off up there this weekend and never done inners before. by the sounds of it the DH courses sound like they are only do-able by those with rad DH skillz/bikez.

im a pretty competent rider and done all the other stanes’ black routes without too much hassle – so are the inners DH tracks any different?

oh, and im on a HT – but thats all i ride anyway

cheers for any advice!

Ben

Find out the winning time from the last nps there and try and match or beat it. That should give you an idea how rad your skillz are.

hmmm, pretty un-rad i should think compared to that lot!

since im not a full on DHer i just wondered if its worth doing or not

You will be fine, I ride them on my hardtail. Take it easy for a few runs learn the tracks, and then start to push it.

yep! fur shure u’ll die coz ur skillz are lackin.

8)

You’ll be fine.

sweet, im gunna push it to the max. look out for injury pics early next week 😯

There’s such a mix of tracks on the hill, you can chooz da radnez or something.

There are a few tracks (I don’t pay any heed to their names) that you’d really want some rear travel for, but the majority would be fine on HT I reckons.

Find out the winning time from the last nps there and try and match or beat it. That should give you an idea how rad your skillz are.

What relevance does this have to the question? Did he ask about racing?

I am interested too – not been but seen some vids of the dh courses and they look all lovely and flowy and pretty doable, but it’s hard to tell from videos. I reckon my Pitch should be able to handle it though.

I think this is the right link – mtbvideos.co.uk have done some good videos with commentary. Download the Inners video here

http://homepage.mac.com/davehalton/mtbvideodownloads/FileSharing85.html

grumm

What relevance does this have to the question? Did he ask about racing?

Inners DH – is it really that rad? DH courses sound like they are only do-able by those with rad DH skillz/bikez.

The not so subtle implication in the thread title and the spelling is that DH is the preserve of teenagers or the hard of thinking. Either that or it’s a suggestion that the track isn’t actually very difficult but that DH riders would have you believe it is because dey is thick lolz but dey iz well extreme……. but in reality it’s very simple.

Virtually any DH trail can be ridden by someone with the most rudimentary skills, provided they go at their own pace. The faster you go, the more difficult they become. Hence my statement about the race times.

Happy?

Most of the tracks are easily doable on a hardtail, you’ll just be a lot slower than if on a bike with lots of travel front and rear, it is a world away from even 7 stanes black routes, generally far steeper, rockier, rootier and muddier.

You do know that there is an uplift on this weekend? if you want to have lots of goes at the tracks you could mibby get yourself a place on it, google uplift scotland to find the site (it’s a poorly laid out site mind, so be patient!) Don’t worry about what bike etc you have, I’ve seen guys on the uplift with Kona Calderas that they’d hired from the Hub!

well a part from GNAR GNAR that can do it single handed with a cross bike apparently people found it “entertaining”

The not so subtle implication in the thread title and the spelling is that DH is the preserve of teenagers or the hard of thinking. Either that or it’s a suggestion that the track isn’t actually very difficult but that DH riders would have believe because dey is thick lolz.

Wow how did you manage to get that from the OP? Not for the first time it sounds like you have a massive chip on your shoulder.

The faster you go, the more difficult they become.

That is not entirely true. More speed lets you sit on tops of the holes rather than plonking your wheels into them = more comfort, less fatigue and more control.

Drops are not necessarily easy taken slowly, and indeed some drops and jumps can be just plain dangerous or impossible if taken slowly.

Just my pedantic two penneth.

Inners is fun. It’s how you ride, not what you ride. Try the tracks and see if you enjoy them, that’s all that counts.

Theres several different tracks down the hill, all can be done on a hardtail. The hardest bits i found were the rough bits at the bottom because my feet kept comming off the pedals as I had shite shoes on.

Theres a couple of 8 foot drops on the matador and a few doubles here and there but nothing too scary. Theres another track that has loads of jumps and step downs on it, thats good fun and nice and smooth so good on a hardtail.

