Official mountain biking thread
- Thread starter bakedpow
- Start date
- Featured
Dustin.
Active member
13232275:Tinga said:got out on a borealis echo last night. Super fun to be back out on a bike again. kinda weird though. dropper post seat doesnt work below freezing and rock shox doesnt recommend riding the bluto below 31 degrees. What the hell is the point?
Is your dropper post hydraulic?
B-runge
Active member
Bit of a turkey-day TR: I drove to the Oregon coast to meet my family for thanksgiving and brought my bike along to shred along the way.
I hopped off the interstate straight to Collonade in seattle after getting sick of sitting in I-5 bullshit for an hour. That place is so god damn fun to test your skills on all the little features/techies/skinnies that someone put all of their love into(you can tell)! A lot of the park was in disrepair but the bigest jump line was flowing well still. The most fun looking freeride-line was covered in trash and transient people so that wasnt ideal. Dodging dirty needles (actually), broken glass, trash piles, and human shit got kind of old after a while and it sure is a whole lot less romantic than dodging trees, rocks and mushrooms in the middle of the woods. That said, I'm definitely going to go back there when it stops raining so I can send a bunch of the skinny-lines and wood berms that were wet and slippery. I might even hit it up again on my way back to Bellingham if any of you seattle people want to shred under the bridge on sunday or monday. I'm also thinking of hitting up Duthie for the first time instead if anyone wants to show me around some of the flowy/jump trails up in Issaquah.
Yesterday I went to Black Rock mountain bike area with my dad and OH. MY. GOD! The trails there are on a whole other level than anything i've ever ridden. I swear the mastermind behind the lines and features is a savant or some kind of trail-building genius, haha. I got jealous when I started comparing it to Galbraith and it really made me want to build my own trails like them up in Bellingham. We got there kind of late and my dad doesnt like to catch air or ride on wood (he has herniated discs in his back) so we only rode bonsai downhill and sickter gnar which are the two easier trails. I'll be driving down there and camping for a weekend next time it's sunny because I could ride just those two all day and there are like 4 "black diamond" trails that we didnt even touch our tires to. I'm getting antsy just thinking about how I can't go ride them right now or anytime soon. If you live anywhere within 6 hours of this place and enjoy freeride style trails you've got to get out there as soon as possible!
Exploring new places in the saddle with tires rolling underneath me is for sure one of my favorite things in the world. I'm pretty damn sure I like mountain biking more than powder-skiing now which is creating a skier-identiy crisis in my brain, haha. I'm so fucking stoked on living in the Northwest right now and having endless, world class trails to go check out in every direction. I just got my car fixed so when i get back to bellingham I want to do a couple of Canada excursions. If anyone wants to do a day-trip to Van.'s northshore from bellingham soon you're welcome to come along with me. I need to go check out squamish, coast gravity park, and so many other places too!
TL
R: Boring WA>OR trip report, half-assed invitations to come ride bikes with me, and hashed out Canadian brown-pow fantasies. Go check out Collonade and Black Rock as soon as possible!
I hopped off the interstate straight to Collonade in seattle after getting sick of sitting in I-5 bullshit for an hour. That place is so god damn fun to test your skills on all the little features/techies/skinnies that someone put all of their love into(you can tell)! A lot of the park was in disrepair but the bigest jump line was flowing well still. The most fun looking freeride-line was covered in trash and transient people so that wasnt ideal. Dodging dirty needles (actually), broken glass, trash piles, and human shit got kind of old after a while and it sure is a whole lot less romantic than dodging trees, rocks and mushrooms in the middle of the woods. That said, I'm definitely going to go back there when it stops raining so I can send a bunch of the skinny-lines and wood berms that were wet and slippery. I might even hit it up again on my way back to Bellingham if any of you seattle people want to shred under the bridge on sunday or monday. I'm also thinking of hitting up Duthie for the first time instead if anyone wants to show me around some of the flowy/jump trails up in Issaquah.
Yesterday I went to Black Rock mountain bike area with my dad and OH. MY. GOD! The trails there are on a whole other level than anything i've ever ridden. I swear the mastermind behind the lines and features is a savant or some kind of trail-building genius, haha. I got jealous when I started comparing it to Galbraith and it really made me want to build my own trails like them up in Bellingham. We got there kind of late and my dad doesnt like to catch air or ride on wood (he has herniated discs in his back) so we only rode bonsai downhill and sickter gnar which are the two easier trails. I'll be driving down there and camping for a weekend next time it's sunny because I could ride just those two all day and there are like 4 "black diamond" trails that we didnt even touch our tires to. I'm getting antsy just thinking about how I can't go ride them right now or anytime soon. If you live anywhere within 6 hours of this place and enjoy freeride style trails you've got to get out there as soon as possible!
