went to stainburn this morning, there for 8ish, went straight to the top of the descent line, rode it down to the rock drop and baulked.
turned round went back up 50yards or so, dropped the saddle and rode it the 2nd time no problem, then rode it 5 more times just to make sure.
how sad, a 40 something fat bloke sessoning a dropoff early in the morning so all the kids cant laugh at him.
so i then went and tried to ride the warren boulder trail….oh my god how hard are some of the sections, the slimy slab, the hovis corner, the wooden drop before the north shore.
how the **** do people ride some of that stuff.
i did however come away a very pleased man having ridden the rock drop…. 8)

Yeah – a lot of the videos just don’t show quite how steep those rocky sections are! At least you and your bike came back in one piece.

Good work fella !

When you say ‘rode the drop’ to you mean rolling down it ?

Goood on you Ton.
The Hovis Corner and the Cole Chute scare the shit out of me too.
On Tuesday night one of the lads I was riding with came off on the Cole Chute, hit a tree backwards and broke 3 ribs. Ouch.

We were up there with the kids playing on the pump track this afternoon, good fun in the sun.

i know! it’s dark and evil down there! did you know there were warewolves too?

Has anyone got any pics of the drop then? There has been a lot of new stuff since I moved from Leeds in 2007 I think.

Here’s Chris Akrigg on it !

Akrigg nails descent line boulder drop

Keep going back every so often (best done with a group of friends for moral support) and do a bit more each time. The Slab is just a point and let off the brakes, the Cole Shute is fairly easy with a positive attitude on the rocks at the bottom and most of the rock spines are something most people could achieve with some practice.

Me rolling the drop, I’m too crap to drop it.

It’s steeper than it looks.

steel4real
i rolled it… 😆
but rolling it when you are built like the honey monster is not easy…

Who hit the tree, Simon?

Ah right – I think the descent line was still being created when I last rode Stainburn. Thanks for the links. I would deffo roll that one too.

Ton – I know and you wouldn’t want a torn nipple again !!

None of the pictures or videos ever make anything look steep.

– it wasn’t actually your nipple but it’s more funny.

Jonny. He posts on the SingletrAction forum as Nobbynick.

someone said there were some trails in the woods above the road at the top, is this true?

The only bits I struggled with were the tech uphills 😀

Bomberman

Yes – there are some trails and there are little bits of Northshore, but the problem is that the forestry work can sometimes wreck the trails.

DjGlover – yeah, there are some tough climbs but it makes for great interval training!

bomberman – Member
someone said there were some trails in the woods above the road at the top, is this true?

There were.
The felling work has wrecked most of them.
We have plans to re-do them longer and better, but it takes time.

i went over to the other side.
and they are wrecked…

I’d be up for helping rebuild them. just gimme a spade and show me where to dig!

Simon Ralli
There’s a load of log rides gone in, info here Stainburn log rides

Nice one Ton.

we were up there too today trying to defeat the log rides. some of the best technical trails in the u of k… props to the creators

BANana

Cheers for the pics. I didnt realise there was so much there now. Looks like it really makes for a great day out practicing and re-taking things. Yeah – well done the builders, especially as there is more for intermediate riders now as well as the MTB gods.

Ton: Was it you I was talking to this morning?

Went today also had a great but rocky day! Came off on Hovis corner, I will give it another go next time. Lots and lots of fun though, also did the rock drop at speed on the runs towards the end of the day.

didmatt
if it was a handsome bloke on a marin then yes it was me… 😆

i do recognise you sx tho..

ton: lol Aye, i did end up pushing it back upto the car park most of the day! 😛

i am thinking about building a ‘stainburn’ type bike.
to try and master the kind of stuff there.
i have ridden all over the country, and done most of the trail centers, but this place is pretty unique i think.
i would be pushing back upto the top so pedalability is not a issue.
i also think a full on dh bike would have too much travel.
also the place is very harsh on rear mechs, i have killed 2 there.
anyone have a ideal bike for stainburn…

Maybe Hardtail, ultra short chain stays, loads of standover, high bb, 5-6″ fork, clearance for wide (low pressure) tire, something like a Cotic Bfe or DB Alpine..?

Half the fun (for me) is riding back up.
I had a Rocky Ridge for a while, it rode well at Stainburn, as does my 456 and my Teocali. Once rode a Marin Quake around the Boulder Trail, which was good on the downs but too heavy to ride back up the hill.
IMO a 5″ travel hardtail or full suss is ideal for Stainburn, anything burlier and you’re gonna be pushing up the hills.

I find my (lack of) skills and confidence more limiting than the bike I’m riding.

to be honest, my rocky ridge was good today.
1st time i have ridden it in a good testing enviroment, and it proved good.

I found some of the tech sections on the boulder trail more difficult on a full suss (patriot) than my hardtail due to the stop-start-balance nature of the way I rode it, if only I had rad trials skilz…

agreed, i rode it on a heckler in the past
the sections that you find yourself balancing and thrutching on were loads harder with the suspension movement..

Is that you onto another bike Ton?

stew, just a play bike… 8)

Was a cracking day at Stainburn today. Ton, that was me and my son riding the pump track this morning.

I remembered just how good Stainburn was today 🙂

I was up there today too, bust my shock too which i wasnt happy about. Its a technical place to go i got the missus to take a few pics while i rode it sessioning parts, One of my funniest pics from the day has to be the one below, This is my face of ‘oh shit’ 5ft off the ground and i snagged my pedal on the top, This was when my shock had gone and i hadnt realised 😳 wondered where all my clearance had gone Still i got round it 8)

looks fun 🙂 🙂

That looks excellent.

mark_b
on the patriot??
agreed it is a great place to go and either session stuff till you perfect it or just do the descent line over and over.

i like stainburn..