Hardtails on Hard Trails: Climbing National Trail at South Mountain Phoenix, AZ

[@jimkrug2586]

Bunch of guys sessioning and riding together...feeding off each other...pushing each other and spotting for each other...ya, that's a party!! Great video for sure.

[@crappypatty]

So awesome to relive this day! This was so much fun, session, encouraging each other, trying new lines, etc. Really instills the reason why we back! Thank you for coming out and having us distant cousins on the ride with you guys!

[@hardtailparty]

You've got an amazing thing going there Patrick. Can't wait to reconnect and ride together again. I had a blast. Make sure to let the locals know how appreciative we are for their patience that day, and for bringing the party to the trail.

[@mattattomotos8756]

Going to post this to Hawesaholics as another guest appearance. Ha ha. You're getting in all the videos.

[@claydogmadman7843]

Long live the hardtail... Proud owner of Trek Marlin ...

[@Chavezbrothersmtb]

It was a pleasure and a privilege to be able to ride with you Steve! Keep shredding that hard tail on some hard trails!

[@hardtailparty]

Thanks for showing me all the fun lines guys! Your patience with me while I sessioned for 30 min on one obstacle won't be forgotten. You guys rock.

[@beastfromtheeast9318]

I have both a hard tail and full suspension. I can respect the effort needed to ride a hard tail in technical trails.

[@3ravines275]

I have a 19 trek Roscoe 8.... HARDTAILS 4 LIFE

[@50mtb44]

Cool climbing. Thanks for showing the up. Everyone needs work here.

[@carlwaters5521]

Hardtail can do it all. Well done guys.

[@one_mtb]

Awesome video! Climbing is my weakness but I think you have it down!🤘

[@hardtailparty]

Climbing takes years of practice. I love good technical climbs, they're a real challenge. Most newer riders don't lean forward enough on climbs. It's important to have most of your weight ahead of the bottom bracket.

[@radagascar1]

@@hardtailparty glad I saw this comment. I'm out in Denver and the technical, loose and rocky climbs just destroy me.

[@OutdoorGold]

Nothing like a sweet climb session! Hard stuff for hard tails! Good to see Tim Y. made it in the video!

[@scottewers9507]

Wow, good technical riding for sure. Enjoyed watching this... Different type of riding then what I do in the Tahoe area.

[@hardtailparty]

I miss Tahoe. My first mountain bike experience was in Tahoe as a teenager.

[@RyanMarcyesOutdoors]

That looked so Ridiculously Fun🤘🏽Nice Clip, keep the “Party Rolling” and Live-Life-Loud😉👍🏽🤘🏽🤙🏽

[@mattattomotos8756]

Impressive. I ride SoMo a lot and also hike a bike a lot. I can't clean most of those.

[@hardtailparty]

Yeah, unless you've been there, this video makes us look like pretty lousy climbers. But if you've been there... You know. :)

[@MTBZenMaster]

Nice Steve- Before my Scott Genius Tuned In the past 5 years. Ive learned to ride on my 2015 Specialzed Crave Pro HT. I LOVE it. A year before i was full rigid on an 89' Hard Rock. Taught me to be more thoughtful about my lines. These newer HTs are definitely built more trail ready. I need to upgrade from 700mm to 760mm bars..and add a droppah!😊 Be safe -Sam

[@tylerc8039]

Headed to ride national trail today - watching this for inspiration... Makes me wonder why we're riding national trail lol 😂 Your persistence is so impressive Steve. What an interesting trail.

[@hardtailparty]

I love national trail. Have fun.

[@jordanrhodes]

Good stuff as usual Steve 👍

[@theepicridecom]

So stoked to see how many hardtail partiers there are out there!!

[@hardtailparty]

We had a great group! I love riding with other hardtails.

[@brycerink]

Love all the technical climbing on this trail. I will have to check it out.

[@iberofernandez7888]

WAO, what a great video. Hello from Panama. Hard Tail´s Rules !!!!

[@PsilocinThistle]

love it...cant beat a good bit of hardtail hoonin....building an Airdrop Bitmap at the moment all rigged out in Hope components..was riding Stanton Switchback for a while until I swung a leg over a Bitmap and was instantly hooked..... ; )

[@craigsayler]

that looked like so much fun, good group of peeps

[@johangondelanchan453]

I enjoyed this video, great climbing attempts...

