First ride at Llandegla

Si78

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Si78 wrote:

GTi-R23 wrote:

Nice one Si, sounds like you did well for your first time up there, you'll soon get used to bouncing about on a HT, much more fun than FS.

Was it the rocky climb at the end of the black that you had to walk? It is tricky up that in the wet.

Cheers,
hmmm, can't remember! It was a steep climb that then turned left. As I was turning left wheels slipped and front end lifted. Couldnt start and get clipped in, so had to walk up the rest of it.

I know exactly which one you mean, it's pretty loose stones, and is seriously steep.
It's kinda hard to explain where it is, but I'll try.
where the black first properly splits off from the red, you should take the red route, which goes over a nice singletrack section after a while, after the singletrack, it crosses a fire-road and goes up a steep loose climb - I think that's the climb Si78 is talking about.
That one is a toughy, and if you lose traction, is a bugger to get going again.

I think you are right. Was deffo after crossing a fire road. I was concentrating so much on what I was doing, that I didnt really observe where I was.

Anonymous

It's good going to complete most of it on your first go, but just don't get hung up on the whole "I need suspension" thing, or it will detract from your riding. Every time something goes awry, you'll keep thinking "If only I had 5" travel at the back end" rather than thinking how best to ride that section.

Si78

yeehaamcgee wrote:

It's good going to complete most of it on your first go, but just don't get hung up on the whole "I need suspension" thing, or it will detract from your riding. Every time something goes awry, you'll keep thinking "If only I had 5" travel at the back end" rather than thinking how best to ride that section.

Yes, I agree. My skills will improve more riding my hardtail. And on most of the climbs my bike was like a mountain goat.

Can't afford a full susser anyway lol

On the plus side, my Boardman Sport coped really well. I was the weak link

I guess that learning the route will make things easier too, as obviously I didnt know what was lurking around the next corner lol

Anonymous

nah, I'm not saying you will learn more by riding a hardtail, what I mean is that if you constantly crave a full suss, then you won't enjoy your current bike as much.
your bike is great, enjoy it

tlw1

you did well for your first time

Don't worry about some of the posts, I think they were helping rather than taking the p1ss.

Yes you can do it on a rigid singlespeed, it just makes it a different type of fun - as its all about being smooth whereas when I am on the orange I just act like a yob trying to jump everything.

John Moore

yeehaamcgee wrote:

John Moore wrote:

You don't tend to ride a geared bike uphill at the same speed as a SS (unless your racing) as there is normally no need to ride in such a high gear (32-16)

well there's no need to ride a singlespeed.
But what I'm still saying is that if you can ride up a hill in 32-16, then you CAN DO THAT REGARDLESS of whether the bike is a singlespeed or not.
If you CAN get up a hill in that gearing, but don't, then you're just being lazy, or taking it easy. To claim that your SS is faster is just crap.

My SS bike is the same as the geared one (I change over to gears for the summer)

And personally I am faster on it as a SS around Llandegla as I change down to much when the gears are on, but I know what you mean.

When I get an hour spare and I'm working in the area I'll really go for it around around the black and prove you right that I can be as fast on my bike in a geared set up. OK with you?

As for the steeep section I away try and stay to the left of the track, once you drop in the righthand gully it takes extra effort to get over the crest.

tlw1

John Moore wrote:

yeehaamcgee wrote:

John Moore wrote:

You don't tend to ride a geared bike uphill at the same speed as a SS (unless your racing) as there is normally no need to ride in such a high gear (32-16)

well there's no need to ride a singlespeed.
But what I'm still saying is that if you can ride up a hill in 32-16, then you CAN DO THAT REGARDLESS of whether the bike is a singlespeed or not.
If you CAN get up a hill in that gearing, but don't, then you're just being lazy, or taking it easy. To claim that your SS is faster is just crap.

My SS bike is the same as the geared one (I change over to gears for the summer)

And personally I am faster on it as a SS around Llandegla as I change down to much when the gears are on, but I know what you mean.

When I get an hour spare and I'm working in the area I'll really go for it around around the black and prove you right that I can be as fast on my bike in a geared set up. OK with you?

