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  1. #1
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    Trails with skinnies

    It's about time I step it up a notch. I came across this trail on Mount Fromme while hiking. I only saw part of it, a big elevated section, and then came across the full tour de bike version on youtube. Skinnies are the obvious next level for me now that I know how to bleed my brakes

    Now that my 29er has good standover this trail should be a piece of cake



    Boundary trail on Fromme. 5 minutes of skinny after skinny after skinny ... Just when you think it gets boring, a really amazing skinny comes along different from the rest. The are some really amazing ones sprinkled throughout just when you think it's easy ones. There are some freaky creaky ones after the 2:30 mark.
    Last edited by puregravity; 03-01-2015 at 06:39 AM.
    OH, MY GAWD! ―John Hillerman  Big Billie Eilish fan.
    But that's a quibble to what PG posted (at first, anyway, I haven't read his latest book) ―jono
    we are not arguing about ski boots or fashionable clothing or spageheti O's which mean nothing in the grand scheme ― XXX-er

  2. #2
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    ..........must..................not............... ....take..........


    ............bait
    Besides the comet that killed the dinosaurs nothing has destroyed a species faster than entitled white people.-ajp

  3. #3
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    That just convinced me not to go to Fromme this week. I was thinking about it. I would have broken my clavicle and dislocated my hip. Skinnies freak me out if they're tall.
    But Ellen kicks ass - if she had a beard it would be much more haggard. -Jer

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chugachjed View Post
    That just convinced me not to go to Fromme this week. I was thinking about it. I would have broken my clavicle and dislocated my hip. Skinnies freak me out if they're tall.
    By now I've done some wood, but not many long skinnies. Well, the usual skinnies but nothing too skinny and nothing skinny and elevated and long.

    At my learning level, I'm calling anything less than 12 inches as skinny. But 20 inches and 3 feet up would also be 'skinny' to me. And 6 inches wide and 1 foot off the ground, well, that's just not skinny because the risk is not there - unless its in some sketchy spot or wet or part of a ramp/jump/landing.

    I'm a little concerned for my safety and this might be the reason I buy a full face helmet, better hard plastic pads and a neck brace.

    There must be a 'skinnies' course somewhere. I found a few helpful web links:

    I think the PinkBike article is good - The Art of Anticipation.

    http://www.pinkbike.com/news/The-Art...tion-2011.html

    Progression and crash avoidance are two diametrically opposed activities. It’s very hard to progress when you’re not crashing, as we tend to learn from our mistakes. However, awareness of certain factors can limit your crashes while you progress.
    Another really helpful one, showing too the impending disaster of losing the front wheel first. The only hope then is prayer, young bones, and a lucky untangled landing. But he has posted some practice exercises. I'll have to start jumping small to help strengthen my ankles for more abrupt landings.


    http://www.singletracks.com/blog/beg...high-skinnies/

    Then there is the 'West Coast Bail' ...



    Perhaps I'll buy an old free-ride bike off craiglist along with those pads. This shit is going to bust stuff up!
    Last edited by puregravity; 03-02-2015 at 12:08 AM.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by kidwoo View Post
    ..........must..................not............... ....take..........


    ............bait
    Resistance is futile

    It goes without saying that the kidwoo really needs to get across the border and refresh some of the wood here that never made it into a proper winter hibernation.

    There are some narrow strips of dirt in the woods calling ... kid wooooo.
    Perhaps a bit more video, some of the same trail on Fromme as the original post but by night:

    http://www.pinkbike.com/video/393409/
    OH, MY GAWD! ―John Hillerman  Big Billie Eilish fan.
    But that's a quibble to what PG posted (at first, anyway, I haven't read his latest book) ―jono
    we are not arguing about ski boots or fashionable clothing or spageheti O's which mean nothing in the grand scheme ― XXX-er

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by puregravity View Post
    Now that my 29er has good standover this trail should be a piece of cake
    take your road bike, shouldn't be a problem for you!

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chugachjed View Post
    That just convinced me not to go to Fromme this week. I was thinking about it. I would have broken my clavicle and dislocated my hip. Skinnies freak me out if they're tall.
    There is plenty to be done there that doesn't involve wood features.

  8. #8
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    Looooooove them! Loads of them around a lot of my local trails, but they tend to be shorter - around 20' or so is a long one around here. Though we have a few here and there that have sections linked to make some crazy long sections. They tend to not be too high either - tallest one I can think of is ~4' off the ground. For sure an acquired taste. Some days you feel "on" and go for them, some days they get a pass.

    Most of the guys that build them in around here are pretty good about building good exit room off the side. Nice to be able to bail or drop off and not worry about getting impaled on something.

    There's a spot (Miller's Pond for the localish types) that is just freakin' loaded with them. Built into the flow of the trail, but all have alternates as well. Legit built in a state park trail system. The caveat to have them was having the alternate lines, and not having any of them higher than 2' off the ground I believe. It's made for a really cool and fun riding spot. Bursts of high speed flowy bits mixed with some crazy tight slow speed tech lines.

    Same builder also had one at another spot called Cedar 166. He had a run of custom topcaps made, and anyone who could prove via witnesses or pics/vid that they'd cleaned the whole 166' got one. Sadly, the thing got torn down/ripped apart I think in one of your nasty storms a few winters back.
    Florence Nightingale's Stormtrooper

  9. #9
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    Bear with me - going to post skinny pics, in an effort to further postpone shoveling out my drive after last nights fresh snow.

