What bike ... XC or AM

AM for sure! The bigger the better

I've only got a hardtail but it has 150mm forks, i think i'll be right?

Ditty is in. Should be great fun, hasn't rained badly for a while, so should at least be in decent condition.

I believe Peter R is coming along too.

Your Norco Sasquatch will be fine, looks beefy and reasonably slack. 150mm is ideal.

There are plenty of options with many A, B C and even D lines in places (drops 1 foot to 6 foot). A must ride to build up skills and progress to bigger drops and technical trails after Manly Dam. Best to pick some stuff to play on, hang out and session it.

I ride my 160mm hardtail (custom AM build with TALAS) around Red Hill all the time. Just have to pick lines a bit more than on dually and make sure the front lands first on medium drops (3 foot to 4 foot) as is less forgiving than dually (ie unless you are really dropping the tail first in a trials move the front will slam and land really hard).

Enjoy, Red Hill has a reputation for being hard out but it shouldn't put people off who are comfortable with the C line at 19th Hole at Manly Dam as mostly has many options. There are a few short techy climbs and drops on single track but if not rideable aren't going to ruin your day.

I signed up last night and then went to check out the Cannondale and there's a bizarre noise in the rear suspension. I think its because I haven't been showing it any love lately . Will check it out this week and see if a spot frees up this week.

OK, bikes sorted, leave pass approved, weather forecast is awesome. Haven't ridden there December 2007 and can't wait.

The only thing now, should I pad up or not

Bring it, and you can decide on the day. Maybe it depends on how gung-ho you are feeling when you put the helmet on?

I guess I'll pad up. Not really due to the "gungo-ho" effect but more that this is the second time I ridden my 26" since dirtworks

went for a quick spin up at Redhill last night , over the bars and smashed my knee on a rock .........pads are a wise choice Brian !!!!! . Doctors orders : leg elevated , ice pack and Ibuprofen . Was looking forward to this ride .

... for riding without us

hope its not too major

Ice cold beer helps aswell

hi,
anymore room left for sat?riding a hardtail with fox f32's............
thanks

joe

My rear shock has lost all its air again

I'm going to see tonight how quick its losing air and if it still ok when I go to bed I should be ok for this ride. If not then its losing air too fast and I'm out

Would have loved to be there. Got some expat friends from LA that I'm hanging out with so will probably just get a 6:00am ride in at Manly Dam

Thanks for the ride guys. Good to meet some new faces and the perfect place to give your technical skills a workout.
Cheers
Brian

Thanks Fellas some nice stuff in there today ... driest I've seen it for ages.

keen to do that again ... maybe with a little more travel

Was it proper dry or just dry for red hill given recent monsoonal activity?

It was somewhat dry for Red Hill. There are still some water puddles and run off happening in places. Pink rock had a small trickling of water running down the descent line of all places, and the drop zone also had a few remaining pools of water. That said, anything at an altitude of the rim ride and above was generally very dry and acceptable. For being 2 weeks out of winter, I thought it was very good.

Thanks to all you guys for the unexpected invite to the group. I had such an awsome time that I rode it again this morning with a mate of mine but we used the entry at the top of Maybrook Ave cromer (did this to avoid the motoX rutted trail). We spent about 45 mins taking different lines through the dropzone (im in love with that rock).