Bike parks? Uplifts? Educate me :-)

Most of my riding is in the Peak District, with occasional forays further afield. I suppose my riding is fairly old-school, involving fairly long days out with loads of climbing and, of course, descending. I love a good descent: the feeling of speed, small jumps, weightless moments, getting away with things, etc. So, how could I do more of this? I do occasionally ride an emtb, but I’d really like to spend longer on proper descents.

Pike parks and uplifts? I know nothing about them. Where would you recommend as a first go? Do I need a full face helmet and all the gear? Any tips?   Based near Stockport and happy to travel 🙂

Cheers

Go to Bike Park Wales, that’s going to be your best introduction to uplift riding I’d say. Others will disagree but there’s a wide range of tracks to try where you can find your level and the uplift is pretty good. There’s also the option to ride up but it’s hard work doing multiple runs on a normal bike!

Where would you recommend as a first go?

The obvious one is make a trip to Bikepark Wale, it has the largest variety of trails in the UK, a good uplift and rides well in all weathers.  Do it over a weekend and visit twice or take in another venue on the other day such as Dirt Farm.  It sounds like you want a long descent rather than a jump focused park so plan visits based on what is best for that.

Do I need a full face helmet and all the gear?

Check with the park, many mandate FF and certain elements of protection.  Remember that you’ll be descending more at higher speeds in unfamiliar terrain, so dress appropriately.

Any tips?

Take the first runs easy, knowing when certain trail features come up and what they are helps a lot.  Enjoy, it’s a blast.

Stockport? Have you been to Farmer John’s? It’s not uplift but it is bike-parky with a nice flowing jump line right out of the car park.

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You will need a full face helmet.

Nothing on the doorstep unless you include Farmer Johns – has produced some truly exceptional riders but you probably need to be 14 yo to capitalise on that dimension. V short runs.

Antur is around 2 hrs from you and has a good uplift. Might be the best starting point. There is also a DH venue out Ruthin way called Foel Gasnach – I’ve not ridden there but that’s prob 90 mins away. Bike Park Wales is probably the best introduction to bike park riding in the UK – big selection of trails at all levels, very well laid out – 3 hr drive away outside Merthyr Tydfil.

For just riding more tech stuff than Dark Peak bws you could take your ebike to Win Hill – many more interesting lines on the reservoir side of the hill. Shortish runs but plenty of options. This times ten is the tweed valley in the Scottish borders – superb location for self-uplift riding. 3-4 hrs away so needs to be a weekend.

Actual long descents = The Alps. A different scale.

Simplest protection setup and the uniform of French riders in the Alps is a full face, a chest / back protector that goes over your top and kneepads. Anything else as you feel.

Go to BPW.

No one really needs a full face helmet. You will really, really want one for the first time you land on your face on a fast, rocky descent. Then you won’t care how much it cost to buy, it’ll be the best purchase you ever made.

For the price of a cheap one it’s worth having only if you use it half a dozen times in a year.

How long have you been riding? Have you not been to Morzine yet?

Full face is good, more body armour is good and possibly bigger tyres too.

You’ll be more beaten up than you think by lunchtime. Use the uplift to eat and drink and be prepared to stop before doing ‘one last run’.

Also be prepared to want to do it again and again and again. It’s all the best bits of mountain biking without the worst bits.

Bike Park Wales, Antur Stiniog or Forest of Dean to start. Then Dyfi 😈

Bike Park Wales, Antur Stiniog or Forest of Dean to start. Then Dyfi 😈

I’ve got some mates doing about 4 or 5 days on wales starting tomorrow. I was intending to meet them for a day at BPW and taking my lad along as well*, unfortuntely (or hopefully not…) the only day we can do is Friday and they had already booked on at Dyfi!

*He’s 16 next week, and loves Grenoside. I’m 48, fat and shit at jumping. I’m going to die aren’t I??

Bike Park Wales, Antur Stiniog or Forest of Dean to start. Then Dyfi

I agree on the order, you need to be aware that even though you get chauffeured to the top of the hill it is still tiring riding down all day, so take breaks and don’t do anything silly at the start of the day

This is making me wish I had mates who still went riding!

I haven’t been to BPW since 2018/19. My little riding crew disintegrated during Covid and never really came back.

I don’t mind riding on my own but trips away and uplift days are much more fun (and more affordable) with a group.

The reds at Dyfi are more than enough for me. I had a look at an easier black or two and felt like I was missing some abseiling gear on some of the rocky drops/cliffs. Genuinely climbing down, holding the bike below me in one hand and clinging to the rocks with the other.