As for the steeep section I away try and stay to the left of the track, once you drop in the righthand gully it takes extra effort to get over the crest.

Agree with the ss comment - you have no choice but push

johnnyboy29

Well done matey glad you enjoyed it as much as me .
At least your bike had decent stopping power and didn't weigh the same as a small car :shock:.
There were time on mine where i didn't think i was gunna stop :shock:
When you next go out on yopur bike you will already of gained loads more confidence after just one ride.
Was on your stomping ground on Thurs (delamere) saw the jumps and that but didn't have the arse to go on them.
I'm on the brink of choosing a ht or a full suss still dunno which like but thats another story.
laters 8)

Si78

johnnyboy29 wrote:

Well done matey glad you enjoyed it as much as me .
At least your bike had decent stopping power and didn't weigh the same as a small car :shock:.
There were time on mine where i didn't think i was gunna stop :shock:
When you next go out on yopur bike you will already of gained loads more confidence after just one ride.
Was on your stomping ground on Thurs (delamere) saw the jumps and that but didn't have the ars* to go on them.
I'm on the brink of choosing a ht or a full suss still dunno which like but thats another story.
laters 8)

Cheers John

Yeah my bike is nice and light. Don't have much confidence in the brakes tho lol

Did you manage everything on your first go there?

I must admit I feel like a bit of a fanny tbh :oops:

Delamere is ok isn't it! Nice and easy lol Good for exercise tho.

I'm gonna have a look at the skills section next time i'm there. Everytime I go I forget and just ride past it, and always say I will have a look next time lol.

johnnyboy29

My hill riding technique leaves a lot to be desired and i bottled it on the last boardwalk section on the red run.
To be honest my bike shouldn't be anyhwere near anything other than flat ground but its a starting point and i'm getting something better soon.
I went over every jump, didn't leave the ground though !!
So what did you bottle?

Si78

johnnyboy29 wrote:

My hill riding technique leaves a lot to be desired and i bottled it on the last boardwalk section on the red run.
To be honest my bike shouldn't be anyhwere near anything other than flat ground but its a starting point and i'm getting something better soon.
I went over every jump, didn't leave the ground though !!
So what did you bottle?

Yeah I bottled the long boardwalk.
I knew I would, it was the bit I was dreading :shock:

I got onto it, went over the first few logs. Due to wearing spd's, and worrying I wouldn't be able to unclip in time if I lost balance, I pooped it lol.

To be honest, I had been dreading riding the boardwalk for weeks, so I think I gave myself a 'mental block'.

My migraine medication affects my balance a bit too, so was always worried about riding over a narrow, raised boardwalk anyway.

I will deffo try it next time tho.

Sick of being a pussy :oops:

John Moore

Si78 wrote:

Delamere is ok isn't it! Nice and easy lol Good for exercise tho.

There's much more to Delemere if you know where to look, I don't but one or two of our club memebrs know the hidden stuff like the back of their hands making it a great place for riding and only using the fire roads to link the good stuff together.

Si78

John Moore wrote:

Si78 wrote:

Delamere is ok isn't it! Nice and easy lol Good for exercise tho.

There's much more to Delemere if you know where to look, I don't but one or two of our club memebrs know the hidden stuff like the back of their hands making it a great place for riding and only using the fire roads to link the good stuff together.

Cool. I've been off the designated trails a couple of times and done the odd little bit in the forest. I was trying to get in some wet-root, and slippy up-hill / down-hill practice.
I'm sure a fantastic route could be invented. Like you say, you have to know where to look. I might do a bit of exploring next time i'm there.

realnumber 1

lesz42 wrote:

another thing that gets me, some peeps that say they can get around degla, not touching the brakes, yeah right :roll:

If they can do that then they clearly not going fast enough tbh. I also can't see being on a SS been quicker either.

I went for the first time the other month. I thought it was okay but a little over rated. It's that first long boring section that lets it down the most.
It took me about1h 30min to get round doing the black and the jumps bit etc. Don't know if that's any good though.

