n* newbie

[jroymcd]

im building a hardtail and it will be ready next week. going to n* in a few weeks should i ride it or rent a DH rig? not big into huge drops i like single track. what runs should i try and what shold i stay away from? i consider myself a xc rider and not much of a downhiller.

[TheMontashu]

If you ride N* and have an XC NT rent a DH bike you will not have much fun

[cornholio]

don't listen to the hype. no you don't need to rent a dh rig. if you want to hit all the expert runs, a dh rig is nice, but not required. and in any case, there's tons of trails there. even the double black trails, there can be quite a bit of variation from not that hard to very hard in places. if you're more into xc type singletrack, try the blue runs on the lower half of the mountain. also try flameout from the top of the mountain, and the two other short flowy swoopy trails with berms--sinuous and haugs, which connect back to flameout. if you like flameout, try pho dogg, and boondocks. don't be afraid to explore a little. just use your common sense and you'll have a good time.

[TheMontashu]

there are some realy steep sections with big rocks on boondocks i would not want to tha an XC bike on

[chicodude]

Yea, You can ride a hartail at N* but its super sketch. The trails are so torn up this time of year, with braking bumps and such, that you're gonna get real tired real quick

[jroymcd]

maybe it would be best to rent than tear up my new bike.

[chicodude]

Yea, Cause stuff will break.

It's usually really random crap too...

[Low_b]

If you are used to riding your HT and feel good on it ride it.
I've ridden every trail at N* on a Ht and it can be real fun.
You probably wont go as fast as those on Dh bikes but you'll have fun!!!

[cornholio]

maybe it would be best to rent than tear up my new bike.
if you're worried about your bike, and you think you'll want to check out some of the more challenging expert trails, then yes, renting might be a good idea. northstar eats bikes for breakfast.

it all depends on the kinds of trails you're going to ride. if you stay on the blue trails, it doesn't matter, use the xc bike, dh bike would be overkill. but if you want to check out the expert trails, karpiel, dog bone, sticks and stones, and boondocks, then for optimal enjoyment, dh bike is nice. flameout is a black rated trail, but it's the easiest trail off the top, a bit rocky in places but not difficult, and has a lot of pedalling, so well suited for a trail bike. flameout is more of an aggressive xc trail than a dh trail.

the first time i went to n*, i rode my xc bike on the expert trails. it was a handful and an eye opening experience, and i walked a lot of sections, but i still had lots of fun. and that's when i decided to buy a dh bike.

[amydalayna]

the first time i went to n*, i rode my xc bike on the expert trails. it was a handful and an eye opening experience, and i walked a lot of sections, but i still had lots of fun. and that's when i decided to buy a dh bike.

oh how i hear you on that. i move to tahoe from the east coast 2 years ago and took my xc bike to n*. I got rocked. I thought, how am I ever going to ride this stuff. Choosing a beefier bike makes a world of difference.

[Slugman]

A hardtail designed and built up for DH/FR at N* is awesome... an XC hardtail would NOT be fun.

Rent a squishy bike...

[jroymcd]

my plan is to rent a DH rig

1 do a few blue squares to warm up
2 try flameout
3 pho dogg
4 boondocks

[TheMontashu]

I would recomend trying the top part of carpiel as well as speed control and from upper karp you can hop on pho dog

[amydalayna]

my plan is to rent a DH rig

1 do a few blue squares to warm up
2 try flameout
3 pho dogg
4 boondocks

depending on what you rent... you might not want to do flameout - too much pedalling on a big bike.

my favorite is upper sticks and stones to dog bone to pho dog....
boondocks is lovely too.

[TheMontashu]

Remember this is an XC rider

[SBDHrida]

don't rent from n*. They don't have a good enough selection. Go to cyclepaths in Truckee (cyclepaths.com will have the address). They have everything you could ever want in rentals. Another option if your more used to and would rather ride a cross country type bike, is to rent a long travel trail bike. Cyclepaths has the heckler, slayer, and even the Nomad if you take a small.

[chicodude]

don't rent from n*. They don't have a good enough selection. Go to cyclepaths in Truckee (cyclepaths.com will have the address). They have everything you could ever want in rentals. Another option if your more used to and would rather ride a cross country type bike, is to rent a long travel trail bike. Cyclepaths has the heckler, slayer, and even the Nomad if you take a small.


Werd. The dude's from N* don't take the time to set up your stuff the right way. My vote is for cyclepths too.



P.S. Cyclepaths is cheaper too...

[Brian HCM#1]

don't rent from n*. They don't have a good enough selection. Go to cyclepaths in Truckee (cyclepaths.com will have the address). They have everything you could ever want in rentals. Another option if your more used to and would rather ride a cross country type bike, is to rent a long travel trail bike. Cyclepaths has the heckler, slayer, and even the Nomad if you take a small.
So V10's suck for N*:confused:

[jroymcd]

so most single blacks should ok? ive done downeville, kirkwood, and alot in the santa cruz mountains. im just not into big air.