Author Topic: 2015 Biking Thread (Read 18914 times)

coop3422 · « **on:** February 12, 2015, 03:49:01 pm »

Well, there's the ski & board sub forum, guess it makes the most sense to put this here or create a new sub forum.

Anywho, do we have a lot of riders on WSC? Who rides DH? I'm hoping to get out a decent amount this season.

codester- · « **Reply #1 on:** February 12, 2015, 08:19:58 pm »

I got back into mountain biking last year , I bought a downhill bike and a hardtail for dirt jumps . Looking to upgrade my DH bike this year now that I knocked the rust off .

DaDuke99 · « **Reply #2 on:** February 12, 2015, 08:36:25 pm »

I ride downhill! Barely any though last season, too much back and forth with work. Hoping to make up for it this year!

coop3422 · « **Reply #3 on:** February 13, 2015, 12:55:34 pm »

Sounds like there's a few of us who ride around here at least. Hopefully that gives me the opportunity to get out more lol. What resorts have you guys been to?

codester- · « **Reply #4 on:** February 13, 2015, 01:06:06 pm »

The extense of my riding last year was at COP, and moose mountain.
but I went to silverstar for the final weekend and it was uckfaying awesome . I crashed hard and I managed to blow up my rear shock the first day and still had a blast the rest of the weekend haha

DaDuke99 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 13, 2015, 01:26:51 pm »

Yeah mine was moose and fish Creek, hah! Haven't had a chance to ride the new lines at COP yet, apparently they're a lot more dedicated now

codester- · « **Reply #6 on:** February 13, 2015, 01:30:33 pm »

Quote from: DaDuke99 on February 13, 2015, 01:26:51 pm

Yeah mine was moose and fish Creek, hah! Haven't had a chance to ride the new lines at COP yet, apparently they're a lot more dedicated now

I ride with a buddy of mine that's rode DH for 10 years and he says the exact opposite about COP . Apparently there is way less effort put into creating and maintaining the trails and the amount of trails has gone down hugely over the years .

DaDuke99 · « **Reply #7 on:** February 13, 2015, 01:34:47 pm »

Haha no I mean if you don't make the jump/gap, you really don't make it. No more 12 year olds pussyfooting the "expert" trails hopefully.

coop3422 · « **Reply #8 on:** February 13, 2015, 03:38:04 pm »

Quote from: codester- on February 13, 2015, 01:06:06 pm

The extense of my riding last year was at COP, and moose mountain.
but I went to silverstar for the final weekend and it was uckfaying awesome . I crashed hard and I managed to blow up my rear shock the first day and still had a blast the rest of the weekend haha

I've heard nothing but amazing things about Silverstar, winter or summer. There are a lot of places on my hitlist, it'll be nice to have some guys to ride with.

How do you guys get your bikes places? Stuff them in the hatch, roof rack, truck or something non-Subie?

DaDuke99 · « **Reply #9 on:** February 13, 2015, 03:46:16 pm »

I have the roof rack for it, but we've always gone out with them in a truck. I don't have the lock in the bike hauler, so I don't trust it on highway until I get that put in haha.

Dutchy · « **Reply #10 on:** February 13, 2015, 04:51:47 pm »

There's a sub forum called pedalheads..... It's right beside the ski and board to the left.....

Unholysavage · « **Reply #11 on:** February 13, 2015, 07:50:16 pm »

Quote from: coop3422 on February 13, 2015, 03:38:04 pm

I've heard nothing but amazing things about Silverstar, winter or summer. There are a lot of places on my hitlist, it'll be nice to have some guys to ride with.

How do you guys get your bikes places? Stuff them in the hatch, roof rack, truck or something non-Subie?

Silverstar is awesome. Not a big hill, but I find it a mini Whistler without the crowd. Love it, but did manage to break my wrist there last fall in a crash haha. I hate COP but usually ride every lift accessed hill in western Canada every year.

As for bike hauling I put a hitch on the STI.
Far and away the best place to haul a DH bike on a car.

