Diablo....

S

Stratocaster

Banned
Well I can't think of a better way to really break in this forum then tell you about my first trip to Diablo.... A definite WOW.... Very cool place. Talk about purpose built single track from top to bottom. We're talkin some serious flow. Very technical, apparently more so than Killington as it was explained to me Petro (who helped me find my way around). Did I say flow. And a ton of stuff that would have taken me weeks to do if it was in the middle of some ride somewhere. Something to do with things being relative I guess. What I did today could be done on a beefy 5 inch bike all day long. I saw a few hardtails, xc bikes and plenty of bank crushing DH rigs. And ah... no singlespeeder in them parts (not that it couldn't be done). Lots a ridin, not alot of pedalin, plenty of sweat and endorphines but absolutely no heavy breathing. That was weird. Did I mention purpose built single track flow.... Unbelievable, I still can't get over it. So grab your 5 inches and take advantage of yet another awesome NJ MTB resource..

See y'all there..

Steve
 
Interesting observations Strat. A friend of mine with a 6" travel reasonably burly bike came to the opposite conclusion recently. After 1 run down the hill, he put his bike back in the car and headed for the rental desk for a DH rig. He said he had a blast on that for the rest of the day. Did you avoid some of the bigger drops? Or is this just the case of 2 riders with different opinions?

There seems to be an almost even split between the 2 camps in my totally unscientific pole.

Also, how armored up did you get at Diablo?
 
Kept it simple...

Hey Jeff, I had the usual elbow, Knee/shin and pant w/ hip pads. Will most likely get the upper body thing. As far as the bike, I kept it simple and stuck with a few trails and for the most part kept my tires on the ground (aside from the table tops). The blast factor was there plenty.. good old gravity tuggin you all the time in the right direction. But yeah, it is definitely my opinion that you can have a great time and a worthwhile day out on what most people probably have already. But then the rentals are a beautiful thing if you want them.

I'm gonna have to drag you up there.... 😀
 
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I believe

It comes down to how fast you want to go. You can do most of the trails on a 5" bike like my Liquid but you will not be able to go as fast comfortably as you would on a 8" DH bike with a slack head angle. I actually rode both a rental and my Trek at Diablo on the same day and I can say it is much easier on the DH bike but just as much fun on the Trek. Just make sure your brakes are set up nicely and have plenty of pad left. Some of the rock gardens are pretty sweet.
 
Depends on ability and size of your cojones!!

😱
I recently went out there for the first time 3 weeks ago and it was AWESOME!!! I ride an Intense 5.5 and I could just about go down anything. i stayed away from the big drops though. I will have to agree with lilbuj in that you could probably go much faster on a full DH rig. Needless to say I was still going faster than some on full DH setups, so ultimately I think it come down to you and not the bike. I will say that i could only deal with about 6-7 runs before my body said NO MAS!! Fatigue started to set in and I had a little wreck that I know would not have happened earlier in the day. Plus having to peel my fingers off the bars at the end of every run was just wearing me out. All in all i would say anyone could go and have a blast, but i would recomend a min of 5in travel only because it is easier on the body which equals more fun for you!!!
 
Loved It!

I did my first downhill sesh there a coupe of weeks ago. I went during during the week thinking that it would be quiet so I wouldn't hold anyone up.

I rented their stuff because I didn't want to break my own. I loved it. The squishy rig that they gave me soaked all the stuff up but it must've weighed about 50lbs or something!!

I started off on the blue trails since it was my first time, but soon got the confidence for the blacks and double blacks. I didn't do too many of the ladders as I didn't fancy my balance and tipping into jagged rocks several feet below! There are a hell of a lot of rocks though - certainly not as flowing as Lewis Morris!

I did about 12 runs but then my forearms caved-in. I was surprised really - it's a whole different kind of knackered! My legs were fine but my hands, forearms, tits and sides were wrecked! A nice kind of exhausted feeling.

I didn't slow anyone down and actually caught some people so gave myself a pat on the back! I'll be going back there before the end of October for one more stint - if anyone wants to join then let me know - cheers!
 
Yes, diablo is my new fixation. I have been there twice. I ride a 2.5/3.5" bike and have a blast. I dont do any huge drops, but its not because of the bike I'm just not that confident yet. This place is loads of fun, and two of my friends rock hardtails here (and no, not dirtjumpers) they have a blast also.

Can't wait to go again, prob. gonna go sometime in oct. before the end of the season.

And as stated above, anyone can have loads of fun here!
 
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