Mountain Biking at Joaquin Miller Park (Trail Guide)

[@eriks254]

Hey Alex, great video! Thank you! I am new to MTBing and just built a very nice spec Bronson. I have hit Rockville then JMP last week. JMP is awesome! Chapparel is so awesome! I live in Walnut Creek so I plan on going often! Your Sb6C is insane!!! I know bikes very deeply now, and you did not cut a single corner! I had to see those Saint brakes....dam! And the gold Renthal fatbar carbons! Dam...! Your are killin me, haha... I have been seeking the gold Fatbar Carbons for 3 months now, even corresponding with a top guy with Renthal World co. They now are only selling as OEM, I think only now the 2017 YT Capra CF Pro Race, and contacted them and no luck on getting any. Searched eBay, and EVERY OTHER SOURCE KNOWN TO MAN! I was wondering where did you find yours in GOLD? And are they 35mm clamp version? I am assuming 30mm rise? Thanks! Erik

[@alexthemtbr]

Erik S all the local spots are so fun!!! And yes! My yeti was spec'd as good as I could get it😎 sooooo stoked on how it came out. The Renthal Gold Bars are unfortunately a secret rn. But I am selling a pair of 31.8 / 780mm width / 10 mm rise gold carbon bars soon! Your right! I'm running the 30mm rise Renthals, with a 31.8 clamp 35mm clamps have no real world value to be honest. It's a Moto standard. Glad you liked the video, 🍻

[@eriks254]

Thank you for the reply. Yeah I did similar with my Bronson, except budget held me back (as of now) from going carbon wheels, Eagle mix of XO/XX1 12x50 drive-train, and Saint brakes. How do you like the Saints?? What other brake setups can you compare them against? I have new XT's M8000, 180/203 and dam, they work surprisingly great! I too am from the MX world, so I am pretty used to minimal modulation. I have heard so much mixed reviews on SRAM Guide Ultimate's, so am leaning towards Saints when I upgrade (if ans when I can find fault in these Xt's and/or my abilities dictate the need. I saw your tech tip on the mixing of pads. Interesting! When I saw your MX bikes in background in that tech trick video, I then understood your telltale look of natural smashing down technical trails. Although I am new to MTBing, I have that extensive MX and dirt bike technical mountain (Stonyford, etc) experience. I found instantly how quick when I took my first MTB ride so much was so automatically programmed in my brain. And is why I jumped straight to building a strong and capable enduro MTB. I would be bored to tears on a XC bike!! I could go down Chapparel all day long at JMP! Haha.. I am still a snail compared to your abilities and speed, but look forward to leaning and experiencing so much more. I see you have several videos, and they are all so cool! Thank you for making them. When I see such a good rider on such a brilliant bike and build and your cool demeanor WITH a MX background, your are the coolest of all! Haha.... I would so love to see a "bike check" video of yours! Including setup, reasons for each component, and your height and weight when referencing cockpit details, and importantly all of your RC2 settings and X2 settings. I love that stuff! And has helped my much establishing my baseline settings. And the bars.... dam...yeah I am totally familiar with the controversy 31.8/35mm, and agree with you and Renthal's prior statements on the non-necessity of 35mm. But....with that said, my acute stubborn OCD took over, and I am hell bent on keeping 35! I am running the Fatbar Carbon 35 (standard black/gold accents), 30mm rise and sometimes switch to same but 40mm rise and Apex 35 stem. I am so OCD, I may just have to order a '17 Capra CF Pro race to just get those Fatbar Carbon 35 in Au-Gold (Renthal's name for it) color. Haha...just kidding. Maybe someday I will stumble across some. I would post a photo of my Bronson, but do not know how to on here. Anyways....thanks again for the reply answering my question and the bars info. Would love to hear an answer to my Saints questions. Erik

[@eriks254]

BTW, disregard the request in prior reply as to a bike check request, as I just stumbled across it! But you left out your fork settings, rebound and LSC/HSC settings....:( BTW also, I am trying the ODI Pro Elite grips, and they are awesome! Especially a rider like you that is just all out bashing that gnarly rocky terrain, I could not imagine running anything else! I liked the Renthal (grey) a lot but these ODI's absorb a lot of impact on the rocky stuff and to me just as importantly, not too thick! Angle of them on install is important. I angled the mushy part back a bit towards the centers of my palms when in riding position.

