[William42]

In a week I'm moving away from Texas, so I'm looking at mountain bikes again. I haven't had one in 4 years, and am pretty sure I'm a pretty solid candidate for "washed up downhiller"

Fortunately my wife and I are moving somewhere with cool biking apparently, and I'm going to be about 40 minutes south of Asheville. The mountain biking in the area looks promising, any monkeys live near there? Trying to figure out what type of bicycle I should be looking to get myself. Is there shuttle/lift downhill there? Is an enduro bike going to take me a lot further? Or should I be looking at trail bikes. Fucked if I know. Any locals have any advice?

 

[Nick]

Is an enduro bike going to take me a lot further? Or should I be looking at trail bikes.

Yes.
Congrats on the move. Where exactly will you be living?

 

[William42]

Yes.
Congrats on the move. Where exactly will you be living?

Small town called Tryon

Edit: about what I expected, but I can always dream.

Two bikes probably wont be in the budget for awhile. Should I be looking at trail bikes or enduro bikes? I prefer to ride rowdier trails, but I donno if there are any that lend themselves well to enduro bikes.

 

[jonKranked]

job change?

 

[Jm_]

Small town called Tryon

Edit: about what I expected, but I can always dream.

Two bikes probably wont be in the budget for awhile. Should I be looking at trail bikes or enduro bikes? I prefer to ride rowdier trails, but I donno if there are any that lend themselves well to enduro bikes.

Trailforks.

Get an enduro bike if the elevation profiles and bike parks support it.

 

[jstuhlman]

i live in charlotte and ride a nomad for everything. you're pretty close to the popular part of pisgah near brevard, which definitely has some rowdy spots (black, farlow, pilot, bennett, avery). there are plenty of mellower but still fun trails nearby (dupont, green river gamelands, paris mtn in sc). bailey mtn is gonna be your closest lift served trail. then windrock, beech, and sugar. snowshoe is the biggest lift served system but probably a 6-7 hour drive from you. you'd probably be fine on something in the 150mm range like a bronson. there are plenty of people out there killing it on a lot less.

 

[Cerberus75]

I go down there twice a year. Great trails, but you're going to pedal most of them. I ride a 140/140 29er and my wife is on a Kona Process 153. My bike suspension is custom tuned but still out ride my travel a lot there. I'd get a 150-160mm bike that pedals well.

 

[SuboptimusPrime]

Just paging @Dirtrider, @AngryMetalsmith and @jackalope as fellow NC monkeys with extensive Pisgah experience.

My take--I have a megatrail 170mm/155mm coil both ends and love it for Pisgah. Most trails are climb up a fire road (pretty easy spin unless you're in a hurry) then blaze down the mountain. To me, with proclivities for the burlier trails like you, an enduro bike makes loads of sense. You can absolutely ride a more trail-bike set up and loads of people do, but you won't feel over-biked with a 150-170mm sled out there.

As @jstuhlman mentioned, there are several bike parks in reach. I think all are better on a real DH bike, but are fine on an enduro bike. Most have pretty good DH rentals too if you're not doing it a ton. Honestly, if I lived in the Pisgah, I'd not ride the parks much--trails there are world class.

Along those lines, screw you for living in that neck of the woods full time.

 

[canadmos]

I don't think you'll be complaining about the trails. I've gone twice and its been awesome both times. The trails are great and Brevard is a cool spot. Friendly people around there.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

For old downhillers 140-150 mm travel, low and slack is where it's at for Pisgah gnar. There are a bunch of shops up there that rent bikes and during the summer Demos abound. Plenty of opportunities to try different bikes before buying.

Two constants to remember when riding in Pisgah;

1. You will have to climb for at least an hour to reach the first trailhead on most rides. Deal with it. You'll only get stronger.

2. Everyone walks, even the local pros. At some point you will have to dismount and hike over, down or up an obstacle. So buy some comfortable shoes.