Exploring new places in the saddle with tires rolling underneath me is for sure one of my favorite things in the world. I'm pretty damn sure I like mountain biking more than powder-skiing now which is creating a skier-identiy crisis in my brain, haha. I'm so fucking stoked on living in the Northwest right now and having endless, world class trails to go check out in every direction. I just got my car fixed so when i get back to bellingham I want to do a couple of Canada excursions. If anyone wants to do a day-trip to Van.'s northshore from bellingham soon you're welcome to come along with me. I need to go check out squamish, coast gravity park, and so many other places too!
TL
R: Boring WA>OR trip report, half-assed invitations to come ride bikes with me, and hashed out Canadian brown-pow fantasies. Go check out Collonade and Black Rock as soon as possible!californiagrown
Active member
Hit up Tiger this morning, and my god that place is awesome. Its not too bad of a grunt to get to the top and then its a super long down with some fairly tech sections mixed in. Easily the flowiest, most tech trails ive ridden in my very limited experience.
It also made me realize how much room i had for improvement haha. I got used to being one of the best riders at my local trail back down south, but my ego got checked for sure today haha. There were a few instances where i had to rely on the old skiing philosophy - "when in doubt, straightline out" in stead of being in total control haha. But i guess thats to be expected riding trails blind... my largest chain ring took a fucking beating though haha.
It also made me realize how much room i had for improvement haha. I got used to being one of the best riders at my local trail back down south, but my ego got checked for sure today haha. There were a few instances where i had to rely on the old skiing philosophy - "when in doubt, straightline out" in stead of being in total control haha. But i guess thats to be expected riding trails blind... my largest chain ring took a fucking beating though haha.
division.bell
Active member
13240167:californiagrown said:
Which trails did you ride? And of the trails you rode, which one is your favorite so far?
I'm hoping to ride there Sunday or Monday, but I'll need to borrow a bike as my shock is still out of commission. Hopefully I can get it back in my hands and thrown on the bike soon as I'm getting itchy to ride it again and it tortures me to see the bike sitting there teasing me with no rear shock.
californiagrown
Active member
13240231:division.bell said:
Did the main summit road up and then OTG-Fully rigid-joyride loop. Off the grid was really awesome. It was fast and flowy with fun little lips and landings everywhere, and had some fairly tech(for me atleast) rocky areas that were real, real slick. Id never ridden purpose built MTB trails before so this was really cool.
One feature of the trails that I really noticed is there are a ton of little 2-3 ft drops over rocks, or roots. On the ones i didnt have much speed for i beat the shit out of my chain ring. I need to get better for the sake of my wallet haha. Any tips other than speed and wheely off them?
Some very short parts of the trail- mainly on fully rigid and joyride had water running down them or had some muddy parts but for the most part the trails were in great shape. OTG was fucking immaculate except for the very slippery roots and rocks- i guess, welcome to PNW riding right?
byubound
Active member
13240240:californiagrown said:
I wouldnt really think of it as a wheelie, more just focusing on keeping your weight back and keeping the front wheel from going down, rather than pulling it up. Way too many people try to pull their front wheel up as if they were on flat ground, and this puts you in a really bad body position as soon as your wheel starts going back down.
FuckAllOfYou
Active member
i ride snowy trails with my skinny Niner (in MN no less) so no one can complain about not being able to ride! once the fat bikes are out on the trails, it's smooth sailing. Honestly it's only a little slower than dirt and plus you get to play around in slippery snow and test your limits while improving handling skills.
it's honestly a great time, just remember to keep your feet warm.
it's honestly a great time, just remember to keep your feet warm.
ghosthop
Member
13241666:byubound said:
I think it was mentioned in this thread but you have to change the weight of the fork oil.
I don't know what kind of snow biking you've done but the conditions where I want to roll a bike with 5 inch tires don't really lend themselves to riding fast down trails where I would feel the need for a fork. The bluto seems like something for people using fat bikes on slickrock trails for the increased traction.
division.bell
Active member
Fatbike build(s) initiated.
