[Electric_City]

I was looking at some rentals for a trail day @ Whistler and saw that I can demo a Spartan. Great! A bike I'm familiar with and can set up myself. The issue is the price. I can "rent" bikes similar to the Spartan for $70 a day. But to "demo" a bike, it's $150 (or close). What's the difference? Both are day-long rentals.

Also, anyone ever ride Pemberton or Squamish? Which is better? Trail recommendations?

 

[kidwoo]

Demos are usually higher end. They call them demos because they want you to buy them when you're done.

If it still hasn't been raining stay in the valley. If it's been raining go to pemberton. Personally I think there's better riding in pemberton.

 

[djjohnr]

They finally got some rain, heading up there myself on the 12th. Not sure where you're renting, but from what I've seen and heard Evolution keeps their bikes in the best shape.

 

[Tom Ritchey's Moustache]

You could just stay in Whistler and ride the new Into The Mystic/Lord of the Squirrels loop. Everyone's been raving about it lately.

I haven't ridden much in Pemby, but I f'ing love Squamish.

 

[jonKranked]

the difference is how clapped out the rental is

 

[Electric_City]

Sorry for the lack of info. We'll be going again next year. I was just looking at some brands and who carries what.

I always wanted to ride the North Shore, but Pemberton and Squamish seem to have taken off. Plus, they're closer and the NS isn't what it was in its heyday.

I've ridden Kill me, Thrill me and some of the Lost Lake trails. My buddy did a portion of Comfortably Numb, but that seems very XC after watching some videos and reading up on it. I think we'd be up for a day long type ride that's got climbing and descending and 15-20 miles. I'm looking for something I can Strava the shit out of with my Endurbros! More or less a cool ride with some killer views/stops along the way.

Anything come to mind?

 

[Electric_City]

I haven't ridden much in Pemby, but I f'ing love Squamish.

Spill the beans! What trails?

 

[KenW449]

If you have a bike, take your bike. Saves you moar moniez.

 

[schwaaa31]

If you have a bike, take your bike. Saves you moar moniez.

This. But if you can't take it for some reason, I highly recommend Evolution. Summit was a shit show when I rented there before Crankworx.

 

[Electric_City]

I'll have my DH bike with me for the 5 days @ Whistler. I'd rent an enduro for a day.

 

[schwaaa31]

Just FYI, Arbutus Routes is the only shop that rents trail bikes that are "allowed" on the lifts. In case you finish up trail riding early and want to take a few laps or hit top of the world. They rent Yeti trail bikes.

 

[KenW449]

I'll have my DH bike with me for the 5 days @ Whistler. I'd rent an enduro for a day.

Roger that. ya know what they say about Enduro bikes.... They're En-duroable.

 

[Tom Ritchey's Moustache]

Spill the beans! What trails?

Depends what you're into. I've only ridden there 5 times, so someone more familiar will have better information.

We recently did the new Meadow of the Grizzly (steep blue flow) > short access road climb > Angry Midget (blue/black tech) > climb trail > Full Nelson > Half Nelson (both blue flow). That was mostly flow trail, but good for a hangover ride.

If you want more tech and black trails, Credit Line, Entrails, and Rupert over near Alice Lake will entertain you. Entrails was a bit much for me. Rupert was super fun though. If you go over there, you can drop by Edith Lake for a nice dip and end it all up with a fun cruise down Roller Coaster. Man Boobs is a pretty fun blue tech trail over there too.

There's a whole bunch more shit there I've never ridden, though.

If you're so inclined, the dispensary in town is quite friendly to visitors ...

 

[Electric_City]

Fanatyk and Evolution look good for rentals.

 

[kidwoo]

To be honest, I haven't really ever seen any beat upper end rentals coming from any of the shops off of the main plaza (as in away from the main plaza by fitz). I have friends that over the years have flown in for quickies while we have a house who rent bikes. All the ones I can think of have been pretty well taken care of. That's the benefit of renting 'demos' though. They're new/current year usually.

 

[Electric_City]

Word. I haven't seen anything trashed or beat up either.

 

[shirk007]

Plus, they're closer and the NS isn't what it was in its heyday.

Correct. We stopped adding needless skinny's every 20 feet on trails for no real reason other than to have endless skinny's.

