Mountain biking trails and equipment

[Get a Job]

I've recently gotten into MTB and I got the bug bad. I got to wondering how many 'yarders ride, what they ride, and where they like to ride.

I am riding an old 26" hardtail which is fun but brutal on my body. I am concurrently learning more about equipment and saving money, with the goal of getting a full suspension ride in a few months. (Canyon Neuron AL 7.0 is currently at the top of my list.)

I've ridden a lot of the trails in central Connecticut, and my favorite, to the extent that I have one at this point, is Rockland in Madison. What are your spots?

 

[87Xfer]

I started riding while at UConn in the late '80s (Shenipsit was an early favorite) . Started racing in '87 or '88 and MTB stuff was basically my life's focus through the 90's. Traveled to the west coast, rocky mountains, the southwest and southeast (24 hrs of Canaan) for the sole purpose of riding. We moved from CT to CO more than a decade ago, and that choice had a lot to do with it being a great MTB scene here. Current ride is a full-sus 29er (Intense Carbine). I rode a fully rigid fat bike for a season a few years ago when I was between suspension bikes. That was kinda brutal. I still try to get on my Spot Brand single-speed hardtail, but at this age I appreciate some full suspension (and multiple gears!).

Last couple of years I've been doing more fly fishing than riding, but the garage still looks like a shrine to all things biking.

 

[AreBee1969]

I've been riding since the early '90s. Mostly in CT, but with a couple years in West Virginia and Eastern Mass. We have a group of about 12 guys that ride together off-and-on. For the last 10 years we've ridden mostly at Case Mountain in Manchester. It's an amazing place with over 70 miles of trails in less than a three square mile area. Case has all levels of difficulty and every type of riding. Rocky and technical, to smooth and flowy, and every combination in between. If you are on Facebook, there's a CT Mountain Biker's page that's a great source of trail and gear information. If you haven't put Trailforks on your phone, do that too. It has maps of trail systems all over the country, although they recently started limiting the area of trail coverage that you can view on the app. On your desktop, there are no area limits.

 

[87Xfer]

I've been riding since the early '90s. Mostly in CT, but with a couple years in West Virginia and Eastern Mass. We have a group of about 12 guys that ride together off-and-on. For the last 10 years we've ridden mostly at Case Mountain in Manchester. It's an amazing place with over 70 miles of trails in less than a three square mile area. Case has all levels of difficulty and every type of riding. Rocky and technical, to smooth and flowy, and every combination in between. If you are on Facebook, there's a CT Mountain Biker's page that's a great source of trail and gear information. If you haven't put Trailforks on your phone, do that too. It has maps of trail systems all over the country, although they recently started limiting the area of trail coverage that you can view on the app. On your desktop, there are no area limits.

No idea what it's like now, but Case was a tough ride in the early days. It was a pretty solid grunt just to get up to where the real riding was. Some other early favorites were Natchaug, Pachaug, and a ride near Middlesex Community College. And I lived in W Hartford for a long time so the res trails were a regular ride. After moving to Fairfield County, the options were more limited so rode Trumble a lot, and a little trail network on the Stamford / Greenwich border that I forget the name of.

 

[AreBee1969]

No idea what it's like now, but Case was a tough ride in the early days. It was a pretty solid grunt just to get up to where the real riding was. Some other early favorites were Natchaug, Pachaug, and a ride near Middlesex Community College. And I lived in W Hartford for a long time so the res trails were a regular ride. After moving to Fairfield County, the options were more limited so rode Trumble a lot, and a little trail network on the Stamford / Greenwich border that I forget the name of.

We ride the res too, mostly when someone has a time constraint since it's close to where most of the guys in our group live. We will venture out to Cowles in Granby a couple times a year as well.

Case is still a tough ride, and yes, you gotta bring your climbing shoes. My buddy would describe every trail we would ride as "A little bit rocky, a little bit of tech and a little bit of a climb." We favor the tech stuff over the flowy stuff and our typical 10-12 miles at Case leaves us pretty spent.

There has been some serious trail building there in the last two years. Several new trails bordering both sides of the powerlines. Some are flowy and fast, and one is a crazy 3-mile switchback trail, with a little bit of tech, some quick descents and some punchy little climbs. You're legs know it when you're done.

