Trail Details: 🚴♂ Trail Length: Approximately 8-8.5 miles (As reported on Strava) 🌲 Trail Type: Cross-Country with Intermediate Features Sprinkled Throughout 🚵♀ Difficulty Level: Suitable for Beginner and Intermediate Riders ⚡ Class 1 E-Bikes Allowed 🚫 One Wheels: Not Allowed (Due to being fully motorized) 🔄 Trail Direction: Clockwise for Bikers Location: 📍 Trailhead Address: 750 Monte Rd, Benton Harbor, MI 49022
Rode here with the wife today. My only complaint is that it is not longer. Without a doubt, one of the best trails we have ridden to date. Sick flo out of nowhere. Just good old, smart, trail building . We live in valporaiso and the drive is worth it. Between NWI and SWM , there are some really good trail systems popping up. Plus, having lake Michigan to dip in afterwards is fantastic.
Just found your channel. Great review on this trail system. My son-in-law works for Whirlpool so we rode when it first opened when I got the chance to bring the bikes to the westside. I worked for a trail building company at the time and was busy with the DTE build in Chelsea. Builder did a great job considering the limitations in elevation. Trail boss always said building on flat is harder then on elevation. I have always felt that trail systems like Lakeveiw are very important additions to the mtb communities riding opportunities. It's the gateway drug so to speak. 😂
Nice park! Has some fun features. I wanted to ask, what are your thoughts on the new T9? I am trying to decide if it is worth it for me to spend the extra money or do upgrades like you have instead. I might go to bike parks 2-3 times a year and everything else is pretty much blue to maybe black trails.
Hey there! So, I like the t9 build… I like that there are more build configurations for those who just want to buy the higher quality ready to go out of the box. It’s an $800 difference, but you’re getting a bigger fork - Fox elite 36 vs performance 34. The bigger stanchions will be noticeable at the bike park. I don’t know how hard you ride, but I’ve taken my t8 to a bike park in Michigan and handled blue trails no problem. But I’m not sure how it would hold up to a full day of abuse at like windrock in TN or big DH park in Colorado. I increased my travel on my fork to 150 with a new air shaft and fine tuned it with volume spacers. Love the feel of the fork but the beefier stanchions would be nice on park days. The trp brakes a nice upgrade but the 4 piston tekro are quite capable. Maybe just switch out the pads and throw a 200mm rotor up front to give you more confidence. Traditional blue and black enduro trails or all mountain trails, you should be fully confident with on the t8. I switched my rear cassette out along with the derailleur to the XT replacing the SLX. It was nice, but hard to notice the difference unless you’re an avid rider. I keep the slx crankset. So… to finalize my long explanation, if you have the $800 extra, you would be very happy with the build out - especially when it comes to park days (I would still increase the fork travel to 150 by replacing the Fox air shaft - bike shops can do this no problem if you’re not confident with that type of work). But if that $800 is significant and not in the budget, you would be happy with the T8 for normal riding days but big DH parks might take a little bit to feel confident with. This isn’t a DH bike. But it’s a very capable all mountain bike that I’ve been able to push pretty hard. I hope this helps and didn’t confuse you more. 😂 if you have more questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. I don’t always get notifications on RU-vid replies, so Instagram works good too: @jjorgensen428
