Mountain bikes

[beckypumps]

I was wondering if anyone in here has a mountain bike. If so how about posting your fav trail after all it is a mountain bike and hifi support network. I tend to do the FC ones in Scotland e.g. Carron Valley / Glen Tres / Learnie red rocks etc

I should add that i'm quite new to the sport but find it quite addictive.

Cheers BP

[Mr Cat]

hello

ok, I got into mountain biking around '89 as a mate had a 21" frame raleigh (as they were then) and I rode down a trail in jesmond dene and somehow managed to stay on - I was then addicted... I then owned several raleigh until around 1991 I bought myself one of these for 500 notes


with that I started to ride further affield and my fave trails/rides were as follows -
hop on a train from newcastle to hexham - then ride upto Whitley chapel then do an offroad circut (~50 miles) down to sparty lea and back...

from newcastle ride to blaydon and start off on the derwent walk (11 miles) then at consett there are some trails that either go towards sunderland, bishop auckland or rookhop...
hamsterley forest - some great trails too

[penance]

I have a Rockhopper pro '11.
Just got back in to the sport after a 10 year absence.

Favourite trails are varied, Ashton Court near Bristol has a couple of miles of purpose built trails which are great for honing skills.
Cwmcarn is also not too far and very good fun, as if Forest of Dean.

I'll hopefully be looking for a full suss bike next year.

[s2000db]

Yes, my favorite trail is the Isle of Wight, from the Needles to the Tennyson Trail, over the spine of the island - breathtaking!!




Mrs B following me up one of the hills...

[la toilette]

Tell you what, this reminds me that I must buy some new off-road tyres - I have an old but trusty Marin Bear Valley but stuck some Conti road tyres on about 4 years ago as I was then only using it on roads, and have hardly used it at all in the last 2 years apart from tootling down the road to the pub . Really must dust the thing down and get back on some muddy tracks.

[Mr Cat]

yeah, not sure what the current crop of fat tyres are these days but back then I had some porcupines 2.1 - amazing grip...!



and anyone remember panaracer..? forget the tyre name but they were supposed to be great too...

[penance]

Quite like the Maxxis swamp things for wet muddy stuff.

[arnoldx3]

i have got schwalbe rocket rons on my scott spark rc nice and fast

[deggie]

still got conti's on my treasured db titanium,a brill ride,never to be parted with,
i'm only half hours drive to the north cotswolds, plenty of trails and dont forget to
mention cafe stops on the way, i feel a thread coming on.

[belloire]

makes me wanna get the bike out (claude butler cape wrath d27 with hope discs). or, crazier still, rebuild the full sus (mid 90's Mountain Cycle San Andreas )
used to ride in dalby forest a lot. since those days they have put a lot of work into the trails, and it's a great place to go now. (not ridden it, but been for a look)
presently have 2 sets of wheels for the CB, the shimanos they came with (no idea of the tyres...) and a set of hope/mavics with schwable semi slicks for road use (the hopes came from the san andreas)

[Leonard Smalls]

I've got a Cannondale F900 hardtail with Lefty fork, and Specialized FSR Epic XC susser.
Both grand bikes, 'Dale a bit lighter but the Epic climbs almost as well because of the "Brain" rear shock. And both much less than £500 off That auction site.
I go to Hopton a couple of times a week plus Mortimer Forest and Bucknell. Lots of very slippy roots, but Panaracer Fire XC tubeless cope well enough with them and teh mud!

[grimep]

Yep, still got a Panaracer 2.1 on the back with a red stripe, don't they make em any more??

I ride an Orange Sub 5 with Hope hubs and brakes, had it 10 years now, great bike. Favourite trails - used to live near the Purbecks so had some great rides. Young family these days so I can't go heading off into the wild blue yonder and have to make do with what's on the doorstep, Surrey Hills/North Downs. There are some nice bits but, well.
Favourite trail, well a lot of the ride guides rave about the remote Doethie Valley in the Cambrians in Wales, some have called it the best singletrack in the country. Well, its nice, remote and scenic, but I wouldn't say the best singletrack by a long chalk, and if you ride it you're missing out on a much better route imo.. park up at the Llyn Brianne dam and head clockwise around the reservoir, at about 7 o'clock a trail heads south west downhill to the end of the Doethie. At the remote farm take the steep (granny cog, its at least a 1 in 4) bridleway up onto the plateau. From here its top gear cruising on a really good bridleway surrounded by the vast expanse of scenary - Brecons visible to the south, Snowdonia to the north. You can make really fast progress, then join the tarmac that loops you round past the very remote youth hostel Tyncornel Bunkhouse. From there you back on the singletrack, ford a couple of streams and then pass the trail on the right that leads to the start of the Doethie singletrack. Keep heading straight, and you end up at the road to the NE of Llyn Brianne, then its another fast top gear sprint anticlockwise round the lake over the dam head and back to the car park.

Fingers crossed I can do it again one day

[beckypumps]

I have a job planned at Lochgilphead in the morning so I feel the need to do the Firetower trail as long as it's not to cold. I also feel the need to wear Lycra!

[nak]

I have an old Orange Aluminium Elite that I've had since 1991. It's still an awesome bike even though it has no suspension. When I do get out on it its in sherwood Forest.

I also feel the need to wear Lycra!

Do it!
I'm more into road biking now and have a few racing bikes (tt and road) and built up a fixed wheel bike last year.

[beckypumps]

I had a small Lycra mishap last week up at Tentsmuir by St Andrews. I got my gusset caught on the seat when I tried to shift position when I hit sand, next thing I'm over the handlebars with the bike on top of me. So that will be the last time I take the thing into the north sea. You live and learn then get sand down yer jacksy.

[Mr Cat]

yeah, forget bto mentioned that my current bike's a trek 4900 which I bought around 2002ish..?



tho, this pic isn't mine...

[found a cure]

used to have one of these,in neon pink great bike,still got a specialized prestige,up in loft,cos am a luzy cnut...................was the panaracer tyre the smoke,they were good,although the contis were better.

[Mr Cat]

used to have one of these,in neon pink great bike,still got a specialized prestige,up in loft,cos am a luzy cnut...................was the panaracer tyre the smoke,they were good,although the contis were better.

lucky bugger - I remember reading some mtb mag when that first came out - early 90s..?

those were the days...tho, I felt proud when I rode around newcastle city centre when I'd just bought my trek 950... klein's were big then, as were saracen - but they went downhill as did muddy fox...

[penance]

Early 90's i hqad a Dyna Tech titanium frame jobby, built up meself.

[Mr Cat]

aha...cold war titanium...

dead cheap and the frames weighed the same as a bag of sugar..!