Uplift Virgin

DCR00

Evening all

Off to Antur tomorrow morning

Tres excited

Any tips for an uplift virgin ? Intend to start on the Blue, find my flow, then move to the Red and then Black

Even having an early night !

Cheers

DCR

styxd

The fact you're a virgin probably makes no difference as to whether you'll enjoy your day riding tomorrow.

I'm not sure why you need tips for an uplift, its easy. Put bike on a trailer or in a bus, and then get a lift to the top. Copy what everyone else is doing.

As for the trails, assuming you've never ridden a downhill track before, then take it easy. I think your plan sounds good, get confident on the easier runs.

Aslong as you're fairly technically competant, you should be alright. The majority of downhill tracks Ive ridden have been easy enough to ride down, its riding down them fast that can be the hard bit!

Have a good day

DodgeT

Take a big bottle of water to leave at the pick up point, it's thirsty work!
Have fun, was there last sat and the trails were running good. There's nothing to catch you out on the blue, one small drop which looks nastier than it is on the red.
The blacks are a different ball game, there's no shame in walking sections to have a look at them!
What bike you doing it on?

DCR00

on my trusty FSR XC

hence starting on the blue

I've ridden Black many times, but as we all know Black is a relative term depending on the track/trail

Intention is to work up to Black Powder. Think that Y Du may be beyond my skillset just now, but lets see how it goes

DCR00

i fully expect to walk away from this wanting a DH rig (already looking at Stinky frames on eBay)

styxd

Bike looks good, put your seat down though!

DodgeT

Both blacks are not like your trail centre blacks. Take your time and you'll be fine, mate did all 4 tracks on a fuel ex last weekend.
You WILL want a Dh bike after going though

ilovedirt

Considering I'll have posted this after you went, an uplift day is just like regular day of riding but with a lift to the top. The blue there is super easy and flowy. I loved the red trail too, and the black. The double black is very sketchy in the wet. Hope you had a good time, I loved the blue trail, some serious flow going on, particularly with those corners, so well built! Most of the other stuff requires a bit more travel and a bit more balls, but not much! It was fairly easy as far as downhill trails go IME, no trees to dodge A good introduction to the sport though, and no less fun!

Mojo_666

Stiniog is pretty good, the blue is a blue downhill trail, not a blue trail and it shares the bottom section with the red and its good fun. The black runs are pretty gnarly, stinging is also all rock and any fall will be onto hard pack or onto rock! Make sure you have hard shell pads!

DCR00

So im back, earlier than expected.

What ive learned today

1. There is a considerable difference between trail and DH riding. I liken it to when i got my first pair of ice hockey skates. I could skate really well on hire skates, but it was like learning all over again with hockey skates. Felt a bit like that today.

2. That i def want a DH rig. I love my current bike, but i felt i had to hold back somewhat.

3. That even at 37 i make rookie mistakes....

... hence the reason im back early. First run. Blue line (as planned). Pinning it down, took the wrong line down a stepped section and crashed. Quite a big crash. Managed to twist my ankle....

So mad. Managed another 4 runs, but i wasnt confident enough on the bike, and my stability was all off as i couldnt lean back on my feet.

Stupid rookie mistake.

It hasnt put me off, despite some initial sulking.

I thought the track was brilliant. So fast and flowing. Just annoying that this happened on the first run...

I didnt get their names, but thanks to the blokes that stopped and helped me up.

Now where's that ice pack...

DodgeT

Well, you had fun, sounds like didn't take it easy, but you want a Dh bike, 2 out of 3 ain't bad!
Just wait till you get back there and hit some of the other runs

welshkev

cyd190468 wrote:

Uplift? Where I'm from you have to earn the right to go down the hill by riding up it first

it sounds like where you live is cr@p

rockmonkeysc

DH tracks are an awful lot easier on a DH bike. Cwmcarn have some Scott Gambler hire bikes if you want to try a DH bike for a day before splashing a load of cash.
Just stay away from Stinky's. They aren't DH bikes and they aren't very good. If your on a budget a Specialized Big Hit is about the best bike to go for.
It is an expensive and addictive sport which takes time & blood to learn to do well but it will have you grinning like an idiot at the bottom of every run.

welshkev

RockmonkeySC wrote:

DH tracks are an awful lot easier on a DH bike. Cwmcarn have some Scott Gambler hire bikes if you want to try a DH bike for a day before splashing a load of cash.
Just stay away from Stinky's. They aren't DH bikes and they aren't very good. If your on a budget a Specialized Big Hit is about the best bike to go for.
It is an expensive and addictive sport which takes time & blood to learn to do well but it will have you grinning like an idiot at the bottom of every run.