[@kiznile123]

You're a freaking goat Steve!! And get that riser post on there!

[@hardtailparty]

Super fun trail. You'd love it out here. If you ever travel to phoenix, make sure to take your bike, or rent one from Action Rideshop. Such a fun place.

[@jamescarroll5720]

I remember riding South Mountain back in the day on a hardtail with a 1.75" elastomer fork. Modern FS makes it too easy. :)

[@tim3kgt]

this was a good day!

[@azdirtlife4280]

Nice to see a tech climbing video Steve! 👍👍 There really aren't many people who can ride up the waterfall so you will be in an elite club when you get it 🥳🥳🥳🥳

[@hardtailparty]

Thanks, I LOVE tech climbs! It's tough to find technical climbs in our travels. So once we do, we session them like crazy.

[@MTBTexasBikeRider]

Them hard tails are awesome great job 👍😊🙏🏋️‍♀️🚵‍♀️

[@jimmy196791]

Great video.⛰🐏🚵‍♂️

[@PEDIVELAFILMES]

Awesome to see you guys having so much fun on Hard Tails. I'm also building a HT Cromoly Enduro Bike. Cheers from Brazil

[@JimmyRadloff]

Great edit.....I think I will take one of my hardtails out to national this month and give it a whirl.

[@pb4lifeandafter]

If you ever come back down to somo I’d love to run this on a hardtail with you. I’ve made several passes down national on my hardtail but I’ve not tried climbing it. -Taylorazmtb

[@ofiros396]

gotta love those rocky mountains, im looking farward to getting my own. im checking out the 2019 crabon instinct

[@hardtailparty]

The instinct is a great bike. I was able to ride my buddy's 2018 instinct a few months back. Lots of fun for a 29er.

[@BengLang84]

Nice ride steve! So many riders riding 2019 rocky mountain bikes 😊

[@hardtailparty]

Usually you see a million pivots at South Mountain, but Action Ride shop had a Rocky Mountain demo day there, so everyeone took advantage.

[@BengLang84]

I see. I am looking at Rocky Mountain as well hopefully soon 😊 Still loving my Stache 😊

[@hardtailparty]

Rocky Mountain makes some really fun bikes. I dig the instinct/pipeline.

[@BengLang84]

Nice! I am still picking between Instinct and Altitude 😊

[@PeepMeRide]

Nice job smashing those rocks! One day I'm going to get out there one day and give it a try. "Zero way" LOL

[@hardtailparty]

South Mountain is one of my top 5 trails. So many people walk up and just ride down, but the climbs are what really sets it apart!

[@dtalampas18]

love hardtail, and I love the contents of your vid, new sub here.

[@marcosmadrazo2440]

Awesome 🤩

[@yegmtb8377]

the dude on the citron bike white hoodie what bike was that kinda looked like my norco abit sweet now i know what i look like when i go

[@harveyjoneswoodsman5956]

06 hardrock some mods but mostly stock love it

[@abel2cycle989]

Dude I want to ride with you guys so bad! you guys look like you have fun! 😁 AZ✊

[@hardtailparty]

We have a lot of fun. Let me know if you're ever in AZ.

[@abel2cycle989]

@@hardtailparty for sure man thank you! I'm in the west valley of AZ, Buckeye Arizona. You should try Skyline park. I'm sure it be easy for you, but I always have fun there🤙

[@huntstyle]

National and Captain Ahab are the most fun climbs!

[@hardtailparty]

Agreed, Ahab is great. I feel like national is so much tougher than ahab! Have you climbed hangover yet? That's another great climb as well, same with hogs.

[@huntstyle]

@@hardtailparty No, Hiline is the only Sedona trail I've ridden! I think you're right, National is tougher than Ahab on the climb! I guess technically that's Hymasa, right?

[@erniemelendrez6210]

This looks challenging I wish I had a group of Hardtail friends in California

[@hardtailparty]

There are a few of them on here. You might be able to find some in the comments sections on my videos and istagram.

