[aedubber]

Hey guys, looks like i will be moving back down south again , i used to live in Plano,TX for about 14 years and been living in NJ for a good 17 now. I have some family out by the San Marcos and Canyon Lake area.
I will be moving down since my cousin and I will be partnering up and opening a business next year.

A lil about me , i used to do a lot of am riding in NJ . I did some downhill riding for a couple years in NJ , NY , VT, and NH. Was great , until i had a bad accident during a session off a tabletop .Basically i was out of riding for almost 1 year , jumped back into downhilling again and realized i wasnt 100% back into. A lot of the riding on the NE is chunky rocks , roots , ups and downs. Its very mountainy and rough. I am not a good climber and i hate climbing lol.

I dont know what the terrain is like in TX for mountain biking , but i am looking to get back into some regular XC/AM type of trail riding. Not looking to go hard , but to get back into shape , start easy and then progress again. I am also wondering how much bike is needed for TX as well since my purchase on a new bike will be for TX. Any information you guys can provide would be great and maybe some Youtube videos of the riding you guys have down there would be awesome. Thanks a lot !

 

[mack_turtle]

central Texas is mostly dry and rocky. sometimes the trail seems to be mostly rock garden with a little dirt in there occasionally. there are some IMBA and other mtb clubs in central Texas worth checking out. one of the better resources for the area is AustinBike.com - Your home for Central Texas Mountain Biking for locations of trails.

 

[big_papa_nuts]

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=igjFoYPaAxs
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HO5FBk8qAFw
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=GLqpx7r1hGE

Can be very rocky and technical. Not much climbing or sustained downhill. I'd say most people have gone 5" 29er, something that pedals well but can handle lots of rock gardens.

 

[austin_bike]

I would dispute the "not much climbing." My yearly target for climbing in 2014 is 200,000 feet, I am somewhere north of 30,000 so far for the year. Went to lakeway yesterday and racked up 2100 feet. If you said not much sustained climbing, you'd be right; most of the climbing is in shorter increments.

Central TX is all about XC riding, not downhill for the most part. The technical nature is your biggest challenge. I would say that we have some of the most technical trails that I have ridden and I have ridden all around the world. Our terrain is about ledges and technical challenges, unfortunately you don't find that sweet flowy singletrack here.

 

[aedubber]

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=igjFoYPaAxs
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HO5FBk8qAFw
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=GLqpx7r1hGE

Can be very rocky and technical. Not much climbing or sustained downhill. I'd say most people have gone 5" 29er, something that pedals well but can handle lots of rock gardens.

Looks good , i had a nice Knolly Chili myself, but sold it off to get back into downhill . Great videos

I would dispute the "not much climbing." My yearly target for climbing in 2014 is 200,000 feet, I am somewhere north of 30,000 so far for the year. Went to lakeway yesterday and racked up 2100 feet. If you said not much sustained climbing, you'd be right; most of the climbing is in shorter increments.

Central TX is all about XC riding, not downhill for the most part. The technical nature is your biggest challenge. I would say that we have some of the most technical trails that I have ridden and I have ridden all around the world. Our terrain is about ledges and technical challenges, unfortunately you don't find that sweet flowy singletrack here.

We have some pretty techy areas here in NJ , very similar to the videos posted above but it just depends where you ride. We have fast and flowy or slow and techy. Hmm , i guess i will have to scope out the area first and then make a purchase.

 

[In-Yo-Grill]

We have a little more dirt further south here in San Antonio. I ride a lot here in SA around OP and Leon Creek. Mostly dirt with small patches of rock gardens. Salado Creek is definitely more rocky like Madrone and Gov't Canyon.

 

[texbiker]

Welcome back home. You will be in the MTB heartland in the Austin area. There is a lot going on there. Visit my website Texbiker.net to catch up on Texas bicycling news, events and experiences.

 

[keithrad]

Also check out MountainBikeTx.com - Your Texas Mountain Bike Resource for a good list of trails all over Texas. Congrats on moving to the hill country, great riding opportunities for sure! You will have to check out Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnet. Reveille Peak Ranch Super D - YouTube

Ride what you want. I just sold my Yeti 575 26er and bought an Intense Tracer 29 mostly just to try something different, but also I am 6ft.-2in. and I like the fit of the 29er. Still getting used to the handling characteristics. I also like full squish... but there are plenty who ride hardtails and rigid bikes!! I'm not a xc racer either so It's more about comfort for me!!

 

[austin_bike]

Thanks for the mention, I forgot to add that.

People ride pretty much everything. I have done 20+ mile greenbelt trips with a guy on a fully rigid fixie and also had a guy smoke all of us with a cyclo cross bike, including dropped bars.

For RPR, suspension is really appreciated.

 

[CharacterZero]

You will have to check out Reveille Peak Ranch in Burnet. Reveille Peak Ranch Super D - YouTube

NICE - a bunch of the crew spent 6 weeks making that trail a reality 3 years ago. Maybe the most fun trail I've cut.

@aedubber - hit me up when you are coming to town, bud. Happy to show you around.