Did Inners uplift on my Prince Albert and loved it. Did the Alps on the same bike and loved that as well.
Let the big bikes go first and then just rag your bike in an acceptable limit. Some may class it as mincing, but riding is all about having fun, and doing that certainly flicks my switch.
got one booked at cwmcarn for a fortnight today can't wait
Lakes trail uplift
Peaks Trail Uplift
Ft Bill Uplift
Racing Uplift
Alps Uplift
🙂
No ............ pedalling!!
You'll be amazed in a day how much faster you will get down the track purely through the number of runs you will get in and the fact you don't have to get yourself back to the top!
Never really done proper uplift but a few years ago in the Alps we did runs of Black8 when we were staying at Les Arcs. The funicular took about 20 mins to get to the top, the trick was to beat it back down, then get on the next one.
First few goes on the descent we were really running it close, 19 mins or so but by the end of the week we'd got it down to under 15 easy, SO much smoother with line choice, knowing where and when to brake/pedal etc.
My bike skills have really deteriorated recently (not that they were much cop to start with... 😳 ), I really need a week somewhere almost starting from scratch...
Any thoughts on fitness training to help handle an uplift day? Presumably the physical exertion is the same whether you're on a short-forked hardtail or a big downhill bike, you just go WAY faster on the latter.
stengthen your forearms, in whatever way you prefer
not quite, if i do an uplift on my hardtail i feel way more knackered by the end of it than on the DH bike.
I wouldn't be concerned about fitness, you'll be fairly rinsed after your first one regardless!
Only on the SS.
They pointed and laughed at my lack of gears and bounced and made fun at my xc lid and armourless kit.
done my first at cmn carn last weekend, let the fast boys go first, dont over cook your first run, above all have a great time i did.
Well no one laughed at me - armourless and on my xc bike when I first did Inners (That I know of 😀 )Or when I took my hardtail up (To cheat)
They might laugh now that i'm overbiked but I don't care
Seriously though it doesn't matter as long as you have fun - give it a try - some places will do single runs if there's capacity - Inners does
Diane - Member
"Well no one laughed at me - armourless and on my xc bike when I first did Inners"
Nobody even laughed at my mate fully suited and booted on an Orange 224 trundling down the easy lines at walking pace. This might be a completely unfair statement, but it does seem like downhill attracts less total fudds than your average trail centre crowd.
This might be a completely unfair statement, but it does seem like downhill attracts less total fudds than your average trail centre crowd.
I reckon your right, especially at uplifts and races - people are there just to ride, to go fast and have fun. Its not about the standing around comparing you bike to joe bloggs' in the car park or who can get up a hill in the highest gear or who's got the nichest 29er fixie.
Don't get me wrong DH probably has them too, but on uplifts etc its people who have paid to ride and go to ride.
Plus there's a lot less lycra on display.
It's a shame you can't edit thread titles. Anyway, continuing the theme, what one key skill would you recommend a complete DHing newbie (comfy riding normal red XC stuff, takes some chicken runs on black bits) focus on?
Depending where your riding, but just being comfortable riding down the track would be a good start. Most downhill tracks are a fair bit steeper/gnarlier than a trail centre.
just relax the wrists and ankles hang off the back and you can roll down anything (mostly)
Key skill? Riding steep stuff.
Anything else tricky (drops, jumps, corners, roots etc) you can ride round, mince over or stop in front of. If the hill's steep, it's steep! No avoiding it.
Start with short steep sections you can be confident letting go a bit on, and work up to longer prolonged sections of steepness.
Having said that, there's nothing super-steep at any of the places mentioned on this thread I don't think, but some places e.g. inners, might seem steep if you're not used to it. (there is some very steep stuff at inners, but it's a bit off the beaten track and most don't ride it)
sharki - Member
Only on the SS.They pointed and laughed at my lack of gears and bounced and made fun at my xc lid and armourless kit.
How strange! Who are "they"?
I pretty much never change gear on my DH bike and am happy to ride DH without armour and in an XC lid, especially if I'm pushing up.
OP If you can - try to walk up then down the course before - it will give you a bit of insight (Obviously it will need to be a quiet time and don't have your i pod on 😀 )
Riding down will certainly be easier than walking!
Anyone done an uplift weekend split over 2 different areas ?
Was thinking of uplift one day (FOD maybe), camp, then off somewhere else like Hopton for next day. Close to midlands is bestest, no point driving for hours when you could be riding.
Yes, walking the course makes sense. The couple of times I've been to trail centres I've wasted hours beforehand watching youtube videos to see what the red and black XC routes are like - really helps because it's all a bit familiar, but bumpier and steeper than the video looks!
Being truly geeky, what kinds of gradients are we talking, both on average and on the steeper bits? Anyone tracked it on a GPS or are there course maps?
We have some local DH runs in various woods that I shall go and investigate further - when I first saw them I was surprised at quite how downhill they were - and being unofficial there aren't any chicken runs!
Anyone done an uplift weekend split over 2 different areas ?
Last summer we weren't going abroad so I worked out we could do a week of mostly uplifts in the UK - taking in Caersws, FoD and Cwmcarn.
Interspersed with a few XC days, it was good fun and a nice mix of riding.
Moelfre is quite a nice track when the braking bumps have been filled in. Works out cheeper than Inners for the ammount of runs but there isn't the choice of runs.
Mike will tell you more at Borderline events.
GW - Member
sharki - Member
Only on the SS.
They pointed and laughed at my lack of gears and bounced and made fun at my xc lid and armourless kit.How strange! Who are "they"?
I pretty much never change gear on my DH bike and am happy to ride DH without armour and in an XC lid, especially if I'm pushing up.
They didn't laugh after the first run when i wasn't much slower down and faster at times than others.
Helped being on my local DH trails though.
Moelfre is a fairly smooth and flowy. However last time i went the uplift was just a flat deck trailer with bikes piled one atop another! Pearce have the best system imho.
Inners/ Ft Bill/ Hamsterly/ Laggan/ French & Swiss Alps/ most DH races I have done Pitfichie / Dunkeld. Never had a bad one
