bit weird to compare anything at Ft William to Dalbeaties smooth, grippy, straight slabs with perfect run outs, whatever it is that’s intimidates you about riding them Chris is all in your head. 😉 incidently, other than that tiny section of the off-beat wall into the 4X track there’s not actually anything as steep as those slabs even on the WC track, it’s a fairly mellow gradient all the way down, it’s just rough and all that’s difficult about it is hitting it consistently fast for a full run. I rode behind a rider at the last SDA who didn’t seem to know how to do a drop-off and still managed to get down fine (albeit slowly).

FT Bill Red no problem on a good HT. I have done plenty on my old Stiffee to say that.
I can’t wait to get my newly built TransAM up there over summer.

Laggan good but I would give the top red a miss, Golspie is over-rated it’s a great ride for sure but not harder than Laggan Blk. saying that both are very well thought out. And if you enjoy climbs Golspie is more fun.

If it’s wet Golspie rock is a lot smoother and slippier than Laggan. Like wise if you want to ride don’t go anywhere near FT this weekend.

Enjoy

Golspie is superb, don’t bother with the final climb, do the rest twice instead. In fact do the final section 3 times!

Balblair is the best kept secret up there if you like techy, pedally rockstuff.

Learnie I need to return to after a dry spell cos those rock staircases were too damn treacherous when wet! Shame really as it’s my kind of thing. A couple of blasts down the Orange bit made me grin…:)

Both routes should be open on Monday though they may be a bit later than normal. I’m trying to get them to open the red to riders by me sitting at the top of the orange diverting riders until the orange is open. Some peeps will be walking the orange on monday morning removing all the poles, tape and litter picking.

Just rode it again today in a quick run through the area, they’ve made a few more tweaks which have tidied up the top section a little. Also, the new bottom bit is frankly rubbish unfortunately, they’ve even spoiled the old descent from the puggy line- but in a good cause I think, I gather it was built so that those 4-wheeled disability mountain bike things can use it.

Still very cool. Ended up only doing one run though and spent the rest of the day on the world cup route but I do like it a lot.

Well just finished a day on the uplift at Ft Bill. The red is definitely ok for a HT. In my opinion a lot of it is actually pretty boring when compared to Golspie, Balblair etc…

The proper DH is far more fun than the red and much tougher… I was on the brakes pretty much the whole way down, just letting off to relieve arm pump and try and get my brakes to cool.

Big thank you to Mangoridebike for showing me around last night 🙂 Knowing the area helped with motivation to get me around the WC XC loop late this afternoon… thinking it could be time for a rest day though now.

No problem mate, it was a pleasure to be able to show you around. Glad you had a good day on the Gondola too 🙂

So – to continue this thread and the OP’s question about HT’s and the Red.
I tend to find there’re riders who’ll fly past me on a HT on ground I struggle to deal with on my Five, never mind the HT. Like one of my mates for example who can ride things on a HT I can’t bring myself to go near on any bike.
So apols in advance for extending the question, but what’s your views on rider ability PLUS HT.
For example if the Laggan Red is nae problem, but I wouldnae go near the Black (nor Ayers Rock thingie (and yes I’ve ‘tried’ to get myself ovr the edge), where does the Nevis Red sit? Happy with the GT ‘black’ apart from the entrance to Worm Hole …
You folks know loads more than I – asking cos don’t wanna waste a long drive to a place where could be wasting my time n money.

There’s no feature as “big” as Air’s Rock on the red… But Air’s Rock is intimidating rather than difficult, the Red’s more difficult but less intimidating.

There’s sections that are about as hard as the wormhole entrance is now. There’s a fair bit that’s like the stone-pitched causeways at Laggan, some bits kind of like the B*tch at Glentress…

But, though it’s not easy it’s approachable. The sightlines are brilliant because of the way you ride down onto most features, you have ages to check out the lines and make decisions. And the rocks are grippy as anything.

I’d say you’d probably be fine but it really isn’t that easy to judge, too much of biking is in the head. When I first did it, I really wasn’t all that good and I found it a challenge but not a nightmare.

Also it’s an excellent place to practice/learn, you can easily do 8 or more runs in a day if you’re organised and reasonably fit, which gives you a really rare chance to repeat sections, learn from mistakes, try different lines etc. I left it a more confident and capable rider than I arrived, that’s for sure.

But it’s expensive if you’re travelling, and weather dependant. remember there’s a lot of other riding around there too, I cap off my days on the uplift with laps of the world cup XC route when I can.

Sounds good re approachable …. that’s one of my ‘mental’ problems with the rock step entry into the Wormhole – can’t bring myself to even try it 🙁 But other stuff where you can see where you’re going I tend to deal with better. Think I’m better giving it a miss until I can do simple stuff like get round the little corner in Pie Run though 🙂
Air’s rock – yuck. Get it’s more intimidating but too much so for me. Even if someone gives me a self controlling bike it’s another tough ‘mental’ one that.

So Red at Nevis … mebbe next year … mebbe 🙂

Saying that … spare day after the Tour of Ben Nevis …. 🙂