No but I’d like to but not this year because I don’t have rad enough skillz or a big enough bike. Thank you for listening.

Not done uplift in this country but keep meaning to. Have in the Alps though.

yes lots

Innerleithen
Fort William
Glencoe
Dunkeld
Morzine/Les Gets/Pre-la-joux

Yup 🙂

but not this year because I don’t have rad enough skillz

I’ve never let that stop me.

Give it a go, just let the guys who know what they’re doing go down first.

You’ll probably find you’re not the slowest anyway.

I’ve done 1 at Cwmcarn. I am slow and was on a hardtail as were my mates, we were not the slowest down either.

just a few, some with questionable legality

Yup, Innerleithen, Fort William and Superbagneres in France.

I’m not a downhiller, I’m just lazy 😉 But even at a slower speed these trails are fantastic. Innerleithen in particular is just normal UK trails turned up til the knob falls off, a real treat, shame more regular riders think they’re not capable of riding it really. You need to be decent but you don’t need to be awesome or anything.

Fort William has its red route which I love, the world cup route is pretty tough physically as well as skills wise and I think just wouldn’t be fun for a lot of people though I enjoyed it.

Give it a go, just let the guys who know what they’re doing go down first.

I’ve just realised the significance of this! If you all go up in a van/trailer then you can go last and have zero fear of anyone ‘lapping’ you. Presumably all the ski lift uplifts in the UK are on Ben Nevis or the Cairngorms, so they’d be the ones to avoid as a complete n00b.

This was originally a response to the home page poll which didn’t include a suitable pigeon hole for me… Yes, I’m bored.

because I don’t have rad enough skillz or a big enough bike.

Done it in the Alps with an injury and a hardtail with a 1500g wheel set. MTFU and do it, you will love it.

yep hundreds 🙂

Yup DH an Inners 🙂

MTFU and do it, you will love it.

Broken ankle to fix first! But all this gauntlet throwing down is getting me fired up…

chiefgrooveguru – Member

“Presumably all the ski lift uplifts in the UK are on Ben Nevis or the Cairngorms, so they’d be the ones to avoid as a complete n00b.”

Nevis usually has pretty few people on it anyway so you just don’t need to worry about it in my experience… Waiting til last doesn’t quite work at innerleithen because there’s a pushup from the bus, so you get all spread out anyway, then people stop to do bits again or to stand looking at the big drops pretending they’re about to do them, or come across from one trail onto another on the shortcuts/secrets, and so on… But I’m not fast and it was never a problem, I think once some guys caught me so I just moved over for a second. No worse than any other trail centre for traffic really, I think there’s about 70 people on the bus, going down 4 official and any number of unofficial trails.

Yes, once at FOD and loved it. Still need to get back there.

No but I’d like to but not this year because I don’t have rad enough skillz or a big enough bike.

You don’t need to be good at dh, or need a big bike to have a good time on an uplift. I’m not amazing at riding and did a full days uplift (about 16-17 runs I think?) on my Trailstar hardtail with 140mm forks. That day was probably the highlight of last years riding 😀

cwmdown lots good allweather fun, could do with another trail
moelfre once camped in a sheep crap covered field was freezing, good course but muddy
caersws twice i like its fun 3 or 4 good runs too
nant gwetherin (sp?) done it once stunning location and scenery and a steep and gnarly course

also done alps stuuf mixed xc/uplift riding 3 megas and an uplift day in spain too

despite all that im still slow!

How different is your common or garden uplift trail compared to say the last bit the Innerleithen Red.

Watching DVDs and Eurosport kinda makes you think its just something way out of reach for a ‘normo’ mtber to do. Do you have to jump fireroads from boardwalk and wear those colourful pyjamas?

One thing I’ve noticed when doing longer tougher runs (not proper DH) is that my leading leg gets tired first. Does anyone switch front foot (other than for corners) to help mitigate this?

If you’re any where near the middle of the country get on to the Pearce Cycles uplifts at bringewood, hopton and bucknell. By far the best uplift service I have used without question. Dave and Lindsey Pearce are two of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

The amount they have done for downhill in the midlands is amazing.

Give it a go, just let the guys who know what they’re doing go down first.

And (in my experience) they will all be stopped just round the first corner and jump on your wheel just after you go past 🙄 . In which case I usually decide its their own fault they’re behind someone slow and they can either stop again and give me a gap or wait for me to stop when I’m ready.

As chakaping says – Rad skilz aren’t required, as lunge says – no special bike is needed. The only thing that might be required is a full-face helmet (especially if its uplift organised by race series as it can be an insurance requirement), so check with the uplift first.

Fantastic fun and highly recommended.

rad skills definately not required some bits can be intimidating but every trail ive been on is ‘rollable’

full face and body armour are good confidence boosters as well as saving your bacon if you crash

The prospect of mixing/mincing it with burly downhillers scares me. They look like robocop and smell funny.

The only thing that might be required is a full-face helmet (especially if its uplift organised by race series as it can be an insurance requirement), so check with the uplift first.

I’m pleasantly surprised how cheap these can be. Better not mention this to the wife as she’ll think I’m planning a new way of breaking more bones and causing her hassle…

The prospect of mixing/mincing it with burly downhillers scares me. They look like robocop and smell funny.

haha ‘burly’, all 9.5st of me 🙂 actually, i look more like a zebra….but yes I probably do smell funny

The prospect of mixing/mincing it with downhillers scares me.

