[Closed] Corrieyairack Pass - on a hardtail?

All of it is rideable on a hardtail, in theory. i'm pretty sure Trail_Rat rode all of (twice!).

I ended up walking a couple of the switchbacks, but I had my camping gear (thats my excuse and I'm sticking to it!).

Would recommend doing it from Laggan to Ft Augustus if you have the choice, I think the descent to Ft Augustus would be more fun.

Either go tubeless, fit some fat tyres or take lots of innertubes though, lots of rocks!

Over only ridden over it on a motorbike but I'd have thought a lot/most of it is rideable on a hardtail. Last weekend was the challenge and a lot of folks will have ridden over it (as well as runners and walkers).

This was near the top:
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gc, i did it 2 yrs ago on a 80mm forked 29r.
a bit bumpy coming down the south side but ok.........ish 😉

Err - it's been done on fully rigid bikes before suspension was available....

I'll be doing it on my little Ti hardtail as part of a C2C route. Gonna use some 1.75" Marathon Cross tyres as a compromise for the various track and road surfaces I'll encounter. Hoping to travel fairly light by using bunkhouses instead of camping.

When are you planning on riding it? I doubt I'll manage until September or thereabouts.

Thank you for the replies. I thought starting at Fort Augustus was compulsory!

Are motorbikes allowed on it these days? Very atmospheric pic, typical Scottish sky!

No idea. It was legally a road when I was there though.

ton - 80mm fork? How sore were you afterwards!

druid - what's the C2C route then? Thinking of next year [s]but also looking for an excuse to buy a full suss[/s]

It's been off-limits to motorbikes for several years.

Yeah, i've noticed people seem to do it more from Ft Augustus, not sure why.

I'm pretty sure you get more descending off road if you do it from Laggan, which also means more of the climb is on tarmac.

Also, I can't be bothered with steep hairpinny descents when there's a flat-out swoopy option instead 😀

gc, not very.......cos i am tough....... 😉

CG - I'm planning Fort William to Fort Augustus (along the canal), Corriyairack to Laggan, then some road work to the A9. An old military road, B-road and off-road route to Feshiebridge, then Inshriach Forest to Inverdruie. In to Aviemore and then the Speyside Way to Buckie. Should be 3 days riding and with a railway station at the start and one near the end, add on a couple for travelling. Plenty of accomodation en route too. Not as grand as 13thfloormonks journey, but do-able for mere mortals.

When I did it (10+ years ago) I was on a 80mm hardtail. From what i remember it was pretty much all rideable (though it could have changed a bit since then).

I remember it being a great ride - would love to do it again.

Thanks again for replies.

druid - just looked at the atlas and that looks a very impressive route. But 3 days? That sounds optimistic and you're leaving your Blur behind!

ton - you have a reputation. 😀

cg, seriously, it is fine.
ft augustust to laggan we did.
maybye a mile or so of the descent was walking, where the track had been washed away.

ton - I'm a Southern wuss and a girlie. 🙄

A bunch of us did it last year, mix of FS and hardtail. I was FS and we did Laggan to FA but a hardtail would have been fine. Beautiful ride - if you get the weather.....

Err - it's been done on fully rigid bikes before suspension was available....

Done it way back in the day on rigid bikes. A mate broke himeslf and his bike on an early ride and got a ride home in a Land Rover 101, when 4x4s were still allowed to use the pass.

Always ridden as an out and back. Last time we rode it from the bunkhouse at Laggan, the extra road miles and hellish weather made it a long day.

It is a great route though.

The Corrieyairack is basically an old road. A hardtail is fine. It's a great ride.

The first time I did it was on a single speed racing bike 40 years or so ago. The last time I did it was on a single speed hardtail. I prefer doing it from the Laggan end. The steep pitches of the zigzags are walking time for me.

Take enough gear in case you are caught out overnight. I have been snowed in near the top in summer.

It's the conditions that can make it hard rather than the terrain.

what every one else says...no suspension required....provided you can outrun the midges !

an excellent day out ... started at 12 from laggan trail centre carpark (because of weather) finished at 7 at the same place

had a whale of a time on my jack jones - photos not the best off my nokia e71 camera got soaked the day before !

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looking back down to fort augustus

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my weapon of choice
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thats the climb up from laggan -

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the war room !

btw very little of it is any worse than the pave of the paris roubaix .... some of it be steeper. i suggest thick tires though some of the flints are sharp - killed my brand new maxxis crossmark while climbing! - although seems to be a poor tire for that - its replacement did the same !

My grandfather rode it and Larig ghu (sp!) in the '30s on a fixie. 😯

Mindyou they were well 'ard back then.... (suspect he walked most of it carrying said bike)

EDIT

cinnamon_girl - Member

Thinking of next year but also looking for an excuse to buy a full suss

Juliana's have come down in price I see 😆

More good pics. 😀

It will only be one way for me and not sure whether I could make it in a day! Lots of research to do, mapping software on its way. Will investigate luggage carrying services, accommodation etc.

Any other 'must do' routes in the vicinity? If I'm travelling this distance, don't want to miss out on anything.

