You can hire a hardtail from here in the carpark at Rostrevor. Really handy. I think a saw a some NP megas too, but i’d check with them first as it’s not on the website.
The xc loop would be fine on a HT. A bit rough on some of the blacks in places, but otherwise spot on.
A couple of tips. Don’t think getting the single uplift is cheating. THere’s a good hour of a climb after you get dropped off and you miss out a very unenjoyable road climb. And unless you’re a big, big 29er fan i’d stick to 26 for RT. There’s a fair bit of high speed tree dodging to be done 😀
Let us know what you think of it?
p.s. If you’re into photography, there’s some mighty fine vistas.
p.p.s – if you do get a bike from Derry, you must visit Davagh.