Ian Loew

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Pedal Montclair: What do you ride?

Ian: 2022 Santa Cruz Hightower Carbon
2024 Pivot Shuttle SL E-bike

Pedal Montclair: Favorite places to ride? Why?

Ian: Sterling Forest
Within a 1 hour drive of Montclair, the mix of flowing sections and more technical, purpose-built mountain bike trails creates a challenging 2 hour loop. I especially enjoy the granite rollers paired with sharp, jagged rock features since they keep you on your toes and constantly adjusting.

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

Ian: Vancouver, British Columbia

Pedal Montclair: Advice to any newcomers?

Ian: Start your mountain biking experience on easier flow trails like Lewis Morris in Morristown or Allaire State Park.

Pedal Montclair: Who's your favorite rider? 

Ian: Sam Hill, bar none! The man can haul ass on flat pedals with style.

Rob Babboni

Pedal Montclair: What do you ride?

Rob: My daily driver is a 2020 Scott Genius. A Santa Cruz Chameleon for when I want to get back to basics, and a Scott Ransom for big days at Mountain Creek and other scary places where I need a little extra travel to keep me safe.

Pedal Montclair: Favorite places to ride? Why?

Rob: Stephens State Park, where the air is clean, the squirrels are friendly, and the downs are always longer than the ups.

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

Rob: I love riding in the Northeast where we have lots of good dirt, rocks and roots. Keeps things interesting and encourages good bike handling skills. The grippy black dirt and flowing trails of Northern Vermont are a dream. Probably the top two places on my list are Moab for varied terrain and scenery, and anywhere in the Pacific Northwest so I can ride LOAM.   

Pedal Montclair: Advice to any newcomers? 

Rob: Start small, ride at your own pace but keep pushing yourself to progress. I’ll steal the Kingdom Trails philosophy “Ride with Gratitude” which for me means appreciating the green spaces we ride our bikes in, keeping the trails friendly, and doing what you can to give back. Oh, and join a local shop ride. It’s a great way to meet other mountain bikers and connect to a cool community.

Pedal Montclair: Who's your favorite rider? 

Rob: I love watching Amaury Pierron crush a race run. The sheer strength and precision are mind-blowing -  gapping entire sections of trail and putting the wheels right where he wants them. I learned to jump mountain bikes in my late 40s and it still feels terrifying at times, so I enjoy seeing riders who love to be airborne like Paul Couderc and Hugo Frixtalon. Those Commencal edits always make me want to try things that I probably shouldn’t…

Christian Sellars

Pedal Montclair: What do you ride?

Christian: A bright orange, high-pivoting, jockey-wheeled Commencal Supreme SX. It looks like a praying mantis and rides like a Cadillac. It's also very forgiving which is useful when my kids lead me down trails I have no business being on. Most days I ride a Pivot Mach 4SL which is fun, fast and rolls over everything.

Pedal Montclair: Favorite places to ride? Why?

Christian: Mountain Creek Bike Park because it's where my boys are happiest and nothing feels better than seeing my children smile. I also love Kingdom Trails in Vermont which has awesome flow trails and Highland Bike Park in New Hampshire which is a great place to learn new skills. I also enjoy riding local trails in Cedar Grove, Hilltop and Mills as a coach for the Essex Offroad team which is part of the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA). The team is open to middle & high schoolers and practices twice a week from November through June. It is the best thing that my family has done since coming to America five years ago.

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

Christian: Our first MTB trip as a family was to Utah, where we did the White Rim trail over a week which was an incredible experience. I would love to go back. We'd also planned a trip to Madeira that got postponed during COVID, but I'm hoping that will happen soon.

Pedal Montclair: Advice to any newcomers?

Christian: If you're in a family with middle or high school kids, find out more about NICA. It's the best way of getting kids on bikes and the benefits of participating are massive. Biking has been a godsend for our family, giving us something we can do together which is exhilarating, super-healthy and plugs us into wonderful community of friendly and caring people.

Pedal Montclair: Who's your favorite rider?

Christian: Greg Minnaar because he doesn’t stop!

Dan Stein

Pedal Montclair: What do you ride?

Dan: My current ride is a Revel Rascal 29”, not only is it my first full suspension bike I have ever owned, but also ever ridden.

Pedal Montclair: Favorite places to ride? Why?

Dan: Around here I really do like to ride at South Mountain. Mainly because I had ZERO idea trails like this existed so close to where I live, which made the barrier to start riding less intimidating. Couple that with some actually pretty sweet trails that have a good amount of technical climbs and flowy descends, it is actually a good place to ride regardless of convenience. I am just kind of lucky…

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

Dan: Oh yeah this is a dream for me…. MY ultimate trip would have to be to Mammoth Lakes, CA. Last year I traveled out there to embark on the John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest trail located in the Ansel Adams wilderness within the Eastern Sierras. The main goal of the trip was to backpack through many miles of gorgeous alpine terrain while photographing the night sky each night on my trip. When I finished my journey and got back into Mammoth, I just saw mountain bikers, like... everywhere. Even just in town, people grabbing a bite to eat, then getting back on their bike to ride. Turns out Mammoth is a haven for trails, and with all of my emotions running free post-hiking journey, I don’t think I can let this opportunity slip past me. I will be back there not to just to hike again, but to ride my heart out.

