Given all of the comments on the Don I am going to try to get there next summer. For a person living outside of the city though it seems such a strange thing to drive downtown to go MTBing!
@@sluggomtb7414 The don is absolutely amazing. extremely difficult to navigate for someone new. to actually be able to do a flowly ride at the don you would need a guide as there is basically zero useful signage. The hydrocut is so professional, so well signed, its just a pleasure to ride at, the features are awesome, all doable. very fun place. part of that fun is how easy it is to navigate your way around for a great smooth sailing ride. the don, however, its better..... like wayyyyy better....... it is sooo sketchy haha. that new big drop I did for first time couple weeks back. super scary looking but is sooooooooooooo smooth. just need to commit.. my first go the wood was wet haha!!!!
@@leeh584 Thanks! Yes all the comments about the Don have me wanting to try it for sure - hopefully next year. I have lost sleep over that new drop at the hydrocut - it is well within my skill level but just need to take the leap! I haven't been back since my video but I am for sure looking forward to redemption.
You won't like what has happened to the Don. A lot of trails have been bulldozed in Sunnybrook, parts of the Catalyst are gone and trees all over the place have been cut down. I almost cried when I saw the devastation.
Road the Don for years unfortunately not what it use to be let alone the homeless and drug users crap through out the woods….it is legal to ride with a hand gun there though 😅
Thanks! I have mountain biked a few times in BC (Whistler a few times and did the BC Bike race 11 years ago) - Ontario has quite a few trail systems but nothing to compare to BC!!
#JusticeForDon You absolutely need to check out the Don trails. They can be pretty sketchy in places, but IMO it's easily a top 5 trail system in southern Ontario. #1 for me personally
I will definitely try to get to the Don - I have heard nothing but great things about the trails. It just seems so backwards for me to drive from the suburbs into the city to mountain bike!!
@@sluggomtb7414 You'll forget pretty quickly that you're in the city. But then you'll also get reminded at random times, like riding over a shopping cart. I promise it's worth the drive, but to be honest you might need to go twice. Once to get a feel for it, and the second time to properly start enjoying it. It'd be fair to call it a 'love or hate' trail system. It's definitely very sketchy in points with some super narrow bench cut and otherwise janky features, and there are some crazy steep & tight switchbacks. But it's one-of-a-kind, and a must-try experience IMO. If you're looking for a route recomendation let me know. I'd love to see a review of if/where you would've slotted it into this list once you've ridden it
@@camster895 Based on all the positive comments and recommendations regarding the Don I am definitely going to try get there to try the trails out - it may not be until next season but you and others have me convinced to give it a try!!
Alright, so, HC made it as the #1 spot, which i figured it would. Really appreciate the work that went in to the Countdown, thank you for the share. Was there on Labour Day as well, we were at the Snyder Entrance in the morning. Was busy, but didn't impact the ride in terms of trail traffic. HAFTA would only score well for tech and winter, I agree. Not much else there to maintain interest/excitement. Another mention for HC (and maybe a future higher score), is that there are two new sections of trail at each side being planned out. Hopefully to be completed for next season. Major kudos to the HC builders, who continue to maintain HC as a top spot to ride in So. ON!!
As another comment mentioned, I was wondering whether the Don Valley or Hydrocut would be in the top spot. Makes sense that you've never ridden the Don. Hydrocut is a couple hours drive from me but it's always worth the drive every time I go. Don is in my backyard so maybe I'm a bit biased towards it. Thanks for this series - I now have a list of new trails to go and check out this fall/next season.
Glad you enjoyed the list! One thing I love about mountain biking is riding new trails and I do hope my list gets people exploring more around southern Ontario. Cheers!
As somebody who has done both(couple of times) Hydrocut is more than worth it. I do it at least once a year and I live at 401/404. I would put Don on the top just because is close to home but Hydrocut has the flow and the features. Check my videos on both trail systems.
HAFTA was in the top 20 and scored really well in technical and features, but not so great in the other 3 categories which kept it out of the top 15. Still considering whether to do a winter countdown but if I do I am pretty sure HAFTA would be high on that list!
