• This topic has 80 replies, 54 voices, and was last updated 13 years ago by Pook.
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  • Snowdon Ranger – The truth
  • Junkyard
    Free Member

    Much much harder stuff in the lakes/
    We mainly cleared it and it was wet/damp/slippy so a couple of sections were walked as you just could not brake /grip they looked Ok ish for the dry
    Two people did it on Hardtails I used full knee/shin pads no else did iirc.

    Trimix
    Free Member

    You will only need a FF if your likely to land on your chin. Think about when you normally fall off – you dont normally land on your chin. Your arms go out to break your fall. You may turn your head and hit a rock on the side of your head perhaps – not face first normally.

    Id use a normal helmet. The speeds are slow for the techy bits where your likely to go over the bars.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    When theres no climbing or flat ish riding involved, they’re great if you walk up or can ride up without a helmet, but a complete PITA if you have to pedal anywhere off road.

    Great for just crashing and bouncing back up again without worrying about head injuries, you realise quite how exposed your lower half of your head is after wearing a full face, even compared to the XEN etc which claim to offer more coverage.

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    Stainypants
    Full Member

    Great photos, I’m not afraid to say it looks like theres definitely bits id bottle. But why were you all wearing backpacks ?

    Nick

    molgrips
    Free Member

    It’s a fair old day out, hence the backpacks I suppose.

    The stuff in the vid doesn’t look any harder than the thrutchy bits all over Wales. Standard difficult grade I’d say.

    Edit: IanB fancy another go in August? 🙂

    littlegirlbunny
    Free Member

    FBK – I concur, that is the hardest bit. Because there is really only one line choice (which, I seem to remember, you nailed rather impressively first time!) and a few inches either side = front wheel jam + stall/faceplant.

    Why the backpacks? Cos it’s a long old ride/push up, it’s bluddy freezing up top at that time of year and if you have a mechanical, you could get proper caught out without decent clothing/equipment. Mountain rescue has quite enough to do without dealing with people unprepared for the conditions (and potential rapid change in them). It may only be ‘Snowdon’ – but, at the end of the day, it is still a mountain and should be treated with respect.

    JonEdwards
    Free Member

    Did it a couple of years ago on a 6″ Turner. Elbow and leg pads, but normal lid.

    One dab (although that was with my chin) in the tight gully bit – biggish, slightly undercut step with a right hander after it. Didn’t have room to drop it, so tried rolling it and went straight OTB. Looks like it might be one of Bunny’s pics. Got a bollocking from the walker who saw it all happen. 🙂

    It was about 2 weeks after we got back from Canada, so I was feeling pretty on the ball – ended up at the front of the group, so just rode until I ran out of downhill – it was one of those days where everything just came together and it flowed beautifully.

    We didn’t go all the way down – did the push up over into Telegraph Valley, so I don’t know what the bottom section is like.

    treaclesponge
    Free Member

    A shortened vid of some mates who rode this a year or so back

    chiefP
    Free Member

    Trimix,

    You will only need a FF if your likely to land on your chin. Think about when you normally fall off – you dont normally land on your chin.

    If a Rangers Rock is heading towards your face something is going to take the Impact, either a flimsy XC lid which will offer nothing against these rocks or your face. FF lid protects your face so if you hit a rock you may be seeing stars but your face is how it was normallly.

    Your arms go out to break your fall.

    Worst thing ever, NEVER put your arms out. How many people do you know who have broken Collerbones and Arms.wrists because of this. Tuck your arms and head in and roll, its works and reduces risk of broken bones dramatically.

    You may turn your head and hit a rock on the side of your head perhaps – not face first normally.

    This bit says in a way ‘wear a FF Helmet’ side of your head or face, you cant guarantee where your head will land so your Jaw is vulnerable to being hit and so your eye socket, its been done before and it normally results in a Helicopter ride courtesy of RAF S&R.

    ————————————

    Anyway either way its up to you. FF for added protection like DH Tracks which i class the Rangers as more than a Trail or XC lid.

    freeridenick
    Free Member

    “But why were you all wearing backpacks ?”

    sorry don’t get what you mean?

    Big-Pete
    Free Member

    Went up this Weds 2/3/11 sprinkle of snow on top but nothing to affect your ride.

    Tbh I am never likley to ride the worst of the descent, cos its out of my comfort zone and at 53 the hard crashes hurt more and take longer to recover from. I am more inclined to play safe to enable more years on the bike, I already suffer from arthritis in both shoulders from too many otb incidents.

