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Bike Park Advice

1K views 16 replies 16 participants last post by  jhazard 
#1 ·
OK - what do people recommend in lift served bike parks in the SW region (CO, AZ, NM). Been to Keystone, So Mo, Bootleg, Pajarito, Telluride, Silverton, Brians Head (enjoyed them all). Have 4 days (1.5 driving), interm.rider, looking for flow - steep ok, not enough balls for big air. Acknowledge there is no "right answer" just after descriptions and opinions.

Thanks for opinions.
 
#9 ·
Good for half a day maybe....
Keystone, Sol Vista and then Winter Park in that order for Colorado, imho.
Keystone is old skool dh where Sol Vista is more man made shaped jumps and features. Keystone is huge and has a lot of vert vs. Sol Vista that is smaller and has maybe 1000" of decending, but they milk a lot out of the vert they have. Winter Park is better for those new to jumping/decending and favors a FR bike over DH. This is just my opionon of course, your results may vary.
 
#5 ·
My opinion may be a little biased, but I would definitely recommend hitting up SolVista. While the terrain there is naturally rough, the trail crew has managed to build some great flow (Silky Johnson in particular). If you're gonna be in the Colorado area it's worth checking out.
 
#12 ·
SolVista is my favorite - only 700 feet of vert so your arms aren't all pumped out when you get to the bottom, and amazing flow. Just as you start to get tired it's time for a nice chairlift ride - easy to ride all day there. You can really learn how to hit doubles there too. It's also cheap and the lines are never long. And man you can hit some HUGE doubles there if you go big. The scene at SV is awesome too, it's a small indie resort and generally everyone is cool. (unlike Keystone that always seems to be full of ***holes)

Keystone is a close number two for me in CO - huge vert so you're gonna get tired but the tech descents are hard to beat and there are some seriously fun, big ladder drops there. I'm generally only good for a half day here and I'm beat at the end of it.

Winter Park - meh, never had a great time, maybe better if you can rock slopestyle stuff. I do hit it once a season though and it seems like it gets better each time.
 
#13 ·
I always have a blast at WP, had a season pass last year and rode 28 days, got a season pass again this year and hope to beat that. it definitely doesn't have the super gnar, its just a lot of fun, and with sweet trails like rainmaker 2-3 laps will have about anybody sending it.

i think this does a good job of showing the place off:

 
#15 ·
What bike would you use?

How would you rank the following bikes for intermediate level jumps and tracks?

Kona Fire Mountain XC
Kona Cinder Cone XC
Merida Matts Trail 300D
Merida Matts 40D
Specialized Hardrock Pro

How does full suspension compare to hard tail?

Cheers in advance for your help!
 
#16 ·
How would you rank the following bikes for intermediate level jumps and tracks?

Kona Fire Mountain XC
Kona Cinder Cone XC
Merida Matts Trail 300D
Merida Matts 40D
Specialized Hardrock Pro

How does full suspension compare to hard tail?

Cheers in advance for your help!
I don't know anything about the Merida's but the other bikes aren't very good choices for jumping or DH park riding. You CAN jump XC bikes but unless you're already a good jumper/ smooth rider you're going to get pretty beat up and so will the bike.
 
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