 

[Jeremy R]

Dude, you are moving like 10 minutes from me. Tryon is a cool little town. The closest trails to you are going to be the Green River trails in Saluda. Do NOT go there first. That place is brutal if you are just getting back into it. And there is a new trail system coming to Tryon within a year near White Oak Mountain that should be great. But other than, you will have a big variety of trails in every direction. Du Pont, Pisgah etc... Bailey Mountain bike park will be an hour away, and Beech and Sugar will be two hours away. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Electric_City]

I swear I just read somewhere...


Oh yeah, you'll need an e-bike! That's right!

 

[William42]

For old downhillers 140-150 mm travel, low and slack is where it's at for Pisgah gnar. There are a bunch of shops up there that rent bikes and during the summer Demos abound. Plenty of opportunities to try different bikes before buying.

Two constants to remember when riding in Pisgah;

1. You will have to climb for at least an hour to reach the first trailhead on most rides. Deal with it. You'll only get stronger.

2. Everyone walks, even the local pros. At some point you will have to dismount and hike over, down or up an obstacle. So buy some comfortable shoes.

I'm fine with that. The uphills are just there to hold up the fun parts of the trail, I have absolutely no problem walking up anything harder than a light incline, or sitting and slowly trundling up a fireroad.

I'm not 100% set on giant, but I am currently working at a Giant shop and was thinking I'd EP a bike before I was officially done, and their attractive bike seems to be the trance 29er (which seems underbiked for the area from what I've seen). I've still got my fingers crossed for the 2020 reign to have a steeper seat angle, but we'll see, hopefully they announce it within a month. Moral is, I probably wont be shopping around that much unless somebody has an utterly bonkers deal going on.

Dude, you are moving like 10 minutes from me. Tryon is a cool little town. The closest trails to you are going to be the Green River trails in Saluda. Do NOT go there first. That place is brutal if you are just getting back into it. And there is a new trail system coming to Tryon within a year near White Oak Mountain that should be great. But other than, you will have a big variety of trails in every direction. Du Pont, Pisgah etc... Bailey Mountain bike park will be an hour away, and Beech and Sugar will be two hours away. Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks for the heads up, that was 100% my plan when I finally get a bike again. What makes it brutal? I got a chance to do a little bit of riding recently, and while I'm not as fast as I once was, I still seem to enjoy finding the steepest thing I can and then riding down it. Steep technical climbs are definitely not my forte though. Really looking forward to riding fun bikes again, my hiatus into the world of road bikes has really put things into perspective (mountain bikes are way better).

Thanks for all the responses everybody, I'll buy all of you NC people beer if I ever get the opportunity to meet you in person.

job change?

Yeah, been following my wife around for the past 5 years as she finished vet school, did an internship up in BC, and then landed another internship followed by a surgical residency in sweet old Texas. She's finishing up this week, and she starts working at a very cool Equine clinic in Tryon in just over a month. Should be a nice change of pace.

 

[jonKranked]

Yeah, been following my wife around for the past 5 years as she finished vet school, did an internship up in BC, and then landed another internship followed by a surgical residency in sweet old Texas. She's finishing up this week, and she starts working at a very cool Equine clinic in Tryon in just over a month. Should be a nice change of pace.

what about you?

 

[William42]

what about you?

I was working from home doing web development, but it was making me depressed so I stopped and went back to my old college job of working at a bike shop. Going to be looking for work in the area when I get there, and possibly going back to school for a different degree depending on what turns up. Bike shops are fun and all, but I wont hate making more than 20k a year again.

 

[jonKranked]

I was working from home doing web development, but it was making me depressed so I stopped and went back to my old college job of working at a bike shop. Going to be looking for work in the area when I get there, and possibly going back to school for a different degree depending on what turns up. Bike shops are fun and all, but I wont hate making more than 20k a year again.

cool, was wondering what you do. i've looked into NC, not a whole heck of a lot in my particular field (at least in the parts of the state I'd be willing to move to) but there's other things i could probably transfer into when the time comes.

