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Ask the folks at Ibis for a good route at WilderSkeggs is wet? Crap.
Tomorrow I've got a factory demo slot on a new Ibis Ripley V4. I haven't ridden a new bike in THIRTEEN YEARS and I have a lot of learnin' to do. Skeggs is home turf and I really wanted to see how the modern geometry felt on familiar ground (down & up manzanita, down reso up ECdM).
The alternative is to hit up Demo for my demo... except I've shamefully never ridden those trails. I've been riding the peninsula and around since I was 12, but never made it to Demo for undefinable reasons.
SO. Advice sought: hit up Skeggs (and drive 3 hours to/from) and ride soft but known ground for clearish comparisons or try out Demo for the first time on a new new whip? (I know Flow is the jam, but can I hit any technical climbs that compare to reverse Manzanita?)
I can't speak to the overall conditions at Skeggs but I would say ride where you're familiar. I would surmise given recent conditions that parts will be dry. I've been all over China, Tamo, and Annadel lately and they're packing up pretty hard. And anyway you want a whip that can handle all the conditions up here so why not take that Ripley and plow out whatever presents itself? Wet or not. The difference will likely be substantial but my guess, given that I just demo'd the same bike, isnthst you will be pleased with it. Albeit the adjustment period.Skeggs is wet? Crap.
Tomorrow I've got a factory demo slot on a new Ibis Ripley V4. I haven't ridden a new bike in THIRTEEN YEARS and I have a lot of learnin' to do. Skeggs is home turf and I really wanted to see how the modern geometry felt on familiar ground (down & up manzanita, down reso up ECdM).
The alternative is to hit up Demo for my demo... except I've shamefully never ridden those trails. I've been riding the peninsula and around since I was 12, but never made it to Demo for undefinable reasons.
SO. Advice sought: hit up Skeggs (and drive 3 hours to/from) and ride soft but known ground for clearish comparisons or try out Demo for the first time on a new new whip? (I know Flow is the jam, but can I hit any technical climbs that compare to reverse Manzanita?)
Fyi, the small section of Manzanita I did (connector btwn Fir and Meth) was like covered with thick grease mud. Can make it down sketchily but frankly can't imagine anyone making it up. The larger/lower sections of Manzanita might be better(?).Skeggs is wet? Crap.
Tomorrow I've got a factory demo slot on a new Ibis Ripley V4. I haven't ridden a new bike in THIRTEEN YEARS and I have a lot of learnin' to do. Skeggs is home turf and I really wanted to see how the modern geometry felt on familiar ground (down & up manzanita, down reso up ECdM).
The alternative is to hit up Demo for my demo... except I've shamefully never ridden those trails. I've been riding the peninsula and around since I was 12, but never made it to Demo for undefinable reasons.
SO. Advice sought:
- hit up Skeggs (and drive 3 hours to/from) and ride soft but known ground for clearish comparisons, or
- try out Demo for the first time on a new new whip? (I understand Flow is the jam, but can I hit any technical climbs that compare to reverse Manzanita?)
Skeggs is wet? Crap.
Tomorrow I've got a factory demo slot on a new Ibis Ripley V4. I haven't ridden a new bike in THIRTEEN YEARS and I have a lot of learnin' to do. Skeggs is home turf and I really wanted to see how the modern geometry felt on familiar ground (down & up manzanita, down reso up ECdM).
The alternative is to hit up Demo for my demo... except I've shamefully never ridden those trails. I've been riding the peninsula and around since I was 12, but never made it to Demo for undefinable reasons.
SO. Advice sought:
- hit up Skeggs (and drive 3 hours to/from) and ride soft but known ground for clearish comparisons, or
- try out Demo for the first time on a new new whip? (I understand Flow is the jam, but can I hit any technical climbs that compare to reverse Manzanita?)
Braille would be much much better test than Flow. I don't think you'll get what you're looking for on Flow.Didn't mean to hijack but too late...
Coming from older, steeper geometry I worry I'm going to miss precision handling. Sure, maybe I'll be faster with point & shoot long/slack setups but I like handling my bike pretty actively. I've also got bad knees and laying the bike over with the dropper slammed seems unfun. (Probably just gotta HTFU).
I figure navigating a familiar set of rock gardens is going to give me the best bet for feeling out slower geometry. Flow trail may be fun, but does it demand handling skills? Will I readily feel out twitchy vs. stable?
I've ridden Wilder once... with a toddler strapped to the front of my bike. I didn't hit Enchanted Loop or Zane Grey, so maybe I missed the harder bits.
I'm rubber-side down, blue is fun, black is doable but less fun rider. I also strictly ride legal trails, so no mail runs for me.
Santa Teresa is new to me; sounds fun but probably not ideal for demo tests. It seems prudent to either ride Skeggs (muddy or no) or stay in SC to reduce drive time.
If you go to Demo tomorrow you'll likely be there all alone. No cell coverage, except at the very top.I've got all day with the Ripley, and I'm decent but hardly racing shape. I usually ride out 3K of climbing in an end-of-weekday Skeggs session without stops. With a lunch break. I can probably muster 2 laps on Flow/Braille via Tractor/Sulphur. (He said without a shred of first hand experience.)
Video recon indicates Braille is definitely more useful test-wise, but I'll be on 100% of the do-arounds. Also GoPro vision never really gets you that close to knowing what's up.