Dominican/Backside of China Camp Trail Review

I have been riding the China Camp area for over 6 years now. Anyone who has ridden China Camp knows that it is a great beginners trail system and offers some great views as well and very tame singletrack that even your kids can enjoy.

The regular "front" loop is roughly 10 miles with just about 1000 feet of climbing. Friends of China Camp (FOCC) has groomed the trails a lot over the past few years. But what many people don't know is there are a plethora of trails, ranging from leg burning fire roads to technical singletrack on the "backside" or Dominican side. It gets the "Dominican" tag from most of the lower trail heads start near Dominican College in North San Rafeal.

The Dominican trail systems are neither legal or illegal, I would call them "gray". I have never personally been stopped or reprimanded for riding these trails and I haven't heard of anyone else having issue, and these are very heavily travelled.

If you find yourself looking for a more challenging ride and you are in the San Rafeal area you can access these trails from both the front "normal" side of China Camp or the Backside near Dominican. If you find Locus Drive near Dominican College and follow it until it ends you will be at the Gold Hill fire road trail head. From hear you can climb to the top or as the locals call it the "nike site". From the front side you can make your regular climb, once you get to the third bridge take a right and go up "echo trail". You will come to a paved road, make a left and enjoy a leg burning climb to the nike site.

Nike site is the highest point at china camp and is the most central point for all the trail systems. From here the exploring is endless, and I do mean endless, rumor has it there is an April fools ride that takes place in China Camp and Dominican that lasts all day and if you can complete it when all is said and done you will have climbed over 10k and not repeated many trails.

Here are a few of my favorite personal loops;
1.) Reverse China Camp w/ 7-11 Kicker:
When I want to get some extra climbing in and only have an hour or so I will ride the front side loop counter clockwise, climb echo and take a right on the paved road. You will see a small trail jet up a hill on your right, take this, you will pop out next to a bench and right in front of you is one of my favorite singletrack trails in Marin, the infamous 7-eleven trail. take a left and keep your bike pointed down hill, you will pop out next to ...you guessed it, 7-Eleven. Ride the road back to where you parked, you will get around 1100 feet of climbing and 10 miles of riding as well as some fun semi-technical, fast singletrack.
2.) Goldhill/Hitlers Revenge Loop:
When you only have an hour and you want some technical singletrack you can't go wrong with this loop. Starting at the Gold Hill Fire road trail head climb to the top. Once you reach the Nike site keep going about 100 yards, you will see Scettrini Fire rd. head up this for 20 yards and when you get to the top look to the right, you will see a little hill, ride up and this is the start of Hitlers Super D trail. This trail is by no means a trail for a beginner or someone who doesn't enjoy rocky, steep, rutted trails. Most people I talk to would give this a black diamond rating, with that said I am sure there are many people who would laugh at that, I personally think rating trails is tough because it really depends on the riders ability, but anyways, I think everyone would agree this trail isn't "easy", and if you choose to ride it in the summer when its dry and loose it can be down right scary. So once you get down Hitlers Super D, and you will know when you reach the bottom, you might actually get off your bike, kiss the dirt or have a friend pry your fingers from your grips and take a picture of your perma-grins, from here you cross the fire road and you will see a little singletrack, and I do mean little, there is a hairpin turn to the right or you can go straight. When I am short on time I go straight, this is Quercus Trail, it is an up and down narrow singletrack that will take you back to Goldhill Fire Road. If you take the hairpin to the right you will be on "super skinny/Canary", and yes it is SUPER SKINNY in some spots. You will follow this until you hit another trail, go left and you will be headed back to Gold Hill Fire rd.

Anyways, there are so many trails and possible loops it is impossible to go over them here. I highly recommend you do some google earth/Strava/Friend research or ride with someone who knows the area if it is your first time, a wrong turn could end up causing some miserable climbs but all in all the area is pretty compact and you will most likely find your way out.

I think these trails are some of my personal favorite, and this is mostly because of all the different types of rides I can go on in one area, short and easy, long and hard, technical singletrack, leg burning climbing, you name it.