 

[Jeremy R]

Thanks for the heads up, that was 100% my plan when I finally get a bike again. What makes it brutal? I got a chance to do a little bit of riding recently, and while I'm not as fast as I once was, I still seem to enjoy finding the steepest thing I can and then riding down it. Steep technical climbs are definitely not my forte though. Really looking forward to riding fun bikes again, my hiatus into the world of road bikes has really put things into perspective (mountain bikes are way better).

Thanks for all the responses everybody, I'll buy all of you NC people beer if I ever get the opportunity to meet you in person.

Green River is steep and tech right out of the parking lot, with lots of tech climbing followed by a lot of on and off your bike push ups. I love the place, but some people hate it.
I think you will love the riding here on any quality mid travel to long travel trail bike though. There are plenty of options.
And since you did mention road, the Tryon area is one of the best places in the country for road riding. I rode their a ton a few years back when I could not ride my mtb because of a broken hand. I don't ride road anymore because of cars, but that is a different story.

 

[canadmos]

I'm fine with that. The uphills are just there to hold up the fun parts of the trail, I have absolutely no problem walking up anything harder than a light incline, or sitting and slowly trundling up a fireroad.

I'm not 100% set on giant, but I am currently working at a Giant shop and was thinking I'd EP a bike before I was officially done, and their attractive bike seems to be the trance 29er (which seems underbiked for the area from what I've seen). I've still got my fingers crossed for the 2020 reign to have a steeper seat angle, but we'll see, hopefully they announce it within a month. Moral is, I probably wont be shopping around that much unless somebody has an utterly bonkers deal going on.



Thanks for the heads up, that was 100% my plan when I finally get a bike again. What makes it brutal? I got a chance to do a little bit of riding recently, and while I'm not as fast as I once was, I still seem to enjoy finding the steepest thing I can and then riding down it. Steep technical climbs are definitely not my forte though. Really looking forward to riding fun bikes again, my hiatus into the world of road bikes has really put things into perspective (mountain bikes are way better).

Thanks for all the responses everybody, I'll buy all of you NC people beer if I ever get the opportunity to meet you in person.



Yeah, been following my wife around for the past 5 years as she finished vet school, did an internship up in BC, and then landed another internship followed by a surgical residency in sweet old Texas. She's finishing up this week, and she starts working at a very cool Equine clinic in Tryon in just over a month. Should be a nice change of pace.

The Trance has even less travel if I recall correctly, but I rode my Transition Scout (125mm) down Black Mountain, Pilot and Daniel's Ridge with no problem.

Black Mountain's length and with that little travel definitely had my legs pumping at the end though...

 

[Jeremy R]

The Trance has even less travel if I recall correctly, but I rode my Transition Scout (125mm) down Black Mountain, Pilot and Daniel's Ridge with no problem.

Black Mountain's length and with that little travel definitely had my legs pumping at the end though...

Yep, I rode my Scout all over Pisgah and enjoyed it. I never know what kind of bike to recommend there for other people though. Shorter travel bikes are good and help with all the climbing for sure. But recently, I took my Norco Range down Bennet Gap and Black Mountain when it was unusually dry, loose and bumpy and it was incredible. Truly, either style of bike will work though.

 

[Jm_]

Short version: you’ll need an eBike.

 

[jstuhlman]

agree with @Jeremy R - the one time i rode green river gamelands i was on and off the bile a lot, especially right out of the gate. are they originally hiking trails? it was also like 95* and 95% humidity.

also near there are the recently-expanded trails at the buffalo creek system at lake lure.

if giant bikes are your only option a trance is probably fine...me, i'd do a reign sx

you can usually find pretty good deals on used bikes on the local forums and fb pages...even shop demos.

 

[csermonet]

trail bike IMO. Live in Hendersonville NC(i.e Pisgah, Brevard, Dupont, everything). I ride a new SJ in 27.5 flavor. Next spring, possibly the Forbidden Druid. I think a 130-150mm 29 with nice modern geo is about perfect for the riding i do now. I fall into the washed up wannabe-downhiller category