As per tmb467 you can replace them. However, my experience with so called quality units (Enduro) didn’t warrant the additional hassle or cost. These did not last any longer than the Deore units they replaced….

Depends on your mileage / riding conditions but Hope or King sound a far better long term investment.

If you want to do it properly get a hollow tine fork (cheap as chips from a hire centre)

Bloody hard work but the results are worth it.

Google it and you’ll find all the info you need re sand etc.

He’s also the same guy that skied down Everest from the South Col in the 70’s. IIRC there was an award winning film made of his exploits.

Personally I’ve met numerous ‘old men’ in the hills – Tom Weir was still a regular @ Glencoe well into his eighties.

You wont notice.

Plastic Planters? I mean – how could you?

I’ve got the 115v version of that Hitachi – great piece of kit. Takes a hammering;-)

>Don’t get me wrong, the riding up here is superb but the logistics are tricky just because so much of the good riding is in the middle of nowhere…<

A lot of the good riding is in fact near train stations – Atholl, Dalwhinnie, Aviemore, Achnashellach, B of O and FW all spring to mind. Agree on the logistics though. I’ve done a reasonable amount of train assisted ‘wild rides’ in the West. Given a little savvy navigation and good hill fitness its infinitely possible to put together some brilliant “aggressive xc.” 😉

However, it is a faff, has to be planned with military precision and the booking system makes it committing / makes travelling in groups of 3 or more very difficult. Per the example above it’s also outrageously expensive……..That figure quoted is eye watering but even half that doesn’t compete with a flight FFS!

Been debated here before – if the SG could attack the train issue with the the same zeal they have the new Forth Bridge for example then we’d be getting somewhere.

>Is there a way on the Strava website to see all your results? Not just KOMs, but all of them? Or all the segments you’ve done? Seems a fairly obvious thing to be able to do but I can’t find it.<

Not on the free version afaik.

But dead easy to import your Strava times into this software and see them:

http://veloviewer.com/

I’ve found the Garmin 500 I’m using way more reliable than the HTC phone I used before but the Garmin / Strava combo is far from perfect. It’s good for training / monitoring your own performance but the KOM thing shouldn’t be taken too seriously for off road use. For example a few of the trails I use regularly have very close road sections so the leaderboard is chocked with super fast times set by Roadies who have never ever been down the Singletrack. Similarly loads of guys half my age riding CX bikes and I’m on 33lb full suss. Still, it’s good fun as long as you keep it all in perspective.

I wouldn’t be farting around with a chainsaw on a stump – roots grow around stones and soil.

Just buy a cheap axe and a mattock and roll your sleaves up.

£50 is a fair price to bring in a stump grinder tho.

Throwing a sausage up a Close.

>No year indicator to the man in the street (e.g. so doesn’t make the vehicle look older (i.e. ridiculous)).<

Err really? Think about it…

The ones that make me laugh are the highly tenuous / unfathomable personalised plates on bottom of the range de badged Beemers and the like.

>the apparent reason<

Yeah quite. This is all just talk…

I agree the hybrid track seems ridiculous but as I’ve explained ad nauseum there may be very real reasons why this is so. We’re not dealing with some cookie cutter Sitka forest here.

Who says the owner has the Landowners permission to, or wants to or needs to build a Mtb Trail Centre as such? It’s their gig.

Right, I’m out of here. Been nice chatting.

Apologies, that opening remark was rather dismissive of Glencoe as a resort – I meant in comparative / accepted terms.

I learned to ski @ White Corries many years ago, I have a profound affection for it and my family have a long connection with it. I also have the utmost respect for the guy that took it on and I sincerely hope it continues to flourish. But some folk are getting carried away with the fairies here…

Mark

Glencoe is not a ski resort. It’s a very exposed hill with some ageing ski lifts and, as far as I’m aware, some very real issues in terms of what it can actually build.

The guy who owns it is not putting up resistance for gods sake he’s trying to make it viable. And he’s fallen out with BMS. Sh1t happens, they will either resolve their differences and move forward or an alternative solution will be found.

But as for developing Glencoe as a Trail Centre, Bike Park etc well may be on some level but comparisons with Verbier et al are fanciful.