Pedal Montclair: Advice to any newcomers?

Dan: I think my best advice to newcomers doesn’t really just apply to mtb. It’s more of a connection to one of the reasons we all ride, and that is to be out having a good time in nature. No matter if you are hiking, climbing, canoeing, or whatever. If there is an activity out in nature we are doing, we are there to experience it all differently, all the while appreciating the surroundings of which make that activity possible—Earth. So, respect that. Leave it better than you find it. If you find a piece of trash on the trail that isn’t yours, take it. Do what you can so the next rider can enjoy their own journey.

Pedal Montclair: Who's your favorite rider?

Dan: For my favorite rider, I’ll answer this one in two parts. One is someone who I know personally and the other more of a well known person in the entire mtb community. I’ll start with the latter; Seth from Berm Peak. This dude just seems like an insanely wholesome individual that wants to get as many people riding and enjoying their time on a bike as possible. He also is incredibly knowledgeable with his videos being helpful for me, and overall is a pretty solid rider. The next dude hits home for me. It has to be the locally famous Ryan M. He saw my new hard tail the day I got it when I picked up some odds and ends at a plumbing supply and it totally shook him that I rode. I have him to thank for showing me local trails and getting me more into this community. The result of riding with “Ry Guy” led to me being more appreciative NJ wilderness, instead of consistently thinking I need to travel far to seek the solitude I can really find here in my backyard.

Ry Guy

Pedal Montclair: What do you ride?

Ryan: Pivot Switchblade (primary)... and RSD Mayor fat bike (lunchtime work rides/bad weather)... Haro hardtail for Daddy daycare rides... 

Pedal Montclair: Favorite places to ride? Why?

Ryan: SOMO because of the convenience... but Sedona AZ is the coolest place!

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

Ryan: Bucket list include Pisgah, Bentonville, Moab, anywhere else I should know about?  LMK?

Pedal Montclair: Advice to any newcomers?

Ryan: "It's almost all downhill from here"! HaHa

Pedal Montclair: Who's your favorite rider?

Ryan: I'm definitely a product of the "Lance effect" and was hooked on road biking in the mid-2000's... I took a 7 year hiatus from the sport only to come back hooked on MTB... but overall, Lance Armstrong is the man and I'm a huge fan...  

Stephane Mortier

Pedal Montclair: What do you ride?

Stephane: As I started riding, it was whatever I could throw my leg over but preferably a 29 full sus. Recently, Lou introduced me to a ride that matches my style and our local trails: Revel Rascal. It has “only” 130 mm of travel in the rear and 140mm up front, but it takes all the drops, rock gardens and obstacles our local trails can throw at me, and sticks to the ground like a Velcro!

Pedal Montclair: Favorite places to ride? Why?

Stephane: -1- MilltopERs and the Land of Wotopia for sure (Mills, Hilltop, Eagle Rock, Wotopia, and Cedar Grove in between) Because it is there and I have tools stashed here and there, to better the trails, fix them and add features -2- Blue Mountain in New York - For the huge rock rollers sprinkled around excellent MTB trails.

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

Stephane: Around the world! The ultimate biking trip never ends… The Great Divide would be a nice appetizer though!

Pedal Montclair: Advice to any newcomers?

Stephane: If you are new to the area, we have great trails and a great biking community. Join us and we’ll show you around (Join fellow local crazies on the Strava club Milltopers) If you are new to MTB, you are just like us… a few years back. We’ll teach you, we’ll wait for you (but only at the end of a good segment!) And soon, you will be teaching us some of your tricks: none of us are perfect riders, we are all in a constant state of progress, with different achievements. You’ll fit right in!

Pedal Montclair: Who's your favorite rider?

Stephane: There are too many to list, and I would forget someone! But here is the profile of my favorite rider: They can be Democrat, or Republican, they can have n+1 bikes or only one, they can be young or OG, they can be fast or slow, male or female or anything in between, AS LONG AS THEY LOVE MOUNTAIN BIKING! And they stop to help even unknown riders by sharing their tools, skills and spares to get them riding again. They are in a perpetual quest to ride better. They motivate other riders to be better. Over 90F, single digits, in the snow or on wet leaves, it’s always the perfect weather to ride. They make the trails better for everyone, by removing branches in the way or twigs that can kill a derailleur. They do trail maintenance when no one is watching, or spend a few of their riding hours having fun in a group moving rocks and dirt in a problem area. They respect other trail users. You have one of those traits? Join us, we’ll help you to develop more, you’ll help us stay humble, and we’ll have great fun together!