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Whistler bike trails

1267 Views 12 Replies 10 Participants Last post by  phmaris, 
S
Hi all,

I am going to Whistler in a couple of weeks. Will do some bike park riding, just because my son and his friend are doing that. My question is is a trail bike enough for the trails in the area, or am I better served by an all mountain bike? I have never ridden the local trails in Whistler and don't know what to expect. I know there are black diamond trails, so does that mean big drops or very technical?
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I
Hey spadmike, I hope you have alot of fun. I would love to go there.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=548034

This thread has a bunch of helmet cams from Whistler, check it out and see if you would be good on your bike.
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Gman086
Depends on how fast you want to go. Me, I would NEVER bring a trail bike to Whistler. Rent a Rocky at one of the local shops - prices aren't bad and you'll have a LOT more fun, trust me! As far as types of trails - everything: big drops, berms, lots of technical roots, jumps, skinnies, wall rides, you name it.

Have FUN!

G MAN
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joeyjoedotorg
Gman086 said:
Depends on how fast you want to go. Me, I would NEVER bring a trail bike to Whistler. Rent a Rocky at one of the local shops - prices aren't bad and you'll have a LOT more fun, trust me! As far as types of trails - everything: big drops, berms, lots of technical roots, jumps, skinnies, wall rides, you name it.
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That being said, my buddy and I rode our trail bikes up at W and had plenty of fun. Mostly sessioned the smoother trails as it's hard to pound the gnar-gnar with only 5". It all depends on your skill level and what it is exactly that you want to do up there.
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T
Whistler is definately a Multi bike area, Park requires a park bike, anything less will get chewed up and spat out, all the valley trails with the exception of the "lost lake" are will require a LT trail oriented bike.
If you aren't familiar with tight tech trails swap out your clipless for flats, get rid of all XC oriented stuff.
I have lived in Whistler 2 summers now (11 winters) last summer I rode on an XC oriented bike and rode constantly with the idea of a boken bike. First step is to pick up the guidebook at pretty much any bike shop, bookstore etc for a description of all the local trails as well as locations of all the trailheds.
Rental shops -Fanatykc Co -Norco Fluid LT's as well as possibly a Knolly or two, Whistler Bike Guides- Santa Cruz, Whsitler Bike Co-Giant.
Avoid the Mountain Kona's (bike park only anyways)
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S
Thanks for the advice. I ordered the trail guide and should be here in a couple of days. I will bring my all mountain steed and proceed from there.
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P
whistler

I just returned from a week there.

If your riding the bike park, rent a downhill bike. I rented a almost brand new 2010 trek session 8 and it came out to around $60 usd a day. It was my first time riding a downhill bike and it was very comfortable. I never thought I would need 8 inches of travel, but wow am I glad I had it!!! Now i just wish the blisters on my hands from holding on so tight would heal! The trail Blue Velvet was awesome and the double backs on the top section of the mountain where my favorite. Start the day with the trail "crank it up". Good trail to get a feel for the bike and high speed. Its a nice flowing trails with some jumps and nice corners.

If you are going to ride the local xc trails, your bike will be fine. Try "comfortably numb" and "Kill me thrill me". They were awesome! There are tons of trails around whistler to ride. Picking what to do is the biggest decision you will make.
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Jet Fuel
phmaris said:
. I rented a almost brand new 2010 trek session 8 and it came out to around $60 usd a day.
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What store did you rent the Session 8 from? Might want to try one, as much as I like my Demo 7, I like to try new bikes too. I am going on Monday!
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Hangtime
My first trip to Whistler was on my 5-Spot. 5.5" (Coil) of travel frame and a Pike (Coil) set at 140mm. True not the best set up for the upper mountain but from mid mountain down it handled it. Crank it Up, A and B line type runs are groomed and very fast. There are also some Green runs that are fun to ride too. If you are a smoth rider and can pick good lines give it a go. Funny thing I ran into another person on a 5-Spot that weekend with a Zoke 66 up front, probably set at 160mm. So depending on your current trail bike the question is do you trust it. Not everyone up there has 8" bikes. There are plenty of guys on Bottlerockets (5.5") with a Fox 36 up front. If you do take take your trail bike invest in a decent tire set up, 2.35-2.4, that will make it a better experiance. Just something to think about.
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gticlay
Just went yesterday. I was riding 170mm and felt like I was somewhat under biked.
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E
I DH every day with my SX Trail (all coil); it survives well HOWEVER it has Deemax rims which are heavy tanks and Minion tires which are quite high volume. The bike is not the problem in Whistler, it's the wheels that take most of the beats (IMO). I did two days on a bone stock 2003 Trek 6700 with it's extremely lackluster Pilot fork; the bike is fine (fork too, somehow), the rear wheel is not (was letting a friend use my SX instead of renting). I was riding the blues and easy blacks (A-Line, Dirt Merchant, Freight Train, etc). Also, if you take things easy, most trails with jumps and drops have alternate routes to avoid them OR are tables so, if you short them, you don't die.

If you are referring to the TRAIL SYSTEM (as in, the stuff managed by WORCA) then a trail bike with higher volume tires (2.3+) will EASILY survive unless you're capt. hucker in which case, your bike is likely already quite strong. I have a 2001 Giant NRS (I think bone stock, SID rear, Judy fork, WTB Speedisc wheels) that has done every XC trail I have been able to find in Whistler (WORCA managed) without issue.
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S
Great advice everyone!
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P
Jet Fuel said:
What store did you rent the Session 8 from? Might want to try one, as much as I like my Demo 7, I like to try new bikes too. I am going on Monday!
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Snowcountry was the name of the place I think. Or maybe Snowcity. Its a small shop kind of in the middle of the pedestrian village.
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