WGM

>As to the subject we’re debating, I still can’t quite get to the bottom of your angst with my albeit glib posts on the matter,<

When you come on the forum and utter complete tosh as if it were fact you leave yourself open to ridicule. I’ve corrected your misinformation with some hard facts so I’ll say no more.

>surely we are broadly both in agreement that they sort their differences and have another go?<

Yes we are.

Goodbye.

>when i visit Scotland i have a choice; guaranteed good trails, or guaranteed map-faffing<

Sorry, but that’s just a ridiculous comment – the internet is awash with highly detailed trail information nowadays. What you and many others want is certaintity and that’s fair enough.

Back to the point. Glencoe is not a Trail Centre or a Bike Park. Should or could it become one is the issue.

>my total guess is that most people at any given centre don’t go there every week, it’ll be a ‘once every few years’ visit.<

My total guess is that you’d be very wrong – I reckon GT is rammed with week on week users. And to be brutally frank(and good though I’m sure it is) Kirroughtree and many of the others have very low visitor numbers.

WGM

Do you actually know anything about the Scottish ski scene? There are virtually no parallels with Europe / NA.

>I can’t see anything quite as bold being undertaken by the Scottish resorts and especially in the case of this incident where they clearly don’t value the efforts being made by those already engaged.<

And what do you know of the history of Glencoe or more specifically the current owner? AFAIK the guy sunk his own personal £ into rescuing the place so I’m quite happy to give him the benefit of the doubt until I see EVIDENCE to the contrary. At present this “incident” is just a couple of dudes slagging each other by keyboard.

>I think the biggest problem for a trail centre in Scotland is that they are redundant unless they offer something highly specialised.<

Well in this instance you are talking about something highly specialised i.e chairlift assisted gravity trails. Whether you can build and run a bike park (as a commercial venture) and draw visitors in, in sufficient numbers to see a return on that investment is a different matter. entirely.

Personally I’ve never seen the attraction in jumping in the car every week to go and ride the same trails but I realise there are many folk who do. I remember being comprehensively flamed on this very forum for bigging up Cathkin Braes – wrong place, full of ne’er do wells and Junkies, why go there when you can go to Glentress yada yada. Well it aint looking so daft an idea now I believe. Build a bike park near Glasgow – that’s where most of the people live 😉

Well for whats its worth – here are the actual figures:

Season Skier Days 5 Year rolling average

2001/02 81,400
2002/03 44,800
2003/04 58,500
2004/05 55,586
2005/06 55,000 59,057
2006/07 38,553 50,488
2007/08 62,000 53,928
2008/09 65,000 55,228
2009/10 144,000 72,911
2010/11 121,420 86,195
2011/12 66,000 91,684
2012/13 75,000 94,284 (to 4th March 2013)

So, whilst it maybe correct to assert that Scottish skiing endured a very lean period 2002 – 2006 it didn’t exactly shut down (as you claimed.)

Someone above mentioned the Lecht – there’s some parallels. This too is privately owned, it actually has (or had) year round uplift and has, or had, a couple of lift served DH tracks. It hasn’t had massive grants / subsidies like Cairngorm for example. And like Glencoe there is no local community. How does the Lechts mtb operation perform? Pretty poorly is my hunch.

WGM

DH mtb is niche within a niche. In my view White Corries, aka Glencoe, would require substantial investment to make it remotely attractive to a wider audience (Mincers) IIRC there are a whole raft of restrictions on the use of and development of that particular hillside. That’s before we start discussing the weather, geology, ageing infrastructure etc.

Without being negative, you have to be realistic about what is possible on that site. And certainly in the current economic climate…

And as others have pointed out Scotland should be playing to its other mtb strengths – not trying to compete with uplift models on an Alpine / NA American scale.

I have no doubt there is a living to be made by a BMS type outfit and that the operator could make a modest profit on that operation. It’s also clear that both parties are at least committed to further development at Glencoe so I for one hope they can bury their differences and sort it out. Offline.

Brian Stark Boardwise?

Jesus there’s a name from the past. Used to own Mach in Lady Lawson Street IIRC.

Nice guy / younger than me.

You are talking p1sh btw.