The availability on any Fatboy model is quite a ways out now and still growing, but the frame sets are readily available...wasn't planning on going this route but at least now I don't have to wait for a complete bike.
Will likely be 1x11's with XT brakes. No plans for a Bluto yet as I want to see how the stock carbon fork works out first. Looking forward to rolling 4.6" tires in some snow this winter.
Did you ride all the way to the top and start with the East Summit trail? Then link up with Off the Grid once you've crossed over the road you climbed up and continue into the woods?
Yup, welcome to WA. What tires are you running?
The availability on any Fatboy model is quite a ways out now and still growing, but the frame sets are readily available...wasn't planning on going this route but at least now I don't have to wait for a complete bike.
Will likely be 1x11's with XT brakes. No plans for a Bluto yet as I want to see how the stock carbon fork works out first. Looking forward to rolling 4.6" tires in some snow this winter.
13240240:californiagrown said:
Did you ride all the way to the top and start with the East Summit trail? Then link up with Off the Grid once you've crossed over the road you climbed up and continue into the woods?
Yup, welcome to WA. What tires are you running?
NinetyFour
Active member
13245329:division.bell said:
Niiiice! Hyped to see how they turn out.
On the building note, I'm taking the week off from ski building to build something for my fatbike endeavours. The project involves carbon fiber, SPD cleats, and a set of insulated rubber boots. Yeah, if these things turn out right I'm going to be hyped. Will post pictures when I make some progress (and maybe some pictures of the Farley, for real, this lifetime...)
ghosthop
Member
13246243:Immas said:
Just food for thought, but there really isn't a ton of usable trails around here for fat biking in the winter. The reason being that the trails that are groomed in the winter are user specific (nordic/sleds) and once the gates go across the fire roads, the laws are archaic and read no wheeled use instead of making a distinction between motorized and non-motorized. Last season a there were a couple people heavily fined on their way to a bc hut for riding on a gated fire road, so the fs is out there.
Anyone else have issues with fat bikes on their local trails? New and non traditional use of public lands is always interesting, especially considering many of the laws were written decades ago and it usually takes a major advocacy group to get the wheels turning on change.
13246726:ghosthop said:
Yeah, I've noticed that as well. In Truckee (where I used to do my winter riding) there were quite a few trails I could easily access. In Bozeman I notice more people using fat bikes as an actual mode of transportation vs pleasure riding. I've heard of people being stopped for riding, but didn't think that was true. They really need some distinction in the laws.
NinetyFour
Active member
Had the Farley in the shop tonight so I could work on my boot project. One cute little big bike:
It's all stock right now except for the two bottle cages (wow, much custom, very amaze). All I've asked for from my entire family for Christmas is some sub-zero Orange Seal so I can take this thing tubeless and save some weight, more importantly rotating mass. So hopefully that happens. If not I'll make it happen in the new year. Then I'd maybe like to buy a frame bag for it, or I'll stitch a nice rugged one up that mounts to the bottle cage screws and Velcro straps to the top tube. It may get a carbon bar so I'm not losing as much heat from my hands to the frame to. Somewhere in the bikes life it will get some real brakes, but I'll shred the DB3's in the cold first.
And hopefully I'll have made some good headway on the boots by Thursday night to post pictures.
It's all stock right now except for the two bottle cages (wow, much custom, very amaze). All I've asked for from my entire family for Christmas is some sub-zero Orange Seal so I can take this thing tubeless and save some weight, more importantly rotating mass. So hopefully that happens. If not I'll make it happen in the new year. Then I'd maybe like to buy a frame bag for it, or I'll stitch a nice rugged one up that mounts to the bottle cage screws and Velcro straps to the top tube. It may get a carbon bar so I'm not losing as much heat from my hands to the frame to. Somewhere in the bikes life it will get some real brakes, but I'll shred the DB3's in the cold first.
And hopefully I'll have made some good headway on the boots by Thursday night to post pictures.
FuckAllOfYou
Active member
13241409:Bakerpow said:
Cold feet biking is possibly one of the worst feelings in the world. I have some pretty tight fitting, carbon soled XC shoes I ride with (XC racer, duh) and getting them weatherproofed is a chore. Even then, my big toes will get cold.
I haven't experienced the level of pain I felt as my toes were warming up from a 0 degree morning ride for a long, long time. It was wretched, burning pain. Worth it though.
division.bell
Active member
13245329:division.bell said:
Framesets shipping the day I placed my order was a nice surprise. Should be in my hands very soon.