Luckily the reds are more than enough fun, even if you can’t clear a single tabletop! 50 Hits? More like 50 Cases but it’s all good times anyway.

Echoing others, The major Benefit of BPW is that you can fill a day riding a variety of trails, maybe push your comfort zone a bit without necessarily taking huge risks. it’s quite hard to ‘waste‘ a day there IMO.

The last few times I’ve visited I’ve had a FF in the car and simply not bothered with it, had plenty of fun and no incidents mostly riding the Blues and Reds with mates and gotten plenty tired enough, but there are Black runs if you feel you are progressing and want to tackle bigger jumps or features.

It’s worth just looking at the trail map on their website and reading the descriptions beyond the basic colour gradings; some are techy, others add speed and wheels off the ground features, don’t underestimate the speed you can carry into a corner on the blues either.

I’m not aware of any other centres quite like BPW in the UK just in terms of variety of trail types and offering progressive challenges at different levels. if you have a comfort zone and want to push it at your own pace, it’s a good place to start (IMO).

I wouldn’t disagree with BPW being the best intro to uplift riding (not been for years though).

I’d just add that the Innerleithen uplift offers access to a huge number of tracks as well – albeit mostly in the trees.

And yes, FoD might be the perfect place to start. Must go back there myself sometime.

BPW is probably the best, but for where you live i’d suggest Antur Stiniog as its more doable in a day. Everything there is rollable inc all the blacks. There are very flowy blues and reds to get you started and more than enough for a full day out.

Ignore the stormtroopers at these places but still get yourself a full face no matter where you go.

Ignore the stormtroopers at these places but still get yourself a full face no matter where you go.

I’m still puzzled by this.  I’ve ridden BPW, I’ve ridden big rocky descents in Wales, Lakes, Scotland.  I’ve done uplifted super steep riding on volcanic rock in La Palma and many years of uplift trips to the Spanish Pyrenees with Basque MTB.  All of that has steep/scree/fast/rock/steps and drops.

There’s the odd person on those trips who spends the whole day clipping and unclipping their chinguard. And an occasional person who has armour beyond knee and elbow pads. In the UK I don’t even bother with kneepads.

What I’ve not done is ski-lift bike parks.  So what is it about a them that suddenly means a full face helmet and stormtrooper armour is essential?

What I’ve not done is ski-lift bike parks.  So what is it about a them that suddenly means a full face helmet and stormtrooper armour is essential?

It’s really rare at them these days.

Didn’t even think to take my body armour to the Alps last year.

Its seems that you’ve been pretty lucky in that you haven’t taken a dive over the bars and landed on your face. Generally lift assisted riding means the riding that you’re doing is of the DH variety, increased speeds mean increased risk of decking it. I rode Dyfi on Sunday and wouldn’t even consider doing it without a full facer (not that you’re allowed to anyway).

Antur Stiniog is a good place to start. It’s pretty much all rollable and the uplift is fast and efficient. I found midweek easier as there’s more time to mince down the blacks without getting in anyones way. Going to Innerleithen will get you longer descents, the majority of which are much harder but there’s plenty to do as an intermediate rider for a day. The uplift takes much longer though.

In the UK I don’t even bother with kneepad

Makes sense. UK rocks are famously softer than elsewhere.

What I’ve not done is ski-lift bike parks. So what is it about a them that suddenly means a full face helmet and stormtrooper armour is essential?

They’re probably not essential for most people but when you’re not pedalling up the hills it’s much easier to tolerate bulky pads and a FF helmet so you might as well wear them.

Also, some people go to these locations to ride as fast as possible, downhill, all day long on trails that include rocks, roots and big man made features. All of which massively increase the likelihood of you exiting your bicycle at some point.

Unlike you I haven’t been so fortunate. I’ve written off multiple FF helmets and had knee and elbow pads grinded down to the plastic. I’ve also been caught out on the days I didn’t have pads and have the scars to prove it.

Obviously, continue to do as you please. Choose your own level of protection. I’ve settled on my favourite stuff for various locations.

I’m still puzzled by this.  I’ve ridden BPW, I’ve ridden big rocky descents in Wales, Lakes, Scotland.  I’ve done uplifted super steep riding on volcanic rock in La Palma and many years of uplift trips to the Spanish Pyrenees with Basque MTB.  All of that has steep/scree/fast/rock/steps and drops.

But you still wear a helmet? So you are aware you can fall off and hit your head? Well that applies to the front of the head as well. More so if you come up short on a gap jump. Full faces are a pain in the backside when pedalling up hills, they are hot and restrictive, so people don’t wear them then. But when you are riding downhill all day its a no brainer (boom boom) to wear one. Unless of course you are planning on riding in survival mode and staying well within your envelope.