[@alexthemtbr]

No problem Erik! I'm so stoked to reply to people who truly enjoy the channel, it's crazy for me to think that people like the content I am putting out! Means the world to me when I get comments like these ones, I appreciate all of them! Let me break down the answers from your response one by one. I am not a fan of carbon wheels. They are too prone to cracking, not that much lighter than alloy wheels and just don't offer that significant of an advantage. Dt 1501 ex wheels are fairly light, and so burly that more dh world cup riders run the hoops (dt 471's) on their bikes. I just do'n't feel like there is enough value in carbon rims, it's all bling. I've had ENVE's, Specialized Traverse SL's, etc. And I still choose dt Alloy rims I LOVE my saints!!!! Absolutely incredible. but if your XT brakes work well for you, don't change them! XT's are great brakes as well. Just lack a tiny bit of power. I did forget my fork settings but I'm not 100% sold on them at the moment. 87psi, 2 orange/ 1 blue spacer. 11 clicks of rebound from open. Hsc in the middle and 5 clicks of lsc from open. No reason to sell the 35 bar! I just meant there is no advantage over the 31.8, both work just fine. 35 mm is all marketing. Also, I wish I had a bigger moto background! I probably started 4 years ago! I absolutely love it and would be stoked to make some videos on Moto riding! I honestly started riding moto as cross training for MTB. I'm stoked you are enjoying MTB! The moto background really helps a lot! I use to race XC hahaha, it is definitely as boring as you think! Hopefully I answered most of your questions. If you ever have any more questions, feel free to ask away, Cheers!

[@califroniacrusin7945]

I'm out in JMP a lot hope to see you out there I'm on 2016 Remedy

[@IsaacGonzalez-et2bq]

I still find JMP pretty difficult on my hard tail, but at least i had the courage to finally try cinderella yesterday, although it was super slippery out. Practice makes perfect. Bay spots of my choice for training in order to be able to hang on trails like cinderella and chapparal in no particular order are camp tam, demo forest, wilder ranch, skeggs point, and maybe some of china camp too(both sides). I got a long way to go, but thanks for the tips on these. Thankfully redwood park is right next door so when my confidence gets hurt by seeing unicylclists bomb down big trees and cinderella, i go hit west ridge and some trails over there and get more comfy lol. Thanks for taking the time to share this.

[@stoicchris]

4:12 Big Trees 10:24 Cinderella 14:26 Chaparral

[@nickborgman6359]

Great vid just watched this before heading out there for the first time yesterday. Was a great ride.

[@ikeelu024]

Just watched your video and liked it. Wish I watched it before going to JMP yesterday. Also looked at your old video and wish you had more trail guides. I usually don't hit up new trails often, but stuff like this really helps. My dumbass climbed up cinderella yesterday

[@flyinchop]

Really nice video Alex! I'll be tackling Joaquin Miller for the first time on the MTB this weekend and your video is a big help!

[@gman007gt]

Chaparral in 2020 is crazy .

[@djkram650]

Best trail guide I've seen so far! Hope you could do more of these in Bay Area trails! I've never been to JMP but looking to checking it out next couple of weeks. Keep up the good work!

[@kennethtaylor8274]

Excellent video brother! Have not made it over there yet but definitely on my list, was very impressed with your wind, never stopped narrating throughout the entire video! Well done, Thanks!

[@alexthemtbr]

kenneth taylor Glad you enjoyed it!!! Thanks for the kudos!

[@jontg429]

Great video! I road bike up in the Oakland hills and am looking forward to getting a mountain bike to hitup the trails you have shown us. Thanks for making this video!

[@xenomorph4346]

Nice ! Heading there in the am tomorrow !