1x11's they shall be. Ordered up (3) X1 sets today (shifter/rear derailleur/cassette/chain) for the two fatbikes and an upgrade to my wife's hardtail. Just need a few more components and the 4.6"ers should be steamrolling trails and dreaming of fresh snow to play in within the next few weeks.
ThaLorax
Active member
13246224:SprinkleTurd said:
If you live in Denver you should definitely keep the Status. There's so many good downhill trails within driving distance of Denver. Unless you never plan on riding DH again. The Atroz is Diamondbacks entry level XC bike with single pivot suspension design. Theres so many bike options out there now, I think you can do better than the Atroz, especially if you are a serious rider and not just a few times a year rider.
booniemon
Member
Kona Shonky DJ rear hub just took a dump yesterday. The hub is blowing apart. The wheel was moved all the way to the frame, brakes were rubbing real bad. Got soo pissed that I just ripped the brakes off, and shoved the hub components back together. Now riding a brakeless DJ, that is ready to blow.
division.bell
Active member
13249576:division.bell said:
Framesets arrived today. I'm expecting the wheels, tires, and X1 drivetrain components to show up in the next day or so.
These things are coming together much faster than anticipated...fuck yeah.
As to not disappoint, here's a picture of my current builds; 2 Fatboys and my Chameleon singlespeed project that has yet to be started.
division.bell
Active member
13251275:JuliusJ said:
Nothing cool currently coming my way...I've received it all.
Wheels/tires/X1 drivetrain components all showed up yesterday.
Tires weigh 3.15lbs EACH. The front wheel was around 2.5lbs. Tubeless isn't even a question, it's a given with those monster tires; gotta save some weight somewhere.
Just need brakes, cockpit items (bars/grips/stems/seat posts/saddles) and the xd drivers for the rear hubs and it's build time! Next batch of parts orders will be placed after the weekend so these beasts should hopefully be rolling soon.
Pictures will definitely be posted when I have something to share.
NinetyFour
Active member
Well it was global fatbike day today, so to celebrate a few of us went on a group ride through the city with our rigs. This was the first real chance I've had to ride snow as we've only had a decent amount for a week now, and let me tell ya it's some of the most fun I've ever had on a bike.
I've only got one pic of the group, the rest of the time we were riding we didn't even think to stop and snap some pictures.
I'm the goober on the far right with my super technical outerwear setup... Really though I was quite warm with just a baselayer and my insulated flannel on in -10C weather, which seemed to be perfect.
As far as the riding itself went we trekked through all parts of the city. Icy downtown streets, fields and hills of fresh snow (my city has a lot of greenspace) bike paths, really anything and everything a snowy city would have to offer. So the traction on a fatbike is really good for the most part.
If you start to get into deep snow things can get loose pretty quick, but I had so many moments where I had the bars super sideways and I thought I was going to lose the front end but managed to ride out just fine every time. The deepest snow we went through was probably 20cm where snow had drifted into some places and it was easy to get through that as long as you had some momentum going in.
Alternatively semi-packed snow offers the most traction I've ever felt on a bike. The big tires grab that stuff so well and it's one of the nicest feelings ever especially if you're climbing up and over something. I wasn't really expecting this at all and you could probably set some damn fast times on some single tracks if you had them prepared properly.
And my boot project. Basically I wanted to take a pair of my favorite winter footwear, insulated rubber boots and make them clipless. Pictures are better then words so I'll just let loose with them:
The boots.
The dream.
Vac bagging some carbon footbeds.
Carbon footbeds.
Hardware to get the cleat onto the footbed.
Taking a holesaw to the boots was terrifying. The position of this was quite critical. It needed to be offset to the inside of the sole so the boot would clear the crank arm. Then it needed to be in a spot where there would be enough tread to each side of the cleat so it could properly contact and push on the pedal.
Here's the hardware in the spacer. I used binding freedom inserts for the cleats to thread into as they're both M5 thread, then I tapped the nylon spacer for some M6 screws that will hold it onto the footbed. The M6 screw will get epoxied into the disk to lock them into place for good.
The hardware also needed to be cut flush and I just did that with an angle grinder.
After all that. boom we've got some sick footbeds.
