[kjlued]

LOL

Nothing against Tsali....but Top trail for the state?

Really?!?!?!

The Top Mountain Bike Trails in the USA, State by State | Singletracks Mountain Bike Blog

 

[Banjopickin]

I always thought it was Col. Francis Beatty Park in Matthews, NC...

 

[kjlued]

It is

 

[supercusty]

I always thought it was Col. Francis Beatty Park in Matthews, NC...

It did not say worst

 

[M-U-M]

Okay - who paid them to do that? Thanks!

 

[jstuhlman]

bwahahahaha...lowesplosion v2.0 Ftmff (the original is over at byt).

 

[Elduder]

This was based on my reviews so take that with a large grain of salt

 

[kjlued]

You should have reviewed mountain bikers.

 

[acer66]

The best trail is the one I am on

 

[kjlued]

You're not too bright are ya?

So obviously you think Tsali is the best NC has to offer.

Speaks highly for your intelligence...nuff said.

 

[swoodbrn]

Just to turn the tide a bit...I like Tsali. It's a singular ride, at least, not many trails are very similar to it, really. It's good to ride it maybe once ev 2-3 years, when you're already out there, as I tend to be. Interesting bank striations revealed by low water line, awesome views of the lake, especially in winter. You can cruuuuuize around that thing, and hardly ever see anyone else. For western NC riding Tsali has a nostalgia to it. Don't hate the Tsali folly.

 

[kjlued]

Swooden, I agree. It is a nice Trail system. I enjoy it occasionally myself and would even recommend it. This is why I said nothing against it in my original post. However it is far from the best.

 

[matty22c]

You just need to realize how singletracks compiled this list. It looks to be based on the numbers and quality of the reviews. Tsali has been around a long time. To my knowledge it was know in the mtb community (in the USA lets say) for far longer than pisgah, dupont, and BC. Some of those trails didn't even exist back then (or not really open to the public), ie Dupont. So Tsali has that going for it. Tsali was ranked at or near the top of the best trails in the country for years (90s) and it still is on some sites.
There is also the fact that it is technically and physically less challenging than say a lot of the pisgah and some dupont/bc trails we love. This may seem as a demerit to us, but a huge portion of the mtb community look at Tsali's shortcomings as advantages. Be them beginners or the weekend warrior who rides XC in like kansas or something. Something like farlow or the steeps on burnt mountain is foreign to them. Some of them embrace it, others just get their fun at Tsali and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[jn35646]

You just need to realize how singletracks compiled this list. It looks to be based on the numbers and quality of the reviews. Tsali has been around a long time. To my knowledge it was know in the mtb community (in the USA lets say) for far longer than pisgah, dupont, and BC. Some of those trails didn't even exist back then (or not really open to the public), ie Dupont. So Tsali has that going for it. Tsali was ranked at or near the top of the best trails in the country for years (90s) and it still is on some sites.
There is also the fact that it is technically and physically less challenging than say a lot of the pisgah and some dupont/bc trails we love. This may seem as a demerit to us, but a huge portion of the mtb community look at Tsali's shortcomings as advantages. Be them beginners or the weekend warrior who rides XC in like kansas or something. Something like farlow or the steeps on burnt mountain is foreign to them. Some of them embrace it, others just get their fun at Tsali and there's nothing wrong with that.

You sir, get outta here with that logic

 

[bikensand]

You just need to realize how singletracks compiled this list. It looks to be based on the numbers and quality of the reviews. Tsali has been around a long time. To my knowledge it was know in the mtb community (in the USA lets say) for far longer than pisgah, dupont, and BC. Some of those trails didn't even exist back then (or not really open to the public), ie Dupont. So Tsali has that going for it. Tsali was ranked at or near the top of the best trails in the country for years (90s) and it still is on some sites.
There is also the fact that it is technically and physically less challenging than say a lot of the pisgah and some dupont/bc trails we love. This may seem as a demerit to us, but a huge portion of the mtb community look at Tsali's shortcomings as advantages. Be them beginners or the weekend warrior who rides XC in like kansas or something. Something like farlow or the steeps on burnt mountain is foreign to them. Some of them embrace it, others just get their fun at Tsali and there's nothing wrong with that.

