If you happen to live on the East Coast, you're well aware of the cruel and cold heart of Mother Nature this winter. If you don't live on the East Coast, well, this winter has been a pain in the ass for mountain bikers. Here in southeastern Pennsylvania, we've received more snow in the month of January than the entirety of last two winters combined. There's certainly something to be said of the fun you can have ripping singletrack in several inches of snow as familiar trails can become an adventure under a blanket of fresh. But not everyone is interested in risking frostbite for the sake of slashing a powder laden berm. For many, once they see the snow falling or the temps dropping precipitously, it's time for the indoor trainer, the snow shoes or the winter sticks.
Personally, I thoroughly enjoy riding my bike in the snow and on frozen trails. But I've also been looking to mix it up for some time now; to change the pace a bit and disrupt my comfort level. I started to notice myself day dreaming while at a restaurant, in a grocery store, or even in my own house. I began to develop this strange urge to put rubber to carpet, tile and hardwood. The idea of riding my bike inside is a concept to me that is both alien and exciting. For some time now I've been wanting to see how the bike handles and responds to the manufactured terrain. Mountain bikes were built for trails and rocks and dirt. But I really wanted to ride it inside; especially when it hurts to be outside. Obviously riding in restaurants, grocery stores, or my house ain't happening (I've damaged my carpet enough as it is just pushing my bike through the living room) without some kind of crazy provision or an arrest to follow. Fortunately there are facilities out there that will keep your living room clean and hopefully help you avoid a prison sentence.
The drive up to Syracuse was on the day after we received about 15 inches of snow in the greater Philadelphia region. Even for those of us who enjoy snowy singletrack, that much snow meant that hiking a bike was nearly impossible without some snowshoes. With temps never rising a few degrees above zero, the choice to ride indoors felt like a really, really good one. The destination would be CranX Bike and Sports Park, which opened its doors in March of 2012. CranX may very well be the smallest of the slowly growing number of indoor bike parks, but it's the closest to some of the largest metropolitan areas on the eastern seaboard and is being run by two guys who are determined to turn Cranx into one of the premier mountain bike destinations on the East Coast.
Seth Fischer met Dale Cruce at a ski shop where Dale worked as a boot fitter. Dale had been fitting Seth, who was (and currently is) also a real estate attorney, when he asked Seth for some assistance in seeking out commercial space for an indoor bike park idea he had been considering for some time. As Seth worked to find an appropriate location for this idea, he began to see the potential for a strong business model and partnered up with Dale to form the formidable team they are today. The two managing partners have put a lot of time and effort into the jumps, berms, foam pits and countless other features that make up CranX.
As much fun as it may appear to be, building an indoor bike park is very tricky business. One of the things I was most looking forward to was hearing about the logistics behind an operation like this, but as I spoke with the two brains behind this 66,000 square foot facility, it became clear that the construction and design of CranX was an arduous, lengthy and exhaustive process. According to Seth, getting this place off of the ground meant they'd be flying blind throughout much of the process. "First of all, it’s an unproven commodity or product as there are only a couple of these in the world. There is no empirical data available from those companies that you can glean and determine where you can take your business. Our only ability was to take a look at what they were doing in terms of flow and the product itself and say ‘how can we improve on it?’ We think that we have. There was no real way for us to get an idea in advance of what the demand was for an indoor bike park. Our area here in upstate New York is radically different from where you'll find the other bike parks. If you go to Joyride 150, they have a much more affluent and densely populated society (in and around Toronto). So they’re able to cull from a much larger population and that’s one of the reasons why I think that although they’ve done a great job up there, it's one of the reasons why I think they’re as successful as they are. As much as Dale and I would talk about numbers and ebbs and flows of our industry, there really is nothing out there from a business perspective that allows for us to develop a rational business forecast. There’s wishful thinking, but there isn’t any real science behind this. So this is an enormous leap of faith."
Aside from the task of acquiring an exorbitant amount of cash in order to get this type of endeavor started, you still need to find the right space for it. While a declining manufacturing industry may result in an increasing number of abandoned warehouses, it's not as simple as just picking your favorite. Dale explains, "Most warehouses are zoned industrial, so you can’t open that space up to public use. Or you have to get a zoning change, which can take forever and costs a ton of money. Then you have to talk to the owner of the building, and he’s going to ask you 'You want to do what? You want to ride your bikes here?' He doesn’t want damage done." According to Seth, ceiling height requirements eliminated almost 95% of the available warehouses spaces. Zoning requirements then eliminated most of what was left after that.
"8 years ago was when I got serious about looking for a property to do this with," says Dale. "I’d say that in the years leading up to opening, I was probably looking at 4 buildings per week for a few years straight. When I found this place I was excited and just couldn’t wait to get started. Then, it’s like the day comes along and you’ve got a lot of cleaning to do. All we did for the first month was just clean. We each spent about 100 hours per week cleaning and building when we got here." The 'we' he speaks of includes several professional builders and countless more volunteers. Professional builders including Jeremy Witek, Steve St. Arnold, Ron Kimler and Amos Beury who represent Global Action Sports Solutions and Live Wire Construction were integral to the design and construction of CranX. Additionally, Dale mentions the 70+ volunteers who helped throughout the construction process and the ongoing design efforts.
