Oahu biking?

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Oahu biking?
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flag chrispy1
Posted: Jan 14, 2018 at 13:56 Quote
Hey guys. I’m moving to Oahu for a few years and pretty much what I’ve heard about that island is that mountain biking kinda sucks. Anyone have a scoop on Hawaii?
flag JPHI
Posted: Jan 20, 2018 at 18:40 Quote
Your right it sucks, stay on the mainland.

There is some good riding on Oahu. On the Windward side is the Ohana Trail. It's a beginner to intermediate single track on the official trail but there are a lot of cool trails coming off of it that are much more technical.

Pupukea is 22 miles of trails.

Here is a link to the Oahu Trails:
http://www.mtbhawaii.com/traildirectory#oahu_trails

Reach out when your arrival gets close. I'll help hook you up with some of the group rides and you can learn the trails. Most of the riders are really cool and willing to show new riders around.
flag chrispy1
Posted: Jan 21, 2018 at 16:02 Quote
Sweet thanks dude
flag FrothyLlama
Posted: Feb 12, 2018 at 21:12 Quote
What PHI said, Pupukea. I actually didn't even bring my bike to Hawaii when I moved here. PCS'ing to Seattle next year, gonna buy a new bike for there.
flag BentonMiller
O+
Posted: Aug 9, 2018 at 18:59 Quote
JPHI wrote:
Here is a link to the Oahu Trails:
http://www.mtbhawaii.com/traildirectory#oahu_trails

Reach out when your arrival gets close. I'll help hook you up with some of the group rides and you can learn the trails. Most of the riders are really cool and willing to show new riders around.

Thanks for posting that link, the trails actually look pretty fun to me! My wife and I are thinking of heading out there for a beach/bike vacation. Do you have any recommendations on the best place we could rent bikes from? Is it possible to ride to good trails from a rental shop?
flag JPHI
Posted: Aug 19, 2018 at 23:24 Quote
If your on Oahu Pupukea has the largest variety of trails but no rentals within riding distance

Ohana Trail is in riding distance from The Bike Shop in Kailua.



BentonMiller wrote:
JPHI wrote:
Here is a link to the Oahu Trails:
http://www.mtbhawaii.com/traildirectory#oahu_trails

Reach out when your arrival gets close. I'll help hook you up with some of the group rides and you can learn the trails. Most of the riders are really cool and willing to show new riders around.

Thanks for posting that link, the trails actually look pretty fun to me! My wife and I are thinking of heading out there for a beach/bike vacation. Do you have any recommendations on the best place we could rent bikes from? Is it possible to ride to good trails from a rental shop?
flag a-prince
Posted: Mar 9, 2022 at 13:31 Quote
Have the trails changed on Oahu since this information was posted? I am going to work in Oahu for 7 weeks. I will be close to the "Olomana" trail network. Bring the bike or just the surfboards?
flag djyosh
O+ FL
Posted: Mar 9, 2022 at 13:41 Quote
I'm heading there on March 31st and will be riding at least a couple of days. I will take some photos and maybe even some GoPro POV to post up on Trailforks since the media for that network is pretty sparse.
flag dirtpedaler
Posted: Mar 9, 2022 at 14:33 Quote
Trailforks has Olomana covered and updated.
flag djyosh
O+ FL
Posted: Mar 9, 2022 at 15:07 Quote
dirtpedaler wrote:
Trailforks has Olomana covered and updated.

Yep - I just meant that there are not a lot of photos or video of the trails.
flag a-prince
Posted: Mar 9, 2022 at 16:47 Quote
dirtpedaler wrote:
Trailforks has Olomana covered and updated.

Yeah, I did see that. I'm wondering if it's worth it to bring the bike with me though. Are the trails quality or am I going to need to bring my machete to hack my way out of some overgrown trails?

