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.
Bike Forum
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"Ever done an uplift day?" poll
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Posted 1 year ago #
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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.
Posted 1 year ago # -
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
Posted 1 year ago # -
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.
Posted 1 year ago # -
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.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Does anyone organise their own shuttling with mates, using public trails?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Innerleithen - excellent but bikes in a lorry can fall over so make sure you don't use your pride and joy, top routes though with numerous options
Cwmcarn - a bit much for me with a damaged rear brake not working and the hangover from hell to look after.
Les Gets / Morzine twice for 1 week each time. OK but a bit samey doing endless Dh runs.
Saint Foy / Les Arcs - 1 week of uplifts took us all over the show, to Tignes, into Italy, around Les arcs and a few days around Saint Foy. The best uplift so far with 17,000 vertical meters descended in the 5 days riding.
Posted 1 year ago # -
eh?
Inners - the whole point is to give your pride n joy an absolute hiding!
Les Gets/Morzine - boring? You do realise for a start that there are 12 runs+ on the Le Pleney alone? Head towards Chatel for totally different riding. Head to Morgins for some of the best trails i've ever seen. Le Croset is different again. Finish off your day with a massive run down Super Morzine. If you find the PDS boring, you're doing something wrong
Posted 1 year ago # -
It's not a very eco way of mounatin biking....but it is ufcking good fun
Yeah biggest scratches on my bike are from the inners uplift. oh wellHas anyone ever used the "Heights of Abraham" chair lift in matlock for DHing? No idea if they'd let you take bikes in the chairlift...but it is literally my nearest cabled uplift.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Innerleithen - excellent but bikes in a lorry can fall over so make sure you don't use your pride and joy,
Oh noes! Scratches in a MTB! Which gets ridden off road and crashed! Honestly.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Did Inners uplift on my Prince Albert and loved it. Did the Alps on the same bike and loved that as well.
Let the big bikes go first and then just rag your bike in an acceptable limit. Some may class it as mincing, but riding is all about having fun, and doing that certainly flicks my switch.
Posted 1 year ago # -
got one booked at cwmcarn for a fortnight today can't wait
Posted 1 year ago # -
Lakes trail uplift
Peaks Trail Uplift
Ft Bill Uplift
Racing Uplift
Alps Uplift
No ............ pedalling!!
Posted 1 year ago # -
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!
Never really done proper uplift but a few years ago in the Alps we did runs of Black8 when we were staying at Les Arcs. The funicular took about 20 mins to get to the top, the trick was to beat it back down, then get on the next one.
First few goes on the descent we were really running it close, 19 mins or so but by the end of the week we'd got it down to under 15 easy, SO much smoother with line choice, knowing where and when to brake/pedal etc.
My bike skills have really deteriorated recently (not that they were much cop to start with...
), I really need a week somewhere almost starting from scratch...
Posted 1 year ago # -
Any thoughts on fitness training to help handle an uplift day? Presumably the physical exertion is the same whether you're on a short-forked hardtail or a big downhill bike, you just go WAY faster on the latter.
Posted 1 year ago # -
stengthen your forearms, in whatever way you prefer
Posted 1 year ago # -
not quite, if i do an uplift on my hardtail i feel way more knackered by the end of it than on the DH bike.
I wouldn't be concerned about fitness, you'll be fairly rinsed after your first one regardless!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Only on the SS.
They pointed and laughed at my lack of gears and bounced and made fun at my xc lid and armourless kit.
Posted 1 year ago # -
done my first at cmn carn last weekend, let the fast boys go first, dont over cook your first run, above all have a great time i did.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Well no one laughed at me - armourless and on my xc bike when I first did Inners (That I know of
)Or when I took my hardtail up (To cheat)They might laugh now that i'm overbiked but I don't care
Seriously though it doesn't matter as long as you have fun - give it a try - some places will do single runs if there's capacity - Inners does
Posted 1 year ago # -
Diane - Member
"Well no one laughed at me - armourless and on my xc bike when I first did Inners"
Nobody even laughed at my mate fully suited and booted on an Orange 224 trundling down the easy lines at walking pace. This might be a completely unfair statement, but it does seem like downhill attracts less total fudds than your average trail centre crowd.
