I did a separate Trip Report that I thought was wordy enough so thought I'd do this separately. It's just random "note" to consider if you've never been 'd no special order so you can plan ahead or at least do some research...
It took us (6) hours to get to the west side of Phoenix from Oceanside with no traffic anywhere. That was doing 75 in CA and 80 in AZ. Don't get gas in CA as the price drops about 60 cents per gallon the second you cross into AZ...and we filled up in Phoenix later for $1.35!!
Phoenix is HUGE and the riding is very spread out. I'm used to staying in Hurricane or Fruita where I can be to any trail in 15-20 minutes. We stayed on the west side of town near where the Cardinals play and everyplace we rode (see trip report post) was a minimum of 35 minutes assuming there was no traffic. Our 32 miles drive to South Mountain on Friday morning took us almost 75 minutes due to ugly morning traffic on I-10. getting to Hawes and McDowell was 52 miles one way!! WEEKDAY TRAFFIC SUCKS AND AZ DRIVERS ARE THE LEAST COURTEOUS I'VE EXPERIENCED IN TRAFFIC!! To avoid most of this and be as centrally located as possible, I'd start my lodging search in Scottsdale (yeah, it's pricey) and move N/E from there to be close to "most" of the trail systems.
We had to pay, $8 per car at McDowell and $3 per rider at Cave Creek to ride the trails we chose to ride. Not atrocious but a bummer if you didn't have money in your pack.
Hiking is a BIG deal in Phoenix. They were everywhere, far outnumber the riders and they start early to beat the heat. We didn't have any negative encounters though but be aware because they take up all the parking too.
Expect to ride rockier, sandier trails that are much less crowded and mostly have endless options if you're willing to explore. Signage is better than average but Trailforks and MTB Project are still lifesavers!!
All the bike shops we went to were small, small, small and had very limited selection of parts should you need much more than tubes or items like that so don't forget anything at home.
One huge plus if you're the type that likes to go out is there is tons of great restaurant options, entertainment districts and sporting activities (we went to Padres Spring Training and then over to where the Phoenix Coyotes play). We ate well, drank well and had a great time in the area.