 

[87Xfer]

We ride the res too, mostly when someone has a time constraint since it's close to where most of the guys in our group live. We will venture out to Cowles in Granby a couple times a year as well.

Case is still a tough ride, and yes, you gotta bring your climbing shoes. My buddy would describe every trail we would ride as "A little bit rocky, a little bit of tech and a little bit of a climb." We favor the tech stuff over the flowy stuff and our typical 10-12 miles at Case leaves us pretty spent.

There has been some serious trail building there in the last two years. Several new trails bordering both sides of the powerlines. Some are flowy and fast, and one is a crazy 3-mile switchback trail, with a little bit of tech, some quick descents and some punchy little climbs. You're legs know it when you're done.

We used to hit places like Jim Thorpe, PA, the Vietnam trails in MA, and the Arcadia in RI once a year or so. Rode Arcadia the day after Thanksgiving probably ever year for close to a decade. And the Pedro's MTB fest was an annual pilgrimage too. Have you ever done any riding out West? We're a hair under 3 hours from Moab, so we're there a lot. It's insane how much trail building has happened in the Moab area. Durango and the ABQ, NM areas each also have enough great riding to justify a trip.

 

[twiceahusky]

We ride the res too, mostly when someone has a time constraint since it's close to where most of the guys in our group live. We will venture out to Cowles in Granby a couple times a year as well.

Case is still a tough ride, and yes, you gotta bring your climbing shoes. My buddy would describe every trail we would ride as "A little bit rocky, a little bit of tech and a little bit of a climb." We favor the tech stuff over the flowy stuff and our typical 10-12 miles at Case leaves us pretty spent.

There has been some serious trail building there in the last two years. Several new trails bordering both sides of the powerlines. Some are flowy and fast, and one is a crazy 3-mile switchback trail, with a little bit of tech, some quick descents and some punchy little climbs. You're legs know it when you're done.

The poor Rez ... I ride with a crew and we only hit the Rez when it is crappy out ... too wet, too cold, too much ice, too little time. Tonight is the Rez because the snow is packed, and it is too cold (I live on the Rez, so my basement is open for beverages & warmth ... unfortunately the game is cancelled).

Case is tough - meh? Yeah a little hilly, but very flowy these days. Those folks are cutting trails constantly, probably my favorite. AreBee1969 I assume you know Belwoar, who is riding the Rez tonight. Most group rides are at Case (huge with tons of choices), Cowles (bit smoother, great warmup laps if someone is late, well taken care of, bit small but extended it with the Bridges a bit), Nassahegan (vast with choices), then add in a little Crescent Lake (great technical flow), Tyler Mills, Nepaug (stunts too big for me), and down to Rockland (great technical) when sunlight permits.

 

[Get a Job]

I've been riding since the early '90s. Mostly in CT, but with a couple years in West Virginia and Eastern Mass. We have a group of about 12 guys that ride together off-and-on. For the last 10 years we've ridden mostly at Case Mountain in Manchester. It's an amazing place with over 70 miles of trails in less than a three square mile area. Case has all levels of difficulty and every type of riding. Rocky and technical, to smooth and flowy, and every combination in between. If you are on Facebook, there's a CT Mountain Biker's page that's a great source of trail and gear information. If you haven't put Trailforks on your phone, do that too. It has maps of trail systems all over the country, although they recently started limiting the area of trail coverage that you can view on the app. On your desktop, there are no area limits.

I went to Case once, but my bottom bracket exploded a few hundred feet into the ride. I plan to go back soon. My buddies who continued on when I left didn't like what they rode. Do you have any route suggestions? We prefer flow, but aren't afraid of tech.

Question for everyone: based on the types of trails around here, and the fact that I'm too wimpy to do any big jumps or features, what kind of rear travel would you recommend? I am thinking 120 mm should be enough for me, but I have little experience and knowledge to base that on.

 

[Get a Job]

We used to hit places like Jim Thorpe, PA, the Vietnam trails in MA, and the Arcadia in RI once a year or so. Rode Arcadia the day after Thanksgiving probably ever year for close to a decade. And the Pedro's MTB fest was an annual pilgrimage too. Have you ever done any riding out West? We're a hair under 3 hours from Moab, so we're there a lot. It's insane how much trail building has happened in the Moab area. Durango and the ABQ, NM areas each also have enough great riding to justify a trip.