Its seems that you’ve been pretty lucky in that you haven’t taken a dive over the bars and landed on your face.

Of course I’ve taken a dive over the bars a few times but the least expected ones have been innocuous riding – a random stick through front wheel, mud puddle with no indication in was a wheel swallower.

In the UK I don’t even bother with kneepads

Makes sense. UK rocks are famously softer than elsewhere.

I figure you wear them all the time or none of the time, because the times you come off are very often NOT when you’re fully focused and nailing the hard stuff.  But if I’m in the uk I speak the language, know how the health system works and I’m not going to lose days of an expensive holiday and (if it’s a guided trip) mess stuff up for other guests.

Full faces are a pain in the backside when pedalling up hills, they are hot and restrictive, so people don’t wear them then. But when you are riding downhill all day its a no brainer (boom boom) to wear one. Unless of course you are planning on riding in survival mode and staying well within your envelope.

that makes some sense and I guess I’m cautious – my aim is to ride at 95% not 105%. I’m not racing – I’m riding for fun. And it’s a real case of where do you stop on this stuff – I’ve come off but rarely hit my head (most of my helmet damage is from low branches not the ground).  K’s worst arm injury was somewhere her elbow pads should have been protected.  You wear kneepads and rip open your shins.

So before you know it you’ve got people riding the Surrey Hills in full stormtrooper kit with back protectors, full face and goggles on trails I’m riding with an open lid and sunglasses.

Bike Park Wales. The best place in the UK to go for uplifts.

Regarding FF and armour, it’s totally down to it being the choice of the individual (assuming they are acting within the rules of the park) but I don’t understand the bravado of those who proudly state you don’t need anything more than the bare minimum (for lift assisted gravity riding, not the Surrey Hills).

I’ve seen and had enough accidents on UK and Alpine uplifts to know that not having the protection is great until you need it (even though in many cases it’s damage limitation rather than total prevention).

As many have said, head to BPW.

Great variety of trails, from flowing blue to jumpy blacks. Nothing steep. And most trails you can make more challenging by upping your speed. And the squirrel catchers (qualifiers) can give you an idea of what skills you need (although not always representative of the actual features on the trail).

Protection is totally personal. I only wear knee pads, be it local trails or bike parks. I occasionally wear a ‘soft’ back protector if in the Alps/abroad. I prefer a half shell, gives me more airflow and better vision. But do dust off the full face and goggles on occasions. I have found in the past that being clad head to toe in armour can limit movement and makes it more awkward. But, as i say, wear what you feel comfy in. flips flops and a skull cap or head to toe DH pyjamas, neck brace and the latest carbon full face.

Wherever you chose, i am confident you will enjoy it!

On the subject of protection, I just had a couple of weeks away riding and had full insurance with yellow jersey, even then most of the time I wore a roost guard & elbow pads which I wouldn’t at home.  A serious injury 600 miles from home would have been massive pain to deal with.

That’s amazing… thanks for all the replies.

Right, BPW it is. I’m trying to round up a few mates. If not, I’ll go and do a course there. I’ll be on my Tallboy, so probably taking it easy (ish) to start with. I’ll start looking at helmets too. I’m 55 and have been riding forever btw. Feel that I need to expand my horizons though. Might even look at doing an Enduro too 🙂

 A serious injury 600 miles from home would have been massive pain to deal with.

That’s a good point. A full face helmet or an elbow pad can make the difference between dusting yourself off and going for an early pint or having a free helicopter ride to insurance nightmare.

I’ll be in the Alps in a few weeks and I’m very conscious that I’m on my own and have to drive over 1000 miles to get back.

Anyone mentioned BPW?

Went back for the first time post-Covid the other week with my kids (14 and 11) and we had an absolute blast. Did nothing but the blues all day but stuff like Sixtapod I simply can’t get enough of and doing trail centres, I’m usually headed straight for the black stuff. Great way to introduce yourself to uplift riding. Tip for BPW though – take food… the range from the cafe seems to have gone down and the prices up.

On the word of protection.

I did my first uplift day last year at FOD. I wore burly knee pads, decent elbow pads but at the time didn’t have a full face.

Some of the trails there are fast, faster than my usual riding. And as I rode more confidence built more until I ran out of skill. Nothing severe, but had I not been wearing the pads then it would have ended my days riding there and then, late morning. As it was I was able to pick myself up, do a bit of a body and bike check, finish my run (slower) and grab some lunch.