Seth is also quick to point out the generous support they have received from their sponsors. "We’ve been unbelievably lucky as far as I’m concerned to have Fox step up immediately as our very first sponsor. They’ve been extremely generous to us financially and in terms of services and sponsorship. They were first to come aboard and had the pick of the litter with branding the features here and chose to brand and help build the pumptrack. Haro has also demonstrated a tremendous amount of faith in us. They supplied us with our first rental fleet and have been with us now for three years. It took an enormous leap of faith on their part, because they’re still a really small company and for them to make the investment in us by providing our first rental fleet; that was a huge step for them since they don’t have the wherewithal that some of the larger companies do. Redbull has been terrific with their willingness to step up to the plate and help us both financially and with goods and services. They branded the Bowl section. Subrosa and Shadow have been very significant; both in term of goods and services."
After a tour of the facilities with Dale, I was met by Giant Mid-Atlantic pros Matt Miller and Seamus Powell, who were eager to explore the expansive, berm and ramp laden facility. After filling out the paperback novel of a waiver form (the relatively unknown nature of indoor bike parks means that a lot of people and organizations need to sign off on our use of such a facility) we quickly readied ourselves for a day of fast and tight riding. One of the great things about riding in a place like this or any indoor facility of similar nature is the lack of gear and prep required to spend hours on your bike. No need to fill up your hydration pack, stash your shoes, double and triple check your fork settings or any of the dozens of other pre-trail rituals you would normally feel compelled to do before a ride. Here, jeans are preferred, flats and sneakers encouraged and your tools and water are always waiting for you across the room.
We started with a few laps around the pumptrack before heading up the ramp to the cross country trail. This trail runs along the perimeter of the building, one level above the ground level of CranX where most of the features live. The cross country trail has a few skinnies, berms and small jumps. It also provides riders with views of the park and can help you situate yourself nicely as the dense layout can feel a bit like a maze at times. Remember when I had mentioned my desire to fly around on my bike inside my house? Well the XC trail quenched that thirst nicely. It is an incredibly unique feeling and one I never got tired of to rail a turn with your head inches from a post or wall or the feeling of your tires flying across a wood floor
As you make your way along the XC trail you can stop at the lounge area for a breather, snack or views of the foam pit. Otherwise, you can keep chugging along to the finish where a floor to ceiling wall ride awaits you. Below the XC course sits the meat and potatoes of CranX Bike Park. Three jump lines; a green, blue an black option, await riders with their progressive features. The green jumps are the smallest but also the most compacted; with an almost pumptrack feel to them. The blue line is the medium sized jump line, with broader table tops and some step-ups. But the course that will catch everyone's eye is the black jump line.
The 12-jump black line provides riders with ample opportunities to boost. The inflatable black cat hanging out over the second jump acts as a barometer of sorts and is no stranger to wheel taps and head butts from various DJ and BMX ninjas. From there, riders will face a step-up, a step-down and will reach the corner at a massive [and forgiving] hip. The line continues with a series of similarly sized jumps, all well spaced apart before the final jump of the lot, the Subrosa table top. The black ramp has been known to boost riders to within inches of the ceiling; with one rider supposedly tapping his rear wheel off of the rafters mid-back flip. Rumors are he landed it too. The rest of the main section of Cranx is loaded with progressive features and plenty of opportunities to transfer from one section to another, allowing riders to really get creative with their line options. There are a number of wall rides and hips and even a downward spiraling berm; carry enough speed into it and you can hang out at the top of the entire spiral. At the very center of it all is a free-ride section, (although one could argue the entire place is one giant freeride section) with a series of drops, rails and a half pipe. Matt, Seamus and I spent quite a bit of time enjoying the various lines, wall rides and features throughout the main portion of CranX, but once we found our way to the Red Bull Bowl section, it was hard for us to want to ride anything else.
The Red Bull Bowl handles much like a pump track. There's a little bit more pedaling involved than you would normally find on a pumptrack, but there are also a number of transfers and opportunities for air here as well. You drop in, fly around a bit and 4 minutes later you jump out gassed. This section also provided me with a good perspective of the bikes best suited for the whole park, a thought that was reinforced by CranX mechanic and resident do-it-all, Matt. Sure, you can bring any bike you want to CranX and have fun. Matt has ridden his wagon wheeled trail machine here before, but the truth is CranX is best suited for smaller wheels and wheelbases. BMX bikes are quite obviously in heaven here, but this place is also a perfect excuse for you to invest in a dirt jumper. The vertical transitions, tight turns and overall compact nature of this place will leave you green with envy for the little rigs of the mountain bike world. If you don't own a dirt jumper, fret not as they have a rental fleet with a daily rate of only $14.