@@sluggomtb7414 Yes it’s great for technical but not good for flow or hills. Great for winter biking. Thanks for putting the list together. Happy trails!
I have only been to the Pines once but from what I saw it was a decent trail network but I would have to differ with you on it being "by far" the top spot in Southern Ontario! It had some pretty significant gap jumps and I like the hub and spoke model of the trail system but the Pines just did not "wow" me. In 2021 when I rode 50 different locations in Southern Ontario and rated them (which is where my countdown came from) the Pines was middle of the countdown - tied for 25th. Maybe I will go back for a second opinion!
Sorry, I am curious, what camera are you using? Is the video shot in a lower resolution and upscaled to 4k? The stabilization is good but the image looks blurry?
I am using a GoPro Hero 11 with Max Lens Mod and horizon lock on. I find the Max Lens really helps with stabilization, but you have a good eye because with the Hero 11 it only films in 2.7k and I upscale to 4k for posting. Hero 12 with Max Lens does film in 4k so I might upgrade to that eventually.
Have been enjoying your videos but have not been able to see what bike your riding . Do you guys ride hardtail or full suspension bikes on these trails? I am planning to update my Norco and only have hardtail experience.
In most of these videos I am riding my Transition Spur - a 120mm front / 120mm rear full suspension bike. I find that bike perfect for most southern Ontario mtb trails. I do have a hardtail as well but do not ride it as much (getting too old for it!) and also have a longer travel full suspension bike (160 front, 150 rear) for more technical / downhill / park style riding. But that bike is too much for a lot of the trails around here!
Nice. Probably the number 1 choice for most riders, I imagine. I've watched quite a few videos before, including yours, but this one really showed the trails off well. I definitely plan to go before the season end. That Captain Crunch trail looks fantastic, albeit out of my comfort zone. Thank you very, VERY much for all the time and effort you've put in to this series. Where next? Northern Ontario, Quebec, Scotland? 😆. Enjoy your rides. 👊 EDIT: i forgot to ask if there's any significance to the colored edges of the wall ride. I've seen it in other videos as well.
Thanks and hopefully you do get to HC before the end of the year - well worth it! Not sure what is next other than the relief that my riding is no longer chained to my countdown - I can go wherever I want whenever I want!! But I will keep the videos coming. Not sure what the significance is of the rainbow edge of the wall ride is - haven't heard any reason behind that.
@@sluggomtb7414hello again. Where can we see your list with all the attribute scores. I'm trying to think of which one scored the highest for flow and another for tech. Thanks.
@@Ryland_28 I have not published my list yet but thanks for reminding me it is something I should do. For Flow, 1st is Guelph Lake, second is a tie between Hydrocut, Mono Cliffs, Dagmar, SCMB Oro and SCMB Hickling. For tech, Porcupine Ridge was 1st (but those trails are now closed permanently) and second was a tie between HAFTA and Bracebridge Resource Management Centre. Hope this helps!
Hydrocut is great as a bike park style trail system, but it lacks adventure. I can't ride it more than twice a year because it gets boring once you've hit everything. In my opinion HAFTA, Porcupine Ridge, BMRC, and Laurentian Ski Hill offer way more unique riding that keeps you mentally, and physically engaged.
I have not ridden Laurentian Ski Hill but love each of your other suggestions (HAFTA, Porcupine and BRMC). Each of those are great, slow tech options with constant challenges - but probably not for everyone! It's a shame Porcupine is shutting down this year .
Back in 2021 I rode 50 different trail location in Southern Ontario (hitting 50 locations was my goal for 2021) and this countdown was the product of those rides (I planned to do the countdown in 2022 but life got in the way). Unfortunately the Don was not a location I went to and still a location I have never been to - living outside of the city it seems strange to drive into Toronto to go mountain biking! But what I have seen on videos the trails look pretty good - maybe one day I will get there. So it was not an intentional omission for sure!!
