Had a blast around Golpsie for the first time last week. Was very impressed, if somewhat intimidated by the gnarliness of the black sections. Lactic Ladder looks to me like it would be unridable for the vast majority of MTB’ers.

So, anyone here cleaned it (and got video evidence to validate their claim 🙂 )?

So, anyone here cleaned it
Yep manys a time
and got video evidence to validate their claim
Nope but plenty of witnesses 😉

Gordymac

Yip…

even on my 36lbs Nicolai fr with flats on!

Honest!

Lot’s of people clean it…..just takes a bit of practice and technique

Clicky

Kbrembo-If i am ever in Scotland near that trail we have to ride there.

nicolaisam

No worries

Give me a shout…..

Loads more all around!

Only tried once and nearly did it on a 40lb marin quake. Think I came a cropper once or twice? Or did I clear it? Not sure if nbt would know as I was up there with him and a couple of others (STW names unknown).
Could easily clean it on my current trance I reckon.

32:16 on my gary fisher rig including a couple of trials manuvers on the back wheel ! no dabs though i made sure of it wanted to clean it onsight 😉

its not steep its just a case of timing and body english !

edit – it was 32:18 as i went into square wheels and got micheal to change it out to an 18 specifically so i could go clean it…..Binned it on the way down though , jumped onto a wooden down ramp over a rock and the bike just went , slammed hard !

It is designed to be rideable. It is not easy but with decent technique and a bit of practice it can be done.

Thanks for that Kbrembo – I now feel like a right proper mincer. The video makes it look quite easy. The stuff in the woods towards the end of the trail was greasy as anything last week – looks like it is in that vid too. I suppose speed is your friend in that situation (and not braking).

Was similarly impressed with Balblair. Although Carbisdale was a bit of a “WTF?” trail…

Kbremo thats a brilliant Golspie video , Its the one trail that I really want to do. I’ll hopefully get up there whilst at my parents in Elgin over the Autumn. i like the last couple of minutes with “Fields of fire”. 8)

had my first “clean” on saturday and ran into carrick crawford anderson. top day!

Yep.

Hardest bit is at about 1.20 on Krembo’s vid, if you take the left hand line the steps are wheelbase apart. Lots of muscle and or skill required.

+1 here cleared the ladder a couple of times. Usually behind my mate on his single speed!

kevin1911

Balblair is very very good although very under-rated/under-ridden…. Must be hard having a big brother like Golspie!

Great day out doing both though.

dirtbiker100 – Member

Only tried once and nearly did it on a 40lb marin quake. Think I came a cropper once or twice? Or did I clear it? Not sure if nbt would know as I was up there with him and a couple of others (STW names unknown).
Could easily clean it on my current trance I reckon.

none of us did (bunnyhop and valley were the others), we came close though. Could probably give it a fair go now

on my first time to golspie people were telling me how hard lactic ladder is, was getting worried/resigned to not managing it. been up there a load of times and never dabbed.

maybe i had the perfect tires for lactic ladder… 😉

Balblair gets my vote too, always pop up when at golspie, then a pie and coffee at Bonar bridge on route! But the fav time we were on a road trip and stayed just over the river at carbisdale youth hostel. Not bad for £17

Frosty timber! Nice!

carbisdale castle YHA outside the lads were quite impressed!

Carbisdale inside!

Why is there boardwalk right over nice looking bedrock? 😕

Just to be fair, heres a pic of someone not clearing the lactic ladder (sorry steff)!

thanks nbt 🙂 can’t wait to get back up there again.
you sure valley didn’t?

last time i went i lost it and dabbed a few times.it seemed to be more to do with my fitness. 2nd trip there i think i cleared it.

arghhh.. i want to go tomorrow now! and hit balblair too.

?????? the bedrock was cleared with great effort by myself and the contractors. It rides (rode) beautifully!

I came back from a week or two away from the projet to find that the the Forestry health and safety officer had decided to boardwalk whole sections of bedrock.

Yup that’ll be John Ireland….

Absolutely no reason I can think off; it rode superbly. It was a ‘done and dusted’ with absolutely no communication with myself. John just didn’t get the trail at all.. He was having fits that it was too difficult and dangerous, demanding that sections be boarded up ( which mostly just destroyed the natural flow) and quite often he’d completely ignore sections that I knew were were far harder (but looked easy)..

I rode up most of the descents on my Singular so I was pretty sure there were no issues about steepness and drops etc. Made me sick and extremely cynical about the future of mtb if left to the FE jobsworths.

I’m very glad that we managed to save enough of the trail to give a good technical ride and that folks are enjoying the hard work and effort put in by John and Dougal the local contracters and myself.

Has the ‘crown’ at the top of the hill been completed yet by the way?. Just a few wee patches of woodwork needed to go in and it would make a properly sweet wee playground to ‘catch yer breath on’, or at least to have a play on while waiting for the geared.

Clean it most times on My Heckler, however I find it easier on the HT, more feel for what the rear wheel is doing.

Kbrembo – ace film & Big Country .Smart.

dirtbiker100 – Member

thanks nbt can’t wait to get back up there again.
you sure valley didn’t?

Hmmm – just checked the photos and he’s on several of them so I was in front of him at more than one point. It may be that we stopped for a breather as opposed to dabbing / falling, but either way it’s not a “clean”

Well if i ever clean it (Walked it all last time :-() I’m going to post it all over here for ages!
Watched 3 Bogtrotters clean it with hundreds of off road miles in their legs 🙂

Hi Bangin on sorry to hear the FC left a bit of a bitter taste in your mouth. Im guessing you were refering to Balblair. I can understand why you were pi**ed off about the board walk going in. The rock rides really well very grippy and a really nice trail. Also really enjoy the finish the nice twisty bit that drops through a few birch trees. feels very natural. Thanks for building a fun trail.

I can usually clean lactic ladder but my pulse usually hits 200 bpm in the process…
I lock my suspension out for it as I find it easier to pop the back wheel over stuff instead of the suspension soaking your momentum on the square edges.

Kbrembo

Ace vid!! Love it and want to ride there now!

Lactic Ladder does not look too bad really, I reckon a bit of power and body weight shifting would make it reasonably doable even buy me.

Will probably be made to eat my words though If I ever get up there 😆