Then I just stuffed those into the boot and taa-daa. I also had to slice away some rubber on the tread of the boot to create a channel for the pedal (which I still need to clean up with a grinder and a some sandpaper but it works for now)
And this is clipped in here, works as designed! The boot looks super off to one side because I had the pedals right dialed down for test fitting. I still haven't glued the footbeds in yet either so they can rotate slightly in the boot to.
All in all it's been a pretty fun little project. A few finishing touches, clean up the tread channel, add a cork liner to the footbed, glue the footbed in place, then figure out if I can seal around the hole, and they will be 100% done. They worked extremely well on the ride today. Weren't loose feeling at all, were easy to clip in and out, and were super warm. I'll probably ride these for a long time until my complaint list piles up, then I'll maybe build an even nicer set next summer, see if I can do something without boring through the boot's sole.
I've only got one pic of the group, the rest of the time we were riding we didn't even think to stop and snap some pictures.
I'm the goober on the far right with my super technical outerwear setup... Really though I was quite warm with just a baselayer and my insulated flannel on in -10C weather, which seemed to be perfect.
As far as the riding itself went we trekked through all parts of the city. Icy downtown streets, fields and hills of fresh snow (my city has a lot of greenspace) bike paths, really anything and everything a snowy city would have to offer. So the traction on a fatbike is really good for the most part.
If you start to get into deep snow things can get loose pretty quick, but I had so many moments where I had the bars super sideways and I thought I was going to lose the front end but managed to ride out just fine every time. The deepest snow we went through was probably 20cm where snow had drifted into some places and it was easy to get through that as long as you had some momentum going in.
Alternatively semi-packed snow offers the most traction I've ever felt on a bike. The big tires grab that stuff so well and it's one of the nicest feelings ever especially if you're climbing up and over something. I wasn't really expecting this at all and you could probably set some damn fast times on some single tracks if you had them prepared properly.
And my boot project. Basically I wanted to take a pair of my favorite winter footwear, insulated rubber boots and make them clipless. Pictures are better then words so I'll just let loose with them:
The boots.
The dream.
Vac bagging some carbon footbeds.
Carbon footbeds.
Hardware to get the cleat onto the footbed.
Taking a holesaw to the boots was terrifying. The position of this was quite critical. It needed to be offset to the inside of the sole so the boot would clear the crank arm. Then it needed to be in a spot where there would be enough tread to each side of the cleat so it could properly contact and push on the pedal.
Here's the hardware in the spacer. I used binding freedom inserts for the cleats to thread into as they're both M5 thread, then I tapped the nylon spacer for some M6 screws that will hold it onto the footbed. The M6 screw will get epoxied into the disk to lock them into place for good.
The hardware also needed to be cut flush and I just did that with an angle grinder.
After all that. boom we've got some sick footbeds.
Then I just stuffed those into the boot and taa-daa. I also had to slice away some rubber on the tread of the boot to create a channel for the pedal (which I still need to clean up with a grinder and a some sandpaper but it works for now)
And this is clipped in here, works as designed! The boot looks super off to one side because I had the pedals right dialed down for test fitting. I still haven't glued the footbeds in yet either so they can rotate slightly in the boot to.
All in all it's been a pretty fun little project. A few finishing touches, clean up the tread channel, add a cork liner to the footbed, glue the footbed in place, then figure out if I can seal around the hole, and they will be 100% done. They worked extremely well on the ride today. Weren't loose feeling at all, were easy to clip in and out, and were super warm. I'll probably ride these for a long time until my complaint list piles up, then I'll maybe build an even nicer set next summer, see if I can do something without boring through the boot's sole.
booniemon
Member
Just picked up a 2013 Specialized Status from Trestle this summer. I got some use out of it before the end of the season, and I'm not positive if I like it. Due to it having 200mm forks. So my question to you is, for strictly bike park use (wood features, jumps, flow trails, techy black trails) Should I keep the bike? Or move down to something more like a slopestyle bike, maybe a Status 1 or P. Slope?
will_powder
Active member
@ninetyfour
Sick!
Sick!
howlongcanausern
Active member
13253178:NinetyFour said:
dude, that's awesome.
but I was wondering about this part....how are you going to ensure a good seal? every pair of that type of boot i've owned has either cracked/let water in and they just turn into a damp, smelly mess after about a month
Tinga
Active member
video of a fat bike water skipping in my town. this pond got pretty deep and wide before a flood a couple years wrecked it. legit feat none the less
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=746370682107989
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=746370682107989
NinetyFour
Active member
13253630:momsspaghetti said:
Aha woo thanks for the hype guys. As for sealing them up, I don't think it's going to happen, at least not 100% submersible. As is, the tight fit of everything keeps snow and slush out of the boot. I'll probably work on making a completely waterproof boot happen on V2.
