Dual Sport Trails

[KYtrailfan]

I have been watching a number of videos recorded at various area public trails. and note stark differences compared to the riding videos posted here on the forum. Makes me wonder how some of the you tube warriors passed the motorcycle skills test. So, what type of riders are you commonly encountering on the popular trails?

 

[Kev250R]

In my area (So.Cal.) the idea that bigger is better seems to be prevalent. It's common to see people hauling a Mountain (or E-Bike) in the back of a lifted 3/4 Crew Cab Diesel pick-up. The bikes on our trails are much the same; lots of people (guys mostly) who buy the largest bike they can get their leg over then race like heck through the forest or the desert, trying to keep-up with their friends who also bought the biggest bike they could find.

All that's well and good, but my friends and I like to travel at a slower pace. That doesn't mean we don't go let it rip sometimes but, especially when we're riding the roads in our local forests (I do a lot of riding on the trails outside of OC in the Cleveland National Forest and in the Big Bear/Redlands area) we go slow. Never know what's going to be sliding around the corner in front of you. Side-by-Side's aren't permitted on most of the roads we ride in the Big Bear area, yet we're starting to see a lot more of them out there, along with Jeeps, Mountain/E-Bikes, Hikers and Horses. It pays to keep a slower pace.
And I mean no hate on the lifted truck crowd. My tow rig is a crew-cab Silverado with a 4" lift and 33" tires. Generally though it's not hauling bicycles

 

[Backwoods]

I don’t understand what

I have been watching a number of videos recorded at various area public trails. and note stark differences compared to the riding videos posted here on the forum. ,,,',,,,,,, Don’t know how this all ran together like it did……………. I’m not sure I understand what stark differences you have noticed, can you elaborate? I too watch many videos and Some of the riders and motorcycle “ mechanics” don’t know how to ride or turn a wrench. . The extremely popular trails at Livingston and Manchester have everything that has wheels, lots of side by sides and even an occasional street bike that has been backyard modified for trails. You ride those areas and an old Honda Trail will pop up now and then. Chances of seeing a new Honda Trail in there is like seeing a huge buck during deer season, maybe you will and most likely you won’t.

 

[KYtrailfan]

I was referring to the people who buy the big fast bikes and haven't the first clue how to ride them. I understand and appreciate the motocross racers. They have serious developed riding skills and scramble up the hill and are on to the next one. The clueless bought the same bike but fall over on the first hill and can't pick the bike up. Neither group paid any attention to the waterfall off to the left. The 125 trail riders pick their way up the hill and stop to admire the waterfall. Downhill slalom versus cross country skiing.

 

[Backwoods]

Oh yeah I see what you mean. Best to pick a bike you can for sure handle, and don’t buy an Africa Twin if your motorcycle skills are below average, get a much smaller bike.

 

[SneakyDingo]

In my area (So.Cal.) the idea that bigger is better seems to be prevalent. It's common to see people hauling a Mountain (or E-Bike) in the back of a lifted 3/4 Crew Cab Diesel pick-up. The bikes on our trails are much the same; lots of people (guys mostly) who buy the largest bike they can get their leg over then race like heck through the forest or the desert, trying to keep-up with their friends who also bought the biggest bike they could find.

Shuttling is a pretty common practice. There's a bit of a divide in the community that you should earn your downhills, but I'm not too much in that group (I think it's valuable to ride up for scouting the route reasons, but that's it - if you're doing 1 up and 9 shuttling, I think you're in a good place). For the same reason, I'm not in the group that says, "eMTB is a bad thing!" For some people, their fitness runs out before their skill does, and for others, their skill runs out before their fitness does.

what type of riders are you commonly encountering on the popular trails?

As Gone in 60 Seconds puts it, too many self indulgent wieners with too much bloody money.

I think that most people choose too big a bike, that you can have much more fun on a small bike, and that outside of specific scenarios you're better off on a smaller bike. Those big bikes, they're geared too tall, they're too heavy when you drop them, they're too easy to drop, and they're hard to pick up when dropped. Not only that, it's easier to make a suspension package that can handle a lighter bike over something the weight of a GS Adventure.

Don't get me wrong, there are reasons to ride a GS Adventure. They're great bikes. Long highway miles punctuated by dirt punctuated by more long highway miles and you've got yourself a pretty good recipe for a GS Adventure. But if you were to ask me what I'd be taking out for the trails that I frequent around here, I'd say a XT250 or CRF300L is pretty much perfect. DRZ400 in a few of the cases is even overkill unless you're looking for competitive race speeds.