John Moore

Si78 - If you want to keep up with your mates try clipless pedals as the ones on your picture looks like flats

Si78

John Moore wrote:

Si78 - If you want to keep up with your mates try clipless pedals as the ones on your picture looks like flats

Yeah picture was taken the first day I got the bike.

Have Shimano M520's on now.

I will keep up with them next time
It's my mission...

John Moore

Ride the red followed by the blue on your own a couple of times the week before you go with your mates, to ensure your ready for them . Just don't tell them

cambo

Si78 wrote:

cambo wrote:

I can't believe you have 809 posts, live in Chester and haven't been to LDG before!!!

Welcome to the club. Don't get a FS, I've ridden all dayers on my HT, its a proper bike, manly n'all that

(not trying to start a HT v FS fight!!!)

809 posts cos I like talking $hit.

Gonna start slowing down now post-wise cos I just can't be arsed.

Dude, i wasn't having a pop at you, just suprised really! Keep posting... Also, the climb you are on about is called the double steep climb. It took me about 10 attempts to do it without stopping, even now its not guaranteed i'll get to the top :evil:

SDK2007

Si78 - did you ride with someone with an Enduro SL called Chris ?

Si78

John Moore wrote:

Ride the red followed by the blue on your own a couple of times the week before you go with your mates, to ensure your ready for them . Just don't tell them

Sounds like a plan 8)

Si78

cambo wrote:

Si78 wrote:

cambo wrote:

I can't believe you have 809 posts, live in Chester and haven't been to LDG before!!!

Welcome to the club. Don't get a FS, I've ridden all dayers on my HT, its a proper bike, manly n'all that

(not trying to start a HT v FS fight!!!)

809 posts cos I like talking $hit.

Gonna start slowing down now post-wise cos I just can't be arsed.

Dude, i wasn't having a pop at you, just suprised really! Keep posting... Also, the climb you are on about is called the double steep climb. It took me about 10 attempts to do it without stopping, even now its not guaranteed i'll get to the top :evil:

I know you weren't having a pop

I just wish I hadn't told the truth about me struggling lol

And even on my best day, I doubt I would make it up that bloody hill :roll:

Si78

SDK2007 wrote:

Si78 - did you ride with someone with an Enduro SL called Chris ?

No mate, my mate on the enduro is called Shaun. Ex parachute regiment, so incredibly brave.
The mate on the meta, brian, is very fit.

Both do lots of biking.

So I had no chance lol

sparrowlegs78

Double steep is impossible!!!!! Chuck Norris is the only one to ever have climbed it !
Caz xxx

Si78

sparrowlegs78 wrote:

Double steep is impossible!!!!! Chuck Norris is the only one to ever have climbed it !
Caz xxx

Nah, he just flattened it with his mighty fists... erm...Then re-built it using his mighty muscles.

John Moore

Why is it called the double steep?

There's a double step hard steep climb on the red.

The steep climb on the black is just before it rejoins the red, is this one called double steep?

sparrowlegs78

I'm on about the one on the red, i know it as Double Steep
Caz xxx

Anonymous

Yeah, the bloody hard climb on the red is called the "double steep climb".
It's named as such on The Trail Map

Si78

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Yeah, the bloody hard climb on the red is called the "double steep climb".
It's named as such on The Trail Map

I'm sure thats the one! Like I said tho, I was concentrating more on what I was doing than where I was lol :roll:

Will actually think about where I am next time

I'm wondering if lowering my tyre pressures a bit might help with the grip problems and ride comfort too? :?:

I was running at 40psi. Minimum for the Maxxis Dy-no-mites is 35psi.

Should I drop them? is there a really good grippy tyre I could get?

Anonymous

I've been using a Maxxis high-roller super tacky, and the grip is immense.
However, it does stick to the ground like a limpet, making it really heavy to pedal.
30-35 PSI should be fine.

Si78

yeehaamcgee wrote:

I've been using a Maxxis high-roller super tacky, and the grip is immense.
However, it does stick to the ground like a limpet, making it really heavy to pedal.
30-35 PSI should be fine.

Wow, are they really that grippy? Gotta get me some of those bad boys