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All Mtn Party and the bottom half of Lance's. The parking area on Google maps is labeled as NRA Pit.

Just outside of Mesa, AZ

Dude, it's a great bike! I'm sure you'll love it. I just received a dirt jumper that took 3 months, so I feel your pain.

Purchased as a 2019 rigid complete with NX groupset. I only added Fox Factory 130mm fork and Fox factory 150mm dropper. Super fun bike, but not ideal for the type of riding I got into, so I sold it last year.

Yeah, the climb up Mormon Loop to get there was the brutal part. Definitely need to work on my conditioning for the climbs. I couldn't imagine going down some of these sections on a hardtail though.

Thanks dude! They just built some new trails on the other side of the mountain too. So there's now a 'High Ridge'. Highly recommend.

The Hawes trails are generally a lot less rocky than South Mountain. Also, the Hawes trail ratings seem to be a lot easier. Most the blacks feel like they should be blues. I definitely prefer Hawes overall though. There's a lot more flow and I just enjoy the scenery in that area more.

It was a really fun/playful bike, but climbing was kind of a pain. My current ride is even heavier than the Karate Monkey, but still climbs much better. So the weight didn't help, but that wasn't the only issue. The seat angle was too slack, but that might not be an issue if you have punchy climbs where you'll be standing anyway. The stock 3.0" tires were super floaty in my terrain and the build I got was 11-speed. 12th gear was a game changer for me. So it's hard to say since we probably have different terrain. It's hard for me to comment too much on the weight, because the only other trail bike I've owned is about 35.5lbs, haha. I'd say the Karate Monkey is great if you want something playful (despite its weight) and like to do bike packing or something. Personally, if I was getting another hardtail, I'd be looking at something a little lighter and more aggressive. I know that's more info than you asked for, but those are my thoughts on the bike.

@@eatshiftride7861 Thank you for the reply. I appreciate all your thoughts. I will definitely take those into consideration. Ride fast, be safe.

@@terrymtbnurse4760 Thanks dude, you too!

This really was a super fun trail, and it was just beautiful out there. I definitely need to get down there again sometime soon. I had been riding for only a couple months when this video was taken, so I think it would be even more fun now.

I absolutely love the bike. It definitely isn't light; just under 36lbs. But it climbs surprisingly well. Probably due to the steep seat tube angle and the dw link suspension which feels great. I actually just did the Mormon/National loop a couple times recently (up Mormon and down National). It did pretty good on the climb and was amazing on the descent. I've been getting into jumping a lot more recently, and it does great in the air as well. If I could change one thing or world be too lighten it up a bit, but I really don't have any regrets at all. I might do a short review eventually, but I'm not really a fan of being in front of the camera, haha. We'll see.

@@eatshiftride7861 thanks for the response. completely understand about not being in front of the cam. But you can maybe just focus on the bike, specs, any upgrades, compression settings you're using for those DVOs, pros & cons, other bikes you considered before pulling the trigger and why you bought it. That would be dope. I'm trying to justify buying this lol

@@imadesbeats2059 Yes, I just just did some mental gymnastics to justify ordering a dirt jumper last night, so I totally get it. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with it. I'm an obsessive researcher, so I looked up absolutely every review and every bit of information I could about the bike and it was pretty much all positive. I've also ran into 3 other people on the trail riding the same bike and they loved theirs too. I guess it depends on what type of riding you do though. However, I'd be surprised if you could actually find one in stock. Most bikes are sold out right now as far as I know.

Yeah, he dead.

It's definitely a fun trail. The climb back up was kind of a bitch though, haha.

It actually just came with my kneepads. The Fox Launch Pro knee pads integrate a fender into their packaging. Pretty cool. However, it would flex too much when going off larger drops and and get caught on the tire, so I had to take it off. I'm still looking for something stiffer to replace it with. This bike likes to throw rocks into the rear linkage. For now I just made a linkage cover from mastic tape.

I bought the fully rigid build of the bike. I put on a Fox 34 factory fork and factory dropper. Other than that, it was all stock. The bike was very playful and fun to flick around. Kind of had a BMX feel, which I really liked. The only thing I disliked was the seat tube angle and the Dirt Wizard tires that came on it. The seat angle put me too far back, so I would have liked it a little steeper for climbing. As for the tires, in my terrain, they felt very vague and never really dug in to grip anything. Swapping tires would have been an easy fix though. However, I ended up selling the bike and grabbing a Ripmo AF. Some of the trails I began riding were really rough on the hardtail, so I wanted to switch to full suspension. The Hawes trails, like in this video, were perfect for this bike though. Just needed different tires. Keep in mind that I've only been riding for 5 months, so I don't have much experience on different bikes to compare.

@@eatshiftride7861 Alright, thank you for the detailed answer! Much appreciated

Thanks dude; much appreciated

That's crazy, haha! Luckily, I didn't have to climb that route because we did a loop. I really enjoyed the trail though.

It was meant to be a 'dead sailor', just like my jump, haha. The bike feels really stable in the air, and it jumps pretty easily as long as I add some compression. My opinion on it isn't worth much though, as it's my first full suspension. Still working on my timing with the rear suspension.

Haha, thanks dude! I usually only have pov footage, so I took the opportunity to experiment and have fun with it.

This is on the East side of South Mountain, which is more on the South side of Phoenix. If you look in the description, I put Trailforks links to all of the trails shown. Trailforks has the map and all of the trail details. I haven't ridden anything around North Phoenix, but I'm sure you could find some awesome trails in that area with Trailforks too.

@@eatshiftride7861 thank you so much!

Thanks dude, that's good to hear! I honestly wasn't sure if people would pick up on the name. It was just a joke about being a newer rider and the likelihood that I was going to eat shit & die, haha.

Eat Shift & Ride I did man ,I’m new too and I think I will be eating shifting a lot haa . Awesome mate.

@@A.D.D.O.C.D.T All part of the process my man. Have fun out there!

Thanks dude. I'm really loving it.

Yeah man, there was a storm rolling in. It was beautiful out there.

Damn, your videos and trails are sweet! Definitely makes me want to take a trip and ride the PNW.

It's so much fun! I hit it quite a few times, but it was starting to get dark.

I'm planning to hit Hawes again really soon. These 110° days have been brutal, and Hawes is pretty wide open to the sun. The reason I've been going to South Mountain is because these trails are right up against the east side of the mountain and provide some shade in the late afternoons.