If that is the heyday you wanted you won't find it on the Shore anymore.

You won't find it in Pemby or Squamish or Whistler either.

Steep natural lines still abound.

 

[Tom Ritchey's Moustache]

Sorry for the lack of info. We'll be going again next year. I was just looking at some brands and who carries what.

I always wanted to ride the North Shore, but Pemberton and Squamish seem to have taken off. Plus, they're closer and the NS isn't what it was in its heyday.

I've ridden Kill me, Thrill me and some of the Lost Lake trails. My buddy did a portion of Comfortably Numb, but that seems very XC after watching some videos and reading up on it. I think we'd be up for a day long type ride that's got climbing and descending and 15-20 miles. I'm looking for something I can Strava the shit out of with my Endurbros! More or less a cool ride with some killer views/stops along the way.

Anything come to mind?

Didn't see this post earlier. Seriously, consider skipping the drive and just go do this:

http://www.bikemag.com/news/day-whistler-valley/

 

[kidwoo]

Yeah that's a good 'down day'


I know one of the kids working for worca that built part of that. He'd just go up, work on the trail, sleep there, work on the trail, then come back 5 days later for his two days off

 

[slyfink]

Demos are usually higher end. They call them demos because they want you to buy them when you're done.

If it still hasn't been raining stay in the valley. If it's been raining go to pemberton. Personally I think there's better riding in pemberton.

I've been to the area a handful of times, and I think this advice is pretty spot on. If it's raining in Pemby, then look into Della Creek in Lillooet.

As for shops, the last time I rented, it was an Enduro from Evolution. Ian Morrison set me up! The bike was in good shape.

Also, I agree with you about Comfortably Numb. I've done it twice. It's 2.5 to 3.5 hours of climbing, for a 20-30 minute descent. I'll pass next time.

 

[Tom Ritchey's Moustache]

Yeah that's a good 'down day'


I know one of the kids working for worca that built part of that. He'd just go up, work on the trail, sleep there, work on the trail, then come back 5 days later for his two days off

A handful of people I know rode it during Crankworx on their "down day," so ... it's all relative. Seems to fit this description from Electric City's post above:

" ... day long type ride that's got climbing and descending and 15-20 miles. I'm looking for something I can Strava the shit out of with my Endurbros! More or less a cool ride with some killer views/stops along the way."

 

[Jm_]

Demos are usually higher end. They call them demos because they want you to buy them when you're done.

If it still hasn't been raining stay in the valley. If it's been raining go to pemberton. Personally I think there's better riding in pemberton.

Well that's my experience w/the ski industry. Any bike park that has had "demo" bikes has been a joke IMO. If they can't set the bike up for your weight, it's worthless as a demo. It's like showing up being 6' and all they have to demo are 165cm skis.

 

[kidwoo]

A handful of people I know rode it during Crankworx on their "down day," so ... it's all relative. Seems to fit this description from Electric City's post above:

" ... day long type ride that's got climbing and descending and 15-20 miles. I'm looking for something I can Strava the shit out of with my Endurbros! More or less a cool ride with some killer views/stops along the way."

I saw 30miles and 4500k ft

Either way he'll be on a piece of shit bike that's falling apart so it will all suck.

 

[Tom Ritchey's Moustache]

I saw 30miles and 4500k ft

Either way he'll be on a piece of shit bike that's falling apart so it will all suck.

It's 12 miles and 3800 ft when you start at the trails after parking in the nearby neighborhood. It's only 4,500,000 ft as you quoted when you ride there from the village.

 

[Electric_City]

Correct. We stopped adding needless skinny's every 20 feet on trails for no real reason other than to have endless skinny's.

If that is the heyday you wanted you won't find it on the Shore anymore.

You won't find it in Pemby or Squamish or Whistler either.

Steep natural lines still abound.

Kranked 3 is what got me off of an XC bike and into freeriding. It was a different skill to ride skinnies 10' high. While it's not as cool today as it was back then, it had its place in time that revolutionized what we did with bikes and how the bicycle was designed from then on forth. If you built the shore or rode it back then, you were a part of bike and trail building history. Today, with most of that removed (correct?) it just seems like another place to ride.

