Aaron Thall

Pedal Montclair: What do you ride? 

Aaron: Trek Superfly SL & Santa Cruz Hightower 27.5+  

Pedal Montclair: Favorite places to ride? Why?

Aaron: Wawayanda State Park- Technically Challenging with a great mix of flow and speed and with the added spice of an occasional bear encounter.  Blue Mountain - Blue is what mountain biking is all about. Every inch of trail utilizes the natural features to perfection. From the technical Monster DX trail to Rambler and the steep rock face drops.

Pedal Montclair: Where would you go on your ultimate biking trip? 

Aaron: Scottish Highlands and bike from bothie to bothie with a bottle of Balvenie in my pack!

Pedal Montclair: Advice to any new comers? 

Aaron: My advice to new comers is to get a bicycle that fits your intended use and has room for upgrades. Also, find a group ride to join but don’t worry about keeping up, use the time to watch the better riders and pick up some pointers.If you’re stoked after the ride you’ll want to come back for more and when you have that passion for riding your skills will follow.

Pedal Montclair: Who's your favorite rider? 

Aaron: This is a tough one, I admire so many, but the cross country riders are my favorite. Julian Absalon, now retired, was always a favorite. My two favorite riders are currently wearing the rainbow stripes as World Champions, Swiss maestro NinO Schurter and the USA’s Kate Courtney!  

Joe Caruso

Pedal Montclair:  What do you ride? 

Joe:  Currently I ride a Pivot Trail 429 and a Pivot LES.

Pedal Montclair:  Favorite places to ride? Why?

Joe:  A few of my favorite places to ride include Wissahickon and Belmont Plateau in Philly. French creek, Jim Thorpe is a hoot. Chimney Rock is a common spot for me locally and I’ve been doing Allamuchy a lot lately. I’ve only done Ringwood a couple of times but really dug everything there too.

Pedal Montclair:   Where would you go on your ultimate biking trip? 

Joe:  I'd like to go back to Kingdom trails. I know it's not a tall order but I’m assuming there’s no limit to who I can bring.

Pedal Montclair:  Advice to any new comers?

Joe:  1. Be a good ambassador to the sport.  2. Support your local bike shop. 

Pedal Montclair:  Who's your favorite rider? 

Joe:   I really don’t know. I do know that they’re usually among my favorite people!

Carl Dauenheimer

Pedal Montclair: What do you ride? 

Carl: I ride my absolutely beastly XL Pivot Phoenix for downhill and I usually steal my Dad’s Yeti Sb6c when I ride local trails. 

Pedal Montclair: Favorite places to ride? Why?

Carl: I spend most of my weekends riding at Mountain Creek Bike park (my all time favorite place to ride on the East coast). My favorite place that I’ve ever ridden is the Whistler Bike park; there’s pretty much nothing that compares. When I’m not riding downhill I love ripping around Lewis Morris park right by my house.

Pedal Montclair: Where would you go on your ultimate biking trip?

Carl: I’ve been lucky enough to have already gone on my ultimate bike trip to the Vancouver area: Whistler/Coast Gravity; but I would love to venture further. My other ride before I die locations would be Leogang Austria, and Skyline Bike park in New Zealand.
 
Pedal Montclair: Advice to any new comers?

Carl: Ride what makes you happy and never get discouraged. It can take days even months to learn what seem like the simplest skills, but in the end It’s totally worth it.

Pedal Montclair: Who's your favorite rider? 

Carl: My favorite riders are my Mom and Dad. They introduced me to biking and have dealt with all of my crazy riding since then. Not to mention they’re great riders themselves.

Ari Brandt

Pedal Montclair:  What do you ride? 

Ari:  I ride a 2016 Carbon Pivot Mach 429 Trail (before they renamed it) mostly everything is stock but I've upgraded with Reynolds Black Label 27.5 Plus carbon wheels, Enve carbon bars, Fox Transfer dropper post and Wolf Tooth elliptical chainring.

Pedal Montclair:  Favorite places to ride? Why?

Ari:  My favorite place to ride locally is Blue Mountain in Peekskill, NY  Blue Mountain Reservation | Westchester Mountain Bike Association.  The trails are a great combination of technical and flowy, plus they are well integrated into the natural rock formations.  I think it's the best riding within an hour of Montclair.  

My favorite place to ride if I can get away for the weekend is Lake Placid + Wilmington NY.  The BETA team (Bark Eater Trails Alliance)  Barkeater Trails Alliance has built a network of some the most fun and challenging mountain bike trails in the Adirondacks that always put a smile on my face.

Pedal Montclair:  Where would you go on your ultimate biking trip?

Ari:  There are so many places I'd love to mountain bike. Aside from the obvious Moab (which I've never done), I'd love to go to British Columbia in Canada and New Zealand both of which I've heard are magical for riding.  I've also read that mountain biking in the Scottish Highlands is amazing and I'm going to get an opportunity to see for myself in September!  

Pedal Montclair:  Advice to any new comers? 

Ari:  First off - good equipment matters, get a bike that's meant for mountain biking, it's money well spent.  Then get comfortable on your bike, riding rail trails and fire roads.  Once you've mastered the fire roads head to a less technical single track where you can master your speed, braking, turns, etc. Before you venture on to more technical terrain with rocks and other obstacles try to find a friend with some experience or someone who is familiar with the trails so you don't end up on a trail that puts you in a compromised position.  Most importantly keep riding and have fun.  

Pedal Montclair:  Who's your favorite rider? 

Ari:  My favorite rider in Montclair is my buddy Aaron Thall - he's the one who got me into mountain biking over 15 years ago and is the best riding partner. 

My favorite pro rider is Kate Courtney the 2018 US Women's Elite National Champion.  She's an amazing rider who leaves it all on the course every time she rides.  She also seems humble, grateful and happy to be riding which is what it's all about.