Most are very friendly. Just chat to anyone hanging about that you might hold up. Most folk won’t mind you saying “i’m not that quick, can you give me a gap, or do you want to go first?”

Big enough bike? You’re not racing, just riding. Your bike will be fine, just might be slower. And that’s really not an issue.

I’m pleasantly surprised how cheap these can be.

have a look at Bell for cheap helmets, best quality for the money imo (by miles)

Better not mention this to the wife as she’ll think I’m planning a new way of breaking more bones and causing her hassle…

You mean a new way of making sure you’re nice and safe.

😉

Yes, loads. If you are worried do it in summer when there is more grip. Somewhere like cwmcarn is very user friendly and no harder/rougher than a ‘black’ xc route. Unlike a DH race venue uplift the riders tend to be much more chilled as they aren’t practising for an upcoming race.

However use a full facer, you will be surprised how tired you will get doing more descending than you usually do and mistakes while tired can happen at higher speed than you are used to. Do not underestimate how much harder work it is than any xc ride can ever be.

At the end of the day everyone is just there to have fun. Sometimes the uolift before a race might have a few people taking it more seriously and looking for lines etc.

LIke it’s said above, get a full facer and give it a go. You dont need a 5K DH rig to have fun, seen plenty of people on HT’s at the pearce and Moelfre uplifts.

You’ll be amazed in a day how much faster you will get down the track purely through the number of runs you will get in and the fact you don’t have to get yourself back to the top!

You’ll be amazed in a day how much faster you will get down the track purely through the number of runs you will get in and the fact you don’t have to get yourself back to the top!

I bet! Last summer I decided to stop hurrying uphill so I could save more energy for the downhill bits, far more satisfying, and I could get away with leaving the saddle all the way down until my ride home.

JonBurns – Member

“How different is your common or garden uplift trail compared to say the last bit the Innerleithen Red.”

Not really such a thing as a typical uplift trail tbh. Ironically apart from Make or Brake at Innerleithen all the dh trails there are completely unlike Caddon Bank (the last bit of the XC is part of the Make or Brake DH trail). If you’ve done Broon Troot at Glentress (1) then that’s a good starting point for Innerleithen’s Gold and Cresta Runs I think. Gold is steep as all hell down low. They’re all “built” but have a more natural feel than your average trail centre trail.

(1) If you haven’t, then I’m afraid to say this trail does not exist. Forget… Forget… Forget…

What about brakes? According to the physics of it the power dissipation required by the brakes is proportional to the total height loss minus the losses enroute (the faster you go the greater the wind and rolling resistance losses) divided by the time you take to get to the bottom. Would my 160mm rotors toast the pads and boil the brake fluid?

Where do you live?

The uplift at Forest of Dean would be an excellent start. The tracks are all pretty shallow gradients and really good fun.

Short too, so you’re less likely to get tired and make mistakes.

I’m in Brighton but have a MTBing comrade in Bristol that is up for outings in the approximate vicinity – we did Cwmcarn Twrch last time I saw him.

must’ve been doing uplift days both legal and cheeky for a good 15 or so years now..

uplift afternoons are far more civilized 😉

Just make sure the brakes are in good condition and have been bleed recently if they are well used DOT fluid system. You are likely to need to pull over a couple times on the descent for a rest so the brakes shouldn’t overheat on a UK dh track, especially somewhere like cwmcarn as the track is designed to hold speed and doesn’t require half as much braking as most. Much better to fit some dual ply dh tyres to protect your wheels and avoid punctures. Location wise sounds like Cwmcarn is ideal. There is also UK bike park in Dorset but beware that venue is chalk based so really bad idea to ride in the wet as your first venture in DH. Chalk is like ice when wet.

What about brakes? According to the physics of it the power dissipation required by the brakes is proportional to the total height loss minus the losses enroute (the faster you go the greater the wind and rolling resistance losses) divided by the time you take to get to the bottom. Would my 160mm rotors toast the pads and boil the brake fluid?

Dunno… it depends on how much and even how you use them.

If you’re already a confident descender then you shouldn’t have a problem. If you drag them all the way down then you might have problems.

One modification to the bike that I think will make more difference than any other would be Big, Fat, Sticky Tyres. Proper full on DH tyres with thick sidewalls that you can run a lowish pressures. Although you won’t die or not have fun if you just run your standard tyres.

If your in brighton its worth a trip all the way along the coast to Gawton north of Plymouth. Built by Rowan Sorrel (as I believe Cwm Carn was) there are three awesome tracks there from really flowy and fun to evil, steep and off camber.

I think its woodland riders that run the uplifts – uplift

UKBP is closed until March I think for a big rebuild. I did 20+ dh races last year and have done 2 uplifts already this year so get to try most.

I’ll echo some of the things said above, Pearce cycles days are the best around and there are lots of tracks to ride at bringewood and hopton, bala and bucknell only have 1 each though. You should get 15 runs at a normal pearce day if you’re keen and can take it. Forest of dean is another good place to start, lots of tracks of differing levels and you get 14 runs in a day. Simon the guy who runs it is really nice too.

I’ve got pretty big tubeless tyres on the bike now, XR4 2.2 front, Purgatory 2.2 back (both a bit bigger than 2.35 High Rollers), run them at ~25/30 psi, a bit lower in the wet. Can’t fit anything bigger through the fork bridge! UK Bike Park could be good, I do go down to Dorset quite often – been thinking of checking out Puddletown Forest for singletrack and stuff.