As the snow continues to fly this fall in Crested Butte, we start transitioning from summer to winter and I start reflecting on the biking season that is over and what it was like with my new bike. I wrote a general review of my new bike in the spring (Click Here To Read) and this is a follow up since then. I’ll also recap some of my rides I did here this summer and fall in Crested Butte.
Overall I have been very pleased with the performance and ride quality of my bike, the Reeb Steezl. This has been the first season where I never felt like I needed more suspension or that I was going to break my bike going down some rowdy trails. As the year wore on I got more used to the feel of the bike and I started to really notice the subtleties of the ride and build quality of the bike. Honestly it’s hard to explain, on the downhills the bike felt lively and fun on playful sections yet it felt planted and fast through rough and rowdy terrain. On the uphills I was amazed that it didn’t feel clunky or as heavy as I expected. I was also surprised at how well it climbed over technical sections of trail. As the season progressed I also pushed the bike harder on trails to see what its limits were, and it did not disappoint. For my skill and speed it gave me cushion to where I felt like it could handle anything I dared throw at it.
Until one day, when I was doing some downhill runs with my boys. I started to notice a somewhat clunky rattling noise coming from my fork when I was riding on a series of rough terrain. This was disappointing as I felt like up until that time my fork felt really good. In the end I had to get it worked on. I sent it to MRP in Grand Junction and they replaced the damper in it. This took a couple of weeks and our family ended up taking a trip right when I got it back so I didn’t ride my bike for what seemed like way too long during the short summer season here.
During my time when I didn’t ride my bike, I was able to climb Whetstone Mountain from our house. That was a fun and tiring adventure.
When I finally got back on my bike I was a little nervous that my fork wouldn’t hold up, but as I ran it through the season it performed really well and I didn’t have any more problems with it.
My rear shock, the Cane Creek Tigon, has been amazing. After a couple of weeks early in the summer riding it without adding any air to it, just using the coil, I decided to add just a little air. I noticed a big difference when hitting jumps. It added enough of the springyness needed to be able to launch off jumps making the trail all the more playful without sacrificing the planted cushyness of the coil shock.
The dropper seat post, the Wolf Tooth Resolve, has worked well but I definitely recommend wiping it down when it’s dirty. It can become slow sometimes and you have to make it go up and down a few times just to get it going smoothly. It never got stuck just a little slow sometimes.
My seat, the Brooks B17, has been comfortable. It isn’t an instant super comfortable seat, but it is better than anything else I’ve ridden on. As time goes on it is supposed to get more comfortable, so I will continue to see if I notice it getting more comfy.
I have been very pleased with everything else including the drivetrain, brakes, bash guard/chain guide, handlebars, etc.
Now, onto some quick ride recaps.
My favorite post work ride: Gunsight Connector. A Short enough fun ride that is always just challenging enough for me. It has a long ascent up a double track to an awesome downhill single track that is in an Aspen forest. It was fun for me to ride the trail and see the differences through the seasons with the changing forest undergrowth and the changing Aspen trees throughout the year.
Favorite rowdy ride close by: I just call it Westside, but it’s actually a series of several trails put together that make for a long downhill that includes some rowdy rocky sections to smooth winding sections, all single track. It’s a combination of trails including Upper Westside, Westside, Lower Westside, Happy Hour, Upper, to Tony’s.
Most fun with my oldest son ride: We decided to do Trail 401 (probably the most legendary trail in Crested Butte). The timing was perfect, the weather was amazing and the views were great! The trail was in great shape. We especially enjoyed a can of Coca-Cola at the end of the trail in the town of Gothic.
Most big regretful ride: Korlissa and I did Trail 401 just a couple of days after it snowed a little. We thought it would be good to go since it had been a couple of sunny days since the snow. We were wrong. The wooded section had snow and ice which was ok to ride. It climbs to a fairly high elevation. When we got out of the woods the trail became extremely muddy. The thick sticky kind of mud. It was a mess and we had to walk quite a ways. After going downhill a little the mud cleared up and we were able to somewhat enjoy the awesome downhill sections of the trail. At least we got a couple of nice pictures on the way up.
Most epic ride of the season: My brother Phil and I decided to try doing Star Pass. We did the bigger loop that included Block and Tackle trail to Double Top trail. Whew! My advice is to not do what we did. The way up wasn’t too bad. We started at Deadman’s gulch and made our way to Crystal Peak trail. That was amazing but ruthless in its high altitude attitude. The trail on the way up looks so easy but the altitude made it way more difficult. The top was incredible. I may do it again someday but instead of doing Block and Tackle trail to Double Top trail, which was incredibly hard with a lot of hike-a-biking, I would like to do Double Top to Hunters Creek. We were worn out by the end of the day but it was truly epic.
Marital Mountain Biking Motivation: This fall was the beginning of a new stage of life for Korlissa and I. All of our boys went to school. Since my days off of work are Sunday and Monday, we were able to have mountain biking dates on Mondays! Not only that but Korlissa had been invited to go mountain biking with a group of ladies every week. Her skills and endurance improved and she enjoyed being out challenging herself on the trails.
On the boys first day of school, which happened to be Korlissa’s birthday, we were able to ride Gunsight Connector. We finished the ride by biking through town and stopped by Teocalli Tamale for lunch.
Another ride I really enjoyed with Korlissa was Strawberry. It has a fairly steady uphill with aspens all around and a fun downhill section.
Most fun forgotten trail: I hadn’t done Strand trail very much and I forgot how much fun it is. The flowy downhill surprised me and made me realize that I should incorporate this trail more into my seasonal riding.
There are so many different trails and routes to go around here and I just don’t have time to do everything I want, but that leaves the door open for next year.
Rides I’d like to do in the future:
Couch to couch (meaning from the house) ride to trail 403 to trail 401.
Reno, Flag, Bear, Doctor Park.
I’d like to also ride Baxter Gulch more. I didn’t ride that enough this year.
Here is a video that Seth from Berm Peak did that showcases Teocalli trail. Korlissa did this trail for the first time this year. This video gives a good overview of what mountain biking in the fall is like, here in Crested Butte. There are also some quick video shots of Trail 401 and other views around our area if you're interested in seeing part of what we enjoy!
The snow is flying so on to snowboarding season next!!