catweasel

I bought a chainsaw frame so I could build up as a Parkduro just like this.. 12s, dropper, 180 single crown but all the other parts and geo of a park bike, it rips. Perfect for off piste in the Alps, or pedaling up to some gnar

@GTscoob: interesting, I find the opposite on steeper terrain and find braking inconsistent with the dhr2 due to its larger spacing and every 3rd knob having no centre channel. The new DHX looks much more similar to a conti in profile and spacing. Honestly I only know a couple of people still running the dhr2 round here, most have switched to contis or are experimenting with radials

Where I live we have a lot of crushed granite particles in the dirt that act like a belt sander. Contis seem to handle it pretty well but a DHR always winds up looking like this

If only the DHRII semi-slick was elusive but they can easily be found in your garage a month after buying a DHRII

They are referring to existing trails that were previously banned, mostly on federal land. The majority of federal land is still banned for emtb

Not sure about the DH bike but Dylan Stark pulled one a YT Decoy. Seriously impressive on that fat hog!

@hamncheez: think you hit the nail on the head there! I’m presuming it’s a combination of lack of imagination and time and budget constraints. Also not enough emphasis on turns, and rhythm. You can have every feature in the world but if they don’t connect with the right rhythm it’s never gonna be truly great. Couple that impressed me recently were Darkside at Wildside (other trails are sadly mostly mediocre) for its great use of the terrain shape and Tumbleweed at Ride Rock Creek for its great shaping and rhythm. Highland I think has the best concentration I’ve ridden including Whistler (which has its fair share of mediocrity once you get away from ALine and Dirt Merchant). Cat and Mouse at Thunder is also a gem

@pmhobson: I’d agree with you on the formulaic approach taken by too many machine builds. Not enough time taken to incorporate the shape of the natural terrain and create something that’s unique to that hillside. Below is a link to a video of a trail I built with Renegade Trail Crew, the idea being it’s a modern, professionally built take on the old school natural trails we all love. We spent a lot of time incorporating all the natural features we could and by making the water management part of the trail in the form of jumps, drops, rock features, natural compressions and gravel drains. Also despite being on a slope that is a constant 30-35 degrees the trail is rarely straight (except on the top of the ridge) and doesn’t have a true switchback as we used a rock armor to give them the feel of steeper technical features. Our other big focus was to try and keep a constant rhythm to the features so you remain constantly engaged with the trail (barring the odd much needed chill out). Trail. Difficulty is black with options of varying difficulty and style to try and provide opportunity for rider progression. The point of my post is not in any way to showcase my trail building but rather to provide an example that modern trail building can coexist with old school feel, engagement and variety. Hooe you give it a watch, never met the guy who filmed this but he rips! https://youtu.be/7OaiEBM-AEc?is=TkCrGtAejozXEO0U

Good trail building requires a healthy mix of art and science, ignoring either one will have a negative effect on the trail one way or another. IMBA lean way to heavy into the science at the cost of the riding experience. I think it’s a lot to do with the larger the organization the larger the rule book and trail building is too diverse and requires too much subtlety to be unaffected by a large rule book.

@Cgocal: agreed, that in theory at least isolates braking forces (you can argue that one with Dave Weagle). I imagine any rearward axle path that isn't overly effected by braking forces should exhibit the same braking dynamics as my chainsaw but I haven't ridden any to confirm