Tried downhill mountain biking today

I'm up in NH for a week of vacation (not the original plan, but the logistics were easier), and I ended up booking a hotel conveniently located at the base of a mountain that happens to have a lift-supported bike trail network. I've been riding for years, but I've never done this sort of thing, so I figured why not? I mean, what could go wrong?

I should point out that my bikes are, um, experienced. OK, old. This one, an early 90s vintage Giant 780, came out of the dump with a wrecked drivetrain. I stripped it and rebuilt it, either refurbishing or replacing every component as necessary, then shot the frame with some appliance enamel. It's been great for bombing around my local dirt roads and (relatively mild) trails, but this, as it turns out, was different.

I managed to do eight runs in 3.5 hours, running down the easiest flow trails, which didn't feel all that easy to me. I also got a bunch of comments from people about the bike, which can be summed up as either older riders admiring and feeling nostalgic about it, and kids (anyone under 30 at this point) looking mouth agape and saying things like "aw, hell naw". Every other bike on the mountain was a full suspension rig that looked like it came from the future. My bike actually did pretty well, all things considered. It handled everything at reasonable speeds (no one passed me, at least) and never felt like it was holding me back.

If there was a weak point, it was my fleshy pink meatsack. Aside from learning to handle the bike on fast, steep, and twisty trails, I had to contend with levels of abuse I don't normally encounter. When the trails were smooth, everything was good, but hit the rocks or the several washboard sections, and my body was less happy. The rigid bike - in spite of the steel frame and relatively supple tires - did nothing to dampen the significant shocks and vibrations. By the end, I was definitely feeling it, but it was a really fun day, even riding my old junk. Recommended if you've got a similar facility nearby.

I opened this thread expecting to see an x-ray of a bone with pieces of steel and screws attached.  Glad it went well.

I have  1985 Naseki  (sp?)  and a 1988 Schwinn, both versions of what mountain bikes were in that day.  No suspension, no disc brakes... real.   So I can relate.

In reply to Purple Frog :

Whistler will do that to you, here is my wife's humerus bone:

The guy I rode up with before my first run described his broken collar bone in more detail than was helpful.

In reply to 02Pilot :

What resort is that? It looks familiar from my youth.

In reply to Woody (Forum Supportum) :

My guess is attitash-bear peak. Was there an alpine slide?

Put me in the "aww hell nah" camp... downhill on that is impressive!!

Have you ever tried a bike from the future? If not, you've certainly earned renting/borrowing one for a few hours to get a taste. Modern bikes are really really impressive. 

Woody (Forum Supportum) said:

In reply to 02Pilot :

What resort is that? It looks familiar from my youth.

Cranmore in North Conway.

As someone who raced downhill within the last 10 years, major props for even attempting to ride at a modern bike park on a fully rigid bike.  I hurt just thinking about it. 

Glad to open this post and not see a photo from a hospital bed but still put me in the "aw, hell naw" category with that bike. Props for making it down more than one run on it, that's more than I would have attempted. 

Like others have said, give a bike from the future a try, you might like it. 

Wow!

I used to race downhill 15 to 20 years ago on a hardtail (still had front suspension).  A hardtail on a downhill course was considered rare even back then!

I got comments about taking my 140mm travel bike to snowshoe mountain last year.  People told me it wasn't enough travel.

It was fine. 

I would like to try a long travel bike to see how fast I could go through some of the rougher sections. 

Not my video, but this is one of the trails I did. It probably took me 5-5.5 minutes to ride it, rather than the 3:45 in the video, but it felt fast when I was doing it.

Love downhill, but no way would I do it on that bike. I got an immediate blister from a burn when my leg touched my rear disk rotor after a run, and I didn't think I was using a lot of brakes. 

Welcome to NH!  Loon mt is not too far from you either, which has a bit more of everything to offer, including a demo fleet.  I bet if you walked into the shop with your old iron and told them that you lasted 8 laps at cranmore on it, that they'd give you a loaner for free for the day haha. 

Props to you, but yes-  Rim brakes, solid seatposts, and threaded headsets are definitely not common on flat trails anymore, let alone downhill parks, haha. 

While you're in Conway, some recommendations- 

- Peach's for breakfast (worth the wait) 

- Hike to the mouth of Tuckerman Ravine, which is an extremely low-key hike able to be done by most. 

- Dianna's baths is an overcrowded killjoy, IMHO. 

- Float the Saco for a few hours if you get some hot weather.  

- Tuckerman Brewing Company does live music outside a bunch, and is a can't miss venue IMHO. 

- If you've got kids, storyland is a decent waste of time and money in exchange for cool pictures and kid entertainment. 

If you are doing some fun riding in North Conway, just to get out again after the downhill, look up "Sticks & Stones". No big climbs or downhill, but a fun little loop that lets you pick the level of difficulty based on whether you go over or around the boulders and stone ramps. 

I haven't done the downhill trails at Cranmore, but may consider it this august when we are in Fryeburg for a week. I had been hesitant about doing it with my hardtail, but your experience makes me think it will be a fun time.