thebikecomesfirst:It was a shot trip to Las Vegas, but there’s always time to fit in a mountain bi
thebikecomesfirst: It was a shot trip to Las Vegas, but there’s always time to fit in a mountain bike ride. The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area is gorgeous place to ride. There’s a nice little trail network on Blue Diamond Hill with great runs. There’s something for all skill levels there, from intermediate to expert to holy shit! We reserved bikes at Las Vegas Cyclery which is near the area. It’s only about 50 min to ride up to the trail head from the shop. And the best thing is they have a rad fleet of Santa Cruz bikes there. Although we were unlucky and a big group had rented out all their XC bikes. I called them to see if maybe they had other bikes not listed on their website, but nope. So we reserved their 27.5+ Santa Cruz Hightower and their Fat Boy. It was going to be a fat ride! But when we showed up to pick up the bikes, and the guy at the shop realized we were heading toward Blue Diamond Hill, his faced changed and suddenly there was a spare Bronson we could borrow. Apparently it wasn’t such a good idea to ride a rigid fat bike in that terrain with sharp rocks, we would have had a ton of punctures. Not something I had thought about. The trails there really are extra extra chunky. It is non-stop technical obstacles, uphill, downhill, on flat, there’s no rest ever. It’s AMAZING. If there’s too much groomed fire roads in your life, then this place will feel like paradise. Just don’t touch the vegetation. Not only cactus. ANYTHING. It really hurts like hell. Even the slightest touch – what would be considered a sweet caress – will make you scream like you’ve been stabbed. Because you’ve been stabbed. It was my first time riding a 27.5+ bike. It’s the new wider wheel size. And like any other new trend in the bike industry I was quite indifferent when I first heard about it. But once the tires hit the dirt, it all made sense. It’s a really fun setup with a TON of grip. I was impressed by how well this bike could climb. At first I was bailing out by habit way before I had reached the limit of the bike. But that bike could move, it wasn’t dragging it’s butt at all. Then on the downhill it felt so smooth yet playful. It was a floaty feeling with again a TON of grip. The loose corners were super fun to slide through as the grip was more predictable and progressive. I was convinced. That’s the setup I would pick for a fun trail bike, when I’m chasing smiles not KOMs. Although I wouldn’t be surprised to see that Santa Cruz Hightower steal a few trophies. Check out the GoPro video of that ride down Boneshaker HERE. Strava activity map HERE. -- source link