DaDuke99 · « **Reply #12 on:** February 13, 2015, 08:38:03 pm »

Yeah I like the roof mount, but it always feels sketch. Worried about driving with any enthusiasm with a bike up there haha

Unholysavage · « **Reply #13 on:** February 13, 2015, 10:36:37 pm »

the factory roof rails are flexy as hell compared to the Thule rack I have on my Cavalier.
made one trip to Silverstar with the big bike on the roof of the STI, and that was it. the bike came home in the hatch.

DaDuke99 · « **Reply #14 on:** February 13, 2015, 11:13:57 pm »

Good to know!

coop3422 · « **Reply #15 on:** February 16, 2015, 01:25:55 pm »

That's my concern about getting a roof rack. When I had my WRX, I ordered some big aluminium blocks/clamps that replaced the flimsy ones under the rain gutters, ordered them from a guy on NASIOC. I would have been a bit more comfortable using those since they bolted right into the car and looked pretty strong, but I never got a roof rack before selling the car. Suck an option doesn't exist for my LGT so I'd have to go with Q-Towers, which sketchs me out with 1 or 2 40lb DH rigs on the roof.

Hitch seems strongest, but then I would still need a roof rack for snowboards. I was hoping for a solution to do both. Maybe I'll just have to accept it and put the bike on the roof and drive cautious.

codester- · « **Reply #16 on:** February 16, 2015, 05:04:39 pm »

As far as I know there is hitch mounted ski and board carries

Unholysavage · « **Reply #17 on:** February 16, 2015, 05:38:21 pm »

The big issue that I found with the factory subie rack wasn't the towers or mounting points. The cross bars flex like wet noodles.
For anything wide and low profile, it would be perfectly OK. For anything high, with narrow footprints (like my Yakima Cobras), there is a lot of leverage. I don't have a sunroof on the GR, but could see the shadow of my bike while driving and the amount of side to side flex was shocking. Best guess was 5-6" in each direction, and I had the bike rack as far passenger side as it could go. I can only imagine how much flex there would be had I centered my bike.
Nothing broke, but I had no interest in testing fatigue strength.

Hicht mount is 10x easier to load (especially multiple bikes), underground parkades are a non issue, and I can see what's happening with the bike while driving. No brainer for big bikes IMO, especially since a hitch exists for the STI.

DaDuke99 · « **Reply #18 on:** February 16, 2015, 05:40:42 pm »

I'm considering trying to reinforce the bars somehow, or find a replacement piece that's much stiffer.

coop3422 · « **Reply #19 on:** February 19, 2015, 07:20:01 pm »

How much is it to have a hitch welded on? They just look so ugly though lol.
Are the Yakima/Thule bars better in the flex regard?

Unholysavage · « **Reply #20 on:** February 22, 2015, 04:37:37 pm »

My Curt hitch was just over $200 at Racks Unlimited.
Impress hitch bolts right onto the STI, I just had to dremel a 2" wide notch into the bottom of the bumper cover for the hitch. Low profile, bit can be dressed up with a hitch cover.

Thule and Yakima roof racks are 5x stiffer and stronger than the Subaru rack. But the subie rack looks 10x sleeker.

Claw · « **Reply #21 on:** February 22, 2015, 08:31:54 pm »

Did a parts swap of my 09 Large Knolly Endorphin to a '14 XL.. can't wait to take it for a ride.

Longlivetheride · « **Reply #22 on:** February 23, 2015, 02:57:42 pm »

i Ran the factory rails with Yakima racks worked awesome for the DH bikes. Had to reverse the racks though as it hit the hatch spoiler if it was facing forwards

Alex · « **Reply #23 on:** February 23, 2015, 03:27:46 pm »

I love the look of a hitch. I've posted these pics before, but maybe some of you haven't seen my beautiful hitch

DaDuke99 · « **Reply #24 on:** February 23, 2015, 09:10:50 pm »

Does that one have an extension arm for hatchbacks, or is it a sedan only type?

The hitch rack is growing on me. Keeps bikes safer, makes drive better, less to worry about in general.

Quote from: Longlivetheride on February 23, 2015, 02:57:42 pm

i Ran the factory rails with Yakima racks worked awesome for the DH bikes. Had to reverse the racks though as it hit the hatch spoiler if it was facing forwards

I had mine facing backwards at first too but it looked kinda funky to me. Mine fit pretty well facing forwards, could look up in the front window to make sure it was still there.