I have a week off, lucky me eh? So far (yesterday) I have tackled the Pendle Predator. It was a toughie. But to balance all that road bike yang with some off road yin I fancied a wee trip up to one of the above.

I understand that they are more downhill biased but would my hardtail suffice at them and if so which one is best?

I’d be grateful for any advice from you guys that have been there to get the low-down.

Fanks.

hardtail would be fine on the fort bill red, and all the xc trails nearby. Would be a challenge on the black, but plenty of folk have done it

Unless you are a heavily experienced downhiller, I’d stick with Fort William~ there is alot more variety available there: XC trails, 4x, Gondola “Red” route and the DH itself, whereas Glencoe is more of a one (beast of a) trail wonder.

Excellent stuff. many thanks.

Fort William it is then.

Fort William for sure… Just for the variety. You’ve got the Nevis Red, ideal for a competent rider on a hardtail. Also the world cup XC route. And the downhill is hardtailable with a little more skil. (there’s also the waymarked 10UTB route, but it’s a bit pants, it has some good bits but they’re linked by a million miles of fireroad)

I love it there. The DH is a fantastic course on a smaller bike, you really need to work at it and it’s so constant. The Red’s still interesting and challenging, you’d not be that delighted if you’d had to ride to the top of it but with lift assist it’s fab. And the world cup XC has some great features. You can link in Nessie and the first bit of 10UTB singletrack with a little mapreading too.

Not to say that the Glencoe DH isn’t doable on a hardtail, but it’s a tougher course than anything at Fort William, and there’s not much else there. Haven’t ridden the Weasel, but it doesn’t look great.