@@sluggomtb7414 The Don has lots of technical uphill switchbacks, off-camber above exposure, drops, jumps, gap jumps, natural wall features, some wicked berms, etc.... Make sure to go with someone who's familiar with trail system. Nothing is marked. Hydrocut is fun but not challenging. Good job on the video series.
@@bulletlandry Thanks and I do hope one day to ride the Don - what I have seen looks pretty damn good and who knows where it would have placed if it was in my 50 locations ridden!
![Ribbon of Dirt: The Story of the Hydrocut 4K [Mountain Bike Documentary]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/uGaUlVIobC4/mqdefault.jpg)
![Ribbon of Dirt: The Story of the Hydrocut 4K [Mountain Bike Documentary]](/img/tr.png)
![ไปอยู่ไสมา - ช๊อปเปอร์ โตเกียวมิวสิค [ OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO ]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sWuVNbRTJbc/mqdefault.jpg)
Sweet!! Hydrocut for #1!!! Thanks again for this series:)
No real surprise with the #1 ranking for sure - such a fun set of trails!!
They sure are. Hydrocut is quite the place!
Nice series - Not riding Don Vally is a shame. It is definitely the best trail system in Ontario.
Given all of the comments on the Don I am going to try to get there next summer. For a person living outside of the city though it seems such a strange thing to drive downtown to go MTBing!
@@sluggomtb7414 The don is absolutely amazing. extremely difficult to navigate for someone new. to actually be able to do a flowly ride at the don you would need a guide as there is basically zero useful signage. The hydrocut is so professional, so well signed, its just a pleasure to ride at, the features are awesome, all doable. very fun place. part of that fun is how easy it is to navigate your way around for a great smooth sailing ride. the don, however, its better..... like wayyyyy better....... it is sooo sketchy haha.
that new big drop I did for first time couple weeks back. super scary looking but is sooooooooooooo smooth. just need to commit.. my first go the wood was wet haha!!!!
@@leeh584 Thanks! Yes all the comments about the Don have me wanting to try it for sure - hopefully next year. I have lost sleep over that new drop at the hydrocut - it is well within my skill level but just need to take the leap! I haven't been back since my video but I am for sure looking forward to redemption.
You won't like what has happened to the Don. A lot of trails have been bulldozed in Sunnybrook, parts of the Catalyst are gone and trees all over the place have been cut down.
I almost cried when I saw the devastation.
Road the Don for years unfortunately not what it use to be let alone the homeless and drug users crap through out the woods….it is legal to ride with a hand gun there though 😅
These videos are awesome! I'm moving to Ontario from BC next month, and your videos give me hope for mountain biking aha!
Thanks! I have mountain biked a few times in BC (Whistler a few times and did the BC Bike race 11 years ago) - Ontario has quite a few trail systems but nothing to compare to BC!!
Get used to having to pedal lol its xc country here
#JusticeForDon
You absolutely need to check out the Don trails. They can be pretty sketchy in places, but IMO it's easily a top 5 trail system in southern Ontario. #1 for me personally
I will definitely try to get to the Don - I have heard nothing but great things about the trails. It just seems so backwards for me to drive from the suburbs into the city to mountain bike!!
@@sluggomtb7414 You'll forget pretty quickly that you're in the city. But then you'll also get reminded at random times, like riding over a shopping cart.
I promise it's worth the drive, but to be honest you might need to go twice. Once to get a feel for it, and the second time to properly start enjoying it.
It'd be fair to call it a 'love or hate' trail system. It's definitely very sketchy in points with some super narrow bench cut and otherwise janky features, and there are some crazy steep & tight switchbacks. But it's one-of-a-kind, and a must-try experience IMO.
If you're looking for a route recomendation let me know. I'd love to see a review of if/where you would've slotted it into this list once you've ridden it
@@camster895 Based on all the positive comments and recommendations regarding the Don I am definitely going to try get there to try the trails out - it may not be until next season but you and others have me convinced to give it a try!!
I really hope they continue to add to the bike park section. I love what they’ve done with it.
