Snow Valley Mountain Bike Trail Guide 2023 - Every Trail at this SoCal Bike Park

[@randybinc.6443]

Rad day and video Alan! I took a break from SS and rode there today. Late arrival because of a closed highway due to fire so I hit up SV with no lines and closer. Turned out to be a great session! Keep up the rad vids!

[@mtb_alan]

Heck yeah!

[@vienna5335]

nice man! i've been looking forward to this coming out so we could check out all the trails. great work and great vid! havent been, but want to go.

[@mtb_alan]

Thanks! Glad to share. It's a fun spot if you like to throw your rear tire around. I'm not in love with the jump line yet, and they hadn't opened the upper jump line. Looking forward to that if they ever open it.

[@brandonpfeifle7057]

So rad, needed that. I was there last weekend and didnt record anything. Too funny, they warned us about the loose, sandy stuff on run one and that got you. Like 50 people there on a Friday. Great perspective, I know exactly how big those jumps are, nice session

[@mtb_alan]

Thanks! Definitely a bit of an adjustment.

[@aaronburela432]

Looks looooossseee got shit Alan!

[@mtb_alan]

I got what?

[@douglaskaye1395]

And thats why we wear gloves

[@mtb_alan]

🧤

[@thomasboard7350]

This place is fun, i went opening weekend and hoping to go back later this summer. Gunsmoke is super gnarly haha. Quick draw and green horn weren't open last time i went

[@mtb_alan]

Gun Smoke is no joke. GoPro doesn’t convey it. Too good about Green Horn and Quick Draw. Those are fun

[@LevoRider]

Was there last Friday twilight ride. Very fun zero crowds. You do need to watch out for front wheel washouts though.

[@mtb_alan]

💯

[@jpotenzone1]

Great video Alan!!!

[@mtb_alan]

Thanks! 🙏🏾

[@tskouros]

Hey man! Did you get a chance to ride the Exploration Trail in Running Springs while you were up that way? It's a definite must and a great ride to do in the early morning before the parks open.

[@mtb_alan]

Definitely. I've ridden it a few times. Gorgeous trail!

[@MTBMOR]

Looking forward to this one. I still haven't ridden Snow Valley even with the late hours on Fridays

[@mtb_alan]

It’s a good time! TBH, I think a half day at Valley followed up by a half day at Summit could be epic.

[@TumorWarrior]

"Winchowder" that just sealed you a spot on the naming committee 😂

[@mtb_alan]

😆👨🏾‍⚖️

[@kochtrevor]

diggin your drone shots and editing skills bro.

[@mtb_alan]

Thanks! A perennial work in progress.

[@Jose-sy1je]

You don't have an Amazon channel with products? I'm looking for a mountain bike helmet. You have any recommendations for a cheaper one? Are these Bell ones for $55 any good?

[@mtb_alan]

I would recommend spending good money on protecting your brain. You only have one of them.

[@Jose-sy1je]

​@@mtb_alanWell, Virginia Tech has a ranking and some helmets that cost more than $200 performed poorly and cheaper ones better. But the ranking is somewhat limited and doesn't include many brands I find online

[@trailpimp6369]

I love this bike park. No one goes here and the surface is smooth and drifty. Hey see you at Sky park for Ride and Shine tomorrow

[@mtb_alan]

💯 So fun to throw it around up there. I think it helped that I spent a few days at Mammoth last season and knew how to make loose fun.

[@trailpimp6369]

@@mtb_alan 🔥🔥

[@thomasrenzy2181]

Great video as always, thanks for posting. Is it as sandy and washed out as it looks? I love a lot of the flow on these trails, but if you're sliding all over the place, then I'm definitely going to be sliding all over the trails. I am planning on hitting this sometime this summer.

[@mtb_alan]

It is definitely loose. But once you unlock it, you can find traction. But whether you'll enjoy it or not depends on your approach. I get joy from taking what is uncomfortable and making it fun. Once you get used to finding where you can drive your front wheel for traction and how you can let your rear tire drift around, it's a blast! And you get generally better at bike handling. Come to think of it, when I rode other trails later, I was way better at purposefully getting my back end loose, throwing dust, and scandi flicking into turns.

[@TheHooniverse]

Dang Green Horn looks like a super fun warm up tra- HOLY SHIT RIDER DOWN. (That corner looked sketchy as you entered, glad you didn't bonk too hard)

[@mtb_alan]

LOL! IKR. TBF, when I checked the footy, I realized I let my front tire get too close to the edge. But dang! That ground is huard! 😆

[@FT30773]

@@mtb_alan I've analyzed "the footy" at 0.25x speed and, in my opinion, your mistake began with the turn/crest that was just before the turn that took you down. This is because you were too far to the right, as seen at the moment @1:12, which was setting you up to go off the trail to the right, and you had to correct by putting quite a bit of steering angle into the bike and you kinda bounced off the small mound of dirt on the far right of the trail just before the sharp right hand turn. All this combined to set you up for failure as you entered the sharp right hand turn with the bike unsettled from the afrementioned near-miss of going off-trail and still way too far to the right of the trail. This forces you to try and make the trun with a desperate attempt to put a bunch of right turning angle into the bike and lean to the right, but the loose silt on the left side of the trail gives way. You sensed it, so you bail at the last split second to avoid the cluster of pine trees that await a rider that gets more than a few feet to the left of the trail.