    Dont wear pads for the reason above.

    16stonepig
    Free Member

    But Pete – did you have fun? That’s the important bit 😀

    mattsccm
    Free Member

    A couple of years ago a group of us camped on the top and went down the Ranger and over the Telegraph for breakfast. We had a mix of bikes but the nearest we had to a downhill bike was my old Enduro. We all had either rucksacks with camping gear or seat post mounted racks with gear. Several of the bunch did it without stopping except to look at the views on the easy bits. Must admit I would have thought that carting all the down hill kit up was a touch overkill, its not especially tricky. None of us fell off or had a moment and several, including me are less than brave.
    It was also a popular trip when I first rode a mountain bike in 1983 and we didn’t worry then. Touch to long ago though to remember how many dabs I had.

    portlyone
    Full Member

    Good walk spoiled by bits of riding for me 😉 no pads, Chameleon.

    Flew down the vacant llanberis trail yesterday though, much more fun. No pads, Heckler.

    seosamh77
    Free Member

    must admit looking at the vids i don’t like those big rocks, small rocks and rough stuff, fine, but there’s a point i’ll not go beyond, I feel no shame in saying i reckon i’d be walking a fair amount of the really bad sections!

    flyingmonkeycorps
    Full Member

    Yay, my old Heckler finally made it down Snowdon (I did it on my old VT, badly!).

    Must try and give it a go this year, maybe on my new bike…

    popstar
    Free Member

    Very interesting read. I must convince my riding buddies to go this year! Can you compare it to Laggan Wolftrax Black? Or is it much more gnarlier?

    chiefP
    Free Member

    portlyone you enjoyed the Llanberis decent?

    I hated it the other month on my DH Rig, the new paths ruined the ride for me and the bottom half was boring on the new path surface.

    portlyone
    Full Member

    chiefP – a DH rig may be a little too much bike for the Llanberis trail. It’s a long descent though with lots of different types of surface. Yesterday was empty of nearly anyone so you could safely go fast. In fact I only had to break once for obstructions in the path and they just bleated and ran off.

    I may enjoy the Ranger Path more with a FS and pads. And a bit of MTFU

    slowrider
    Free Member

    Hi all, would have joined the thread earlier but got a ban t’other day 😳

    I’ve got a bit hooked on the rangers path this past year or so and have been about 6 or 7 times. The first time I did it I was buzzing so much from the rest of the descent that I didnt care that the last bit looked unrideable so just walked down it and carried on, having expected more of it to be like this.

    Second time i tried ‘Mordor’ (wicked name for it!) I ballsed it up and got stuck under the ledge on the right. I punctured the front and we were on a timescale so I fixed it and moved on.

    Between the second and third times I kept daydreaming about the whole trail but that bit in particular to the point where I wascettain it was rideable. The third time we went up conditions were really wet and slippery but we sessioned it until we all got the first bit and i got the second but we were soaked through so left it there.

    Every time since I have ridden the trail with the intention of cleaning it in one go. A couple of times I’ve had forced dabs but I won’t leave mordor til I’ve cleaned it. Last tmei rode the whole hill top to bottom with just two unforced stops, one to help my brother fix his bike and one to regroup. Im going for a weeknextmonth and fully intend to be selfish and ride it top to bottom in one go. Wish me luck!

    I’ve ridden it on a blur 4x, orange 5, evil sovereign, patriot 66, commencal supreme and lapierre spicy. All great bikes fit for purpose. Always in xen lid and knee pads.

    buzz-lightyear
    Free Member

    ” In fact I only had to break once for obstructions in the path and they just bleated and ran off.”

    Sheesh I boiled my brakes on the sections just before and after the railway arch. I thought it flowed quite nicely below that. I want to try the Rangers now.

    Andyhilton
    Free Member

    You need to let off the brakes on the scree slope or lock full on. No boiling of brakes please.

    bland
    Full Member

    Can you compare it to Laggan Wolftrax Black? Or is it much more gnarlier?

    Yeah similar in a “go too slow and your over the bars” kind of way

    I like how loads have rode it, apart from the two technical sections, its these bits that there is all the debate over!

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Worst thing ever, NEVER put your arms out. How many people do you know who have broken Collerbones and Arms.wrists because of this

    Bad advice imo.

    Putting your arms out locked straight in front of you expecting to be able to hold your body off the floor is a bad idea yes.

