Okay guys,
Just moved to Tampa from NYC. I ride a Canfield Bro's Yelli Screamy Hardtail with Tower pro 120 fork. The trails I was riding in new york were definately a bit advanced for my newbie skills (tons of road experience, got bored and built up a cheap 29er to try it out. loved it so built the yelli to be a more capable bike for me)
So i've been out a few times to Wilderness Park Trails and to Boyette. I have yet to hit Alafia though I may go this weekend. My first ride with the SWAMP club at Wilderness trails went something like this:
Ride leader "Okay, we are going onto BLAH BLAH BLAH trail,this is a more difficult trail, take your time" At the end of the trail I was left dumbfounded; What was so hard about that? Up north I haven't seen a trail without a log over on it. Down here, I've yet to see a log over! Up north, when I hear someone call something a drop, it's a legit cliff. Not necessarily big, mind you but the ground is level and it drops off to a flat or slightly downhill landing. Anything that is angled upwards somewhat is what we would call a jump. Down here, I keep hearing people talk about the "drop on such and such trail" and again, I'm left dumbfounded. What I've gathered is anything that is a steep downhill they are calling a drop? i.e. Ridgeline at boyette has drops?
So my question to you guys is, is Alafia the same as boyette and wilderness park? (don't get me wrong, there is a lot more going at Boyette than wilderness park) I keep hearing how awesome these places are supposed to be and don't get me wrong, the trails are in fantastic shape and I'm actually really loving the flowyness of these trails. I'm 250lbs so tons of big hills and climbing is death for me, these trails are spot on. I also took up MTB at age 35, I'm not really looking to be a downhill specialist but what I'm really wondering is do I need to get a different bike?
I've got "trail" rated wheels which will probably stay regardless because I am 250lbs but I could consider going to something a few grams lighter than these. I've also got things like a triple crank, dropper post, and 203/180mm rotors. Basically for us big guys there is some degree of overbuilding we should do but if there are really no trails with anything significantly aggressive, I think I need to make a decision on what to do with this bike. At the moment I really can't justify buying a 2nd bike though what I'd really like to do is build up a much lighter chinese carbon bike to really whip through these easy trails.
Please don't tell me "your 250lbs, lose weight" For one, I'm 6'3" and yes I could drop about 20 lbs, but I have a steel framed surly road bike at 30lbs and a carbon road bike at 16lbs. The carbon bike is way faster. it's not all about rider weight. The yelli in its current state is close to 29lbs. I know I can cut a lot of that weight off by getting rid of the dropper, changing out tires, and going to a 1x system. I just want to be sure that there aren't some other trails where I'm actually going to want all of that stuff on there.
Just moved to Tampa from NYC. I ride a Canfield Bro's Yelli Screamy Hardtail with Tower pro 120 fork. The trails I was riding in new york were definately a bit advanced for my newbie skills (tons of road experience, got bored and built up a cheap 29er to try it out. loved it so built the yelli to be a more capable bike for me)
So i've been out a few times to Wilderness Park Trails and to Boyette. I have yet to hit Alafia though I may go this weekend. My first ride with the SWAMP club at Wilderness trails went something like this:
Ride leader "Okay, we are going onto BLAH BLAH BLAH trail,this is a more difficult trail, take your time" At the end of the trail I was left dumbfounded; What was so hard about that? Up north I haven't seen a trail without a log over on it. Down here, I've yet to see a log over! Up north, when I hear someone call something a drop, it's a legit cliff. Not necessarily big, mind you but the ground is level and it drops off to a flat or slightly downhill landing. Anything that is angled upwards somewhat is what we would call a jump. Down here, I keep hearing people talk about the "drop on such and such trail" and again, I'm left dumbfounded. What I've gathered is anything that is a steep downhill they are calling a drop? i.e. Ridgeline at boyette has drops?
So my question to you guys is, is Alafia the same as boyette and wilderness park? (don't get me wrong, there is a lot more going at Boyette than wilderness park) I keep hearing how awesome these places are supposed to be and don't get me wrong, the trails are in fantastic shape and I'm actually really loving the flowyness of these trails. I'm 250lbs so tons of big hills and climbing is death for me, these trails are spot on. I also took up MTB at age 35, I'm not really looking to be a downhill specialist but what I'm really wondering is do I need to get a different bike?
I've got "trail" rated wheels which will probably stay regardless because I am 250lbs but I could consider going to something a few grams lighter than these. I've also got things like a triple crank, dropper post, and 203/180mm rotors. Basically for us big guys there is some degree of overbuilding we should do but if there are really no trails with anything significantly aggressive, I think I need to make a decision on what to do with this bike. At the moment I really can't justify buying a 2nd bike though what I'd really like to do is build up a much lighter chinese carbon bike to really whip through these easy trails.
Please don't tell me "your 250lbs, lose weight" For one, I'm 6'3" and yes I could drop about 20 lbs, but I have a steel framed surly road bike at 30lbs and a carbon road bike at 16lbs. The carbon bike is way faster. it's not all about rider weight. The yelli in its current state is close to 29lbs. I know I can cut a lot of that weight off by getting rid of the dropper, changing out tires, and going to a 1x system. I just want to be sure that there aren't some other trails where I'm actually going to want all of that stuff on there.