Adjacent to the Bowl is the foam pit. A steep ramp across the room from the pit provides you with more than enough speed to send it off of the jump and into the sea of sponge. Once you're in the pit there is no real easy way out, which is the nature of riding your bike into something like this. Grab onto the ropes that are provided, haul your ass and your bike out, throw the rope back into the center of the pit and repeat. Truth be told, I was really looking forward to a shower when I got home; as much fun as it is to let it fly without repercussion, you wonder how much DNA you and other riders are leaving behind in there. Still, as I stood atop the platform watching Matt struggle out of the pit, I began to realize the beauty of a place like CranX and why all types of riders need to make a visit to CranX or any other indoor park a priority. Spending time here will not likely translate into victories at your next XC, enduro or DH race. While you can certainly get a great workout in, it won't really help you develop a strong endurance base either. But if you're like me, you spend all of your time on the trails and as much fun as the forest is, complacency is a real thing when it comes to mountain biking. Places like CranX help by introducing a new style and approach to riding your bike. While there are techniques that you can develop here that translate well onto the trails, the real benefit comes from feeling like you have a lot to learn again. The wood beneath the tires is a radically different animal compared to the rocks, roots and dirt you may be used to. Steep transitions that boost you higher up than they do further out take some getting used to. The endlessly pumping nature of a feature like the Bowl reward centrifugal force much in the way that massive wall ride at your local lift-assisted bike park does. These places remind you of the ever so important lesson to riders: There's always something you can be getting better at on your bike.
After a few leaps into the foam pit, several turns in the Bowl, countless laps of the jump lines and a couple of games of pursuit around the pumptrack, we realized that 4 hours had flown by in what felt like the blink of an eye. At 4 hours, CranX is the closest facility of its kind to Philadelphia, which was fantastic and all; but it meant that I was well past the window of time I had promised my wife I'd be home by. Packing up, I thought of the unlikely duo of Seth, with his incredible business acumen and Dale, with his vision and creativity, and the surprising success story they have built here in Syracuse.
On December 1st, 2011 Seth and Dale acquired the warehouse space that would eventually become CranX Bike and Sports Park. They opened for business 3 months later on March 3rd of 2012. The amount of work that was required to transform that space from an empty and forgotten warehouse to an outlet for creativity on two wheels is mind boggling. In the almost 2 years since the doors opened to the public, the team at CranX has been fully devoted to the evolution of their product with hopes that they will broaden their appeal to more and more riders. They're not just working on what riders can spend their time doing on inside either. Phase 2 of 4 of their outdoor expansion should be complete by this spring. The first phase included the development of some dirt jumps on part of the 3 acre lot they own outside of the warehouse space.
"We really lucked out in this location because we have 3 acres available to use." Seth notes. "We’ve got some semi-brush and wooded areas that we will use for singletrack. We have what is the beginning of a pump track out there. We have more than enough dirt to create the infrastructure for the outdoor section. The first phase is open (outdoors). The next phase will be built and open this spring. We’re probably looking at four phases total, with the fourth being the efforts to put in some trails and singletrack."
Dale is chomping at the bit to expand operations outside as well. "We started the first summer with outdoors phases. We really wanted to bring people here and spend some time outside when weather permitted. But we have so much stuff to do inside and it was tough to find the time. Last year we got so much rain too. So there’s always so much you want to do, inside and out." While the guys aren't in a position to give out any names just yet, it was mentioned that a big part of the outdoor development may include enlisting fellow East Coaster and the man behind some of the most famous and legendary dirt jump contests around the world to assist in the design and implementation of what would likely be a destination dirt jump spot and a crown jewel for CranX.
Cranx may not elicit the same response that Ray's does when you talk to other riders about staying inside to shred. But the little park that could is continuing to surprise a lot of people with the creativity and high fun factor between its walls. Seth knows the risks involved in this type of undertaking, but from what he has seen, there are many reasons to be optimistic about the growth of his brand. "We really do appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm and support . We’ve had over 8,000 unique visitors here which is a pretty impressive number in less than two years. Of that, I think they have come from 12 different states, Canada and Europe. We have over 3,000 friends on Facebook and a mailing list that has somewhere between 7,000 and 8,000 email addresses on it."
The success they've seen only drives guys like Seth and Dale to work harder at delivering a top notch product to the riders who come to CranX. Dale looks at it this way: "There is so much that we have and want to do and I can’t wait. Building is exhausting but it’s just so much fun. It’s sort of like owning a house in that you’re always working on it. 5 years from now we’re hoping that all of our outdoor property and the whole warehouse is completely ride-able. Almost everything you see here can be added to. There should always be improvement and there always will be."
For more on rates, directions and general information be sure to visit
www.Cranx.com
i wouldn't call haro a 'really small' company..
I rather have less places to ride and I rather travel further to ride on these good places, than having riding bikes become mainstream with too much money in it, and that it will be losing most of the parts that make our sport so special.
Please note, what I said was a reply on comparing the money in our sport to soccer, NOT to the fact that they built this skatepark (don't want anyone to missunderstand). The job these people did is amazing and they get the biggest respect from me! Next time I will be in NYC, I'm bringing my bike with me, just to be able to shred this place! Keep on the great work!!