Downieville Tower to Town

[gaba]

Had a great ebike trip with some buddies last week to Downieville, CA. I’ve been going there for years but this was the first time with an ebike. I wasn’t sure if I would like the downhill as much as my Enduro but man was I wrong. That place is made for ebikes. The highlight was the Tower to Town route. We shuttled to the usual downhill drop off then climbed to the tower. The views were spectacular. From there it’s a 8000 vertical ft or almost 2500M descent to the town. We also rode Mt. Hough and Mills Peak which I also recommend highly. Mt. Hough was surprisingly pedally and the ebike allowed you to maintain impressive speeds. I had just installed a 160mm fox 36, 35mm stem, Minion DHF and DHRII 2.6 front and rear with Cushcore, and new Saint brakes. Everything was dialed. Perfect setup.
Downieville Tower to Town | Trailforks

 

[JohnJohn]

Had a great ebike trip with some buddies last week to Downieville, CA. I’ve been going there for years but this was the first time with an ebike. I wasn’t sure if I would like the downhill as much as my Enduro but man was I wrong. That place is made for ebikes. The highlight was the Tower to Town route. We shuttled to the usual downhill drop off then climbed to the tower. The views were spectacular. From there it’s a 8000 vertical ft or almost 2500M descent to the town. We also rode Mt. Hough and Mills Peak which I also recommend highly. Mt. Hough was surprisingly pedally and the ebike allowed you to maintain impressive speeds. I had just installed a 160mm fox 36, 35mm stem, Minion DHF and DHRII 2.6 front and rear with Cushcore, and new Saint brakes. Everything was dialed. Perfect setup.
Downieville Tower to Town | Trailforks

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What a fantastic day that must have been ! How long did the descent take mate ? What kind of speeds did you reach ? Looks great!

 

[jcmonty]

Awesome! I had this trip planned for earlier this month , but my buddy had to bail. Still high on the list and glad that folks are accepting of emtb up there.

do you happen to have the route you took for the mt, hough and mills peak?

 

[gaba]

What a fantastic day that must have been ! How long did the descent take mate ? What kind of speeds did you reach ? Looks great!

Took a bit more than couple hours to descend cause we stopped a lot for pics. You could probably make it in about 90min if you focused. Top speed was probably 35-40mph toward the top and on the faster straight sections. Much of it is pretty technical and rocky through the Butcher Ranch section though.

 

[gaba]

Awesome! I had this trip planned for earlier this month , but my buddy had to bail. Still high on the list and glad that folks are accepting of emtb up there.

do you happen to have the route you took for the mt, hough and mills peak?

Mt. Hough, Quincy on Trailforks

Mt. Hough: We parked in the lot at the bottom. From there it’s a short paved ride to the dirt access road to the top. We just followed the main route which is well marked. There are some other great trails up there on the mountain. The Yuba guys can help you plan a route if you want to explore. Their maps are current.

Yuba Expeditions Bike Shop and Shuttle

 

[gaba]

Mills Peak: Mills Peak Trail Trail at Graeagle
We were camping very close to Mills Peak. We had a buddy drop us part way up Mills Peak road which you can take to the fire tower at the top. You need a solid 4WD if you’re driving. The trailhead is on the far side of the parking area. We had a buddy pick us up at Gold Lake Hwy and 89 when we finished. They recently finished a new section which connects the top trail to the bottom trail. You used to have to drop a fire road for a while. That section is rocky and chunky but fun. The rest is pretty smooth and fast with fun obstacles. You could definitely climb it from the bottom and do an out and back. We had limited time.