[@Whenlifegivesyoulehmans]

Good work! Techy climbs on the slacked hardtail! Do you think climbing trails like this is noticably smoother and easier to clean with a bike like the chameleon rather than the slackier rsd, or comes down to skills more? Asking because I'm currently in the market for a HT( I like techy climbing and also enjoy playful slacky downhills, i'm trying to find the balance because it's my only bike) the potential bikes are RSD MC, chameleon and Kona honzo st or big honzo st.

[@hardtailparty]

I don't feel like the slacker head angle hurts this bike one bit on the technical climbs. I'd pick the rsd if youre an aggressive rider. If you do more xc stuff, the kona or chameleon will be a better fit.

[@buzzdogler]

Yes Ali love it, did you survive the trail?

[@paulv8453]

Hi Steve, what size tires were you running for this ride? And what fork? Thanks

[@jasoncapecod]

I have only so many peddle strokes on a ride.. I just don't want to waste them beating myself up on gnarly climb..

[@thunderdogproductions]

trying this area today... question, do you prefer flats with your hardtail there at south mountain? I was pondering clipless again, just to save my rear end, or maybe I just need help picking better lines... on another note, boy am I am idiot! been watching you and Dusty Betty for about 6 months now before I finally saw the bikepacking one and realized you were a family! I did notice you in a lot of her videos, I just thought it was an Arizona thing. lol. thanks for the content, love both of your channels. I try to get my girlfriend to watch all of Tess' videos at least twice

[@hardtailparty]

Clipless helps on the climbs. Flats help on the downhill corners for me.

[@RafaelSilva-gx2zx]

Anyone on the group ridding clipped in? Started riding 2 months ago and ive an HT, great vídeos. Hope one day I can do something like this...

[@hardtailparty]

Lots of people were clipped in, but none of the hardtails. I used to ride clipped in, but for 99% of the riding I do, flats are better.

[@tim3kgt]

i was on the green h chromag hardtail 100% clipped in Crank Bros.@@hardtailparty

[@hardtailparty]

@@tim3kgt rock on Tim, I totally forgot you were clipped in.

[@iWatchization]

Which hip bag are you using here? Also, mega kudos to the champion on the fattie!

[@hardtailparty]

This is the dakine hot Laos. I'm working on a big hip pack review video with over 8 different hip packs.

[@iWatchization]

@@hardtailparty Yes! Can't wait for that. I'm in the market for one right now. Got my eye on the EVOC Hip Pack Pro 3L

[@mantis261979]

Does ur club still Exist?

[@hughsnyder891]

Just checking . What was the name of that titanium frame ?

[@hardtailparty]

Why cycles supple 7. Rsd also makes a titanium version of my frame too.

[@dummkompf]

Which plus tires do you recommend for Phoenix trails? I'm currently running a Continental trail king in the front, which I like, and a mountain king in the rear (both 2.6), which I'm thinking I want to swap out for something more aggressive as I could use a bit more traction when climbing and braking.... I'm thinking I might try a DHR II in either 2.6 or 2.8, is that a good choice for these conditions? what do you prefer?

[@hardtailparty]

I like the DHR2 a lot, both front and rear, but they're draggy and heavy. If that doesn't matter to you, then it's a fantastic choice for grip. I also like the HR2 in a 3.0 up front.

[@dummkompf]

@@hardtailparty I like fast rolling, but I know I will need to trade some speed to get more grip. anything else you'd recommend that's faster than the dhr2 for the rear but still grippy?

[@hardtailparty]

Not in plus. It seems to be either slippery (recon, wtb ranger), or grippy (dhr2). I haven't found a good middle ground

[@dummkompf]

@@hardtailparty I just found out that the trail king is now available in a 2.8, so I might try one of those. It's definitely grippy, I just don't know if it's faster than the dhr2 or not. I also want to try a der baron but idk if I really need to go that aggressive

[@michaelgeyer7736]

Nice vid. I live really close to S Mountain and ride here a lot. I moved here recently mostly for the riding. I have had a real hard time finding people to ride with mostly due to my work schedule. I found a bunch of shop group rides but they all take off in the mornings while I am still at work. Any one out there willing to let me tag along. I usually ride evenings. I would love to find people I can take some epic trips with.

