Chubz Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Just looking for feedback on Diablo and Seven Springs. We hit Blue Mountain this weekend for some Downhill MTB action, but very rocky. It looks like the trails and flow sections of 7 Springs seem smooth and opportunistic for someone learning to increase jump abilities. Diablo seems to have numerous trails, but looking ofr feedback if it a is a place that one can go and hammer if need be and also cruise section to explore with out get run over by someone behind you. Any insight on particualr trails would be great. Thanks Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Diablo is very rocky on most of their trails. Some of them are just silly rocky. I know guys who do not want to ride the rocky trails b/c they don't think it is worth taking the chance of screwing up their bike - even if they don't fall. Whatever... Diablo has some of the most fun and gnarly stunts that I've done. If you thought Blue was really rocky, then you will not like the rocky trails at Diablo. On the other hand, Diablo is an outstanding place to work on your jumping skills. <object width="606" height="455" ><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.facebook.com/v/31608397368" /><embed src="http://www.facebook.com/v/31608397368" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="606" height="455"></embed></object> This is on Lower Dominion. Those jumps are over my head when I stand next to them. Upper Dominion, Covenant, Reality Show, and Salvation all have smooth features on them - no rocky mess. Some of the features are pretty gnarly, but they are basically a jump and jib park for a bike. I believe that Deviant has the beginner jumps on it. They may be 4 feet high with 10 - 15 foot tables. I am not sure. Pretty easy, but fun and can help you learn jumping skills. All of these lead to Lower Alpine. This is a fast, smooth, bermed (and optional wall rides) switchback trail that takes you most of the rest of the way down. I don't know if you are into drops, but the progression drops are near the bottom of Lower Alpine - choose from 2, 4, or 6 feet (or something like that) and drop to a nice tranny (make sure you apologize to him/her). If you are really into drops, well, take your pick - they are everywhere. My friends and I measured once and "Road to Nowhere" can be safely jumped to 22' vertical (that is the only measurement that I've given that I am sure is accurate :)). The "Road to Nowhere" is the pic that I posted in your other thread. Lastly, don't miss the Indy Cross course. It is a blast - smooth, bermed and fast! The only prob is that if you don't like the gnar, it is hard to get to. Here is the map so that you can cross reference what I have said: I am definitely riding in Oct. Most likely the 3rd and the 17th. I am not sure if I will hit Blue or Diablo - I may even consider Springs. When I figure my life out, I'll let you know. Hope all of this helps. Stay safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cail Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 i havent mountain biked at springs for about a decade or more, but i loved it when i did. that was back in the days when they hosted NORBA events. the downhills were pretty sick, and the cross country course was amazing... but if you dont like extremely technical riding (i.e. you hardly ever see dirt), you might not like that particular course... but there's tons of trails to hit from what i can remember. i dont remember any names though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 I cannot speak from personal experience, since I haven't been to Springs in years (trip this summer got canceled...grrrrr) but from what I have been told, it is much more tame than it was back then. Back when they were doing NORBA (didn't they do a WC as well?) some of the courses were pretty sick for the day. I remember the DH pros actually complaining about how rough it was. There was one gully section that they just dozed boulders into to make it "passable". I know I still have some video of that somewhere.... Anyway, I haven't heard how high the gnar factor goes at Springs nowadays, I just know that there is a lot of smoother stuff there. If you haven't already, check out their video page. Looks smooth and fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chubz Posted September 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Thanks I dont mind rocky, but when it gets to abusive rocky, it tends to wear on you thru the day, plus I seem to break bike parts even when I dont fall. Rear Derailur this time and the wife gives me that look when ordering bike parts. Blue has some steep loose loamy sections on the some of the DH lines and its just hang on and hope you dont hit trees. the Super D line is great and they had a smaller jumps section that I liked. Phil, any decetn DH tires you recommend that will function well for the longevity and price.. I was checking out the WTB weirwolfs and the WTB dissents., cant spend a ton but losing tread on my rear tire. gotta run Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted September 24, 2009 Report Share Posted September 24, 2009 I dont mind rocky, but when it gets to abusive rocky, it tends to wear on you thru the day, plus I seem to break bike parts even when I dont fall. Rear Derailur this time and the wife gives me that look when ordering bike parts. If you stay on the stuff that I outlined at Diablo, it is not too rocky at all. If you go over to the other side, I would imagine that you would consider it to be abusively rocky. In an effort to get a better comparison for you, I contacted some guys who are in the know (1 pro and 1 expert DH'er) and they both thought that Springs is a great place for someone who is getting their feet wet in DH. It is not overly technical and a lot of the trails are relatively smooth and fast. OTOH, they also said that it is NOT the place to go to learn to jump better. They were speaking pretty poorly of the jump builder there. The jumps are plain awful. That is coming from two of the better jumpers that I know. I still think it would be great for you to go, I just don't want you to get your hopes up about the jumps there. As far as tires are concerned, I have to admit that I am just plain out of the loop. It's going on six years since my first child was born and about six years since I have really been into the MTB scene. I am running Maxxis Mobsters in the front and Nokian Gazzi Jr's in the rear on my FR and DH bikes. I could not tell you what is good and what is not. I usually just looked for a good deal even when I did get tires. Both the aforementioned were free for me... If you are interested, I have some 3.0's that I would gladly give away. They are big and heavy, but the traction is sick. Your call... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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