Hello,

Thinking of taking the big bike for a weekend in Sheffield. It’s been 8 years since I was last at Wharncliff and that was for a Midlands XC race so I didn’t see much of it.
The youtube videos look OK. Will I be able to find my around, is the good stuff obvious or I will I just get stuck in can’t see the wood for the trees mode? Where do you suggest I start from?
Is there anywhere close by from where my friend can hire a (decent-ish) mountain bike, they only have a road and TT bike?
On a 5-6″ coil-sprung bike with 2.3″ tyres, 8″ rotors and a triple chainset am I going to be embarassingly overbiked?

Thanks guys.

I’d park in the top car park, then you can easily get access to both sides of the road.

Unfortunately no great linked up singletrack, but there are some very nice sections of single track. Just follow your nose, but doesnt make for a very fluid ride.

Surely if you have been before you know that there are some pretty full on DH tracks?? SO wont be over biked.

On a 5-6″ coil-sprung bike with 2.3″ tyres, 8″ rotors and a triple chainset am I going to be embarassingly overbiked?

Depends what sort of stuff you want to ride and how you’re going to ride it. People run full on DH rigs in there every day, there’s plenty of proper DH stuff, silly drops, rock gardens etc. But it’s not all like that.

Two hour XC loop – with good ups, downs, mix of technical and slow, swoopy and fast – is possible in there with a bit of local knowledge.

You’ll not be able to spend an entire weekend in there if that’s what you mean, but if you’re staying in the area you can do some Peaks stuff too.

Yeah, best piece of advice – don’t go if it’s wet.

2nd best piece of advice – park in the top car park in the woods (will look for road name shortly), but don’t leave valuables in the car, as it’s prone for break-ins.

Not overbiked, sounds fine – you’ll see plenty of people pushing full on DH rigs back up the hill.

Just explore, it’s quite concentrated, so if you go down, up, down, up a few times you’ll find most of it – there are maps online. The purpose build section is a good place to start from the top CP as it comes off the fire road as you drop down, but don’t know how much work has been done on it recently.

No idea about bike hire.

it was dry as a bone 8 days OK but we have had a little bit of rain since then but I think it will still be OK. It took me 2 or 3 times to find the best tracks, best advice I can give you is to find someone in a full face lid and ask if you can follow them to the downhill tracks.

dont be tempted to park anywhere except the top car park. If you really dont have anyone to ask for directions then follow the cross country course, about 50 yards off the main fire road on the right. Once that spits you out on the fireroad again head downhill and keep right at any junction you will come to the downhill tracks after about 5- 10 minutes.

have fun! If you see someone on a pitch with a silver full face say hello, thats me

Car park is on Woodhead Road