Did I need protection? No. Would I have had a serious injury without it, also no. But it would have been uncomfortable enough to stop me riding for the day. As it went I was back in the uplift bus for the afternoon session.

What I’ve not done is ski-lift bike parks. So what is it about a them that suddenly means a full face helmet and stormtrooper armour is essential?

can only speak for the PdS region and Les Arc/La Plagne, but sometimes the larger area, the fact that it spends the winter covered in trail ruining snow, and the fact that the elevation is easier to come by means that sometimes the tift served areas are a tad “unfinished” like you ride a lovely trail then there is 200m of loose rocky scree/fire road to connect back up to the lift or another trail. Or they will just shove in a random fast/steep bit because they didnt have time to build/fix that bit of trail. Fast and loose is where the armour has its use, not low speed tech.

I figure you wear them all the time or none of the time, because the times you come off are very often NOT when you’re fully focused and nailing the hard stuff.

depends where you live – my local rides in the home counties are mainly mud and roots. because I know the trails I’ll be pushing the hardest here. Either no kneepads or soft knee sleeve type ones.

If I’ve got a trip to somewhere rockier, whether I’m pedalling or uplifting, I’ll upgrade the protection.

Stanley, if you’re looking for another old duffer to go to BPW with give me a shout! I’m 60, not very skilled on an MTB but love BPW.  In fact, I have a father’s day gift voucher for the place to use up!

There is also Farmer John’s near by if you are happy to push up

Innerleithen is a good one too for a weekend, adrenaline uplift one day and a golfie day the other

Id still rather ride up than an uplift. Went to Bike Park Wales last year which was great fun and loved the reward of riding up several times to ride back down again. Id only book an uplift if/when im no longer able to ride up.

Wow some people will go anywhere and suck the fun out of it.

BPW is great but I’d suggest FOD, it’s less outright “bike parky” if that makes any sense and a wee bit more normal ride, a bit less overwhelmy and different, it’s got a more natural feel to the trails and basically feels more like a place I’d go and ride up, rather than a place I’d go because it’s a bike park. Equally I’ve heard people say BPW feels more like a normal trail centre so that can be welcoming, depends on you. It is a very big operation, even just being in the massive car park full of bikes is weird feeling for me.

Dirt Farm is mint as well, with the bonus of tractor uplift. It’s definitely bikeparky but again has a very different feel to BPW. It always looks jumpy but that’s a bit misleading, I’m an adequate jumper at best and one of our group is very wheels-on-ground but it works for everyone. The super fast blues down the bottom are just superb, after a couple of runs you feel like a better rider, maximum speederbike feel through the trees. The downside is, you’re outside all day, if the weather turns then the tractor is less fun.

Re full face I have one, whether I wear it seems to be mostly about my mood on the day. Sometimes it can feel quite odd, like “I have got my serious hat on therefore I must be doing serious riding”, where open face says “I am just riding my bike” Sometimes it just feels good, more protective. It’s just psychology. You’re definitely more likely to crash- that’s just natural, if you were to go and do your most normal riding but do like 4 times as much of it, and maybe ride trails more than once and go faster second time, you’d be more likely to crash too. You get differently tired.

Antur is great fun,  it is a bit more flowy now they have sanitised it a bit.  Taking the rock drop out of the red was probably a good move as it could be a real surprise if you hit it on the right hand side.

If lift assisted I tend to wear as much armour as I possess,  am on dh bike and going at about 90-95% and antur is pointy if you come off.

Just have fun and take it slow on the first few runs.

The only challenge on the blacks there is line choice, some lines are very definitely better than others

How is Innerleithen in terms of being able to stay on your intended intermediate trails?

I’ve been once as part of a skills course and it seemed a bit of a maze in places, and I know there’s some demanding stuff in there that I wouldn’t want to accidentally get onto.

bikesandboots
Full Member

How is Innerleithen in terms of being able to stay on your intended intermediate trails?

Utterly impossible, in the main hillside. There’s signs for the official trails but they’re pretty inadquate, not to mention really old- new trails have appeared since they were made. I used to ride there all the time but I’d still occasionally end up on something I’d not meant to, these days I just follow my nose and don’t worry about it.

The flipside is that there’s not much in/around the main trails that’s going to be too bad. Some is quite nasty but as far as I can think, it’s all quite spottable and dealable with even if that means a short walk, you’re not likely to get in too deep and be killed. And a lot of stuff is basically selfcontained, once you’re out of that central mess.

(one of the first trails everyone recommends after the official ones is Deerhunter, and that’s good advice, except that it runs right across the hill and you can easily take one wrong turn and find yourself stuck on first date or pete william’s track and you may have Regrets)