Taking my Hyrax to Whistler?

[Renier]

So, the stars seem to be aligning for me to take a trip to the US next year for work and I want to try and come home via Whistler. It's a lot cheaper getting to Canada from the States than from SA.

My question, though, is whether my Hyrax will be up to the task. I particularly want to be able to ride A Line, since there's no way I'd go there and not try it.

I have my Hyrax set up with 160mm travel on a DVO Diamond fork and I'll be getting an X Fusion coil shock on the rear for 140mm travel.

I'm just wondering if that is enough suspension?

Can anyone who has been there weigh in and give advice?

[Fred van Vlaanderen]

2 hours ago, Renier said:

So, the stars seem to be aligning for me to take a trip to the US next year for work and I want to try and come home via Whistler. It's a lot cheaper getting to Canada from the States than from SA.

My question, though, is whether my Hyrax will be up to the task. I particularly want to be able to ride A Line, since there's no way I'd go there and not try it.

I have my Hyrax set up with 160mm travel on a DVO Diamond fork and I'll be getting an X Fusion coil shock on the rear for 140mm travel.

I'm just wondering if that is enough suspension?

Can anyone who has been there weigh in and give sha advice?

I also have a Hyrax, but I haven’t been there. My gut feel is that it should be sufficient based on what I’ve seen on the internet. One or two jumps may be a little hairy, but you should be fine for + 95% 

[Renier]

10 minutes ago, Fred van Vlaanderen said:

I also have a Hyrax, but I haven’t been there. My gut feel is that it should be sufficient based on what I’ve seen on the internet. One or two jumps may be a little hairy, but you should be fine for + 95% 

That's what I'm hoping, I'm not going to try and ride Dirt Merchant, I don't have a death wish, but if I can do all of A Line on the bike, I'd be happy.

I'm not too stressed about riding tech, you can get away with less suspension if you go slower, in my experience.

[MintSauce]

More than enough bike.

Just keep in mind, Whistler is about much, MUCH more than A-line.

[tinmug]

No, you need a bare minimum of 161 mm of travel. 

[Renier]

3 hours ago, MintSauce said:

More than enough bike.

Just keep in mind, Whistler is about much, MUCH more than A-line.

I know, it's just that I feel A Line is so iconic, I can't miss it. I'll be doing a deep dive on the trails before I go to plan what to ride. I probably won't be going again after this, so I want to be sure I make the most of this trip!

[Renier]

2 hours ago, tinmug said:

No, you need a bare minimum of 161 mm of travel. 

Oh no! Guess I'm buggered then 😂

[Shebeen]

How much is bike rental there?

 

[TitusTi]

Hyrax will be fine on the valley trails (kill me thrill me, comfortably numb, etc), you'll be okay on A-Line (most of it) and heart of darkness but if you want to ride in deep, clown shoes, top of the world and any of the other nearly 60 trails you will not be enjoying your life that much.

If your plan is to ride the park exclusively leave your bike at home and rent a DH bike there and get used to riding flats before you get there.

And yes, A-Line is iconic but it's only 1 trail off the bottom lift, there is so, so much more.

Also, have fun, it's an iconic place to ride.

Edited August 20, 2023 by TitusTi

[MTBRIDER1234]

19 hours ago, Renier said:

That's what I'm hoping, I'm not going to try and ride Dirt Merchant, I don't have a death wish, but if I can do all of A Line on the bike, I'd be happy.

I'm not too stressed about riding tech, you can get away with less suspension if you go slower, in my experience.

Not enough bike. Buy a cheap DH bike and use that for the trip then sell it. 

Unless you are a crazy skilled rider or are gonna take is super easy, you will have much more fun on a DH bike. You can go way faster, send way harder and make more mistakes without the risk of bombing through your travel.

Don't get me wrong, I love my slakline and it copes with gnarly stuff well, but I would never take it to a real bike park abroad. IMO 180mm travel minimum.

[Aron Horn]

I took my Slakline (160mm/180mm) to Morzine this July and I felt like any bike with less travel than that would be super harsh on my body. 
 

You can increase the travel on the hyrax with a different stroke rear shock. That’s what I would do… 
 

 

[thebob]

I watched a couple of Jeff Kendal Weed videos where he rides Whistler. Even while riding some pretty serious machinery (Knolly Chilcotin, Orbea Rallon and Yeti SB160) he highly recommends a DH bike for the park.

[Jewbacca]

I'd rent a DH bike while there

We simply don't have the same level of steeps and features in SA to understand fatigue and constantly being on the edge

It also eliminated the hassle of transporting a bike safely across the globe and will give you peace of mind that you will be on a suitable bike 

But up to you. 

Edited August 20, 2023 by Jewbacca
to/you

[MintSauce]

I get the comments that say not enough bike and take a DH bike.

Before you do, the question that needs to be asked is what is your intention? Whenever most people think of Whistler, they only think of the park and the lifts.

If you're only going to ride the park, then I would agree on taking a DH bike. However, if you've not ridden outside of SA, then the riding outside the park will BLOW. YOUR. MIND! It's so far beyond what we have here.

If I were to go again, I would take an adequate bike i.e your Hyrax. That gives you the perfect bike for the stuff outside the park and you can use it to get acquainted with the park. There are tons of amazing trails in the park well within the Hyrax's ability. Once you know your way around, hire a DH bike for 2-4 days to hit the properly gnarly stuff.

This is coming from someone that spent 3 weeks in Whistler on a 130/125mm travel bike many moons ago.

[Renier]

8 hours ago, Shebeen said:

How much is bike rental there?

 

So, it looks like anything upward of R1500 a day, which is pretty steep if I do a 2 week trip.

[Renier]

1 hour ago, thebob said:

I watched a couple of Jeff Kendal Weed videos where he rides Whistler. Even while riding some pretty serious machinery (Knolly Chilcotin, Orbea Rallon and Yeti SB160) he highly recommends a DH bike for the park.

That says quite a lot, since that guy is way more talented than I'll ever hope to be.