BLD
New member
Video Up! New Tires And New Trails Outside Georgetown CA
Hey everyone,
I recently had a chance to get out with some friends and explore some new trails. We were riding outside of Georgetown, CA on a combination of private property and National Forrest. Most of the riding was fire roads but we managed to find some single track as well as a great hillclimb! Unfortunately my Gopro was taking pics instead of video on the hillclimb, so I cannot share all the deep loose goodness that ensued as the group ran up the hill.
Because I picked up a flat on my rear (At Mammoth bar the week prior), and I hated the Dunlop front on the bike, I sprung for new Maxxis MaxxCross IT front and rear, as well as new heavy duty tubes. Short review is a quick yes, I like them! As a newer intermediate rider I am fine with their limit of traction, and like the way they wear. At 16PSI front and 15PSI rear they were slick and I took it pretty slow. Later I aired down to 14 front and 13 rear and felt much more confident in the tires. They hooked up well in the deep loose dirt, hard pack mixed with rocks, large sharp rock and most surprisingly the deep loamy, grassy hillclimb we found. I had no problem plowing up it on my tractor (2013 XC300)! Where we rode we got to ride on a little bit of everything and overall the tires weren?t super sticky, but they are very consistent. Maybe I?ll air down another pound or two next time and see how that feels. They would get loose if I was riding sloppy...
Our group consisted of 5 total. Our guide lives up in the area and while new to riding, he knows the trails well. He was on a Chinese version of a DR200 and he was by far the fastest in the woods! Funny part was he was running a 140/80r18 rear that my bike would have come with new (my new Maxxis rear is a 120/100). Our most experienced rider was on a YZ450f. For an MX bike, it rips in the woods! Next we had our friend on a CRF250R who was riding with a broken collar bone (he was taking it slow as to not test his new metallic hardware installed two months prior!). His brother was riding my Wifes TTR125 (small wheel) and like the DR200, I am impressed with what both rider and machine made it through! Last is myself on my GasGas, what an awesome machine!
Full disclosure. There were some spills and mechanical issues! Mostly myself and the TTR, lol. I crashed pretty hard on a loose corner before I aired my tires down and destroyed my Acrebis Hand guards (again, not on tape)! I also lost my e-start during the day to a loose splice someone did, thankfully my trusty goat kicks over every time, even when it throws itself and I on the ground!
I am seriously impressed by the DR200 and TTR125 tho. Those little air-cooled thumpers took hills and dealt with ruts and rocks that could have ate the bikes alive. My friend on the TTR did take a nasty spill, and it took a few minutes for him to get back on the horse... Amazingly he didn't damage anything we couldn?t bend back, and the mighty little TTR finished the day strong, albeit way behind due to the lack of suspension and tire clearance (surprisingly not the motor or gears according to him).
All in all it was a great day and we learned two valuable lessons.
1: Always keep a camera recording, you never know when a great moment or crash is coming.
2: I?d rather lug a GasGas than feather an MX bike all day!
Edit: video is up! Nothing too fancy or fast, just a good cruise through the woods with friends.
https://youtu.be/hZiBXfSPwXo
Hey everyone,
I recently had a chance to get out with some friends and explore some new trails. We were riding outside of Georgetown, CA on a combination of private property and National Forrest. Most of the riding was fire roads but we managed to find some single track as well as a great hillclimb! Unfortunately my Gopro was taking pics instead of video on the hillclimb, so I cannot share all the deep loose goodness that ensued as the group ran up the hill.
Because I picked up a flat on my rear (At Mammoth bar the week prior), and I hated the Dunlop front on the bike, I sprung for new Maxxis MaxxCross IT front and rear, as well as new heavy duty tubes. Short review is a quick yes, I like them! As a newer intermediate rider I am fine with their limit of traction, and like the way they wear. At 16PSI front and 15PSI rear they were slick and I took it pretty slow. Later I aired down to 14 front and 13 rear and felt much more confident in the tires. They hooked up well in the deep loose dirt, hard pack mixed with rocks, large sharp rock and most surprisingly the deep loamy, grassy hillclimb we found. I had no problem plowing up it on my tractor (2013 XC300)! Where we rode we got to ride on a little bit of everything and overall the tires weren?t super sticky, but they are very consistent. Maybe I?ll air down another pound or two next time and see how that feels. They would get loose if I was riding sloppy...
Our group consisted of 5 total. Our guide lives up in the area and while new to riding, he knows the trails well. He was on a Chinese version of a DR200 and he was by far the fastest in the woods! Funny part was he was running a 140/80r18 rear that my bike would have come with new (my new Maxxis rear is a 120/100). Our most experienced rider was on a YZ450f. For an MX bike, it rips in the woods! Next we had our friend on a CRF250R who was riding with a broken collar bone (he was taking it slow as to not test his new metallic hardware installed two months prior!). His brother was riding my Wifes TTR125 (small wheel) and like the DR200, I am impressed with what both rider and machine made it through! Last is myself on my GasGas, what an awesome machine!
Full disclosure. There were some spills and mechanical issues! Mostly myself and the TTR, lol. I crashed pretty hard on a loose corner before I aired my tires down and destroyed my Acrebis Hand guards (again, not on tape)! I also lost my e-start during the day to a loose splice someone did, thankfully my trusty goat kicks over every time, even when it throws itself and I on the ground!
I am seriously impressed by the DR200 and TTR125 tho. Those little air-cooled thumpers took hills and dealt with ruts and rocks that could have ate the bikes alive. My friend on the TTR did take a nasty spill, and it took a few minutes for him to get back on the horse... Amazingly he didn't damage anything we couldn?t bend back, and the mighty little TTR finished the day strong, albeit way behind due to the lack of suspension and tire clearance (surprisingly not the motor or gears according to him).
All in all it was a great day and we learned two valuable lessons.
1: Always keep a camera recording, you never know when a great moment or crash is coming.
2: I?d rather lug a GasGas than feather an MX bike all day!
Edit: video is up! Nothing too fancy or fast, just a good cruise through the woods with friends.
https://youtu.be/hZiBXfSPwXo
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