i agree with all of this. ps cycles at cwmcarn have the scotts but are about £100 a day to hire, so not cheap really.

i've just bought a 2010 spesh big hit 2 for £700 off ebay and it's great for what i want it for - use it 3 or 4 times a month for a play. i've done quite a few uplifts at cc at it's great. i've got an uplift booked for FoD at the end of the month

rockmonkeysc

£100 for a day is a bit steep but they are very nice (and very expensive) bikes and it's the best way to see if a proper DH bike is for you.

andyg1966

Am going there in April, have ridden the Alps loads of times around Les Gets and Morzine (up to and including the black runs), am quite concerned that this is going to be quite difficult. Blue / Red look OK, really not sure about the blacks, guess I'll build up to it, but crashing looks painful.

rockmonkeysc

Cwmcarn black trail is pretty easy. It's just long and fast (if you stay off the brakes). All the jumps & drops are optional.

DCR00

RockmonkeySC wrote:

DH tracks are an awful lot easier on a DH bike. Cwmcarn have some Scott Gambler hire bikes if you want to try a DH bike for a day before splashing a load of cash.
Just stay away from Stinky's. They aren't DH bikes and they aren't very good. If your on a budget a Specialized Big Hit is about the best bike to go for.
It is an expensive and addictive sport which takes time & blood to learn to do well but it will have you grinning like an idiot at the bottom of every run.

a good shout

Have read a lot of good reviews on the Stinky, but given my liking of Spesh, the BH and the Status are on the list as well

Yesterday was very much like the first time i rode a trail (Cannock i think), and i must have stacked it half a dozen times. With practice you get better. Just that crashing at that speed can be facking painful.

DCR00

andyg1966 wrote:

Am going there in April, have ridden the Alps loads of times around Les Gets and Morzine (up to and including the black runs), am quite concerned that this is going to be quite difficult. Blue / Red look OK, really not sure about the blacks, guess I'll build up to it, but crashing looks painful.

The Blue wasnt that difficult from a technical perspective. Flatten it out a bit and it would be a Red graded trail, but increase gradient and speed and it becomes far harder. There is a lot of rock though, so crashing hurts.

if you've ridden the Alps, you'll be fine

rockmonkeysc

DCR00 wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

DH tracks are an awful lot easier on a DH bike. Cwmcarn have some Scott Gambler hire bikes if you want to try a DH bike for a day before splashing a load of cash.
Just stay away from Stinky's. They aren't DH bikes and they aren't very good. If your on a budget a Specialized Big Hit is about the best bike to go for.
It is an expensive and addictive sport which takes time & blood to learn to do well but it will have you grinning like an idiot at the bottom of every run.

a good shout

Have read a lot of good reviews on the Stinky, but given my liking of Spesh, the BH and the Status are on the list as well

Yesterday was very much like the first time i rode a trail (Cannock i think), and i must have stacked it half a dozen times. With practice you get better. Just that crashing at that speed can be facking painful.

The Stinky was good 10 years ago when it was a modern design and it was a freeride bike, not a downhill bike. The Big Hit is a much better bike, nice neutral geometry and good suspension.
Some good armour is a good idea for downhill riding.

.blitz

RockmonkeySC wrote:

The Stinky was good 10 years ago when it was a modern design and it was a freeride bike, not a downhill bike.

Up until fairly recently a mate managed quite well on a Stinky for recreational DH. As you say it's not a proppa DH bike but by the same token it didn't require a completely different skill set to get the best out of it like a real DH bike does.

He's since swapped it for an MSC F5 which is a whole new ball game. Apparently it is ultimately faster but is very unflattering and requires commitment to get the best out of it.

Just saying like

rockmonkeysc

The Stinky has quite sharp geometry. It's not the easiest bike to ride.
I wouldn't say that a DH race bike requires different skills. I went from a Giant Reign X to a Nukeproof Scalp and my second time out on it I destroyed my best time on Sheepskull at Forest of Dean by 8.4 seconds and didn't feel like I was on the edge of a big crash.
That MSC F5 has some odd geometry. It' quite short (for the large) with steep head angle, they don't list the BB height but it looks high.

DCR00

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Some good armour is a good idea for downhill riding.

hell yes

I bought a core saver and a FF to go with my current 661 knee pads, but in hindsight, some hardshel knee and shin pads and some armoured shorts would have been good (massive bruise on my upper thigh)

ilovedirt

andyg1966 wrote:

Am going there in April, have ridden the Alps loads of times around Les Gets and Morzine (up to and including the black runs), am quite concerned that this is going to be quite difficult. Blue / Red look OK, really not sure about the blacks, guess I'll build up to it, but crashing looks painful.

The alps are much techier and faster than stiniog, you'll be fine there.