I can't wait to go out west someday. Hopefully I'll have more skill and better equipment by then.

 

[AreBee1969]

We used to hit places like Jim Thorpe, PA, the Vietnam trails in MA, and the Arcadia in RI once a year or so. Rode Arcadia the day after Thanksgiving probably ever year for close to a decade. And the Pedro's MTB fest was an annual pilgrimage too. Have you ever done any riding out West? We're a hair under 3 hours from Moab, so we're there a lot. It's insane how much trail building has happened in the Moab area. Durango and the ABQ, NM areas each also have enough great riding to justify a trip.

We go away once a year for a four-five day camping/biking trip. We've been to Vietnam in Mass, Mt. Snow, Burke/Kingdom Trails, but we're headed out to Stowe in October for the 6th straight year. Moab and Fruita are on our bucket list!

The poor Rez ... I ride with a crew and we only hit the Rez when it is crappy out ... too wet, too cold, too much ice, too little time. Tonight is the Rez because the snow is packed, and it is too cold (I live on the Rez, so my basement is open for beverages & warmth ... unfortunately the game is cancelled).

Case is tough - meh? Yeah a little hilly, but very flowy these days. Those folks are cutting trails constantly, probably my favorite. AreBee1969 I assume you know Belwoar, who is riding the Rez tonight. Most group rides are at Case (huge with tons of choices), Cowles (bit smoother, great warmup laps if someone is late, well taken care of, bit small but extended it with the Bridges a bit), Nassahegan (vast with choices), then add in a little Crescent Lake (great technical flow), Tyler Mills, Nepaug (stunts too big for me), and down to Rockland (great technical) when sunlight permits.

Yeah, the Res is really beat up. We will sometimes ride there at night because it's close, but even now we've been going out to Case for our night rides. For night rides, we go in at the top of Bungalow Hill Rd. I'm not familiar with Belwoar.
We avoid the flow for the most part and usually get in between 1,100-1,500 vertical.

I went to Case once, but my bottom bracket exploded a few hundred feet into the ride. I plan to go back soon. My buddies who continued on when I left didn't like what they rode. Do you have any route suggestions? We prefer flow, but aren't afraid of tech.

Question for everyone: based on the types of trails around here, and the fact that I'm too wimpy to do any big jumps or features, what kind of rear travel would you recommend? I am thinking 120 mm should be enough for me, but I have little experience and knowledge to base that on.

If you park on Birch Mt. Rd. by the power lines, near Horizon Lane, and stay to the area South and side of the powerlines you'll find more than 7-8 miles of flow. It's kind of a maze out there. Trailforks will help. I'm thinking 120 mm of travel would be plenty for the type of riding you describe. I have a two year old full suspension bike with 100 mm of travel and do just fine with it. even at 6' 2" 205 lbs. Like you, I'm not jumping, just need some of teeth rattling taken out of the equation.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

Rockland is as good as I've seen in CT. I've gotten swiped by a biker at the res before while hiking. Didn't see him coming. Not fun for me or him I'm sure. You can also try Cowles Park in E Granby. Not a lot of traffic there

 

[karstenkibbe]

No idea what it's like now, but Case was a tough ride in the early days. It was a pretty solid grunt just to get up to where the real riding was. Some other early favorites were Natchaug, Pachaug, and a ride near Middlesex Community College. And I lived in W Hartford for a long time so the res trails were a regular ride. After moving to Fairfield County, the options were more limited so rode Trumble a lot, and a little trail network on the Stamford / Greenwich border that I forget the name of.

You’re referring to Mianus River Park. Beautiful network of single track trails, mostly on the west side of the river. The biggest challenge is avoiding confrontations with the uppity dog walkers - most of whom enter from the Greenwich side.

 

[87Xfer]

You’re referring to Mianus River Park. Beautiful network of single track trails, mostly on the west side of the river. The biggest challenge is avoiding confrontations with the uppity dog walkers - most of whom enter from the Greenwich side.

That's it. Used to do weekly shop night-rides there because it was within riding distance. May or may not have occasionally involved inhaling burnt dried vegetation. Not me, I just watched.

 

[Get a Job]

I ended up pulling the trigger on a Fezzari Cascade Peak. It will be my first full-suspension bike, and I am pumped. Unfortunately I have about 10 more weeks to wait for delivery. Hopefully my old hardtail holds up until then!

