I’m going to ride on the Yorkshire Dales in a couple of weeks it might be Skippton
area i think not 100% sure. Looks like there will be a lot of xc stuff & loads of climbing
the only problem i have is should i take the Orange 5 or the trusty Steel Hardtail. 😯

Either, you’ll still have a good ride!

take the 5. Loads of those in the Dales

C

Nowt wrong with a HT but I prefer this

It depends on the route and/or other factors. I revisited lots of my old Southern Dales rides last year (just North of Skipton) on a 20lb fully rigid Carbon forked affair and mostly enjoyed it, but it was pretty sketchy and disappointing on some downhills. The Dales is mostly easy none technical stuff tbh. There were a few occasions I wished I had something more hardcore, but not very often. An XC hardtail with 100ml travel would be more than capable, a bigger bike (ie Orange 5) would be fine as well, but obviously a chore on most climbs just like it would be anywhere else, unless you’re super fit. Maybe suggest a route you have in mind?

I mostly ride in the Northern Dales – Wenslydale / Swaledale and always ride my HT single speed (out of choice). Personally I don’t think a FS is of any real value for the trails round there.

1FG by brf, on Flickr

AdobePhotoshopExpress_20120413080837 PM by Sticking2glueing, on Flickr]null

Nowt wrong with a HT but I also prefer this

There’s some stuff round Skipton where you’ll definitely get a few extra smiles from the 5, but I agree with the sentiment that either will be good.

Just watch the limestone if it’s wet.

If you give us an idea of your route (approximately), we can give you more of an idea what to expect.

Start/finish: Horton-in-Ribblesdale or Buckden
Distance: 36 miles (59km)
Found this on Mtb The Dales “a grand day out” never been to Yorkshire. It looks like
this will be Day 2 ride followed by a 25mile ride Day 3.

It’s rained a lot up there recently, so mud and peat bogs will be your biggest issue. You get a lot of MXers trashing the bridleways, so some of them can be truly horrendous to ride.

Yup, it is sloppy round these parts right now, it was slop on a hard undersurface for a while, but after the last 72 hours, I’d scrap the bike idea and take a dingy… (It was almost dusty 2 weeks ago 😡 )

I find the trails in Swaledale tend to be better in the wet. My fave route is a derivation on this one: http://www.mtbthedales.org.uk/mtb-the_edge.pdf rides well no matter what the weather, except deep snow:

Ben, ‘sinking’, on… by davidlomax, on Flickr

I ride around Skipton and the rest of the Dales regularly on a 5. There’s always a rocky bit on every ride where you appreciate the 5’s qualities and because it’s very rare you that have to carry, there’s no problem on the climbs either.

Agree with footflaps, all those routes are classic and have everything. Worth noting though that Reeth is a fair old drive from Skipton. Pic of my 5 above was at head of Gunnerside Gill.

OP – I know ‘grand day out’ well. Hardtail all the way IMO. Good tracks or tarmac pretty much. Nothing too rocky on it whatsoever, particularly if you ignore the little black diversion on the descent from Cam Fell (it’s not that good anyway). There’s a tiny bit of bumpy stuff on the run down from the Stake Allotments to Buckden, but they’ve laid a fair bit of material on it to ‘improve’ it so not much.

The only thing you’d fancy having a FS on is if you did it in reverse and wanted to blast down Dacre Lane next to Semer Water. That’s pretty rocky.

It’s a good route choice given the moistness.

hard tail i would say.