If you have questions don't be afraid to leave me some comments. Who knows I am always down to meet up and ride!

Big Rock/ Skywalker Singletrack Status and Pictures

Big Rock/Skywalker Singletrack is a go to when it is wet. There are not a lack of trails in Marin but there are a lack of trails the are ridable after or during the rain. Big Rock is great after the rain, it drains well and doesn't get sloppy, but, it is a very exposed. During a clear day it can offer some of the most beautiful views in Marin, look to the North and see Novato and Mount Burdell, to the East you may see San Pablo bay and Mount Diablo and to the South you may even see the Cityscape of San Francisco and of course Mount Tam. 

Todays ride offered none of these views, once to the top visibility was about 75-100 feet, it was foggy and cold, so our turn around was quick, but the trail was in prime condition, nice and sticky, very few puddles for as much rain as we have gotten in the past two weeks. 

My friend's Santa Cruz Bronson and my Pivot Mach 6 loved their first 2016 ride! Here is a picture at the start of "big rock".

Industry Nine Enduro Wheelset Review

I purchased the I9 Enduro wheelset for my Pivot Mach 6 about 2 months ago. My Mach 6 came with DT Swiss Spline 2's (M1700). I decided after talking to a friend that this would be the wheelset for me, I liked what I have read about the hoops, and the hubs. My friend had nothing but great things to say about the torch hub.

Lucky me I was able to get the exact color I wanted directly from Jensonusa.com, I ordered red on red, red spokes and a red hub. Anyways Jenson literally got them to me in two days, but I live in Northern California so I guess that probably isn't shocking.

Out of the box these wheels looked exactly as described. I was a little shocked with how light then felt for being a "bulletproof" wheel. I had STAN FlowEX wheels on my Knolly and these are noticeably lighter. Anyways, they were set up for tubeless, tape and valves pre-installed. I switched over my cassette and put my tires on, used my floor pump and boom...I was ready to ride, of course after I took some pictures of my clean, spotless wheels.

Just a little bit about the different wheesets and hubs I have ridden....As stated above my bike came with the DT Swiss Spline 2 w/ DT swiss hubs. I had STANS Flow EX with Hope hubs on my Knolly and I also tried some WTB Frequency wheels with Shimano Hubs on my Kona. All had the pro's and cons but I didn't think I would find a wheelset that I liked more than my Flow EX with Hope's.....Fast forward to my I9's.

I went for a ride on a local trail that I ride a lot and has a good mix of climbing and technical downhill. I am not the worlds strongest climber so a few hundreds grams in wheel weight doesn't make a difference for me. But where I put wheels to the test is when pointed down, I am not a pro downhill racer but I am fast and I ride hard. I am also not a small guy, I weigh 210lbs so a strong wheel is important to me.

First think I noticed was how solid these wheels felt in the corners, I have demoed a few bikes with carbon wheels and I can honestly say these felt VERY SIMILAR. Next think I noticed was my front tire was a little low, I burped my STANS a few months before on this exact trail and ended up having to jam a tube in my tire. I thought this was going to be a repeat of the that but my tire held strong and didn't burp.

So after a lot of rides and hard hits over the past few months I have a new favorite wheel and hub combo, the Enduro's with Torch hubs are amazing. I have taken them through rock gardens, put them through hard hits, rough landings and hub burning downhills without a hiccup.

If you are annoyed by loud buzzing hubs then this is not the hub for you, I am used to Chris Kings and Hopes, and I would take the Torch any day over them. The hook-up is amazing, maintenance is easy, and I like the loud hub so its a win-win-win for me.

All in all I recommend these wheels and hubs for anyone wanting a carbon feel with out the carbon price. That said these wheel sets are not cheap, they are a premium hand built wheelset but I do think you get what you pay for when it comes to wheels and hubs.

