[Closed] Uplift/gondola newbie

Not gone up with an adjustable post but I reckon it will clear okay. Drop a line to Nevis Range as I am sure this will not be the first time this will have been asked of them.

Will do, thanks

Hang on...

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It'll depend on your saddle though, for the lever clearance- I think it'll be fine tbh but if you've got a long thin saddle then it'll drop a long way through the loop on the gondola and might end up resting against the lever.

You will not be needing it though- you might want to consider just swapping to a standard one for the day, if you have one. One less expensive part to smash off a massive (rain-slicked) rock 😉 Are you going for the red or the dh, or both?

You will be fine i have been up a few times with my Joplin 4 and it's never been an issue

Have managed to unearth the standard seat post so I'll take it, we plan to start with the red & have a wee look to see how gnarly the dh is. I'll be on an anthem so the full dh may be a bit much. Anyone got any experience of xc bikes on the dh? My sons coming too but he's slightly better off on a 140mm full suss

is that a hardtail about to be taken down the fort bill downhill Northwind? Brave man!

My buddy trashed her uppy downy seatpost at Glen Coe on the chair lift. I'd pop a standard one on to be sure but can prob hang by the wheel.

I've done a fair chunk of it on the Soul above, and raced it badly on a trailbike (OK, 160mm forks but 100mm rear air travel). I reckon I could get an Anthem down it safely, but there's a couple of bits that'd be pretty committed. Going to depend a lot on the pilot...

(TPBiker- I didn't do a full run on the Soul, just from the woods down. I'd have been killed back then tbh, I wasn't good enough. But I'd be OK with it now I reckon)

Ah, since it's an anthem my standard seatpost advice might turn out to be crap, there's a limit to how far you can drop it on an anthem isn't there?

You're spot on in approach though- start on the red and see how it goes. They're a bit different in feel but I'd say anyone who's confident on the red should be safe on the dh, though might not neccesarily want to ride every last bit on the first go. Not just because of difficulty, but because it's physically tough, I just found it got hard to commit to things once I was knackered!

It should still be possible to cut across from the red onto the lower part of the downhill at the wallride, if you want to dip your toe in.

I was thinking of an uplift day at fortbill, but then i saw the course (from the gondela) during my recent 10 under ben excursion. **** that...it looked brutal.

Just back from a week in Morzine and the Blacks appeared easy in comparison. (they werent, but at least I could get down them.

do you get multiple lifts up on the same day or is it just on gondola for the day rate £12.75

tpbiker - Member

I was thinking of an uplift day at fortbill, but then i saw the course (from the gondela) during my recent 10 under ben excursion. **** that...it looked brutal.

Remember there's also the red run. Which is like coca cola- it might technically be red, if you hold it up to a light but to all casual inspection it's black 😉 Good though.

Junkyard- it's £12.75 for a single trip with bike, or £30 for an unlimited day pass.

Ta

I found the red hard don't be fooled by its grading

black red blue grading is very very subjective chaps.

i'd consider the opinions of the world cup pros over some random grading. if they say fort bill is brutal, i'll take their word for it...

Worldcup route is officially orange which means "No, we have no idea how to grade this" 😆 Everything from world cup downhills to 2 tabletops and a berm at glentress.

I reckon I could get an Anthem down it safely, but there's a couple of bits that'd be pretty committed. Going to depend a lot on the pilot

This. And also the pace you fancy doing it. If you're happy to take care for faster riders and take half an hour over it, you'll be fine. Put some extra air in the tyres.

I'm going up to Fort Bill end of July - taking part in the NoFussEvents DH Enduro on the main DH track.... can't wait!

Guess I'll see you there 🙂 Aaargh it's only a month away, can't wait either but at the same time wish I had some more time to gel with the dh bike (did it on my Hemlock last time, which was fine but I could have done with a bit more skill compensation 😉 )

I'm weighing up the pros/cons of using a heavy coil DH bike (smaller frame too), vs. light air AM bike (larger frame... I can sit down to rest!).

Have you ridden the wc course before? There's not that many places I'd want to sit down tbh. I'm hoping the big bike'll reduce the beating tbh... Guess I'll find out!

Last time I was there I realised I had forgotten my seat entirely! They were ok with me putting the bike in the Gondola, though eventually some chap who'd snapped a frame in half lent me a 27.2 which I spacered with a coke can. Rode Glen Coe the following day and Hamsterly the day after without a seat too.

There's not that many places I'd want to sit down tbh

I dunno, can fair cruise along the bottom section.

Fair point actually... I always feel tiredest just above the forest then the rest seems to go OK so I guess I'm looking at it wrong. (not sure what the new motorway will be like for mortals, I don't see me clearing the tabletops somehow 😉 )

have a wee look to see how gnarly the dh is. I'll be on an anthem so the full dh may be a bit much

be very wary of rock strikes. I had an Anthem until recently and my main concern would be the thin-walled downtube getting stoved in by rock.

Red is awesome, the WC track, as Northwind says, takes some real commitment. It's constant, no wee smooth sections to get your breath back, just mental. I got to the bottom and actually said out loud 'thank **** that's over!'. It's the only time I've ever felt under biked on the heckler, and completely under bloked as well!.

The red is pretty tiring as well, about 12 minutes for the average joe of concentration can be quite tough, if your used to riding the likes of Surrey hills, no offence, it's just a fact. My favourite man made descent though, it's cracking.

I had the reverb on last time with no issues, although I'd also agree that If your unsure, stick on a standard post.

It might just be me but the WC DH course felt a lot rougher this year than last when we were up there 2 weeks ago , they weren't letting bikes up due to wind direction/severity on one day. I felt totally battered after 4 runs and then binned it at the top of the woods section on my 5th run so stayed in the cafe and drunk coffee while licking my wounds. Didn't help that the rain was horizontal as well.

Wee update, we were at fortwilliam yesterday. Changed my post for a normal one and was glad I did - I reckon the hanging on the gondola would have put undue stress on the ks and as someone else mentioned you don't really need to adjust your seat.
We did 5 runs of the red, eyeing up the downhill each time back up on the gondola. I had myself almost convinced to do it but junior went over the bars at the very end of the last red run and took a bit hit on his hip bone so we called it quits (convenient excuse for me!)
Will definitely be back, hopefully with a dh bike next time as the big track looked awesome

I rode the WC course a couple of years back the day before the course shut for the WC and I found it ok.

Technically, there's nothing that anyone couldn't ride (road jump excepted) - but I think the key is this, to ride it fast is brutal, to bimble down is not so bad.

I've not tried the Red, so can't comment, but for all those wanting to try the WC course, go for it, just take it easy.