>three clear years passed in Scotland one time with no snow for instance.<

Whoops – I’ve been skiing in Scotland for >30 years and I can’t remember when that was.

So, go on, enlighten me.

Cheers – good PSA

Great cause and deserving of support.

However, the harassment thing is a thin line. I’d certainly take exception to folk waving a tin under my nose on the open hill. Around the Green Welly is fair game – seems everyone’s out to make a buck around there 😉

>Even when I used to ski many years ago I would drive straight past Glencoe and on to the Nevis range.<

How very weird 😉

>When I was a kid on a paper round I could easily at weekends do 2-3 hours plus in jeans in all weathers on the bike. And yes, when it rained they got wet and heavy and when it was snowing/freezing they turned to boards but I knew no better. I would go out and ride for fun in jeans also.
A couple of years ago even I was commuting in jeans and cotton tshirts that got so sweaty they took all day to dry out.
It was no real big deal.<

Yup, that sounds like a right barrel of laughs 😉

Of course you can ride in jeans – done so many times myself. But I’m not seeing the logic in deliberately setting out to knock in 35-40 miles in heavy, seam ridden, chainring snagging leg wear. Besides, it rains too much where I live and anyone who says they enjoy riding in wet jeans needs their head examining.

Don’t post up any pics of the arseholes please.

>Anyone tried this before I shell out £100 on one or got any better ideas?<

Aye, ditch the strides and wear something more appropriate.

> I rode in what ever and could ride 35 – 40 miles in jeans no bother.<

I genuinely find this very difficult to believe but hey if you are determined to cycle in jeans then why not I guess.

>Bought fresh from fish monger today<

Or at least so you thought. Could have been days at sea / previously frozen.

Been there. Squid needs to be very fresh / cooked quickly. Or slowly allegedly tho why you would braise something as simple and relatively tasteless as squid for hours is beyond me.

>I am entered for the GT7 in three weeks time. 7 hours XC event. I have never been on the bike for that length of time before.<

Neither have 99.9% of the folk on this site – just do what richmtb suggests and you’ll be fine.

>Roady tony think that’s the whw approaching Buachaille etive Mor. It’s certainly in that area.<

Aye, it’s the wee stretch of tarmac out the back of the Kingy (on the WHW.)It joins the A82 in front of the Bookil / junction with Glen Etive road.

Just skimmed the guys trail report and he only had one Guinness on the entire trip. Doesn’t sound like my kind of race 😉

>”Is the clootie dumpling centre still open?”<

Is that a euphemism for something in that HB video? 😉

Glenlivet will be open by then – will it not? (same Trail Designer) That’s where I’d be heading…

Sorry language is a bit too codified for me but dragging your bike up the hill to get free access to the Red / DH? Sounds like a complete ballache to me…

If you are fit then what’s the issue? Go natural / Kinlochleven et al 😉

I’ve got Dakine packs – bombproof but heavy. As are the Evoc’s – good for posing around Trail Centres I guess 😉 Depends how much weight means to you.

These are superb – very light ( 1/2 to 2/3 the weight of the above depending on model)and a hell of a lot tougher than they look:

http://www.inov-8.com/New/Global/Product-View-RacePro-18-SS13.html?L=26

Clever bladder system which is stored low down / wraps around your Kidneys.

Hirta:

http://www.seaharris.co.uk/

This is very new / unique:

http://baskingsharkscotland.co.uk/

Yup 3 months – they are cack…

>Pulled something last Saturday<

Not a medic but I’ve had T.E and that aint Tennis Elbow.

So, suck it up big boy.

😉

I’m sure someone from the GMBC will be along shortly to clear all this up for us – it’s their baileywick.

I’ll qualify that.

I came on to the path @ Moin Eich. There was a bit of a brown trouser moment going through the section I assume you are referring to but I can’t remember dismounting at any stage to walk it. This was more than 10 years ago. I’d climbed the hill itself more then 10 years prior to that and I can’t recollect anything above the point I joined that would have had me off walking so I’m sure the entire descent must be doable.

I’d never go up the tourist path just to come back down – I’ll go down the Ptarmigan if I ever return.

Yeah – on a Bullit funnily enough 😉