[YetiBear]

I am hoping to head to Colorado in a couple of weeks and do some riding around Fruita,(18 mile, Kokopelli), Cortez(Phil's World Boggy Draw), and Salida(Cottonwood & such). I have an older Transition Bandit with a 140 fork in front/ 130 travel rear and a 1 year old aluminum Santa Cruz Tallboy with 130 fork/ 110 travel rear. I was wondering if you folks could give me some opinions on which bike to take. Thanks in
advance.

 

[k2rider1964]

I've ridden both those types of bikes at Phil's World and Fruita/GJ in the past and they both did fine. Not sure what you mean by "older" Transition but like most people, I'm a fan of newer geometry and newer drivetrains so I might leans towards the Tallboy w/o knowing more about the Transition.

 

[YetiBear]

Thanks K2. The Transition probably has geometry similar to the Tallboy but more travel. Not real slack. It has a 2x10 instead of the Tallboy's 1x11 which is alright cuz it has a little lower granny for a 66 year old guy from the midwest.

 

[k2rider1964]

Well, I'm not 66 but qualify for AARP benefits myself. I'm partial to 1X drivetrains but if you're more comfortable with the 2x10, run with that. There isn't any hardcore climbs per se at Fruita/GJ (you can find some at Kokopelli if you want though) or Phil's/Boggy Draw but I've not ridden in Salida. I love all the other areas you're heading though. If you're headed back East thru Durango, the riding at Twin Buttes is very well designed and mostly in the trees yet starts right next to the highway in town.

 

[YetiBear]

Thanks, will keep Twin Buttes in mind. Not sure how much time we'll have. So many trails. So little time.

 

[YetiBear]

K2Rider, Thanks for the Twin Buttes suggestion. We got there and did that trail. Pretty good climb for this Midwest boy to start but great trails. Nice views at the top and Flo and Eddy ( if I remember the name correctly) was a riot coming down.