 

[Letsgohuskies11]

You’re referring to Mianus River Park. Beautiful network of single track trails, mostly on the west side of the river. The biggest challenge is avoiding confrontations with the uppity dog walkers - most of whom enter from the Greenwich side.

Yeah was going to say Mianus, although there are a ton of dog walkers, trail runners. I'm not sure how great it is for mountain bikers with just all the traffic around and having to dodge people.

 

[JustbrewitMan]

I ended up pulling the trigger on a Fezzari Cascade Peak. It will be my first full-suspension bike, and I am pumped. Unfortunately I have about 10 more weeks to wait for delivery. Hopefully my old hardtail holds up until then!

Good stuff. I think you'll love it. Heard good things about Fezzaris.

The current wait times for new bikes continue to be agonizingly ridiculous.

I was lucky to pick up a 2020 Diamondback Release 4C last fall; was a bike shop demo that I scored off of PinkBike classifieds. Love it.

 

[AreBee1969]

I ended up pulling the trigger on a Fezzari Cascade Peak. It will be my first full-suspension bike, and I am pumped. Unfortunately I have about 10 more weeks to wait for delivery. Hopefully my old hardtail holds up until then!

I rode a hard tail for 30+ years and for me, the switch to a full suspension was jaw dropping. The dropper post was as big of game changer as the move to full squish.

 

[HuskyDevil]

You’re referring to Mianus River Park. Beautiful network of single track trails, mostly on the west side of the river. The biggest challenge is avoiding confrontations with the uppity dog walkers - most of whom enter from the Greenwich side.

Uppity dog walkers...that's redundant!

 

[ZooCougar]

I've recently gotten into MTB and I got the bug bad. I got to wondering how many 'yarders ride, what they ride, and where they like to ride.

I am riding an old 26" hardtail which is fun but brutal on my body. I am concurrently learning more about equipment and saving money, with the goal of getting a full suspension ride in a few months. (Canyon Neuron AL 7.0 is currently at the top of my list.)

I've ridden a lot of the trails in central Connecticut, and my favorite, to the extent that I have one at this point, is Rockland in Madison. What are your spots?

Even if you get a new bike, hold on to that 26”. They are so much more fun.

I am more of a roadie but I have two mountain bikes. My advice is to learn to do your own work. You’ll save so much more money.

 

[Get a Job]

Even if you get a new bike, hold on to that 26”. They are so much more fun.

I am more of a roadie but I have two mountain bikes. My advice is to learn to do your own work. You’ll save so much more money.

I'm definitely going to keep my old bike around for a while. I will only get rid of it if I find that I am not using it at all after a year or so.

So far I have done all my maintenance and repairs myself, and I plan to continue that. I've read, however, that yearly shock service should be left to professionals, so I will probably outsource that.

 

[tdrink]

I've recently gotten into MTB and I got the bug bad. I got to wondering how many 'yarders ride, what they ride, and where they like to ride.

I am riding an old 26" hardtail which is fun but brutal on my body. I am concurrently learning more about equipment and saving money, with the goal of getting a full suspension ride in a few months. (Canyon Neuron AL 7.0 is currently at the top of my list.)

I've ridden a lot of the trails in central Connecticut, and my favorite, to the extent that I have one at this point, is Rockland in Madison. What are your spots?

Just saw this thread. I havent been riding as much lately because of the disc golf bug. Still riding a 26 dual squish. Couldn’t imagine not having full suspension.

Case mountain has the best mix of trails. If you are looking for even more challenging, Miller’s Pond in Durham is world class technical. Nathan Hale in Coventry has a great trail system. I tend to ride Mansfield Hollow because it’s right in my backyard.

 

[Get a Job]

Just saw this thread. I havent been riding as much lately because of the disc golf bug. Still riding a 26 dual squish. Couldn’t imagine not having full suspension.

Case mountain has the best mix of trails. If you are looking for even more challenging, Miller’s Pond in Durham is world class technical. Nathan Hale in Coventry has a great trail system. I tend to ride Mansfield Hollow because it’s right in my backyard.

My third ride ever was at Miller's Pond. What a mistake! Once I get used to my new bike I'm going to try it again, over a year later.

Haven't tried anything east of Case yet. Can't wait to try Nathan Hale. Thanks for the suggestions.