[@Conner21230]

I remember you calling it bronco a while back. Good on you for doing what you believe in. From now on imma call it Bronco. Overall better name 🤘

[@mtb_alan]

Thanks for saying so. 🙏🏾👊🏾

[@M-TAdventures]

Alan we are heading to SoCal soon in your opinion which bike park would be best for a beginner rider?

[@mtb_alan]

I’d say Skypark at Santa’s Village is good for beginners if 200ft mellow climbs are acceptable. There are also nice restaurants and places to hang out between and after laps. Snow Summit *can* be good for beginners depending on how beginner we’re talking. They have Going Green which is an awesome green trail if the rider is pretty fit. It’s approachable and pretty long. Great views with varied environments. Snow Summit also has Turtle which is a blue and is mostly berms, so it is “easy” if the rider is cool with berms. Summit has nice facilities too. An underutilized area there is the Oakfire Grill near the coffee spot at the bottom of the lifts. Indoor with some AC and quick grab n go food, snacks, and drinks. Snow Valley isn’t very beginning friendly in my opinion. The terrain is a bit of an adjustment for experienced riders, and there’s not great facilities for chilling. Hope that helps!

[@sdtrailrider8070]

A loose Mammoth vibe for sure. I haven't noticed before, but have you joined the bare knuckle crowd?

[@mtb_alan]

Def akin to Mammoth. I have been riding bare knuckle for a bit now. It all started from some delayed luggage on a bike trip. 😆

[@mrlucifer4]

alan snow valley tomorrow09/03/23,9:00

[@MTB_N8dg]

What kinda full face helmet do u prefer I just got a Troy Lee design not sure if I like it though

[@mtb_alan]

Which TLD did you get? For bike park, I wear a full DH helmet. I don't trust enduro full-faces for those speeds and heights. Currently I am running a 100% Aircraft. For trail riding, I run either a TLD Stage or a Smith Mainline.

[@MTB_N8dg]

@@mtb_alan I got a Full Face D3 Fiberlite Helmet Anarchy Tld is that an ok one in your opinion

[@mtb_alan]

Got it. Yeah...that's solid. Maybe too much for trail riding but solid for bike park. For full DH helmets you want to look for the ASTM 1952-15/2032-15 certification. And the D3 has that.

[@MTB_N8dg]

@@mtb_alan nice thanks for the info man I have another helmet also that I will use for tamer rides. I don’t want to Wear the TLD while just cruising lol

[@mtb_alan]

🤘🏾

[@stevem3308]

As soon as you said, "the ground is hard", I was wondering if you had wanted to be wearing the Mobius even without gloves?

[@mtb_alan]

Naw. The ground would still be hard. And I’m an old skater. It was more of a comment on expecting a fall into powder and discovering hella hard pack under a centimeter of dust. 😆

[@JamesRobertMTB]

Looks like there are plenty of features to test yourself on

[@mtb_alan]

For sure. And I def failed a couple tests. 😆

[@MrGlamis70]

That last crash was scary! 😱 that could have ended badly.

[@mtb_alan]

Yah. Just like every crash. 😆Lucked out again.

[@duckee4723]

i did gun smoke on a polygon t7

[@mtb_alan]

🤘🏾

[@heytchap]

Why no gloves?💀 do they still charge for parking? I always drive right on by because of that.

[@mtb_alan]

I never heard of them charging for parking. But they def don't charge now.

[@heytchap]

@@mtb_alanmight just be a winter thing then. That booth when you drive into the parking lot is where they collect.

[@mtb_alan]

Copy that.

[@callaway5148]

That's too much bike for this park! Looks like you just need a trail bike. Actually, a trail bike is perfect for everything even at Snow Summit (except I do wish I had an enduro rig for 10-ply, but I ride it on a 150 mm travel bike anyway.)

[@mtb_alan]

How much bike do I have?

[@TheCaptainsCog]

Bronco? Who told you that Crazy Talk? Seriously, did my cousin Crazy Talk tell you to call it that? -yes i am native american so i can make a joke like that and make fun of you at the same time.😅😅😅

[@mtb_alan]

🤷🏾‍♂️🙂 I do what seems right to me.

[@jeffmansell6874]

That place is super loose!

[@mtb_alan]

And fun!

[@zhangtao2000]

Do you need to wear sunglasses?

[@mtb_alan]

It’s tripping because in the shade when it’s dusty, tinted lenses can make it hard to see. But it’s definitely bright with all the white and tan dirt.

[@wantahertzdonut]

Point your camera higher, your front tire isn't interesting to watch.

[@mtb_alan]

🎬