Posted 1 year ago # -
This might be a completely unfair statement, but it does seem like downhill attracts less total fudds than your average trail centre crowd.
I reckon your right, especially at uplifts and races - people are there just to ride, to go fast and have fun. Its not about the standing around comparing you bike to joe bloggs' in the car park or who can get up a hill in the highest gear or who's got the nichest 29er fixie.
Don't get me wrong DH probably has them too, but on uplifts etc its people who have paid to ride and go to ride.
Plus there's a lot less lycra on display.
Posted 1 year ago # -
It's a shame you can't edit thread titles. Anyway, continuing the theme, what one key skill would you recommend a complete DHing newbie (comfy riding normal red XC stuff, takes some chicken runs on black bits) focus on?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Depending where your riding, but just being comfortable riding down the track would be a good start. Most downhill tracks are a fair bit steeper/gnarlier than a trail centre.
Posted 1 year ago # -
just relax the wrists and ankles hang off the back and you can roll down anything (mostly)
Posted 1 year ago # -
Key skill? Riding steep stuff.
Anything else tricky (drops, jumps, corners, roots etc) you can ride round, mince over or stop in front of. If the hill's steep, it's steep! No avoiding it.
Start with short steep sections you can be confident letting go a bit on, and work up to longer prolonged sections of steepness.
Having said that, there's nothing super-steep at any of the places mentioned on this thread I don't think, but some places e.g. inners, might seem steep if you're not used to it. (there is some very steep stuff at inners, but it's a bit off the beaten track and most don't ride it)
Posted 1 year ago # -
sharki - Member
Only on the SS.They pointed and laughed at my lack of gears and bounced and made fun at my xc lid and armourless kit.
How strange! Who are "they"?I pretty much never change gear on my DH bike and am happy to ride DH without armour and in an XC lid, especially if I'm pushing up.
Posted 1 year ago # -
OP If you can - try to walk up then down the course before - it will give you a bit of insight (Obviously it will need to be a quiet time and don't have your i pod on
)
Riding down will certainly be easier than walking!Posted 1 year ago # -
Anyone done an uplift weekend split over 2 different areas ?
Was thinking of uplift one day (FOD maybe), camp, then off somewhere else like Hopton for next day. Close to midlands is bestest, no point driving for hours when you could be riding.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yes, walking the course makes sense. The couple of times I've been to trail centres I've wasted hours beforehand watching youtube videos to see what the red and black XC routes are like - really helps because it's all a bit familiar, but bumpier and steeper than the video looks!
Being truly geeky, what kinds of gradients are we talking, both on average and on the steeper bits? Anyone tracked it on a GPS or are there course maps?
We have some local DH runs in various woods that I shall go and investigate further - when I first saw them I was surprised at quite how downhill they were - and being unofficial there aren't any chicken runs!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Anyone done an uplift weekend split over 2 different areas ?
Last summer we weren't going abroad so I worked out we could do a week of mostly uplifts in the UK - taking in Caersws, FoD and Cwmcarn.
Interspersed with a few XC days, it was good fun and a nice mix of riding.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Moelfre is quite a nice track when the braking bumps have been filled in. Works out cheeper than Inners for the ammount of runs but there isn't the choice of runs.
Mike will tell you more at Borderline events.
Posted 1 year ago # -
GW - Member
sharki - Member
Only on the SS.
They pointed and laughed at my lack of gears and bounced and made fun at my xc lid and armourless kit.How strange! Who are "they"?
I pretty much never change gear on my DH bike and am happy to ride DH without armour and in an XC lid, especially if I'm pushing up.They didn't laugh after the first run when i wasn't much slower down and faster at times than others.
Helped being on my local DH trails though.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Moelfre is a fairly smooth and flowy. However last time i went the uplift was just a flat deck trailer with bikes piled one atop another! Pearce have the best system imho.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Inners/ Ft Bill/ Hamsterly/ Laggan/ French & Swiss Alps/ most DH races I have done Pitfichie / Dunkeld. Never had a bad one
Posted 1 year ago #
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