Based on the Hydrocut's Instagram posts they look to be adding more trails / features - I am looking forward to see what they add too!
Thanks for the series!! Enjoyed it!
Glad you enjoyed the series - if you have any suggestions on what to do next let me know!
Seems everyone wants you to ride the Don!@@sluggomtb7414
@@stephenpoirier5829 I am definitely going to have to make a trip to the Don next summer!!
Alright, so, HC made it as the #1 spot, which i figured it would.
Really appreciate the work that went in to the Countdown, thank you for the share.
Was there on Labour Day as well, we were at the Snyder Entrance in the morning. Was busy, but didn't impact the ride in terms of trail traffic.
HAFTA would only score well for tech and winter, I agree. Not much else there to maintain interest/excitement.
Another mention for HC (and maybe a future higher score), is that there are two new sections of trail at each side being planned out. Hopefully to be completed for next season.
Major kudos to the HC builders, who continue to maintain HC as a top spot to ride in So. ON!!
Thanks! Yes the fact that HC continues to progress in terms of trails and features is another reason for it rightfully being the #1 location.
Thanks for the great list, I guess I have to get out and explore more than just durham forest.
You are pretty lucky if Durham is your local trail system but yes there's a lot more really good trail systems out there!
As another comment mentioned, I was wondering whether the Don Valley or Hydrocut would be in the top spot. Makes sense that you've never ridden the Don. Hydrocut is a couple hours drive from me but it's always worth the drive every time I go. Don is in my backyard so maybe I'm a bit biased towards it.
Thanks for this series - I now have a list of new trails to go and check out this fall/next season.
Glad you enjoyed the list! One thing I love about mountain biking is riding new trails and I do hope my list gets people exploring more around southern Ontario. Cheers!
As somebody who has done both(couple of times) Hydrocut is more than worth it. I do it at least once a year and I live at 401/404. I would put Don on the top just because is close to home but Hydrocut has the flow and the features. Check my videos on both trail systems.
@@Outdoor_Wanderer I am going to try to ride the Don next year - hopefully I can make it work!
Thanks for this series, a great resource for South Ontario bike niggas. Gonna ride this one for Sure
Thanks - it's definitely a must ride location for southern Ontario!
Cool features. You didn’t include HAFTA in your top 15!! Aggh!
Are you going to do a new list for winter fat biking?
HAFTA was in the top 20 and scored really well in technical and features, but not so great in the other 3 categories which kept it out of the top 15. Still considering whether to do a winter countdown but if I do I am pretty sure HAFTA would be high on that list!
@@sluggomtb7414 Yes it’s great for technical but not good for flow or hills. Great for winter biking. Thanks for putting the list together. Happy trails!
Looks Fun!!
The best part is that they keep adding more to increase the fun factor!! A few new trails in the works for 2024!
How doest the pines at woodstock not even make the cut? That is by far the top spot for MTB in Southern Ontario.
I have only been to the Pines once but from what I saw it was a decent trail network but I would have to differ with you on it being "by far" the top spot in Southern Ontario! It had some pretty significant gap jumps and I like the hub and spoke model of the trail system but the Pines just did not "wow" me. In 2021 when I rode 50 different locations in Southern Ontario and rated them (which is where my countdown came from) the Pines was middle of the countdown - tied for 25th. Maybe I will go back for a second opinion!
Sorry, I am curious, what camera are you using? Is the video shot in a lower resolution and upscaled to 4k? The stabilization is good but the image looks blurry?
I am using a GoPro Hero 11 with Max Lens Mod and horizon lock on. I find the Max Lens really helps with stabilization, but you have a good eye because with the Hero 11 it only films in 2.7k and I upscale to 4k for posting. Hero 12 with Max Lens does film in 4k so I might upgrade to that eventually.
Have been enjoying your videos but have not been able to see what bike your riding . Do you guys ride hardtail or full suspension bikes on these trails? I am planning to update my Norco and only have hardtail experience.
