Gnarliest place you've ridden

RickVaughn

RickVaughn

Active Member
Hey guys,

I just impulse bought a cross bike because...well, it was Monday...anyway, just wondering: what's the toughest terrain you can ride on these things? I know 6 mile and Allaire should be fine. I can probably get away with Lewis Morris too. Anything else in the North/Central area?
 
apparently short track races are cx bike "friendly" - but it isn't an advantage.
 
I tried to ride on a beach with @The Squirrel, it didn't work...
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Supermoto said:
Did you get a flat from the medical waste needles that wash up there?
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No, though that's a legitimate concern. I did manage to go OTB when dropping off of the boardwalk to get down to the beach. I was probably chasing one of your KOMs.
 
You can ride a CX bike almost anywhere. It may not be the most efficient but it can be done. I've ridden mine in ringwood, waway, and Allamuchy. It wasn't the most fun I've ever had on a bike but I can say I did it. Six mile was fun, Lewis Morris is fun too.
 
xc62701 said:
You can ride a CX bike almost anywhere. It may not be the most efficient but it can be done. I've ridden mine in ringwood, waway, and Allamuchy. It wasn't the most fun I've ever had on a bike but I can say I did it. Six mile was fun, Lewis Morris is fun too.
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That's great to know! I probably won't try that yet though, I have enough of a challenge on my FS...
 
I routinely ride a cx bike in rocky north jersey parks. It's not as fun as riding a full suspension 29 but certainly helps improve line choice and smoothness.

Definitely put on 40c's and go tubeless.
 
I guess gnarliest I've was at chimney rock. I used to ride lew mo a lot. Listen to @Delish and put the fattest tubeless tires on that you can fit. You will pinch flat.
 
You ride gnarly place on a cross bike until you realize it is stupid.

Mercer isn't gnarly, but some of the root sections on skinny tires is enough to rattle some teeth out.
 
I found Lewis Morris was the realistic limit with standard cross tires and the typical crappy old school canti brakes. Stopping in some of the tougher sections (hard to believe I'm using that phrase from LM) was dicey and it was easy to flat if you hit a rock the wrong way. Switching to tubeless helped, but braking - or really keeping your hands from rattling off the bars while trying to brake on the brake hoods - was still an issue.

As far as what "can" you do, I'm sure the most techy sections of Allamuchy North are possible, but more just to say you did it.
 
When I had a cross bike back in 1999 (Indy Fab Planet-Cross), I rode it a few times on the pre-IMBA-era trails of the Wissahickon. It was good fun, despite having XTR cantilever "imaginary" brakes. I'll likely put some more aggressive tires on my Grade and try it out on some trails.
 
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You can really improve braking ability on a drop bar cx type bike by adjusting the angle of the brake hoods. On my road bike the brake hood tops are nearly parallel to the ground. On my cross bike I point the tops of the hoods up at an angle, which gives your palms something to push against during heavy braking and puts your wrist into a neutral position. If your hoods are level with the ground your hands end up sliding forward under braking against the web of your thumb and you get that feeling that your hands are going to fly off the bars. Point those hoods skyways for better control.
 
Delish said:
View attachment 48972 You can really improve braking ability on a drop bar cx type bike by adjusting the angle of the brake hoods. On my road bike the brake hood tops are nearly parallel to the ground. On my cross bike I point the tops of the hoods up at an angle, which gives your palms something to push against during heavy braking and puts your wrist into a neutral position. If your hoods are level with the ground your hands end up sliding forward under braking against the web of your thumb and you get that feeling that your hands are going to fly off the bars. Point those hoods skyways for better control.
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Does your bike still have Hartford mud on it?
 
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