Popping up there for the first time on saturday. I plan to have a bash at the wc track so am bringing the down hill bike, but also fancied a shot on the red. Looking at the nevis range page it says its ‘red xc’….can i still use the big bike or is much pedalling required?

ta

You can use the big bike but there is a few sections on it where you’d wish you had a trail bike…. Also, it may say that it’s a res but the reality is that it’s not, I feel that it’s every bit as challenging as the WC trail

I’d agree it’s theoretically easier than the WC track, but seemed more awkward to ride to me.

I did it on a 180mm Patriot, trail bike might have been better for getting over the little rises – but it’s certainly not too pedally for a big bike IMO.

It’s a 12-15 minute descent with a wee flat/climb 200 metres in the middle. If you’re only doing a couple of runs of it, dh bike will be fine, all day on it, I’d want a 160mm bike.

I loves it.

Agree with Euan too.

Just do them both on a Rockhopper hired from Nevis Cycles, like the tourists do.

I don’t think it’ll affect the downhill tracks at all but worth knowing that there’s a XC/endurance event on at Nevis range on Saturday (10 Under the Ben).

It shouldn’t affect the trails (maybe options to descend from the bottom of the red will be limited?) but car park / cafe / toilets are going to be busier than normal.

I agree with the others – a DH bike isn’t the best thing for the red, but there isn’t so much flat/slightly uphill in it that you’d suffer unduly. In addition, by the standards of XC trails it isn’t red graded. There’s enough rock and steepish bits for it to be graded black I reckon.

Thinking back to my rides down it I would probably actually bitterly curse the lack of a dropper post for one bit of it.

euain makes a good point – might be worth phoning to see what’s open on Saturday

10 UTB doesn’t close the DH track. Even when it shared a little bit of path before the motorway it was still open. The very bottom of the red could be affected, but even then it’d be a relatively short section