    My buddy Ryan on one - tight turn to the on. Straight for ~15 feet, then a 6" drop down to a narrower section for the last 5' or so.

    The other end.

    Happy to say I cleaned this one first go, but my success ratio since then has been maddeningly 50/50.

    Straight and wide one, into a little drop.


    The "on" here is tough - tougher than getting over the down log towards the end.


    Most of ours are like these - just an alternate fun bit built in for those who who are into that kind of thing.







    This one is cool, and way tougher than it looks. Skinnier in the middle, and just when you get to that skinnier bit, it wobbles a bit side to side. Done that way on purpose.


    There are a few around that are front wheel only moves around corners, or combined with other techy moves here and there. Fun stuff!
    More of them tend to appear in our spots that have less vert to work with than others.
    Florence Nightingale's Stormtrooper

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by scrublover View Post
    Looooooove them! Loads of them around a lot of my local trails, but they tend to be shorter - around 20' or so is a long one around here. Though we have a few here and there that have sections linked to make some crazy long sections. They tend to not be too high either - tallest one I can think of is ~4' off the ground. For sure an acquired taste. Some days you feel "on" and go for them, some days they get a pass.

    Most of the guys that build them in around here are pretty good about building good exit room off the side. Nice to be able to bail or drop off and not worry about getting impaled on something.

    There's a spot (Miller's Pond for the localish types) that is just freakin' loaded with them. Built into the flow of the trail, but all have alternates as well. Legit built in a state park trail system. The caveat to have them was having the alternate lines, and not having any of them higher than 2' off the ground I believe. It's made for a really cool and fun riding spot. Bursts of high speed flowy bits mixed with some crazy tight slow speed tech lines.

    Same builder also had one at another spot called Cedar 166. He had a run of custom topcaps made, and anyone who could prove via witnesses or pics/vid that they'd cleaned the whole 166' got one. Sadly, the thing got torn down/ripped apart I think in one of your nasty storms a few winters back.
    What kind of wood do you build with back East, and how does it do over time? Around here, anything that isn't made of cedar doesn't seem to hold up as well.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by D(C) View Post
    What kind of wood do you build with back East, and how does it do over time? Around here, anything that isn't made of cedar doesn't seem to hold up as well.
    Elm, ash, maple, oak. Basically whatever comes down in the winter storms. If it comes down in a condusive spot, a skinny will end up appearing eventually. All depends on the flavor and preferences of the local builders. Some spots are loaded with skinnies, some don't have any. I've put in a few on some of my local spots that way, just opportunistic based on when and where a tree comes down.

    They last a few seasons at most, unless it's a larger tree. They all rot out eventually. Good thing is that new stuff will always pop up to replace it - the evolve as they rot out. Most everything is from downed trees. I've seen very few built from lumber or treated wood, which is fine by me.

    Most of our legal riding spots have fewer, just due to the state worries of liability - they'll get torn out eventually, other than a few spots where the particular manager is cool with them being there. The sort of understanding is the same as where they are built totally legit though - don't get too crazy with them and they get to stay around. There is a pretty laid back attitude about that sort of thing, and access in general out here.

    Ours seem to have mostly come about as a way to add some fun/challenge/interest/whatever to places that don't have a lot of vert to work with, so they build in techy challenges instead.
    Florence Nightingale's Stormtrooper

  12. #12
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    Watching that reminds me why I have not ridden Boundary in about 5 years.

    I've had my fill of skinnies. They were loads of fun....in the late 90's

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by shirk View Post
    Watching that reminds me why I have not ridden Boundary in about 5 years.

    I've had my fill of skinnies. They were loads of fun....in the late 90's
    Those and the rest of your skinnies up there are a whole world different than those little things I posted!
    Florence Nightingale's Stormtrooper

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by scrublover View Post
    Bear with me - going to post skinny pics, in an effort to further postpone shoveling out my drive after last nights fresh snow.
    Those look like a hoot! I love how they used the natural tree shapes and made it all look in-the-wild.


  15. #15
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    Skinnies are so 1999..... haven't you heard the new thing is flow.... lol!

  16. #16
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    Appears to be. The new school 'flow' trails here are all-time in the summer.

    Beginners ... go figure

  17. #17
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    That trail looks awesome. I just sold my DH bike and am already missing it.... The super high skinny stuff definitely gets intense quickly.

  18. #18
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    Derailleurs are expensive.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by RaisingArizona View Post
    Derailleurs are expensive.
    Ha! ^^^This. And I suck at skinnies.

    Scrubby, good stuff as always.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by RaisingArizona View Post
    Derailleurs are expensive.
    S'why the preferred method of unplanned dismount is to the non-drive side. A good trackstand and low speed wheely drops help immensely.
    Less chance to fuck up parts. Though I have dinged up a few rotors that way. Doh!

    Practicepracticepractice! These things scared the shit out of me, moving out here from CO a few years back. I'm certainly no pro at them, but have gotten fairly adept.

    Will give most of them a try now, unless more than a few feet up. Start with short easy ones, go from there!
    Florence Nightingale's Stormtrooper

  21. #21
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    skinnies are old like square taper BBs, but speaking of old, here's a slightly different kind of skinny and your favorite adventure photographer when he was still a pup in college. maggots, I give you Gnarwhale:



    and another from the dusty archive, a local lad at some goofy place in the sticks:


  22. #22
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    Bunch of old hucks and skinnies.

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