[Action2]

I was in your shoes year before last. I had a 4300 with rim brakes and I ride Patapsco every weekend I can. I decided I’d wait to get something new until I was faster than my bike.

What I found was that it didn’t take long and that the noise and reduced braking power from getting mud on the brake shoes was more than I wanted to deal with.

I ended up at Race Pace and traded it in for a 6700 Disc brake hard tail. It’s a little bit lighter but still metal and cost me around 800.00. This was between 1 and 2 years ago. The shifting is lots better and I found that the 4300 was sized too big for me on the trails. The 6700 is smaller and works a lot better to wheelie over stuff and control in the mud. Got to stay low when you’re climbing though or you’ll go right over backwards.

Some things you might want to consider if you are in that price range is upgrades that you can take with you. For my money, I got the Cane Creek Thud Buster and Cane Creek ergo bar ends. The Thud Buster helps a lot at Patapsco on the Ridge trail and on the fast downhill runs. You can keep your butt planted without hurting the equipment too much. The bar ends help A LOT on climbs and on longer rides. I have arthritis in my wrists from some stuff that I did in the military and these keep the inflamation down by keeping my hands in a more comfortable position.

I’d say that if you have a disc version already, you’re sized right, don’t mind the little extra weight and are getting to where you want to go, don’t mess with it. Wait and save for a little longer and get a suspended all mountain model. Or better yet, spend a buck or two and test ride (rent) the ones you like to see if you really like something else that much better.

YMMV

[Action2]

"Steyer" wrote

I am flying into the Baltimore area and would love to ride this area around the week of May 18th 2009. I am requesting either a GPS map or just a printed map of that area.

You can get maps at the local bike shops but they are 6-7 bucks and don’t show all the trails. If you get heavily into Avalon along Maiden Choice it’s really easy to get turned around because there are so many intersections that are unmarked. Will you be bringing your own bike or renting one?

Interesting that there are so many riders at Patapsco but nobody has GPS tracks for it…

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