I was gonna say, there has to be some sort of "popularity" or "usage" component in the formula because I'm not sure how many would say that Blankets Creek is the best Georgia has to offer. Great, yes, but the best, no. I had heard someone say that it is the most used bike trail system in the US.

 

[kjlued]

You sir, get outta here with that logic

Exactly

There is also the fact that it is technically and physically less challenging than say a lot of the pisgah and some dupont/bc trails we love. This may seem as a demerit to us, but a huge portion of the mtb community look at Tsali's shortcomings as

Oh I agree.

Kind of like the guy that was coming here for his first time last fall and wanted to ride our technical trails. Even though I told him to hit BC or DuPont he chose Black Mtn & Bennett Gap from other peoples recommendations. Then comes back here *****ing about how horrible the trails are and complaining about how many leaves were on it. lol

 

[Ride-beer-rinse-repeat]

You just need to realize how singletracks compiled this list. It looks to be based on the numbers and quality of the reviews. Tsali has been around a long time. To my knowledge it was know in the mtb community (in the USA lets say) for far longer than pisgah, dupont, and BC. Some of those trails didn't even exist back then (or not really open to the public), ie Dupont. So Tsali has that going for it. Tsali was ranked at or near the top of the best trails in the country for years (90s) and it still is on some sites.
There is also the fact that it is technically and physically less challenging than say a lot of the pisgah and some dupont/bc trails we love. This may seem as a demerit to us, but a huge portion of the mtb community look at Tsali's shortcomings as advantages. Be them beginners or the weekend warrior who rides XC in like kansas or something. Something like farlow or the steeps on burnt mountain is foreign to them. Some of them embrace it, others just get their fun at Tsali and there's nothing wrong with that.

Yup

Some days I wake up and I'm up for a day on a trail like Bennett or Farlow, some days I just want to ride for 30-40+ miles and enjoy the outdoors, so I hit Dupont or Bent, some days I want to ride 1000 switchbacks and flow and hit a few jumps, so I hit up, say, Warrior Creek or something like that, some days I feel like the Heartbreak loop, etc. For me, the best trail is the one I'm on that day, riding like I want to ride, with a big ol' grin, a few friends, and a beer at the end. Or Margaritas.

And my wife can't understand why I need 4 bikes...

 

[PeterGriffin]

WHat is the best trail?

 

[matty22c]

Exactly
Oh I agree.

Kind of like the guy that was coming here for his first time last fall and wanted to ride our technical trails. Even though I told him to hit BC or DuPont he chose Black Mtn & Bennett Gap from other peoples recommendations. Then comes back here *****ing about how horrible the trails are and complaining about how many leaves were on it. lol

Yeah, technical is really a loose term almost completely based on what a person has ridden (see in person) before. Sure they might watch the latest vitalmtb videos or even youtube videos of the trail in question, but most video has trouble truing showing how steep and technical a trail is.
It is interesting how one reacts to riding the hardest trail they have ever been on. I remember the first time I rode farlow, which at the time was the toughest trail (technically speaking) I had ridden on. Though I had ridden most of the classic pisgah/dupont rides by then, so farlow wasn't too much of a shock. It was a couple days before or after xmas, had to have been around 07ish. I was on a 10 year old voodoo FS, disc on the front, v's on the back. It was cold, rainy and with leaves everywhere. That marked the first time I had ever walked down a section of trail. Also broke a finger on one get off. I had a blast, loved it so much I returned a few months later to ride it again. Since then I have raised the bar on the toughest trail a few times and farlow isn't nearly as awe-inspiring as it once was. Although I haven't ridden it in about a year, so I'm sure it is upped its gnar-ness with all of the rain last year. I know Daniels ridge was a good deal different (on the non rocky side) when I rode if a few months ago.

 

[matty22c]

Another thing is the list looked to be more about the best trail areas than specific trails. Although there are some specific trails listed there.

WHat is the best trail?

That is completely dependent on your tastes.