I vac-bagged a layer of cork onto the footbeds tonight as well as adhering the inserts and screws to the plastic spacer. I tried them on and they're so comfy yet tight feeling. Image rotated uploading off my iPad... The cork should be sweet because the screws don't protrude anymore, it makes the fit tighter, and it should help insulate the boot sole.
It's supposed to be like +10C my way this weekend which will totally screw up the little bit of snow we have, so I'll likely resort to ripping the Farley all weekend. Maybe I'll need to take up pond skimming.
onenerdykid
Active member
13260549:NinetyFour said:
This project is seriously awesome. Nice work!!
division.bell
Active member
Rolled around on another Fatboy Expert yesterday. It's torture having the two Fatboy framesets, wheel and tire sets, and complete drivetrain for each all in hand but still not having anything rideable at this point. Most of the remaining parts are in transit, just need to track down 2 disc rotors, a pair of grips, and 2 saddles and it's time to roll some fatties. Shooting for next weekend, but things could get fucked in transit by the holiday's so I'm not holding my breath at this point. Can't fucking wait though.
Also, my warrantied shock is finally back on my Knolly...bout fucking time. It was fun getting out on a variety of 29er's while my bike was out of commission, but there's nothing like being reunited with your own personal and custom build.
Not much skiing going on here in Washington yet this winter, but the mountain bike "season" has been phenomenal. Anyone else still out there getting some good riding in?
Also, my warrantied shock is finally back on my Knolly...bout fucking time. It was fun getting out on a variety of 29er's while my bike was out of commission, but there's nothing like being reunited with your own personal and custom build.
Not much skiing going on here in Washington yet this winter, but the mountain bike "season" has been phenomenal. Anyone else still out there getting some good riding in?
division.bell
Active member
13269220:JuliusJ said:
No skiing yet for me either. Not complaining one bit though as the biking has been that good.
Which Expert model? Evo or Carbon 650b/29?
californiagrown
Active member
13269218:division.bell said:
I've been riding each weekend at tiger, still super fun. Hell last weekend the trails were actually dry.
With the rain coming this weekend, anyone know of some good 2ish hour rides in the Seattle area that handles rain well? Other than tiger?
division.bell
Active member
13269372:californiagrown said:
With the kind of rain we are expecting this weekend, I stay on the eastside, closer to home. Soaring Eagle, Duthie & Grand Ridge, Henry's Ridge, Tolt, and Tokuls can handle the rain fairly well in my experience. Each will have its own problem areas that will hold water and create mud pits, but all are definitely rideable in the rain.
NinetyFour
Active member
Yeah, central Canada, I don't even need a fatbike right now. We're lined up to have a green Christmas if the weather gets warm like it's supposed to.
californiagrown
Active member
13269380:division.bell said:
What's some good stuff on the east side? Something similar to tiger in length and type of trail. I'm used to day tripping 8 hours to Tahoe every weekend so 3-4hours round trip is nothing to me.
To answer your question from a while back, I'm riding a 2011 stumpy far with a 2.2 purgatory on the front, 2.3 wtb moto on the rear. The purgatory is actually much wider than the moto though.
division.bell
Active member
13269458:californiagrown said:
Not much really compares to tiger on the eastside. I'd recommend starting at Duthie and riding south into and through the park (head south on the gravel road once you get to the main clearing that serves as the central hub for Duthie park) and cross the road to start the Grand Ridge trail. Nowhere near as tech as tiger, but it is a good out and back with a surprisingly fun amount of climbing and descending with the actual lack of significant elevation change. It has a good mix of things but is primarily fast single track.
I find the route way more enjoyable to ride starting at Duthie and riding south up the hill to have the longest downhill on my return ride to Duthie. Plus the bike park itself has plenty of trails, jumps, pump tracks and practice drops/ obstacles to keep you occupied for a few hours. Definitely worth checking out at least once.
Words of caution, the bridges are extra slick this time of year and be wary of riders around blind turns on Grand Ridge. Duthie's trails are directional so no concerns there but the same does not apply once you cross the road and hit the Grand Ridge trail. Expect traffic on the weekends, but it's always manageable and never seems too crowded. Especially during a rainy weekend.