Ski Haus
Steamboat Springs, Colorado


Mountain Biking
Schwinn ~ Bianchi ~ K2 Proflex

Bikes are huge around Steamboat. We love to ride. When we're not riding we usually are thinking about riding. It's the classic two wheel mentality. Our favorite kinds of bikes include Full Suspension rides from K2. The owner of Ski Haus, Rod Schrage, swears by his and he offers all the good reasons why you might consider a Full Suspension bike too. One of the tricks of riding trails is keeping the rubber side down. Todd Fellows fills you in on just how to do that with some Trail Riding Tips. And of course, we can help you pick out a trail or two. We've highlighted a couple of our Favorite Rides.

No Pain with Gain? Try Full Suspension
Are you looking for a more comfortable mountain bike? Do you suffer from embarrasing sore hands, neck, and butt even after a short ride? Maybe you're not in the best shape but it's hard to ride yourself into shape especially when everything hurts.

A full suspension bike from K2 will make your rides more fun and comfortable.

OK, I know you're not a racer and you're lucky to get out more than a couple times a week, but full suspension bikes are not just for "gonzo downhillers." These bikes are just what the trail doctor ordered for you to have more fun on your weekly rides.

Why?
- Full suspension bikes smooth out the trail.
- They allow greater wheel to trail contact resulting in better control.
- K2 Full Suspension bikes have patented Dig In technology to help you climb hills better.
- Full Suspension allows you to recover from your rides faster.

One of the best things about full suspension bikes is how they help reduce pain.
- Full suspension bikes smooth out the trail. They absorb practically all the hits and shocks that your reg takes during a ride. Reducing the pounding your reg takes is key to being able to ride longer, further, and harder. Full suspension makes all this possible.

By absorbing all the nasty hits from roots, rocks, and rough stuff, a full suspension bike allow greater wheel to trail contact resulting in better control. Your brakes are effective when the wheels are on the ground. Try braking when you're in the air. It don't work, bub. Braking effectively allows you to anticipate the corner or whoop-de-doo in the trail.

K2 Full Suspension bikes have patented Dig In Technology. As you crank on the pedals, the chain actually drives the rear wheel harder into the dirt giving you better traction and climbing power. Full suspension is not just for decsents.

These bikes allow you to recover from your rides faster. Recovering from the workout is hard enough without having to recover from all the hits your reg is taking too.This cadillac ride makes those aches and pains go away. Riding pain free gives you a chance to ride into shape, ride more often, and enjoy the fruits of those long climbs. Rod Schrage

Speed and Terra Firma
There is nothing quite like descending singletrack on a mountain bike at breakneck speeds. Something in your head says "way too fast!" but your heart says "let it ride, big daddy, we're flying now!"

The slightest slip, miscalculation or flub and your cranium meets terra-firma. Crashing is a part of mountain biking, hopefully, a very small part.

- The most important rule for off road riding is to keep your head up. Look ahead. You go where you look. If a big rock or stump is in the trail, don't look at it because you'll run right into it. Riding trails is kind of like skiing trees. While riding, look for the smoothest line and sense the large obstacles but don't look directly at them. It's kind of like Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. You must use the force, let go, trust your instincts.

Gravity is an amazing thing. When at all possible use the terrain to your advantage. Small downhill sections can help build speed and momentum to those pesky uphill sections lurking just ahead and around the next corner. Holding momentum through a corner is important. Less slowing translates to less accelerating which means less pedaling.

Use the outside of a turn to help hold your wheels to the trail. Where the dirt gets piled up on the outside of a turn is called a berm. The berm helps hold your line and allows more tire to touch dirt which allows more control for the rider.

My favorite type of terrain is rolling singletrack or rolling two-track. The rolling part is important to me because it lets me use gravity to build momentum. Remember to look as far ahead as possible. Choose smooth lines and don't oversteer. Oversteering is caused by looking 3 to 10 feet at the ground in front of you. This is not looking far enough ahead. Raise your head, use the force, and look 15 to 25 feet ahead. Trust your bike and your ability. When looking so far ahead the trail smooths out and man-vs.-machine becomes man and machine. The quest for speed is the challenge.

A large part of sustaining speed is knowing when and where to brake. Chose your spot to brake and brake hard and brake quick. Holding the brakes the entire time while going downhill is not so much fun. While braking hard, shock is transferred directly to the rider. Coasting without holding the brakes allows the suspension to work better and the ride becomes smoother. Brake hard and let go. Control your bike, use the force, brake again, hard and fast.

Using both the front and rear brakes is a must. Stopping power comes primarily from the front brake, steering through the corners comes from the rear brake. Keep the bike as vertical as possible while braking. In other words extreme lean angles while braking hard will result in a quick and relatively painful introduction to terra-firma.

This seems like an awful lot to be thinking about but after awhile it all becomes natural. If you have to think about everything that is happening you will come home dirty and scragged, often. Remember Star Wars. Let go. Trust your instincts. Don't act but react. Stay smooth and let it ride! - Todd Fellows


A Few of Our Favorite Trails

Looking for a few rides in the Steamboat Springs area? Check out Steamboat Single Tracks. It's the difinitive guide for mountain biking in our area. $10.95

Hot Springs Loop: An early season favorite because it's one of the first to dry out from the previous winter snows and it's easy to ride from town. The ride begins with an easy spin out Strawberry Park but climbs steeply up Copper Ridge. Pick up the single track once you pass the Hot Springs. (A big temptation is just to stop here and soak.) The trail is nice but some sections slope wildly towards the creek. Some good riding skills will keep you dry here. Descend the single track to RCR 129 and spin the pavement back to town. approx. 16 miles. Mad Creek: Another great ride that is easy to ride from town In fact, where the Hot Springs trail hits RCR 129, the Mad Creek Trail is only up the road a bit so this is easy way lengthen your ride if you like. Start climbing from the get-go on the Swamp Park / Mad Creek Trail 1100. Continue past the Forest Service gate, past the Saddle Trail inersection, past the Mad Barn, and up to the Mount Zirkel Wilderness Boundary. Return to trailhead via the same route. Several options exist here to lenghten your ride and to avoid hikers and horsepackers. 8 miles. Mount Werner: Riding on the ski hill offers great single track, two track, and dirt road riding. Access is either by riding from the bottom or take the lifts up. Favorite trails are Zig Zag, Creekside, and Valley View. Helmets are required.