[Closed] Reassessing bike needs for move to Glossop - full suss or hardtail?

I'd go for a full sus, you can alway lock out your suspension. Some of the peaks is pretty rocky, and whilst you don't [i]need[/i] a full sus, I'd say it's preferable on the rocky stuff.

I'd love to have that riding on my doorstep btw...

Rode in and around Glossop quite a few times; meet up with a mate there and ride from his front door.

All doable on a ht, ride mainly on my Chameleon, just a bit more fun on some of the downs on my Heckler. Maybe.

thanks for the replies...I'm not really the type to drop £3000 on a bike (the wife won't let me 😥 ) so I'm trying to squeeze the most out of what I've got...both current hardtails are reasonable spec so I was thinking of looking for a deal on a Giant Trance frame or similar and swapping the other bits over for the missus and getting something like a Ventana el capitan for myself...if funds allow...

always take my full sus to the peaks some rocky trails that i'm sure you can do on a HT but i find it more fun on a bouncy

There's not a lot of flat around there, and the climbs can be quite long (thinking of the drag up to Mt Famine from Roych...), or else think of the start to most of your rides, which will involve riding up and over Chunal to get over to Hayfield, where the fun starts. I'd be thinking of something robust, that climbs well and pretty low maintenance, as the Peak grinding paste will eat yer new bike if you are riding there all the time. Almost everyone I rode with over there was on a H/T, and most also had a SS or hub-geared bike for the winter, as the Peak eats bikes.

Long-travel hardtail, with a bit of 'give' but something that still climbs well, would be a good 'do-it-all' bike. Cotic Soul, Blue Pig, Alpitude, Dialled PA etc...or just stick with what you have, get used to the riding there, and then decide if you need/want something different.

Hardtail with a suspension seat post? I was thinking of getting a thudbuster just before we decided to move...still thinking about it..the wife already has a USE sumo sus post on her bike...

Never used one, so wouldn't like to comment. I certainly found that bigger, tubeless tyres were a bonus: give you loads of grip on rock and don't pinch flat on sketchy lines.

But hey, let's not make this a 'what tyres...' thread 😀

I'm already a big fan of big volume, tubeless tyres so no probs there...GavinB you mentioned most rides start at hayfield...are there any decent trail guides for the area or is local knowlege needed for the good stuff? I've checked a few sites like trailzilla, they seem to have a few rides around there...I'm hoping to start most of my rides from the doorstep without having to drive and park etc. Especially with the heavy traffic stories I've heard about glossop.

BadlyWiredDog is probably the best man to ask about the logistics of riding from there, although there are a few other Glossop locals lurking on here.

There are not too many bridleways from Glossop itself. Bleaklow and the northern end of Kinder Scout are pretty barren for legal riding, so most of the decent trails tend to be centred around Hayfield, New Mills, Rowarth area. There are tons of ace bridleways, by-ways and BOTLs (Bridleway Open to Locals - aka footpaths) all over the Mellor/Marple/Roman Lakes area too, so even if its clagged in up high, you can still get some great riding in.

The Dark Peak guide, by Vertebrate Graphics was very well-used when I moved there a few years ago, just as a way of finding out routes, when you can't tag along with locals. You'll only need to use it for a few months though, as the tracks are really obvious and navigation is simple.

[url] http://shop.18bikes.co.uk/products.php?plid=m7b0s364p58 [/url]

This is guidebook I was talking about. (edited to add the link)

Enjoy!

We almost went for New Mills but the missus preferred Glossop, doh! Thanks for the link and other advice, much appreciated 😀

Full sus will be more fun, but the Peak District eats bearings for breakfast, lunch and dinner. As for riding, there is some superb stuff in the Hayfield direction, and also some nice cheeky stuff out towards Hobson's moor. I ride from Glossop most saturdays so let me know if you want some route advice. High peak cycles do shop rides one evening a week, so have a look in there once you're settled in.

