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Off down to Harrogate for a couple of days R'n'R in May, and just noticed Stainburn aint too far away. Anything else I could ride?, I reckon I could get about 4 hours away no probs.
I posted a similar Q last year. I was concerned it wouldn't take very long to ride the trails there - but there's more than enough to keep you busy for half a day.
The black trail is extremely technical and to be honest it would take me years to get anywhere near mastering it.
I spent about 4 or 5 hours there, had a wander about over the road, where there were some DH and XC tracks and spent a bit of time repeating sections on the marked trails.
Dalby's not far from Harrogate - worth a visit if you've got time.
stainburn's fun
Not a fan of Stainburn. Too technical and too small to be fun, especially on a crappy day. Dalby's a far better bet, and only an hour from Harrogate.
**** me what do you drive ? half hour from harrogate ?? 😉
v.short video of two of my mates.
Stainburn's worth a visit if you've got 4 hours definitely.
nice stack at the end of that vid (or weren't we supposed to notice! 😀 )
I think he saved it. I can't really comment though as I'm 'spectating' because that bit was way out of my league.
The red stuff isn't that technical though, I enjoyed it and it was my first time on a MTB in 10 years! 
(Not that I rode all of the red, but it was good to learn on the bits I could ride)
It's short and pretty intense, if you're not into techie stuff you may not enjoy it, and it's more one for a group ride being so techie.
I liked it a lot.
I like it a helluva lot. And it's only 6 miles from my GFs folks' house so I can drop her off and go for a play
😀
I went to Stainburn once. At 4pm on a Friday afternoon on a 6" full sus. What a waste of time. I was the only person there and kept thinking "if I fall off this seesaw it's highly possible there will be no one else around till tomorrow". Oh and the full sus was completely the wrong bike...
Will go again at some point. Would be great with a hardtail, some pads and a load of mates
on a dry sunny day its great especially if you have time for a run around the trails by the mast. If your after a really good xc with big downs try the scar house loop from Patley Bridge, its only 15 mins from Harrogate.
Or give the Singletraction lads a shout on their Rides forum or even the harrogate rockgardners a shout on theirs as they have some sweet trails along the side of the Nidd river (mostly a bit cheeky though)
I went for the first time last year & had a great time. We did a few laps of the red, then spent some time trying to conquer various bits of the black (quite unsuccessfully I might add).
I'd agree that the best time to go would be a nice sunny, dry day when you can just play around.
Just don't expect to 'get the miles in'; we treated it as more of a skills venue.
Anyone what the conditions are like at the moment?!
Is it under a foot of snow like??!
Super tech challenge - go to Stainburn, long XC trail - go to Dalby. Both good, both different, each to their own and all that 😎
Haven't been up but quite a bit of Stainburn is in woods so it should be sheltered. There has been snow in Leeds recently but temps have risen and a lot has melted off. More will lie at Stainburn given it's out in the country / higher / colder. I think I would chance it.
Boulder trail is fully armoured construction (in theory, there are some muddy parts) and whilst I appreciate it's always nice in the sun the place is rideable year round. Some people find it slippy / greasy but not so bad IMO.
Go and hate it and you can easily salvage a ride by taking up Rob's suggestion of Scar House (providing you're out earlier in the day).
"Big" sussers can be more hindrance than help on the Double Black (although lovely for the Descent Line). Shorter travel FS or LT HT are probably ideal. All intended to be rideable on a HT, rock whatever you want though as we've seen all sorts there. It won't be the bike that holds you back 😉
Usually people around throughout the day as well. Pads and a bash ring can help reduce the fear factor and big ring grinding common on the trails.
Norwood (other side form the car park) is worth a look and there's a rough map somewhere in the Stainburn section of the SingletrAction.org.uk forum (main site has been down with server problems recently, forum still OK though). Ask on there for more locals advice although you've had a few respond here. Norwood is likely to be much muddier and the trails more "old skool" following felling work and resulting disturbance.