QECP is pretty deadly this time of year - wet chalk and tyres dont make good pals
guess the other option is swinley but more of a drive. i think that drains a bit better perhaps.
Mountain Biking
- Thread starter Zefan
- Start date
guess the other option is swinley but more of a drive. i think that drains a bit better perhaps.
The thing is, yesterday it was bone dry and I wasn't even on the chalky bit. I'd already done the red route without a problem.
There's a little jump near the top of the blue which I take every time. Yesterday I must have had too much weight forward because I nose-dived, the front wheel dug in and I got flipped over the bars, landing most of my weight on my wrist.
There's a little jump near the top of the blue which I take every time. Yesterday I must have had too much weight forward because I nose-dived, the front wheel dug in and I got flipped over the bars, landing most of my weight on my wrist.
The thing is, yesterday it was bone dry and I wasn't even on the chalky bit. I'd already done the red route without a problem.
There's a little jump near the top of the blue which I take every time. Yesterday I must have had too much weight forward because I nose-dived, the front wheel dug in and I got flipped over the bars, landing most of my weight on my wrist.
always the way. the most simple bit you've done hundreds of times is always going to be the one you come a cropper on
out of interest, you said you strava'd your qecp route are you on the ocuk group?
always the way. the most simple bit you've done hundreds of times is always going to be the one you come a cropper on
out of interest, you said you strava'd your qecp route are you on the ocuk group?
I am now, just joined.
Soldato
Soldato
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- 6 Sep 2016
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- 9,502
Save yourself £200 and just be slightly more careful getting it in/out
Sell the car, and cycle to where you're going, do your cycling in that area and cycle back
Soldato
yeah Swinley is quite sandy, also a lot of the blue / fire roady bits are that hard pack stuff
saying that went there about 2 weeks ago and it was like the Somme!
It was engaged properly and in fact still engaged but I guess the downtube managed to work it's way slightly through the grip. Perhaps some downtube shapes are better than the others but the 598 has a deeper hole so should work better. My mate initially asked if I had even put the arm up - Hint: Impressive balance skills if it stayed upright just on the wheel straps!
Just very glad it didn't slip on one of the many roundabouts and actually was only a few seconds from his house.
Swinley drains far better. Some parts will be slick and muddy but nothing is super super slippery. Only areas of caution are generally the first few sections of blue (particularly the first) where the rock has been polished quite a lot.
Soldato
Wolftrax is great, although not particularly long, but if you have the fitness you can get a few loops in there.
Upper Red is good fun, but a bit on the easy side, lower red is spot on, some nice features including a big open rock face to ride down, lower section has been redone and is now fast flowing and fun, orange worth a punt but not exactly hard. Black which is accessed from the upper red has some pretty technical bits and is fairly classified as a black.
That said, depending on where you are travelling from, it might be a bit of a trek just for wolftrax, it's definitely worth visiting but it would be more worthwhile making a weekend of it and visit other places as well, fort William is just along the road about 30-40minutes away and well worth the visit. You won't be able to ride the lift accessed stuff at this time of year, but there is loads to do on the lower half of the hill. Also a bit further away is glenlivit, Golspie, Dunkeld and many more.
Associate
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- 21 Jan 2014
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- 1,321
I stay in a wee village in the middle of Fife so it is a fair journey. A friend and I are planning on doing 10 under the Ben up at Ben Nevis so we'll be close-ish. Just trying to find more places to go!
Soldato
- Joined
- 3 Mar 2008
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- 2,566
swinley is a great trail center, because it is so sandy, it dries out very quickly, which is a huge advantage. that said, the off piste stuff can get boggy.
I'm XT 1by at the moment on the Shan and it's flawless, but I can't help but want to give the SRAM XX1 Eagle 1x12 stuff a try out.
The BB on the Shan is a BB PressFit92 so no issues there with the GXP Wheels Manufacturing BB to replace the Shimano one. Then I guess it's a rear hub upgrade?
The BB on the Shan is a BB PressFit92 so no issues there with the GXP Wheels Manufacturing BB to replace the Shimano one. Then I guess it's a rear hub upgrade?
Soldato
I've had a right ballache with CRC recently. I bought some MT15 wheels for my son's bike and conti Xkings with conti tubes. I didn't hear anything so a week later I checked the order and the tubes and tyres were dispatched and wheels "processing" but said out of stock on the site.
Bearing in mind I ordered these on 27th dec, half way through Jan still nothing. Contacted them and they said they won't get anymore MT15s and they've refunded my money. OK, nice of you to let me know... I ordered some MT35 wheels instead and then asked about my tyres and tubes. Another few days goes by... apparently they were lost in the post. Now the conti tubes are out of stock. Theyve subbed them for others. I still haven't got anything, after about 10 emails and 1 phone call and numerous tweets.
This morning though, they said they'd give me the cheaper tubes and tyres plus the difference refunded, and 60quid gift voucher. So, in the end, after my getting shirty, they've sorted it all out.
/rant
Now I will no doubt use that 60quid on bits needed for the rest of his bike build!
Bearing in mind I ordered these on 27th dec, half way through Jan still nothing. Contacted them and they said they won't get anymore MT15s and they've refunded my money. OK, nice of you to let me know... I ordered some MT35 wheels instead and then asked about my tyres and tubes. Another few days goes by... apparently they were lost in the post. Now the conti tubes are out of stock. Theyve subbed them for others. I still haven't got anything, after about 10 emails and 1 phone call and numerous tweets.
This morning though, they said they'd give me the cheaper tubes and tyres plus the difference refunded, and 60quid gift voucher. So, in the end, after my getting shirty, they've sorted it all out.
/rant
Now I will no doubt use that 60quid on bits needed for the rest of his bike build!
One superstar wheel
