lower next time in order to be a little more nimble on the fore aft part.

All in all, I had a lot of fun and am still a little puckered up.

sweet! :thumbsup:

if all goes well, i'll be back in phx by the 17-18th!

 

[pwrtrainer]

for arm pump try the exercise called the farmers walk where you simply carry a very heavy dumbell for about 45 seconds walking slowly. this helps grip strength and endurance a lot especially in your weak fingers.

 

[clockwork]

The faster you go the smoother it gets

 

[Guest]

I ride a hardtail down Geronimo on occasion just for the "do it" factor so I can give you a few pointers.

1. Do not follow the center of the trail down. Its pretty much the worst line you can take. If you stay towards the side's and snake your way down, there are much more flowy line's.

2. You don't need to brake the whole way down. It usually works best if you brake into the technical section's like the switchbacks, and then let off the brakes and "point and shoot" through the straightaways. Or brake hard coming into a technical rock section and then let off in order to carry momentum through it. The slower you go, the rougher the trail is.

3. Muscle the front, float the back. Basically what this means is be aggressive with the front of the bike. Tell it where you want it to go. Physically pick it up and plant the front tire where you want it rather than just being a passenger and letting the bike try to do it. The exact opposite holds true for a rigid rear end. You want to be as light as possible on the back of the bike. Let it float up and over obstacles rather than smacking straight into them which will usually have the result of pitching you up and over the front.

The more you ride that trail and get to know it, the easier it gets, just like any other. It has a definitive line that should be followed to keep it as flowy as possible and quite honestly, there has been some work to the lower section of that trail since the rains, so it is a LOT smoother towards the bottom than it was even 2 weeks ago.

Hope this all helps, that is one of the best trails on the mountain:thumbsup:

 

[clockwork]

I ride a hardtail down Geronimo on occasion just for the "do it" factor so I can give you a few pointers.

1. Do not follow the center of the trail down. Its pretty much the worst line you can take. If you stay towards the side's and snake your way down, there are much more flowy line's.

That would explain why the trail just keeps getting wider and wider.

 

[Guest]

That would explain why the trail just keeps getting wider and wider.

How is that trail getting any wider? Its all rock, and the chutes are all walled in with rock.

I am not talking about the top section, where you are in that groove basically until the first place that people stop to rest. There are hardly any rocks up there, I am talking from the start of the exposure down. By going a foot to one side or the other and getting up on the edges of the trail is the best line, not plowing down the center which will put you head on into the tombstones. You can't go too far one way of another or else you will be flying over the exposure, or losing copious amounts of skin to the rocks jutting out from the side.

Also, people need to remember that from the halfway point, where there is that little climb, all the way to the bottom is the property of the Boy Scouts, not the park. They have been doing a bunch of work to the bottom half of that trail in order to make it more hiker and biker friendly. If anyone has ridden it in the last few days, you may have noticed a new little booter at the bottom Everyone needs to be mindful that they allow us to use that section of trail, all in all, we have no usage rights on their property.

If you want a real challenge, turn off before the climb and ride the REAL Geronimo which dumps out a little further east.

 

[clockwork]

Yeah the real Geronimo is something else. I was also talking about up top before the mid section so my bad . I have seen lots of people riding the sides out of the trench . I also noticed someone removed one of those duel cacti you had to weave through.

 

[Guest]

Yeah the real Geronimo is something else. I was also talking about up top before the mid section so my bad . I have seen lots of people riding the sides out of the trench . I also noticed someone removed one of those duel cacti you had to weave through.

Yeah, top part you have to stay in the groove, and before it was a little trickier before a lot of the loose stuff got pushed out. Now you can just pin through there.

The Cholla that is missing on the left up there wasn't removed, it was shoulder checked and leveled by someone.

 

[clockwork]

ouch!

 

[cesslinger]

LOL, I am lucky that I didn't shoulder check a cactus, but I was pulling thorns out of my back for a bit.

 

[way-no]

did two runs yesterday, that makes my total of three ever,, and I just want to keep hitting it.For riding a hard tail down it I say shorter stem, lower the seat and try to keep the front end light and power down the hill.I ride a fs but it can be done on a hardtail.

sixty, we missed you,

 

[Guest]

sixty, we missed you,

I was not informed of any actual riding plans...

 

[way-no]

it was sorta all up in the air, thr road was shut down around three for some reason

 

[Guest]

it was sorta all up in the air, thr road was shut down around three for some reason

Probably from some tourist not being to drive up the mountain.

Foote and I got a couple runs in early to burn off the hangover's, then I spent the rest of the day sleeping.