Hi Reid, I am a resident of one of the numerous suburbs around Los Angeles (Claremont). Assuming you are staying near the Pasadena area and you want to ride 'trails' (meaning dirt), you will likely want to bring a geared bike. This assumes you want to do a lot the trails just north of Pasadena, within a VERY easy ride from the Huntington Library. All you have to do is look due North and go up! Once you reach the dirt trails they do go vertical quite quickly and stay that way until you get to the top. Good brakes are a good thing too when you come down.
https://www.mtbproject.com/directory/8017025/pasadena Some points to consider: - Even though you are really, really close to 'civilization' a short ride up into the mountains will mean you are pretty much on your own. Any accident and it could be a helicopter ride out. The terrain is quite steep (that is why it is so hard to put the brush fires out). - It is getting warmer here in SoCal. Might be a good idea to bring a hydration pack, first aid kit, mobile phone and lights. You never know (see above bullet point). - We were up at the top of Mount Wilson last year on a bikepacking trip. At the top are numerous microwave towers and (I think) cell phone towers. I had ZERO cell phone signal. Go figure. - Tell someone where you are going and when you plan on being back. If you aren't back at the appointed time, have your person call for help and possibly summon rescue. Again, it is so close to civilization but it is the real deal. Water is scarce and you could be in a world of hurt, especially if by yourself. Sorry to sound so negative but I'd rather be blunt and clear about the mountains that are so close to Pasadena. ++++++ IF you are sticking to sealed (aka paved) roads, then I think you can easily navigate them with a singlespeed. Most of the paved roads are engineered so hills should not be a huge issue. Have fun! Jeff On Monday, April 23, 2018 at 10:47:25 AM UTC-7, Reid Echols wrote: > > Hi folks, I'll be traveling from Austin to Los Angeles in a few short > weeks for a fellowship at the Huntington Library, and am between bringing a > "beater" aluminum 29er I could build up from spare parts or my trusty BMC > Monstercross, currently set up as a "dinglespeed" with 43c gravel tires. I > can handle most of the Austin hills pretty handily, and really enjoy riding > the BMC on local singletrack (not too many rock gardens, just the faster, > flowy stuff). > > My question is, will I be able to fully enjoy the trails near LA on a > singlespeed, cross-style bike, or am I displaying a bit of hubris and > should just bring the more traditional mountain bike for the climbing > gears? I'll be commuting to the Huntington as well and don't want anything > too flashy lest it be stolen. Local perspectives would be welcome! > > All best, > Reid in Austin > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