Andy - a fixie? Mad!!

Edit: [s]am drooling over carbon[/s] 🙄

Did it several years ago on a Kona Kula with 80mm (ha more like 63) SID's, flat bars, etc, etc and my new wife (just back from honeymoon) her on fully rigid Stumpy: it was October and it snowed! Turned into an epic....... Wife still *remembers* it!!!

The first time I entered the Challenge I only had a rigid so I did it on that. TBH that was a bit tough.

But a hard-tail will be fine. I've done the Challenge 4 or 5 times and never used full sus.

Me at the start (ish)
[img] [/img]
Mind this was waay back in 1997-8.

(I've still got those legs!)

Any other 'must do' routes in the vicinity? If I'm travelling this distance, don't want to miss out on anything.

Hunners, have a look at Rothiemurchus and Inshriach, miles of great trails

I did it a few years back on a hard tail, towing a rather heavily loaded trailer.
From what I remember, it was mostly all ridable. Though I was probably not going very fast on some of the downhill bits.
obligatory photo at the summit:
[img] [/img]

Andy - Member
My grandfather rode it and Larig ghu (sp!) in the '30s on a fixie.
Mindyou they were well 'ard back then.... (suspect he walked most of it carrying said bike)

First few times I did it was on an Orange Clockwork with rigid RC30's. And it seemed a pleasure at the time!

Blimey, there's some real hardcore guys on here. 😯

do it quick
this time next year the area will be full of construction traffic for the new power line for the next 4 years

this time next year the area will be full of construction traffic for the new power line for the next 4 years

Seriously? When do they start?

Oh aye. On the up-side, mibbe they'll lay in a better surface?(or will they have to lay in a separate road on account of the current one being a "Scheduled Ancient Monument"?)

Ive done it in a jeep, on foot and on a hardtail, you'll do it one way in a day no bother. Couple of short pushes but a lovely route.

You mean sanitised? 😯

I'd better put it back on this years list in that case.

Which means in the next couple of weeks...

[i]btw very little of it is any worse than the pave of the paris roubaix[/i]
Utter pish.

cinnamon girl, good luck with this epic adventure but watch out for those twigs/ leaves on the tracks!

Rode from Laggan to Fort Augustus (and back to the start via Spean Bridge and Glen Roy) a couple of weeks ago and the Corrieyairick was in pretty good shape. The heavily eroded sections on the "zig-zags" of a few years ago had been filled in so the climb was all rideable.
The descent to Fort Augustus is rocky but once up to speed it seems less bumpy - must be flying over some rocks rather than hitting them.

Over the years have ridden this route on a Raleigh Maverick (!) various hardtails and most recently on my Titus. All great fun with various degrees of hand-fatigue at the bottom. Got puctures every time though in the group so take spare tubes.

Pave sounds just about right to me.

cinamon - probably early / mid 2011
druidh - yes to ancient monument and seperate tracks also lots of helicopter construction round that area

iain1775 - thanks for that. I hope someone will be photographing it all "before and after" to make sure it's not damaged during the construction. 🙂

Thinking of next year but also looking for an excuse to buy a full suss

why do you need to ride Corrieyarick to justify that?? Have a good ride though HT or not

 

why not ride the corrie pass on a hardtail?
deft ride it south to north...ive done the pass a zillion times in the good old days on motorbikes and first on a mtb in 1991, theres an open case here by the way on either legal or not on a motorised form of transport as it hasnt been legally challanged in a court of law...if you phone highland counci they will tell you it is legally still an unmaintained road so is drivable-but it is also an ancient monument so if you are caught damaging said road then that is a legal offence...i remmember it was blocked to 4x4 users by the Fort Augustas side landowners in the early 90s by posts after the scottish landrover club asked permission to drive the pass...,what followed was there own fault as they had an orginised 30 odd line of motors drive over...
some walkers photographed this-with some owners (underage) kids having a shot driving the landys and there was a big write up in the scotsman blameing damage to the road which didnt go down well with the ramblers :lol:,there was also alot of damage done to the descent down to Fort Augustas from a cast iron drainpipe smashed by it is believed the land owner to exaggerate the damage caused by 4x4 users... 😆 now im a cycling tree hugger i only recommend walking or cycling the route 😮

I lived in the Fort for the first 10 years of my existence. Never had the opportunity to try any of this back then, now I do, I really want to.

I have memories of Lagan dam in the drought, '86 I think, being nearly empty.

Will see if I can fit some of these runs in over the holidays.

What is the best guide for them?

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Cheers

Time to visit the family friends in The Fort before they move . Free food, free accommodation, decent whisky collection and a nice bed.

Ha.

AlanW2007 I think we know each other???? Alpinestars almega DX, elevated chainstay, early oversize stem and bars mean anything to you? You fell off as we started down the south side on the way back over because your hands and arms were knackered by the rigidity?

Rode this many moons ago on fully rigid, there and back in a day, with no grips just bare bars! Hardtail will be fine. Also did it as part of a ten day off road tour in about 1992 fully rigid with panniers. Again fine.

People are soft these days.

Green Room