My Cotic Soul is my preferred bike round there. Yes you have to hang on on the rocky descents but it's easier to get up the hills and being steel, it's as comfy as a hardtail can be. And as people say, less stuff to get wrecked by the grinding paste

Like most have said full sus can be more fun but the Peak district grit is not forgiving. I mainly ride my HT in winter/muddy conditions & full sus when its drier or more rocky based routes like the old Chapel Gate (boo hoo) and Cavedale etc.
for routes try these guys http://www.meetup.com/Manchester-Mountain-Bikers/ i am a member of this club they have rides 3+ times a week which may be of interest to you.

Some route advice would be good thanks sambob...I spend enough time servicing two bikes at the moment (the wife refuses to pickup an allen key and get her hands dirty :|) so tending to a full suss might be a bit much... steel hardtail sounds like the best option judging by the comments so far?...singular swift for me maybe?... Cotic Soul or similar for the missus?...

thanks for the link adscatt, looks like another good option

Big forked, big tyred hardtail (Blue pig, Bfe, Soul, 456 etc,etc) is good. If you've got some mapping software i can send you some GPX's? if not i'll explain on here.

I adore my Trance X for Peak District riding. Ridden lots there in the last 18 months, and barely anythings worn out. Just keep things cleaned and lubed.

I'm already a big fan of big volume, tubeless tyres so no probs there...GavinB you mentioned most rides start at hayfield...are there any decent trail guides for the area or is local knowlege needed for the good stuff? I've checked a few sites like trailzilla, they seem to have a few rides around there...I'm hoping to start most of my rides from the doorstep without having to drive and park etc. Especially with the heavy traffic stories I've heard about glossop.

Hmmm... I live in Glossop, give us a shout when you land on the Costa del Peak. You can ride anything, fat tyres are, as Gav says, a good thing, travel works, but I used to ride rigid on the same trails I ride full sus or long travel hardtail on now, so go figure.

As far as riding goes, it's mostly ace. The traffic is dire going into Manchester at busy times, but going out the other way it's mostly pretty good. You can drive to Ladybower in 25 minutes or Hope in about the same. The obvious local riding tends to be around Hayfield or in towards Marple/Mellor and you can do huge loops around the central Peak from the door if you fancy.

Hayfield stuff is 15-20 minutes straight up Chunal on the road, dull but fine. Or you can cut over through Charlesworth and off-road it from there. Or you can push up Doctor's Gate, which is shocking. Or there's some surprisingly good riding up above Tintwistle and Hollingworth. Or you can blitz down the Longdendale Trail and hit Cut Gate. But anyway, it's a good place to be a mountain biker. And it's great if you ride on the road as well - 50 mins to Ladybower over the Snake, about the same to the top of Holme Moss.

Blah... High Peak Cycles runs a slightly irregular, friendly, shop ride on a Thursday evening, usually quite an early start, pace depends on who's there, but generally sane. Then there's a regular Hayfield Hub Wednesday night ride, which starts later and I've always found quite variable. Sometimes it's like a frenzied interval session, other times it's a bit more relaxed.

The Vertebrate Guide to the Dark Peak - and the White Peak one too - are both good, but only part of the story, there's a lot of good riding that's not entirely legal.

I'd ride what you've got to start with and see what you think. I spent a couple of years welded to a Pace RC405 - good sealed bearings for all the horrow stories - but I'm mostly on a Ragley at the moment, both work well, Pace is faster on rocky stuff, Ragley kind of more involving. You can singlespeed as well, obviously, but it can be a bit brutal.

You'll get good at changing hub bearings and over winter, cheap, sintered brake pads are your friends.

But anyway, good place to live if you like riding bikes, but the traffic if you're not heading in towards the M67 Manchester - and there are some sneaky backroad alternatives too - isn't bad at all. The Lakes and Dales are both only a couple of hours away, other Yorkshire stuff closer still.

