Is there something putting you off?

The type of downhills that I enjoy are best ridden on a bike capable of being ridden up the hill first. I can’t see I’d ever ride down something that needed me to be transported to the top other than by my own efforts.

CBA. Plus it costs money.

been there done that – got bored ….

99-07 downhilling

spent more time sitting in the truck than riding !

I’d wager that 43% of the people on this site would have a stroke at the thought of their mint condition pride and joy being bounced around against a load of other bikes on an uplift trailer. There is a wide range of quality in terms of trailer and the terrain the trailer is, err, trailed over.

Not at all interested in it. Part of the reason I ride is to get away from crowds of punters. Even riding in trail centres you’re on your own for most of the ride. The idea of sitting in a crammed mini bus while people faff about with bikes at bottom/top just sounds like hell on earth to me.

Now assisted uplift in the Alps – that’s a different story! 😆

Uplifts are aimed at DHers, which I am not.

But I would like to have some sessions spending more time going down than up – simply to get the practice in.

I think the answer is self-organised car-shuttling days, but my mates are not interested.

I like both, but you’ll obviously get more decsents in with an uplift.
Saying that I ride to the top alot more often than uplift.

from the loose group of folk i ride with, there are only two of us that have done an uplift day.

i know for a fact that 50% of the rest wouldnt enjoy it, they all love a good ‘XC’ descent, but that is the limit of their balls/skill. Most would say that riding down the same hill all day was as pointless as running a marathon round a 400m track

mtb is as much about getting out there as getting an adrenaline hit.

I am not interested. I don’;t go to trail centres often, I like to do my own thing, the idea of a couple of minutes of DH run separated by waiting around for a bus just bores me.

I like getting out on my bike, away from people, away from stuff, under my own power reliant on myself.

Uplifts are for sanitised riding at a pre-built trail centre to ride a pre-built course. (or so I think)

Not for me, that is all.

edit: I would probably enjoy it however my time is limited and I have a XC bike so it’s down my priority list

i like chairlifts, but the poll was a bit vague so i assumed it meant cramming one’s bike onto a tractor trailer and getting a lift in a creaky old coach, up what is not a particularly big scottish hillock, for lots of money. i have no plans to do that. if, however, i ever had the money for a trip away, i would happily get chairlifts up real mountains.

I like riding bikes offroad, generally in the countryside, under my own steam. I like exercise and earning the downhills; I don’t like sitting in minibuses etc. I don’t particuarly like crowds, or busy trails.

In general most people are scared to try something perceived to be hard. I know plenty of very skilled XC riders, who on difficult descents clearly show good skills required for DH but they point blank refuse to try DH and list out various excuses. Some people can’t handle trying something they might fail at and prefer their comfort bubble.

Regarding fitness, I’m poor at riding uphill but I can out walk (pushing a DH bike up steep terrain) or last longer on dh runs without a break than riders who are many factors fitter than me for xc riding despite being good dh riders themselves. DH require huge strength and upper body fitness.

Not all unliftable dh’s are ‘built trail centre/sanitised e.t.c’ tracks.

maltloaf you speak from experience?

Damn straight. I’ve ridden Cwmcarn all day on my DH bike riding up and then running the DH track, and all day on the uplift just riding the DH down. Far more tired by the end of the latter.

That’s a good one!

I’ve been more bolloxed from a single run down Cwmcarn than I have from doing the entire Skyline. Really, it’s a different kettle of fish. Ones a long steady burn, the other is absolutely everything you’ve got top to bottom.

What’s the point in doing anything, if you’re going to continue to do it badly?

the type of riding I do I do reasonably well, not brilliantly, but enough to get me by. I don’t ‘do’ jumps and choose not to ride trails that include stuff that is jumpy.

What jobs do you people do that means you’re that afraid of injury?

The only time I tried to do jumps I fell off my bike and broke my hip. My daughter was 3 months old and me being off work and unable to help out with our daughter and around the house much for 3 months put a huge strain on my wife.

I have osteopenia (early onset osteporosis), falling off badly again means I’m likely to snap rather than bend (I broke a rib leaning over the side of a chair a few years back).

I ride within my limits on trails I know relatively well. I’m happy to do cross country on stuff that’s unknown but exercise caution.

I don’t want another big break – at 45 I’d have hip replavement if I did that again and I’d rather keep my own joints for now.

As I said, for me the risk/reward ratio of full on DH is too high. I accept for others in different personal situations it isn’t.

All this XC, DH, FR is all bolloks its all riding, on mountains/hills/offroad I presume, so if mr lycra clad on his carbon super light XC bike goes downhill its not actually downhill? Because he is on a XC bike. I only have a “silly heavy bike” now and use it for everything, granted it has adjustable geometry, can adjust rear travel between 7 and 9 inches make the head slack or steepish and Boxxers up front. Fitted a dropper post and Hammerschmidt to make the up bits slightly easier and if it gets too steep get off and push. I get sarky comments from people on trails like that things a bit daft or over the top for these trails, I say #### em I like the look of big bikes and Boxxers and when when things get steep and big I have the tools for the job, and the 20kg doesent bother me I just look at it as extra exercise, 99% of us are not racing against the clock most of the time anyway.