[@hardtailparty]

Hit up @crappypatty on Instagram. Great dude who knows almost everyone in the local scene.

[@shazbot131]

what tire pressures were you running? With the cushcore you could be at something like 12psi, prob give you more grip.

[@hardtailparty]

I was at 12. It had rained the night before and the rocks were still cold and wet. Plus I hate that rear tire. And don't forget, gopros make everything look extremely flat. These are some monster climbs. This is the toughest climbing trail I've ever found.

[@shazbot131]

@@hardtailparty yeah, no, the climbs looked pretty rough even from the video. I would have been sucking air on that first feature the group sessioned. What rear tire are you running? Great vids btw, keep em coming.

[@hardtailparty]

@@shazbot131 On this video I was running a Specialized Ground Control. Not awful, but not great. Right now I"m running a Maxxis Rekon, which I hate as well. I'll be swapping to a DHR2 pretty soon. I love the DHR2 front and rear.

[@leemarine6255]

What kind of hoodie is that brother?

[@hardtailparty]

It's a Patagonia Sun Tropic II shade hoody.

[@easyridetv8183]

Hardtail ilove your video vlog

[@controller2152]

Steve... Do u know what PSI the Fat Bike was running? Thanks Dave.... I want to Fat Bike S. Mountain..🤟🤟🤟🚴🏼‍♂️🚴🏼‍♂️🚴🏼‍♂️

[@hardtailparty]

I don't, sorry. Ali watched our videos, so maybe he'll chime in.

[@controller2152]

Thanks Steve... I’m guessing 11-15 psi... The tires like to bounce when u over fill em..

[@mikemassegrafixshopmike]

Are you a valley native?

[@hardtailparty]

No. I've only ridden this trail about 4 times before. I typically spend winters in Tucson and pop up to somo from time to time.

[@mikemassegrafixshopmike]

Nice will have to catch you next time

[@TheF1nders]

what brakes are you rocking man ? cheers

[@hardtailparty]

Sram guide RSC. I'd love a pair of codes, but these work fine.

[@TheF1nders]

@@hardtailparty sweet I'm looking at upgrading my trek Roscoe 7 with forks and brakes ! I was gonna save up for a FS but you're Channel has convinced me otherwise ;) . Cheers

[@hardtailparty]

@@TheF1nders fs has its place, but hardtails can be a blast too. Which brakes do you have now?

[@TheF1nders]

Shimano em396. They are XC oriented . I don't mind going fast on a hardtail but it's stopping that kinda makes me feel that I can push it more. .

[@Cryton1]

🤘

[@RickyScoles]

🤘🤘

[@carpenter751]

I want your rsd

[@hardtailparty]

It's a killer bike, and they're quite affordable.

[@hardtailparty]

I ride an RSD Middle Child Cro-Mo and I absolutely love it. To get 5% off any RSD bike, use coupon code "party" at www.RSDbikes.com I also ride for CushCore. To save 15% off CushCore products, use coupon code: "HTparty19" at cushcore.com I also ride for TASCO-MTB, a great lifestyle glove and apparel company. To save 10%, use coupon code "party" at www.tasco-mtb.com I also work with ryan leech connection. Head over to www.learn.ryanleech.com and use coupon code "hardtailparty" to get $19 off. for more discounts, head to www.hardtailparty.com/discounts Huge shoutout to my sponsors for creating coupon codes and discounts you guys can use. Every few bucks helps a lot.

[@samgallu7413]

STICKERS

[@falllinemaniac]

Hiking is just too pedestrian

[@hardtailparty]

haha, I get it now. Wow, I'm slow today.

[@cellphonenut]

That South Mt is ridiculously brutal

[@cellphonenut]

Wow excellent climb dang 💪💪💪just like Sedona

[@cellphonenut]

Steve would the step up climb be easier with rear suspension?

[@hardtailparty]

Probably, but even the guys on full suspension were having trouble. I don't think I could climb it on my full suspension either. It's so much steeper and longer in real life than it looks like on video. There are definitely times when full suspension has an advantage over hardtails, and vice versa.

[@cellphonenut]

Or should I say doable