[@PaigeP1121]

Great guide for someone like me who has not been there. THank you

[@sohaibyounus]

just got into mtn biking a couple months ago and so far Joaquin miller is my favorite place to go. It has a little bit of everything. Really liked your video and hopefully I can take the same lines at same speed one day lol

[@B1KER]

Just watched a few of your vids. I like what you are doing. Keep it up!

[@alexthemtbr]

B1KER Thank you! Definitely excited to get more videos up, I'm actually leaving for New Zealand tomorrow to race the Trans NZ! Hoping to get some great coverage out there!

[@darrylkgee]

I liked your verbal description of trails because I want to try it there

[@Andrew.Breyton]

Jesus, so many downed trees. Looks like a ripper day though!

[@angelar9229]

Will you be doing more trail guides of legal singletracks in the Bay? This one was sick bro! 👏👏😁

[@alexthemtbr]

Angel A. I would love to!!! Only problem is I am running out of legal trails. There aren't many 😂😂 I could do a ride in Marin that's actually kind of cool, and actually legal tho!

[@ShuKatashSam]

China Camp is good there(also great no matter the weather). Keep the videos coming.

[@phillipfessenden7705]

Just road in joanquinn Miller for first time today. I've just started getting into the sport. But also took my first wreck today as well. Didnt hurt really until I got home and my left knee is all swallowed up lol. Looking forward to going back in next couple days.

[@Captainskot]

Great video and excellent riding, love your style dude. A perfect trail guide, much appreciated!

[@DigitalSlurm]

Just love these uploads. I'm in the U.K. And it's great to see all these trails. Keep em' coming dude. Good stuff!

[@garybrannan9080]

Great ride and KZbin from Alex. Buds and I regularly ride JMP. Great inspiration to get back out on it.

[@ramseybones2635]

Love those trails live right next to them to

[@xxzyroxx3680]

Awesome just so happens at 8:58 when you were saying how slippery the bridge gets I slipped on it and fell into the creek

[@warrenmaes-maninger4232]

Having ridden this today I really notice how the action camera flushed out the features. Cool video!

[@erynhughes3036]

Thanks for posting this video! I used to ride Cinderella, Big Trees and both parts of Palos Colorado as part of my commute and it is interesting to see how the trails have changed over the years. Also, is the $2 climb on Sunset gone/rerouted? I don't remember those switchbacks.

[@justinsider4403]

Sick ride, you forgot to hit the stairs at the end of Cinderella. Ive been out there a couple of times on my Jeffsy..sick trails. Great video.

[@ShuKatashSam]

One of the best video descriptors of JMP main parts. Could always link to Redwood for miles, descents and climbing. Some good downhill sections either loop direction there, but mostly fire roads. French trail would be great if they opened that.

[@hectormartinez1451]

Cool video! Nice Park. Thanks.

[@jacobgonzalez7302]

one of my favorite places in the east bay.

[@alexthemtbr]

jacob gonzalez same here!

[@TheDej612]

That was awesome bad ass ride, that chaparral it's insane my favorite still Cinderella 👍🏽

[@rogerramirez9400]

Trust me at 11:20 that rock garden is quite intimidating in person

[@jimmeridda]

I can now clean it 9 times out of ten on my hardtail. Not as fast as Alex tho!!

[@andrewdohrmann5981]

heading out there in a few!!!

[@priceandbar10]

this is a silly question but where do you usually park?

[@joshuaeggett3831]

Good job Alex! Loving your videos. Seems like like Californias getting plenty of rain this time of year?

[@alexthemtbr]

Joshua Eggett lots of rain this year! It's been insane

[@pmonk1177]

Awesome vid bro. I was wondering if you do group rides? I would love to roll with ya'll sometime. Also, have you or are you planning to cover Mount Montara?

[@alexthemtbr]

P Monk hey man! Yea I love group rides, I'd love to ride with the people who support this channel! I'll be posting a Welcome to the Channel video soon that will be asking the viewers if they would like to show me there local spots for KZbin! Also I would love to do montara (Pacifica) Been thinking about filming XXX for awhile. Still haven't hit the very last jump though! So I've been kind of waiting until I can flow top to bottom hitting everything including the last jump for the camera haha

[@LBRides]

Rockville is always a fun spot for group rides. Film rock garden and rip down unknown.