Industry Nine link: http://www.industrynine.net/wheels/8/27.5%22+Enduro

Pro's:
Weight (1680 grams)
Durability
Looks
Comes tubeless ready
Very custom color choices

Cons: (personally I dont thing there are any cons to these wheels)
Price- but you get what you pay for
Hub noise- for some

WTB Vigilante Review

I decided to give the WTB Vigilante's a roll. I couldn't be happier! I ordered the 27.5 tough and fast compound. I put them on my new Industry Nine Enduro wheels (review on them coming soon). Out of the box everything was as described, I inspected the tire thoroughly inside and out, nothing to note. So on to mounting. First thing like many others have said these tires are a tight fit, but manageable if you have some levers and patients.

I set them up tubeless and was able to set the beads with a floor pump, no issues what-so-ever. My first ride on them was in Auburn, CA a few months ago. We were on some prime single track and the ground wasn't great but better then the bone dry earth I have been riding in Marin County. I could defiantly "feel" the tire rolling, the resistance is more than the High Roller II's I came off of but that was expected. Once I hit some faster portions of the trail I instantly felt the hook up and felt a lot more confident. This was the first time ever riding this trail for me so I took it a little slower than I normally ride.

After returning to Marin County I took my bike to some familiar trails and was able to put these tires to the test. I am very impressed with how confident I feel with these tires coming into corners and through out all angles of my lean into and out of the corners, they are also great in hard and soft braking situations, I felt confident braking a little later than normal for sure.

We have blessed with some rain here in Marin so I have been able to ride in some wet/muddy/slick conditions. The vigilante holds it's own, I think the only thing I noticed was on a slow accent (climb) they did build up with mud but once I put the pedal down it didn't take long for them to clear themselves.

These tires have been awesome, I have about 200 miles on them and they are still like new, I don't or try to avoid at all cost riding on pavement so my tires seem to last a little longer than the average.

PRO's:
Price
Durability
Traction
Breaking

CON's:
Weight
Mounting

2015 Pivot Mach 6 Review

Well I took the plunge and purchased a 27.5/650b bike. After lots of research, asking questions and demo rides I chose the Pivot Mach 6. I went with a fairly simple build. XO1 1x11, with RaceFace Turbine crank and Narrow/Wide 30t chainring. I also went with Shimano XT brakes. Fox Float-X shock and Rockshoxs Pike Fork. I put a Giant 150MM dropper as well (more on that in another review).

Besides those items the bike is stock, DT Swiss M1700 Spline 2 wheels, Pivots proprietary   handlebars and WTB seat. Maxxis High Roller II tires front and back.

I am coming off of a Knolly Chilcotin, hands down one of my favorite bikes. I never had any issues with my Chili except for the fact it had 26" wheels and was a little on the heavy side, again not a big deal to me but it was getting harder and harder to find good deals on tires. Also high quality wheelsets are getting harder to come by. I felt that if I was going to get any money out of selling my Knolly it was time, in reality I was a little late.

So, the Mach 6, a few things that were very noticeable was the weight, coming in at 28lbs with pedals it was 3 pounds lighter than my Chilcotin. It was very obvious on climbs and when pointed downhill, the Pivot felt a lot more responsive (snappy). I think the best analogy would be, my Chili was like a dragster, point it in the direction you want to go and pin it! While the Mach 6 is a Rally Car, very fast and precise, the drivers ability to control it has a lot more to do with how fast and in control you are.

As for climbing both platforms climb very well, the Pivot Mach 6 w/ DWLink suspension is amazing, the Knolly 4X4 is no joke either but when it comes to climbing, if you take everything else out of the equation, weight, rider ability, wheel size etc.. the Mach 6 DWLink is a better climber. I hardly ever lock out the rear suspension unless I am making a steep long fire road/road climb. Very little pedal bob and my wheel seems to keep traction just as well as my Knolly did.

The Pivot Mach 6 feels amazing and light, the carbon frame is very stiff and truly gives you the "on rails" feeling in corners. Being a lighter bike it also give you the ability to easily move it with you feet and body in technical sections, again I think this is something that has more to do with rider ability, but with 6" of travel the bike is still forgiving for poor line choices...

