First time DH (looking for tips, looking for someone to ride with @ diablo or near NYC)

blong131

blong131

Active member
So i do a fair amount of XC (and road cycling, for that matter), but i realized my favorite part is going downhill, taking drops, obstacles, etc. I really wanna try DH, but Im not just gonna drop a grand on a used bike and show up alone at a park.

I'm wondering if theres anyone who'd wanna try this out with me, or anyone who'd wanna hang out and show me the ropes one day (i'm located in NYC). I guess i'd just rent at diablo, i was looking at maybe doing the lift, rental, lesson package at diablo cuz i think its the cheapest option. Just kinda thinking out loud, hit me up with anything really.

also, if its just my first time, i obviously wouldnt be taking the biggest drops and stuff, could i get away with my xc hardtail for day 1? (heres my bike, with a few small changes: https://newschoolers.com/web/forums/readthread/thread_id/546292/ )
 
I'm mainly an aggressive xc/all-mountain rider myself. I've ridden my bike for downhill here at Killington a few times and it managed just fine. It's an '05 Cannondale Jekyll with 135mm of rear wheel travel. At the time, it had a garbage fork too.

Smoother stuff was a walk in the park. Rougher terrain did overwhelm the suspension at times and I was far slower than those with a DH bike.

While an XC bike can standup to a day here and there of downhill riding, it is definitely recommended to get a DH bike, even if renting/borrowing the first time. You'll enjoy it way more and the bike will be far more capable.

As for lessons, personally, if you ride XC a lot, you more than likely have the mechanics of bike-handling down so I'd say a lesson is not needed. Get out there are ride it!
 
Your ability to do DH depends on the stability of the lefty, and its effective travel. I would be cautious about dropping stuff with anything less than 160mm travel, but that's just me.

But still, I'd recommend trialling at least a DH bike. The head angle will be much slacker than your XC bike, which will alter the centre of mass, make steering a lot more fidgety and responsive, and make the bike more nose-stable.

The main thing I would say though, is whatever you do, keep you weight centred in the direction of travel, over the BB during riding and while hucking. Every DH injury I've had is because of poor weight distribution. Also, for the best experience, stay off the anchors as much as possible
 
yeah that all makes sense. i wasnt gnna do a lesson, but its like $59 for proper dh bike rental, pads, lift, and lesson, so i figgured i might as well.
 
Lift access DH is amazing. I would say definitely rent or borrow a true DH bike though, your cannondale hardtail will survive just fine, but you may get reemed...
 
you will be way happier if you rent a DH bike, get (at minimum) knee/shin pads and a full face helmet. and a tip, bend your elbows and knees, lean back, and dont fight the bike. even if the line where it ends up taking you is not the one you wanted to take, you will be way better off just going with it instead of fighting to get back.
 
so I was thinking about this the other day, and seeing as I no longer race, I don't think I'm ever going to buy a DH bike again.. the resorts near me rent every brand imaginable, Sol Vista rents Santa Cruz, Yeti, and Commencal for between 80 and 150 a day. say you ride 10 days a year, thats between 800 and 1500 a year in rental costs, and each day you have a bike that's been tuned and repaired, at no out of pocket cost to you. Compare to the cost of owning a DH bike, 5500-7k up front, plus countless repairs. they also rent new bikes every year, so you don't have to deal with riding your bike for 4 years before you can afford a new one. If you don't need to have the same bike so you can tour the race circuit, renting/demoing bikes just makes sense.
 
I would probably rent a DH bike if I were you, you will feel much more confident than you would with your lefty, and get a better idea of what DH is actually like.
 
it also means that you have to worry about getting a bike in your size, getting the suspension set up, brakes adjusted, and everything tweaked for you every time you go riding, and you have to get used to the bike everyday. and you then dont have a bike to shuttle or hike with.
 
def rent pads and a full face!

and renting a dh bike will cost you a little bit, but it is so worth it. I have rented the handful of times I have been dh and it lets you tear it up so much harder. And you don't want to risk damaging your bike. because chances are you will be throwing it out from under you a few times.
 
with the Demo program sol vista has, you just call two days before you show, and tell them exactly the bike you want and your weight and height, and they have it waiting for you when you show up. last year I rode with my friend who rented, and he had the exact same yeti 303dhr every single time, I don't think they ever rented it to anybody else except him. and lets be honest, most people would rather have lift access riding for 25 bucks for 9 hours instead of spending as much on gas and only getting 3 or four runs in. not saying shuttling and hiking isn't fun, but if you have access to a place that never has lines and you can get in 20-30 runs in one day..
 
thanks for all the tips everybody. ill def get full face and body armour, and with the points brought up renting totally makes sense. Even if i can "get away" with my lefty for one day, if i slam hard on it im out the cost of new parts, much more than the rental fees

so now i need someone to try this with! hit me up if you wanna make this happen. I really just dont wanna hit the trails alone the first time. I swear, im not that weird.
 
Not a bad idea.

Although I always run super wide bars, short reach levers and a road cassette, so I assume they wouldn't be willing to put all that stuff on just for me.

Also, there's something nice about owning your own bike, spending the weekends tricking it the fuck out, etc. And I actually enjoy doing repairs, fitting new pieces and tuning the suspension.

And we don't have resorts either, just hills with trails, and guys in tractors doing uplifts :(
 
working on bikes is probably one of my favorite things to do. im constantly on craigslist looking for fixer upper deals and parts.

if i like my day of dhing, im definitely getting a bike haha
 
don't get me wrong, I love working on my own bikes, and own multiple rigs for basically every discipline that exists in cycling, but DH bikes are especially cost prohibitive
 
here's what i did. i went up with my brother and he rented a bike. The rental program actually allowed you to take out 3 different bikes out throughout the day. So obviously only one of us paid for the rental but we switched off trying out the different bikes. I have a 5" bike with aggressive geometry and a 160mm fork so my bike was capable but definitely not ideal. Sharing the bikes made it fun for both of us and more cost effective.
Lift access DH is too expensive and is not something I would do regularly even if I still lived near a ski mtn.
 
My first time DH I rented a bike. Nothing special but still decent and I had the time of my life. Not sure exactly what it was but it was still worth the money cause I can guarantee my hardtail would have slowed me down alot more.
 
go to plattekill in the catskills. super legit skiing, i dont do DH but from what ive herd their DH is legit also
 
HOLY THING FROM THE FANTASTIC FOUR SHIT.

just dhed for the first time. ive never felt a rush like that. that is the most badass sport on the planet. im very cut up, hit my head twice, definitely sprained some joints, and ive never felt better. im thinking this wont feel as good when i come down off the adrenaline
 
Awesome man, Diablo is a fun place, I've definitely left some skin and tissue there too. Didn't get to ride there this summer, too busy building my own stuff and other shit. Too bad Mountain Creek kinda sucks in the winter
 
Dude you set your canondale up pretttyyy nice.

your bike will work for DH, maybe for the first day, but it may get pretty trashed, try renting a bike at your hill.

 
so glad i rented

jamis bam - full on dh big rig...riding a bike like that is such a different experience than riding any other bike. you really just let it do the work underneath you, i got through some chutes/rock gardens i never thought id survive based solely on gripping the bars a little lighter, stayying off my breaks, and just letting the bike flow underneath me

it was defintiely unreal, its def alot more painful today though hahah. my left hand is completely destroyed. cant believe i left my gloves at home, big mistake

oh and i should have mentioned, i went to blue mountain in PA, and it was way better than expected. for how small of a following it has there, it has some really well kept and fantastically built trails and is really well run.
 
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