[Edit - blimey, that was a bit of an epic... anyway, shout once you've moved up and I'd be more than happy to show you some local stuff.]

sambob, I'm pretty well setup with mapping software so GPXs would be nice if you're happy to share..email is guando21 AT gmail DOT com

over winter, cheap, sintered brake pads are your friends

So true, organic pad life can be measured in minutes in the winter...

BadlyWiredDog, thanks for the detailed reply...I'd read the horror stories about the traffic but the missus (and I) really like the place (and she commutes via train) so we decided to go for it anyway...I'm not sure how my commute will go as I'll be working in Warrington at least to start with. My hours are flexible so I was going to try driving at off-peak times (leave at 6:30ish return at 15:30ish) or take a folding bike on the train (a full sized one, not a clown bike :-)) We should be up there sometime in June-July so I'll give you a shout if the offer still stands.

I probably will wait until we get there before changing any kit (unless a decent offer comes along of course 😉 ) I'm pretty happy with my 29er hardtail but the wife's bike is a heavily upgraded Carrera that started as a cycle scheme purchase, it's basically had everything upgraded except the frame so this will be a good excuse to make her spend some money 😀

over winter, cheap, sintered brake pads are your friends

So true, organic pad life can be measured in minutes in the winter...

I'm also a big fan of disco sintered pads so no probs there :-)..to add insult to injury I run formula brakes and weigh a tad more than the average rider so I already eat brake pads in the wet... 😐

The chickpea and spinach curry in the Globe is reason enough to live in Glossop.
Their beer's quite nice too.

We walked up Doctor's Gate to Bleaklow yesterday, would be interested how much of the descent is considered rideable by the locals - estimates varied between 60% & 90%, but the top section looks almost impossible to me!

Anyone got a video?

Rusty Spanner I'm glad you mentioned the Globe, the wife and I are veggie and when we read that the top rated place to eat in town is a veggie pub that was a big plus when making the decision to move there...looking forward to it 😀

Bits of Doctor's gate are unrideable as a downhill unless your name is Danny Macaskill. Some of the difficult bits are just too difficult, then there's boggy bits, and eroded trail bits which you can't ride unless you want to fall in the river, then it's boring. All imho.

I'd like to see a video of someone nailing those first rocky switchbacks after the gate.

Oh and the globe - £2.90 for a curry!!!!

We were in there last night for a climbing club 'do' 🙂

Houmus, two main courses and a portion of parsnip chips came to just under a tenner!

Not veggie myself, but the Globe is one of my favourite places to eat.
God only knows how they make any money. Brilliant pub.

Snowslave, it was one of the first off road rides I ever attempted, back in the early 90's.
Well I say ride 😀

Rode up the Snake from Manchester, then ended up carrying the bike most of the way down.
The last mile or so was fun though!
I think we ended up getting the train home.

With people riding stuff like the Snowdon Ranger these days I though someone might have had a go.
Wouldn't even think about it myself TBH, way too much for me.

BadlyWiredDog, thanks for the detailed reply...I'd read the horror stories about the traffic but the missus (and I) really like the place (and she commutes via train) so we decided to go for it anyway...I'm not sure how my commute will go as I'll be working in Warrington at least to start with. My hours are flexible so I was going to try driving at off-peak times (leave at 6:30ish return at 15:30ish) or take a folding bike on the train (a full sized one, not a clown bike :-)) We should be up there sometime in June-July so I'll give you a shout if the offer still stands.

No worries, shout when you're about. I work from home, so the traffic thing's not a big issue for me, but it's not so bad off peak.

As far as Doctor's Gate goes, I run up it occasionally. As a bike route it has two major drawbacks. One is that it just pops out at the top of the Snake Pass, so you're talking either road to get there/off from there and it's the A57, so busy. The other is that it kind of lacks flow. The rocky stuff at the top is suicidal and it's all a bit messy, but some people love it. It;s kind of a Marmite sort of trail, I think, but it's not really my thing, which is a shame as it's five minutes from the front door.

To be fair I'd go for a full suss and just look after it, more comfortable on long days and you won't take as much as a pounding on teh descents