    However putting your arms out bent to push yourself into a roll seems infinitely better than just slamming into the ground with your shoulder, if you ask me. The latter seeming like the best way to break your collarbone out of all three.

    So saying don’t put your arms out at all I think is bad advice since it encourages the shoulder slam. Can’t see how you’d get into a good roll without the use of your arms in many situations.

    Speaking from 20 years’ experience of crashes.

    mrblobby
    Free Member

    Worst thing ever, NEVER put your arms out. How many people do you know who have broken Collerbones and Arms.wrists because of this

    Can confirm that this is a really bad idea. A few years ago now I dislocated my elbow doing it.

    IanB
    Free Member

    IanB fancy another go in August?

    Yes, sounds good 🙂

    saxabar
    Free Member

    Just got back from a run down. Without a doubt it is all doable with a bit of pace and balls to hit one of the drops into rough stuff, although that wasn’t me today. Only one time I had to get off proper (although there were a fair few dabs) but will back for it again. Full face, arms and leg armour for me riding an Orange Alpine. Ended up down at Rangers train station so a potter round the area back to Llanberis followed! Top day!

    Pook
    Full Member

    Me me! Search my profile email on vimeo for proof.

    Pook
    Full Member

    It’s rideable with control and steadiness. Brakes, chain, brakes, chain. Don’t you lot know how to ride a bike?

    slowrider
    Free Member

    Pook i put money you not cleaning the mordor bit. open invite between 23-30 april to prove me wrong! Then you can watch me show you how its done, i.e. not taking a chunk out of your knee, falling off mid-wheelie or banging your head on a tree whilst trying to keep up with a superior rider 😉

    paulrockliffe
    Free Member

    Anyone else find that rear suspension doesn’t make much difference on techy stuff like this? I rode off Old Man of Coniston last weekend and for bike-build reasons (missing crown race) I took my C456 instead of the Spitfire I was intending to use and didn’t think I missed the rear bounce at all. Have felt the same on plenty of similar rides in the Lakes, so wondered if anyone else thinks the same? Lyrics upfront, not bothered what’s at the back.

    Was riding with a group I know well, would normally expect to be slower than most on my hard tail and similar pace on my FS, the others all on 6inch bikes, but wasn’t slower at all relative to the group.

    Keep bumping this thread so I remember to pop down and give this a go soon.

    Cheers.

    slowrider
    Free Member

    Depends how fast you hit it I guess Paul but I agree, the techier bits don’t need FS at all.

    bloodynora
    Free Member

    Plan on going up to Snowdon on tues/weds next week and doing the Llanberis up then Rangers/Telegraph down on my 120 ti hardtail. Will I end up in a wheelchair paralysed from the neck down or will it be a good laugh…..Assuming I make it to the top that is! 🙂

    saxabar
    Free Member

    Hardtails all good for the techy bits but it might be a clatter through the boulder fields if not done at speed with a good degree of pumping. Does anyone have a static image of Mordor?

    Pook
    Full Member

    Pook i put money you not cleaning the mordor bit. open invite between 23-30 april to prove me wrong! Then you can watch me show you how its done, i.e. not taking a chunk out of your knee, falling off mid-wheelie or banging your head on a tree whilst trying to keep up with a superior rider

    Cheeky get. Technically two of those were in the.same crash! Let’s find some skinnies to play on….

    slowrider
    Free Member

    I think I’m running low on mustard for the lamb…

    Pook
    Full Member

    😉

    The ranger is excellent though. I think fs suits the fast upper bit just after the train track, while an ht is handy to know what your back end is doing on the techy stuff.

    I may be talking out of my rear end though.

    Pook
    Full Member

    Pook i put money you not cleaning the mordor bit. open invite between 23-30 april to prove me wrong! Then you can watch me show you how its done, i.e. not taking a chunk out of your knee, falling off mid-wheelie or banging your head on a tree whilst trying to keep up with a superior rider

    Cheeky get. Technically two of those were in the.same crash! Let’s find some skinnies to play on….

    judderman
    Free Member

    rode it two weeks ago, the videos dont show all the trail, some bits were 3ft drops with sharp rocks either side & in front with no room for bike or legs to fit.

    slowrider
    Free Member

    Lol pook, think I’m running low on mustard for the lamb…

    Judderman, it’s ALL doable, honest!

Viewing 40 posts - 41 through 80 (of 81 total)

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