Atlantis on Tahoe singletrack

[Clark Fitzgerald]

Last week I stretched the limits of what I could do on my Atlantis on some trails around Tahoe. The dirt roads were pure bliss, the steep chunky 4x4 roads were OK, the singletrack was a hoot, and the motorcycle trails were impossibly steep. It eventually got too steep to ride, so I stashed the bike in the bushes and hiked up to a lake near the Pacific Crest Trail for a dip. The hiking was a nice change of pace.

I'm not an experienced mountain biker, but I have rented the latest and greatest MTB's for a couple day trips in this terrain. You can just point those machines downhill, stay loose, and let it rip. In comparison, on the Rivendell you really have to pick the right line, like for any rigid bike.

If I could ride here regularly I'd prefer a rigid mountain bike. In particular, I'd like a bike with wider, knobby tires, much lower standover for when I have to hop off, a higher bottom bracket for less pedal strike, higher handlebars for descending, and a tighter wheelbase to thread through the granite boulders. Even though my big Atlantis lacks all these things, I was fine riding it, as long as I stayed within my comfort zone.

I thoroughly enjoyed the solitude and lack of technical challenge on the dirt roads like this one.

I'm sure there are some heroes out there who could ride the boulders this trail heads into. 😝

[Ryan M.]

Looks like fun riding; the Atlantis looks like it is in its element out there. It is such a great, versatile bike.

Rigid mtbs are fun and I've found a nice cushy set of grips helps a lot to smooth out the ride especially when riding over the smaller bumps like roots and rougher gravel. I have a Niner Sir9 setup as a rigid single speed mtb and I just love riding it even though I generally go slower and tend to ride not as far compared to a full suspension rig. 

Man, that place looks familiar even though I've never been but I just realized I follow a guy on youtube who does a bunch of dual sporting in that area and I'm sure that he has videos where he is riding the same stuff on his motorcycle. 

[Brendan Willard]

Great shot!  I was just up there with my rigid Ti motobecane 29er on 2.55s and it was great fun, but I was standing still next to the squish crowd (I blame acclimatization ;)). I rode some of the Truckee River Bike Path and Tahoe Rim Trail.  

Speaking in Thumbs 👍

On Aug 2, 2020, at 4:56 AM, Ryan M. <ryan.merri...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[James Warren]

Awesome!

I saw a grey and kidney bean Hunqapillar there 2 weeks ago. It was underneath me the whole time.

I went up Western States Trail and up The Wall from Squaw Valley to get to the Rim Trail. Someone on the trail, also on a mountain bike, said to me, “You’re doing great on that bike.”

On Aug 2, 2020, at 8:08 AM, Brendan Willard <bpw...@gmail.com> wrote:

Great shot!  I was just up there with my rigid Ti motobecane 29er on 2.55s and it was great fun, but I was standing still next to the squish crowd (I blame acclimatization ;)). I rode some of the Truckee River Bike Path and Tahoe Rim Trail.  

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[S]

On Saturday, August 1, 2020 at 9:16:43 PM UTC-7 Clark Fitzgerald wrote:

If I could ride here regularly I'd prefer a rigid mountain bike. In particular, I'd like a bike with wider, knobby tires, much lower standover for when I have to hop off, a higher bottom bracket for less pedal strike, higher handlebars for descending, and a tighter wheelbase to thread through the granite boulders.

Thanks for sharing the photos.

Except for the shorter wheelbase, the Gus/Susie is the bike you describe.

[Deacon Patrick]

"Except for the shorter wheelbase, the Gus/Susie is the bike you describe."

And a brilliant ride. My experience with Gus is the long wheelbase is rarely to never a detriment, and always an asset. Smooth, better climbing, better flow. Experience teaches the taking of slightly different curves in the technical areas, but generally speaking point the front one where you want to go and the rear follows smoothly, even if it goes over a bit more. Need proof? Search YouTube for "downhill tandem MTB" and realize: oh. None issue. Grin.

With abandon,

Patrick

[Clark Fitzgerald]

Yes, I test rode a Susie and loved it, so I ordered one back in December. But I couldn't bear to wait, so I ended up with the Atlantis, which is a much better fit for the riding I do on a daily basis.

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[S]

Yeah, I can understand that. I, too, would love to own a Susie/Gus, but I don't do enough trail riding to justify the purchase.

[Clark Fitzgerald]

Patrick, I believe you're right, it's a matter of experience. For the first few rides descending fast, rough dirt roads it felt strange and unfamiliar to have the rear end moving around so far behind me. It felt like it was jumping around. Now I don't even notice that, but I do notice the smoothness and tracking from the long wheelbase.

It's the technical climbing that gets me- where you have to trackstand, bounce sideways, thread the needle through some rocks, hop up ledges, and so on. I can't ride that terrain well on any bike, so the wheelbase probably isn't at fault. 😉

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[Deacon Patrick]

Ha! For that level of technical climbing, I use LCG. Lowest common gear. The gear every bike comes with. Grin.

With abandon,

Patrick

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[Jeff B]

That looks like an excellent ride! At least on a bike like the Atlantis you are able to enjoy the scenery as well instead of it flying by.

I'm wanting to do the same on my Atlantis or vintage stumpjumer. Is it possible to get more detailed information of your route or point in a good direction of where to look for routes?

[Clark Fitzgerald]

Here's the route with the nasty motorcycle trails taken out: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/33562901 I did it as an out and back from Strawberry, easily accessible from highway 50. Once you get up near treeline there's more legal singletrack if you want to make it longer, but no bikes allowed on the PCT. The Tahoe Rim Trail is also excellent.

On Mon, Aug 3, 2020 at 2:05 PM Jeff B <jeff.b...@gmail.com> wrote:

That looks like an excellent ride! At least on a bike like the Atlantis you are able to enjoy the scenery as well instead of it flying by.

I'm wanting to do the same on my Atlantis or vintage stumpjumer. Is it possible to get more detailed information of your route or point in a good direction of where to look for routes?

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