[Weaver]

Havent been and I'm looking to plan a trip... my "big bike" is an '05 specialized SX (5 and 5 basically) that is fine for anything in the elevationly challenged state of TX.

anyone riding 4X type bikes out there? or am in need of lots more travel fast?

 

[matt12]

You'd have waaay more fun at N* on a longer travel DH bike. You could ride Livewire and it would be fun, but trails like Karpiel and Dog Bone would suck on a bike with that little travel.

 

[amydalayna]

yep. Depends on what you want to ride. One of my friends came out this weekend and all she brought was her 5" travel bike, but she was plenty entertained riding laps on livewire.

 

[Weaver]

bmx background. limited DH (i live in TX...) experience. just curious if the SX is up to some of the stuff up there or if i need to rent/borrow/buy. thanks yall.

 

[Abstrakt51]

Rode up there w/ my 6 incher and had a blast on the whole right side of the mtn (livewire/gypsy). Boondocks would have been funner on a bigger bike but you'll survive. Just stay off the left lifts.

 

[Red Rabbit]

Road my coiler w/ super T front on everything & never had a problem. I Did dog bone, stick & stones & karpeil no problem.

 

[gideon]

bottlerocket took it too
like others wrote it depends on how hard u ride

 

[asa]

It really depends on your style, skill level, and how fast you want to go. Big Trees, Little Trees, Flameout, Live Wire, Sinuous, Hoggs, Pho Dog, Speed Control, upper Karpiel and Gypsy are all perfectly doable on a shorter travel bike, but the Double Blacks are definately more fun on a BIG bike.

 

[OGRipper]

I see hecklers and nomads up there pretty often. A friend of mine rode his Nomad there this year and although he wasn't exactly crushing it, he hit just about everything and had a blast. In the end, you don't "need" a bigger bike to ride up there but it's definitely way better for the super rocky stuff.

So, you might consider renting a bike from one of the local shops (experience with mountain rentals has been mixed). If you bring your bike, slap on a set of the biggest, toughest tires you can fit in your frame and fork and have at it.

 

[bdamschen]

If you rent, check out some of the local shops rather than at the mountain. The faiths they have there are pretty clapped.

 

[kidwoo]

Put lots of air in your tires if you're partial to your rims.

 

[GiantRider]

I thought the SX had 6 and 6 ?Anyway I just took my 05 Enduro up there and i did every trail and most stunts ,drops ,jumps just fine.

 

[Total Heckler]

I have hit 90% of the trails on a Heckler before. It was pretty rough. I would fully recommend a higher travel bike.

 

[Red Rabbit]

I don't know. The nice thing about my Coiler is that is very light & maneuverable.

It's not a true downhill bike & definently will not fly down anything to fast, but if you "take your time" ( by which I mean, "don't blast through everything") & pick a line carefully I can do all the trails on it.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the double blacks & only had a little trouble.

The things I couldn't do, had little to do with my bike & more to do with my ability as a rider.

 

[Weaver]

I thought the SX had 6 and 6 ?Anyway I just took my 05 Enduro up there and i did every trail and most stunts ,drops ,jumps just fine.

the 4x frame... not the SX Trail..

this one:

It really depends on your style, skill level, and how fast you want to go.

im Kyle Bennett smooth of course... been bunny hopping curbs and pwning at the bmx track since 3rd grade... and I like to go fast more than Ricky Bobby