Let me know what you think of the trails Djyosh
flag dirtpedaler
Posted: Mar 9, 2022 at 22:26 Quote
If you want quality, surf. Bit of a drive to the North Shore from Kailua though. Plenty of videos on YouTube. Look up Ohana trail. Check out the Laie riding also.
flag djyosh
O+ FL
Posted: Mar 10, 2022 at 11:00 Quote
dirtpedaler wrote:
If you want quality, surf. Bit of a drive to the North Shore from Kailua though. Plenty of videos on YouTube. Look up Ohana trail. Check out the Laie riding also.

Yes! I hiked Laie Falls many years ago and it definitely looked like it would have been amazing for riding. This short vid (ironically from Outside TV) has Cam McCaul riding with Mason and Michael Ho at Pupukea and (I think) Laie at the end. Laie had all the exposed red clay lines. Lots of natural ridge features and closer to Kailua area than Pupukea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esZyY-GVS14
flag dirtpedaler
Posted: Mar 10, 2022 at 14:50 Quote
djyosh wrote:
Yes! I hiked Laie Falls many years ago and it definitely looked like it would have been amazing for riding. This short vid (ironically from Outside TV) has Cam McCaul riding with Mason and Michael Ho at Pupukea and (I think) Laie at the end. Laie had all the exposed red clay lines. Lots of natural ridge features and closer to Kailua area than Pupukea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esZyY-GVS14

Also don't forget the secret world cup dh trail in town.
Watch the Mahalo My Dude Hawaii episode too.
Unfortunately there was some drama at Pupukea so things have changed there. Parking is an issue as well. The Oahu FB ride group seems to have gone quiet as well. Which could be just a sign of how good the waves have been there this winter.
flag djyosh
O+ FL
Posted: Apr 10, 2022 at 8:29 Quote
a-prince wrote:
dirtpedaler wrote:
Trailforks has Olomana covered and updated.

Yeah, I did see that. I'm wondering if it's worth it to bring the bike with me though. Are the trails quality or am I going to need to bring my machete to hack my way out of some overgrown trails?

Let me know what you think of the trails Djyosh

Back from my trip and did a single day on the Olamana network and one day on an e-MTB in the Pupukea network (don't judge). I did not get to explore too much on Olamana but the Ohana trail was a pretty easy climb coming from the Kailua side and I really liked riding Iron Maiden. A very chill blue with a some nice bermed corners and a couple of small tables. Mostly smooth with a few roots and one very loose corner that needs a berm. Renegade DH was not all that DH since it pointed down and back up again a couple of times. Iron Maiden looks to be the most gravity oriented trail (confirmed by Trailforks as the longest descent in the network).

Ohana Trail looked like it would be fun going down with nice berms but you would have to be alert for climbers as it is two way traffic. Mountain Goat climb was a good way to get back up after Iron Maiden and let me see that Rock Biter was aptly named with lava rock baby heads. Not my kind of jank but to each their own. I was a bit concerned about rain the days before I rode but it dried up quick and I did not see a single puddle. The clay soil can hold moisture without appearing to be wet so I guess keep that in mind if you ride after rain.

Pupukea was awesome but not so gravity oriented as it is not really on the side of a mountain. Some trails were really descendy and fun (Whiplash) and there were a couple of sections with that exposed red clay that was even sculpted into some jump lines. Da Chizz was also fun as I got to ride North Van style north shore features on the north shore of Oahu. It is rated black but maybe only for the optional skinny log rides. The ladders are plenty wide and can be rolled off.

Maybe one or two of the trails I rode there were slightly overgrown and the pine needles on the ground make it easy to lose the trail. In general, it is really easy to get lost in there with the number of trails and geography. That said, some of the best trails are not on Trailforks. There is signage requesting that riders not post up photos on social media - almost certainly to keep the trails low key so that they can continue to build and ride and not get shut down completely.

Tl,dr: I would say that yeah - you should bring your bike. There are some really fun and unique trails/features to make it worth your time between those two trail networks.
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