All in all the Pivot Mach 6 is an amazing 6" travel all mountain/enduro bike. I have been asked many times if I will miss my Chilcotin, at first I thought I would, but in all reality I am much happier on my Pivot Mach 6, not only is it lighter and feels great under me it has a wheel size that is much easier to upgrade and work with.

Pedal Review: Xpedo Faceoff 18

I have been using Xpedo brand pedals for a few years now. I most recently switched back to flats. I bought two different models, the Face-off 18's and the Spry. This review will cover the Face-off 18 as I am still testing the Spry (and loving them).

So a little about the brand, Xpedo makes many different pedals that bear different names and have been in the pedal making business a lot longer than most people think. Have you heard of Wellgo? Think of Xpedo's as a high class Wellgo.

Anyways here are the specs from Xpedo: MSRP $99

Weight:	385g
Body:	6061 CNC Aluminum
Spindle:	CroMo
Bearings:	1 Cartridge
Bushings:	1 DU
Pins:	20 Replaceable straight pins per pedal
Size:	99x100x22 (mm)
Colors:	Black/Silver, Red/Pearl White, Gold/Navy Blue

When my pedals arrived I was very happy with the feel of the bearings as well as the light weight feel of the pedal. My bike has a low bottom bracket height and my main concern is a low profile pedal that I can minimize strikes as I am pushing up or down the mountain. The main concern I had with this pedal was its durability. It seemed to have a lot of space for rocks and branches to get caught up in and this did happen a few times. To my surprise no damage besides scrapes resulted from my encounters with rocks and twigs. 

These pedals have a fairly good sized platform but a lack of pins, or should I say the pins lack grip, they are round and flat and when it gets wet out or when I hit that rough rock garden I lost a little confidence. 

I am hard on my gear and these pedals might not be suited for the all mountain/Enduro/Downhill guy.  I think better pins would make a difference. 

Pros:

Price

Weight

Platform Size

Cons:

Durability

Pins (Lack of/pin design)

Thinkness/profile

Bottom Line: I am again an all mountain rider, I like going down trails fast and hard, but I need to climb to get there. I would not purchase this pedal again for myself but think it would be a great upgrade for someone maybe more trail oriented or someone who doesn't want to make that leap to clipless. 

Tire Review: Schwalbe Hans Dampf

(Front after 500 miles)

I have had Hans Dampf 26 x 2.35 TrailStars mounted on my Knolly Chilcotin for a few months now. The Trail Star is the softer durometer tire. I recently purchased a new rear Pace Star, medium durometer. (both pics are of the trail star) I run these on Stans Flow Ex wheels, tubeless of course, 22 psi front, 30 psi rear. (I am a heavy rider)

A little about the tire; they are very true to there size. They come in around 700-800 grams according to Schwalbe. Which is respectable for that large of a tire. So down to the nitty gritty. These tires are great when riding loose over hardpack conditions. I wouldn't put a trail star on the back again as I ride a lot of rock gardens and dry conditions. These tires hook up great in the corners when your air pressure is set right, can get loose if ridden to high...I know thats common sense but these seem to be very touch with just a few pounds to much.

The biggest complaint I have about the Hans Dampf is the price and the durability. Durability will be an issue with any "soft" tire though so I just choose the harder compound (pace star) for the rear. The tread pattern is excellent and has been used by many name brand companies.

Pros:
Great selection, 3 or 4 different durometers
Good cornering, transitional tread is great
Easy tubeless set up.
Fast Rolling

Cons:
PRICE ($70 on Arts)
Durability
Air Pressure sensitive.

All in all this a great tire from a great company, if you are not worried about dropping $70 per tire and you understand that softer, grippier tires mean less life you won't be disappointed. I personally am going to try the Magic Mary's next. I want something similar but a little more aggressive so I the MM's will fit the bill.

(Rear after 500 miles)