 

[kidwoo]

it had its place in time that revolutionized what we did with bikes and how the bicycle was designed from then on forth. .

And bike design is just now recovering from the horrible lumber-based tangent of that era

 

[kazlx]

Last Whistler trip, I did a day in Squamish with some friends that travel and were up there for a while. We did pedal/shuttle combo to get the most riding in. We did Angry Midget, Cakewalk, Half Nelson, Full Nelson, Grin N Holler, 19th Hole and Hybrid.

Grin N Holler was pretty crazy, 19th Hole was steep, both were good. Angry Midget was techy/fast and Nelsons are all flow. All in all, just that piece of Squamish makes me want to go back with a trail bike and get outside of the bike park. It was so awesome.

 

[djjohnr]

Any recommend shuttles in the area? I'd like to get out of the bike park this time but most of our group will be on DH bikes so long climbs are out. Anyone ever do one of the heli-biking drops?

 

[FarkinRyan]

@djjohnr 19th Hole and Grin n Holler mentioned above are both shuttle trails in Squamish that lead in to lots of options lower down, they are accessed via Garibaldi Park Road . There are also a bunch of options down in Pemberton off the Mackenzie FSR

More info; rent your bikes from Evolution, Arubutus Routes or Fanatyk Co and you will find something you want to ride that is well looked after.

Into the Mystic / Lord of the Squirrels is pretty much mandatory, so sack up and go do it. From someone who has lived here a while now I am blown away by the quality of this trail.

 

[kazlx]

19th Hole was good. Grin N Holler was pretty nutty. I'd have to ride it a few times to start cleaning the majority of it. If you don't have Trailforks app, definitely download it. It helps a ton navigating around.

 

[FarkinRyan]

Yes I would add that both trails are definitely serious business and steeper and more consequential than pretty much anything in the bike park. Definitely download Trailforks and download the BC sector of the map onto your phone before you come if you're not going to have data roaming.

 

[kidwoo]

Yes I would add that both trails are definitely serious business and steeper and more consequential than pretty much anything in the bike park.

y'all gon die

 

[Electric_City]

Anyone ever do one of the heli-biking drops?

I was looking at that, but we'd have an issue. There's 6 of us and they only take 5. They don't pair up groups/singles either. That blows.

 

[Da Peach]

I did a heli drop on rainbow last summer. It was fun, I felt super lazy for it. You'd get more elevation from riding TOTW.

We rode Green Monster toward the end of the descent, which was fun.

Some friends of mine did one around Squamish but it did not get rave reviews. Hyper steep with lots of hike a bike.

The Squamish suggestions so far are good. I really like the Alice lake area trails. Lots of pedalling but an awesome variety of terrain.

 

[Tom Ritchey's Moustache]

Any recommend shuttles in the area? I'd like to get out of the bike park this time but most of our group will be on DH bikes so long climbs are out. Anyone ever do one of the heli-biking drops?

I've done both the Pemberton/Mt. Barbour and Whistler/Rainbow Mtn heli drops. If you're on DH bikes, Rainbow is the one you want. It's a bit cheaper too. I agree that TOTW is a better ride, but it is nice to get away from the park. The Pemby drop is more of an all-day experience with more rad per dollar, IMO. But you want a trail/AM bike for that one.

 

[djjohnr]

Sweet, just booked the Rainbow drop. Looks pretty rad -https://www.pinkbike.com/news/just-the-tip-crankworx-escape-video-2016.html

 

[Da Peach]

Sweet, just booked the Rainbow drop. Looks pretty rad -https://www.pinkbike.com/news/just-the-tip-crankworx-escape-video-2016.html

If you get the views, this is a great ride. Put your pedaling legs on.

 

[Electric_City]

Do you climb 1000' vert on that trail? According to the topo it looks like it's all DH.

 

[Da Peach]

Do you climb 1000' vert on that trail? According to the topo it looks like it's all DH.

You climb Into the Mystic to get to the descent.

 

[Da Peach]

You climb Into the Mystic to get to the descent.

There are lots of little ups toward the top of the descent, but nothing huge. I guess they could add up... The video takes a while to watch, but it's accurate!

Shame about the creaky bike... pressfit bb?