In most of these videos I am riding my Transition Spur - a 120mm front / 120mm rear full suspension bike. I find that bike perfect for most southern Ontario mtb trails. I do have a hardtail as well but do not ride it as much (getting too old for it!) and also have a longer travel full suspension bike (160 front, 150 rear) for more technical / downhill / park style riding. But that bike is too much for a lot of the trails around here!
Nice. Probably the number 1 choice for most riders, I imagine.
I've watched quite a few videos before, including yours, but this one really showed the trails off well.
I definitely plan to go before the season end. That Captain Crunch trail looks fantastic, albeit out of my comfort zone.
Thank you very, VERY much for all the time and effort you've put in to this series.
Where next? Northern Ontario, Quebec, Scotland? 😆.
Enjoy your rides. 👊
EDIT: i forgot to ask if there's any significance to the colored edges of the wall ride. I've seen it in other videos as well.
Thanks and hopefully you do get to HC before the end of the year - well worth it! Not sure what is next other than the relief that my riding is no longer chained to my countdown - I can go wherever I want whenever I want!! But I will keep the videos coming. Not sure what the significance is of the rainbow edge of the wall ride is - haven't heard any reason behind that.
Captain Crunch cereal has a lot of colors, which I believe is the connection.
@@sluggomtb7414hello again.
Where can we see your list with all the attribute scores.
I'm trying to think of which one scored the highest for flow and another for tech.
Thanks.
@@Ryland_28 I have not published my list yet but thanks for reminding me it is something I should do. For Flow, 1st is Guelph Lake, second is a tie between Hydrocut, Mono Cliffs, Dagmar, SCMB Oro and SCMB Hickling. For tech, Porcupine Ridge was 1st (but those trails are now closed permanently) and second was a tie between HAFTA and Bracebridge Resource Management Centre. Hope this helps!
@@sluggomtb7414 thank you very much.
I hear bees 😇
Ah the sweet sound of I9 hydra hubs.....
Hydrocut is great as a bike park style trail system, but it lacks adventure. I can't ride it more than twice a year because it gets boring once you've hit everything. In my opinion HAFTA, Porcupine Ridge, BMRC, and Laurentian Ski Hill offer way more unique riding that keeps you mentally, and physically engaged.
I have not ridden Laurentian Ski Hill but love each of your other suggestions (HAFTA, Porcupine and BRMC). Each of those are great, slow tech options with constant challenges - but probably not for everyone! It's a shame Porcupine is shutting down this year .
Have you gone back for CP RAIL?
Unfortunately not yet! Still have not made it back to Hydrocut this season - I am looking forward to trying out the new trails!
@@sluggomtb7414 CP Rail is a must for when you go next
Hydrocut is totally #1, but no honourable mention for the Don in Toronto? 😢
Back in 2021 I rode 50 different trail location in Southern Ontario (hitting 50 locations was my goal for 2021) and this countdown was the product of those rides (I planned to do the countdown in 2022 but life got in the way). Unfortunately the Don was not a location I went to and still a location I have never been to - living outside of the city it seems strange to drive into Toronto to go mountain biking! But what I have seen on videos the trails look pretty good - maybe one day I will get there. So it was not an intentional omission for sure!!
@@sluggomtb7414 The Don has lots of technical uphill switchbacks, off-camber above exposure, drops, jumps, gap jumps, natural wall features, some wicked berms, etc.... Make sure to go with someone who's familiar with trail system. Nothing is marked. Hydrocut is fun but not challenging. Good job on the video series.
@@bulletlandry Thanks and I do hope one day to ride the Don - what I have seen looks pretty damn good and who knows where it would have placed if it was in my 50 locations ridden!
@@sluggomtb7414 The Don is definitely better than hydrocut for everything BulltLandry said and more.
Yeah cause everything in Toronto is Better 🙄
(According to anyone who lives there)
How long is the trail?
There’s over 30km of single track trails at hydrocut. And they are adding more!!
@@sluggomtb7414
Wow, that's great.
I guess it's probably worth the drive from Hamilton.
Are the bugs/mosquitoes very bad on the trails?
@@dougmaverick3287 I would say definitely!