[@T4rvankarl]

cool trail!

[@alexthemtbr]

newbie biker yea man! It's so fun out there🤘🏽

[@miket4234]

great video and guide! btw, what camera and setup r u using to shoot your video?

[@theactioncat2689]

This is a great place to ride! Planning on making a trip over there later in the week. How are the trails holding up after all the rain it's been getting?

[@alexthemtbr]

The Action Cat, The trails hold up great! They don't really get eroded, but that being said. The puddles stay for a long time so you will be getting very wet this week. It's going to rain a lot until Wednesday, Friday or Saturday you should be okay. Lots of trees down though. These storms have been very windy lately.

[@theactioncat2689]

alright thanks for the info! I'm hoping that the trails wont be too wet for riding on the day I come and ride. Keep up your videos man!

[@edwinlarapaz7292]

How good does that yeti do uphill also what yeti is that

[@jaimeramirez4766]

Where would be the best place to park at the trail head for these routes?

[@rokkettscience]

I'm from Oakland and I've never hit these trails! Gotta hit it soon 😎✊

[@CrimePays321]

Hey Alex you forgot to use the word "Hella" in your straight outta Oakland meme. I thought that was mandatory for the Nor-Cal boys. 😂

[@alexthemtbr]

Aidan Gaffney hahahaha. I'll use it at some point, don't you worry 😅

[@califroniacrusin7945]

I'm pedal distance from JMP and grew up riding there

[@juanespinoza8163]

Hey just a question where did you park and how do u get there cus I don’t know my why around there yet can u help me

[@richa3599]

I got my car broken into going on a ride at jmp..if there’s any better place to park please let me know

[@juanwick2726]

Do Crockett Hills and Black Diamond Mines.

[@solidstream13]

do you live near Oakland? I work there. Im trying to decide what bike to get next.

[@sidharthramasubbu3221]

I am moving to Fremont and i am just wondering if there are any DH/Enduro trails in the area,any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

[@theparkbmx4853]

I have to check this out

[@nardsmtbflow2993]

Good run brotha! Subscribed done forsure🤙

[@mikemillie3826]

What’s it your bike name and can you suggest me a bike to buy It I can’t afford expensive bike

[@techbug5661]

I'm ready be there soon look fun mtb almost ready cassette, derailer and chain all sram 😁

[@chriswillis6747]

Is Joaquin Miller hard tail friendly? Just wondering

[@jimmeridda]

Yes! Except for chaparral maybe. There are many more cool trails than shown here.

[@fredjen89]

if you're only a bike courier for the first month know anyone who can make a living slightly outside the east bay?

[@glibaudio]

Ty

[@josephsaeteurn9158]

is there a real bike trail with no hikers? i dislike having to slow down and deal with hikers or dog walkers. you were going pretty fast around turns, if there were hikers coming up won't you hit them?

[@VntaBlxck]

Nooooo the loam trail!!!

[@alexthemtbr]

Matthew Murphy it's just sticks hahaha. Maybe they just want to keep the turns fresh and loamy for a session later on😂

[@RyanBoardman234s]

1st

[@alexthemtbr]

Ryan Boardman Congratulations 🎊 you just won a free 1 on 1 ride with me in Santa Cruz!!! Hahaha. But for real tho. I want to ride hollister again soon, That shit was so fun!

[@jasonvandeneng8681]

At 0:30 you encourage folks to ride here even while it's raining? Don't do that. Respect our trails. It does drain well here, but if the trails are sloppy, stay off. Also how much time/money do you donate to these trails? Sounds like you do a lot of your recording here--I hope you're giving back as well.

[@415kurt]

You're telling folks to ride wet trails and also riding off trail and complaining that others have blocked off unsanctioned trails. This is my local park. Try showing it some respect. It's not only for bikes, it an eco-system and a place for everyone to enjoy. Bikes were once banned from here and probably will be again since lately the park is getting torn up by aggressive riders.

[@mroberts566]

This video has 15,000 views, and this comment should have 15,000 likes. Alex, you're giving mountain bikers a bad name.