Last time I was up, I saw 10 cyclists and at least 9 had ice spikes on.

WOULD THE MODS PLEASE FIX THIS GLITCH!!!!!

perhaps the good people of Edinburgh could ride hills untouched by mountain bikers. the cairngorm plateau perhaps?

😆

stevenmenmuir – Member
http://surlybikes.com/bikes/moonlander

You’re so last year Druidh, they should ban anything with less than 4.7″

Do ERC and Edinburgh Uni and the like still take groups out just now?

It`s gonna be lonely up there… 🙂

Just in from a quick ride and even some of the trails I’d expected to be in good form are soggy as anything- though, not because of riders I think. Chocolate Chute looks like it’s had a lot of footfall but barely any tyre marks, frinstance. I was pretty shocked by that one, especially at the top and bottom it’s gone very wide. I didn’t think many people used it.

Didn’t go near any of the delicate trails, though.

Its definitely mountain bikes. I’ve got one and it goes out at 5am when i’m asleep, i’ve noticed its sometimes muddy in the mornings. I followed it one day and it was meeting up with some other mountain bikes and going round skidding everywhere. Last week it stabbed someone in foot locker, and the week before that it got on the train without a ticket. Bikes should be locked up!

I was walking up there a few days ago – Nail Trail is in appalling condition and has been for the past few months. Increased use in all conditions has churned up the surface completely, making it unrideable in places.

I personally do not ride the Pentlands anymore unless they are frozen or bone dry, and I think some restraint needs to be shown by riders as a whole for a while to allow their recovery.

All very well saying its muddy and the trails will get damaged so we wont ride, but how are people, especially non locals meant to know what the conditions are like before they get there? Its not just as easy as saying we should all show constraint… Maybe a website detailing how wet things are and advising?

whatnobeer – you’re right maybe those of us who have had many winters of it have just learnt with experience. How about we have a thread on STW in which we could share our knowledge?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/pentland-hills-thread

It`s a shame that mountain biking has become so popular along with other outdoor pursuits .There are numerous companies making money from organized outdoor adventures maybe there should be a levy on these? which could be spent on maintaining paths

Edric 64 – Member
It`s a shame that mountain biking has become so popular along with other outdoor pursuits .There are numerous companies making money from organized outdoor adventures maybe there should be a levy on these? which could be spent on maintaining paths

I (jokingly) suggested the same on Page 1. There is already a levy. It’s called VAT.

Having only ridden the Pentlands for the last 7 or so years since moving up to Currie I have noticed the deterioration of the more fragile parts of the 4 Res Loop – but in some areas it’s mainly due to the volume of water that has fallen in short a short time which has caused torrents of water to run down the trails – The bottom end of the Nail Trail for instance got so flooded in the summer deluge THIS: [video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A79Qzz1puis[/video] happened. This was the same weather which caused landslides across the country. So it is expected for the trails to be worse just now – but a good dry spell and some common sense from the users would see it recover quicker. Worst part though has to be the south side of Maidens at the junction of the path from Phantoms – people heading up have no option but to walk around but people coming down dont and plough on through.

The Pentlands Website could probably have a “Current Conditions” section added and maintained easily and some cheap laminates on posts at the worst bits and at the Car Parks would help.