I would agree that it is a step up from trail centre black routes though, might be best taking some armour if you have it, although it definitely isnt necessary – only if you plan on going flat out. Whenever I’ve been Ive just worn knee pads and a piss pot style lid, but I just tend to cruise down

Everyone knows that all ‘Singletrackers’ are blessed with the ability to ride hardtail (preferably fully rigid) bikes downhill faster than other bikers on full sus bikes. It has been extensively claimed on this forum so must be true.

Extrapolating this theory suggests you’ll be absolutely fine at Inners on a hardtail, as long as you read STW for at least 3 days before your visit to top up your smugness quotient, to ensure you have enough to cope with beating all the Downhillers on the uplift day 😛

grumm
Wow how did you manage to get that from the OP?

Do you honestly believe that the OP is using the word Rad, DH skillz and DH bikez without any irony or forethought?

lcj
Just my pedantic two penneth.

I agree with your pedantry but I was generalising. And generally speaking, obstacles aside the faster you ride a bike down a trail the more difficult and dangerous it becomes.

sorry to cause any hassle guys, i wasnt actually saying anything about DHers – i was just using the lingo as a bit of light heartedness! bloody hell lighten up!

the reason why i ask is that im not a DHer and from the descriptions ive read the trails sound tougher than other DH courses that ive done.

ive got plenty of respect for the DH lads/lasses – and i know they arent all kids. just wanted to get myself prepped thats all.

leg armour is definately getting packed! that vid looks pretty good!

I liked the sign at the top of the DH run along the lines of:
“must have full body armour, must have a full face lid, must have a full sus bike etc etc”
So there I was, in my shorts and tee shirt with a “normal” lid and a standard Inbred.

Ride it, you’ll be fine. It’s a hoot. Very top bit (of the DH that is) isn’t worth the push up IMO though.

Innerleithen isn’t hard. We took a roadie on it a few weeks ago and he did fine only bottling the DH and Caddon Bank and the first couple of steep drops at the quarry.

The new bit off Minch moor is worth the climb alone too.

MrCrushrider
i was just using the lingo as a bit of light heartedness!

Hilarity ensued.

Just don’t do the big drop on matador. Otherwise it’s all good. Steep and rooty in places but the same as steep roots anywhere.

Would recommend a full suss but just to enjoy it to the MAX (to the power of sick). Hardtails are fine if thats what you’re used to.

Enjoy.

Hilarity ensued.

There was a thread where people listed phrases etc that annoyed them, and I’m sure you defended using terms like ‘gnarly’ and ‘sick’ etc, and said that people mostly did it in a jokey way.

But of course it’s only ok for people like you who have the uber-sick skillz to back it up eh?

As a DH’er and no I am not rad I am 34, I can honestly say you can ride any course as long as you do it at your pace, and the statements about more speed = more difficult…. no, actually riding a course fast and smooth is easier as you “skip” over the terrain, the best lesson I have learnt is get off the brakes and jump the small bit, as said it equals less fatigue and the chance of hitting another bump while your suspension is still rebounding. You alswaus see people on DH courses struggling as they are going so slow!

note the height of the drop.

Can’t understand why the Guru of the Tweed Valley hasn’t been on to set this record staight once and for all. Is he banned at the mo?{you know who I mean} Maybe he’s out enjoying the dryish dust rich trails on offer in the greatst MTB area on the planet{not my words – his}

Anyway not sure anyone has pointed this out, but you can go round Innerleithen without venturing onto any of DH race tracks. If you want to like, and yes you’ll get down most of the race tracks on your choice of bike.

I took my 12 year old down ‘gold rush’ and ‘cresta run’ on a hard tail in the snow. He ‘owned’ me on my 7″ full susser and he’s not some ‘rad’ DH ‘yoof’. Do it, you’ll love it.

Can’t wait to see the XC route that is being organised for the British Champs up there as I hear it will be using some of the DH trails. 🙂