Hi

So many moons ago I dabbled in DH and whilst I rode some pretty techy stuff I never managed to get to grips with bigger drops and jumps. I’m planning a trip to Glentress and probably inners XC.

I was just wondering if I can roll down any of the DH runs without jumping / dropping?

Ta

Yeah totally. There’s generally no crazy committed stuff.

Although depending on where you go it does get steep and there is the odd borderline drop/rut/root thing.

Thanks Robz. Which lines would you recommend for a competent trail rider (with previous ideas of DH grandeur) accompanied by a relative new trail rider?

There’s some very steep stuff but easily avoided, if you don’t want too tech then Angry Sheep and the one next to it are very good

Which lines would you recommend for a competent trail rider (with previous ideas of DH grandeur) accompanied by a relative new trail rider

Bearing in mind the hill is still a mess post Arwen, a lot of the conventional runs are not there anymore but basically Gold, Crest and Matador are all rollable, albeit with Matador middle avoiding the steepest roll in and taking the one about 15ft to the left.

Make or Break is totally gone.

To be honest, you’d be hard pushed to accidentally find anything that isn’t rollable there. Date Night, 2nd Date, Pete Williams and a couple more I can’t think of, but you’d have to take some very specific routes to end up on them.

You’ll be fine. If in doubt ask someone on the uplift for pointers

I’m an XC racer with a hardtail.
I can ride all of them (but much slowly than the proper DH riders!) You’ll be fine.
Golfie has some steeper stuff and I feel a wee bit out of my comfort zone there on some of them, Thornielee is steeper again and Yair has a good mix, although a couple are gone post Arwen

Cresta and Matador are doable, Gold Run was a complete bastard when I was there last year, constant 3ft drops for a lot of it which was tiring on 150mm. Cresta needs attention for the first sprint as it’s easy to end up in the left hand fork and wind your way back down to Matador.

That’s a shame about Make or Brake, not the first time trails up there have been nuked and won’t be the first time they resurface in some form or another years later (magic carpet, nuked again)

Thanks guys.

I do worry about my dangerously steep head angle of 67 degrees.

If only we were in 2016 when I bought the bike and my head angle was fine 🤔😉

Gold Run doesn’t have constant 3ft drops?

The trouble with innerleithen is that it’s a mess of trails- so it’s all too easy to accidentally get onto something you don’t want to, and it’s not easy at all to say “do X and you’ll be fine” or “avoid Y”. But yep Angry Sheep and Green Wing are fantastic- the sort of trail that’s reasonably straightforward just to ride down, but gives back what you put in so as you pick up speed it just comes alive. They’re also good for unchaining you from the ground- there’s tons of light spots where it’s dead easy to hop and skip a little.

Agree with the above, compared with the Golfie where I can mostly find a trail and ride it all the way to the bottom (apart from Kendal Mint Cake where I think I missed a turn?) , I find the DH area of Inners a bit confusing.
Angry Sheep is great though.

It’s all rollable and any drops can be avoided with a bit of line choice. Rode it a couple of weeks ago, mainly cresta, matador, gold run, cadon bank (fun, not a dh trail really).

The only thing I’d say is that some elements are really bloody steep and could look like drops but once you get your head around it you pick a line through it.

Angry sheep is perfect starter for warming up and getting loose then Matador is a fun choice with a Few table tops to jump initially and some optional drops that are signposted.

IMHO the middle bit of Innerleithan is a bit ruined. Too many lines, cut corners and trails splitting off so if someone recommends a trail eg the Gold run, by the time you drop in you’ll have difficulty following to the bottom.
To answer your question ropey, there are some trails with drops but most are sighted and you can push or ride round if you’re not confident on them .

Gold Run was a complete bastard when I was there last year, constant 3ft drops for a lot of it which was tiring on 150mm.

🤣 Please disregard this. There is not a single drop on Gold.

As others have said, Inners has no drops or gaps that cannot be easily avoided. As is the way in the valley, there are plenty of roots into corners, all of which can be rolled.

Despite the storm there’s still heaps to ride. Get some chat from someone on the uplift and have a hunt on Trailforks. I’m sure you’ll have a blast.

IMHO the middle bit of Innerleithan is a bit ruined. Too many lines, cut corners and trails splitting off so if someone recommends a trail eg the Gold run, by the time you drop in you’ll have difficulty following to the bottom

It’s definitely a bit of a maze, but if the trail was really fun, does it matter if it was gold the whole way down or whatever?

I don’t really get the recommending Angry Sheep/Greenwing when you’re on the uplift.
They’re both fun trails that anyone can ride but they don’t link into anything to get you back to the bus.

I also sometimes get lost on the middle part of the hill despite riding it a fair bit.😂
We did a birthday ride over there a few weeks back everyone was local and despite a few attempts we never all managed to ride the same trail top to bottom.
All great fun but sometimes a little confusing 😁

Pete Williams

Who/where/what is Pete Williams?

Would also recommend Deer Hunter as a mellower option, but don’t miss the turn and end up on Date Night!

don’t miss the turn and end up on Date Night!

Got some mates up visiting at the moment and that’s exactly what one of them did.

He wasn’t impressed. 🤣

Oops!

Second Date is one of my favourites, but riding buddies refuse to ride it for some reason?

Who/where/what is Pete Williams?

Pete Williams is a Dh racer from Inners. There was a short section of trail named after him. Was used in an SES a few years ago. Was pretty mental from what I remember. Don’t think it’s every made it to the named stuff on Trail Forks etc

Pete Williams is a Dh racer from Inners. There was a short section of trail named after him.

Cheers!

Gold Run doesn’t have constant 3ft drops?

🤣 Please disregard this. There is not a single drop on Gold.

By drops I mean it was like riding down a staircase of 3′ high steps, whichever one it was it was bloody miserable riding it on 150mm straight steerer Sektors. It’s the one that comes down into the arena and the old bombhole and is/was utterly wrecked. IIRC it was a similar state to Trailfairy Plan over at GT last year.

Maybe it wasn’t actually as big a drop as that and it’s PTSD talking. Dunno.

militantmandy
Free Member

It’s definitely a bit of a maze, but if the trail was really fun, does it matter if it was gold the whole way down or whatever?

No. But if you’re following advice that says “ride deerhunter, it switchbacks over the hill and is mostly pretty mellow” and you accidentally turn onto Pete Williams or Date Night, that could matter.

TBH I think it could benefit from some very selective trail blocking- no decommissioning, just reduce the number of interlinks a little (they could be reopened easily for races, that’s how many of them started) and probably add some limited new stuff to distinguish individual trails better- and an absolute shit-ton of signs. Like, all the signs.

add some limited new stuff to distinguish individual trails better- and an absolute shit-ton of signs. Like, all the signs.

That was the issue with Cresta and TripleChoc, also going to be a bugger if you go down 39 Steps and miss the turn for Past Blast.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind going down stuff and getting a bit “lost” but when you’re not necessarily in a group and with the amount of closures and potentially sketchy routes you need proper signage to keep folk on the right track and safe.

Yep- when you get to a road and your mate’s not behind you any more, what’s happened to them? Are they lost? On another trail entirely and already gone through? If they’ve crashed, what trail was it on? It’s not a disaster obviously but it’s something that could be better.

Thanks guys.

I’ve yet to convince my mate yet but you’ve given me an idea at least..