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james239
Original Poster
373 posts
34 months
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Thanks to YouTube videos I've now got the urge to get into downhill riding.
Planning a few trips to Afan over the rest of the year, and it would always be the plan to stop off at Cwmcarn for a loop of the xc trail either before or after Afan, but I'm now thinking I could do a few runs of the DH run instead.
I've got a Canyon Nerve AM (150mm travel) - I'm assuming this will be enough for a DH newcomer? Will happily upgrade to a full DH rig when my skills improve though, any excuse for another bike!
Also, I've got knee pads and would get elbow/shin pads before doing any DH runs - would I be silly using my XC helmet? Get the impression most people have full face helmets.
And finally - I use SPDs for XC riding but would people recommend flat pedals for DH? Think I've got some so I can take a spanner and just switch the pedals over for DH.
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Jimbo.
2,010 posts
58 months
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james239 said: Thanks to YouTube videos I've now got the urge to get into downhill riding.
Planning a few trips to Afan over the rest of the year, and it would always be the plan to stop off at Cwmcarn for a loop of the xc trail either before or after Afan, but I'm now thinking I could do a few runs of the DH run instead.
I've got a Canyon Nerve AM (150mm travel) - I'm assuming this will be enough for a DH newcomer? Will happily upgrade to a full DH rig when my skills improve though, any excuse for another bike!
Also, I've got knee pads and would get elbow/shin pads before doing any DH runs - would I be silly using my XC helmet? Get the impression most people have full face helmets.
And finally - I use SPDs for XC riding but would people recommend flat pedals for DH? Think I've got some so I can take a spanner and just switch the pedals over for DH. Bike: it'll be fine  I've seen students race Carerra HTs @ BUSA/BUCS events  Helmet: full face for DH. Pedals: use whatever you're comfortable with to begin with. One less thing to think about. Above all, enjoy! And remember to book with the Cwm Down guys. Top blokes...and it's a bloody long push to the top!
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james239
Original Poster
373 posts
34 months
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Thanks. Will start looking to get a full face ordered. I rode flats the other day when I had to borrow a bike - feet kept falling off even on very simple easy tracks so think I'll try DH with SPDs. Would definitely check out Cwmdown - I rode the Twrch trail a few weeks ago and that climb is an absolute b  h so don't think I'd want to push up more than once for the DH trail! Also - have found UK bike park which is really close to where I am. Anyone ridden it and know if it's any good? The website seems pretty basic.
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Jimbo.
2,010 posts
58 months
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james239 said: Thanks. Will start looking to get a full face ordered. I rode flats the other day when I had to borrow a bike - feet kept falling off even on very simple easy tracks so think I'll try DH with SPDs. Would definitely check out Cwmdown - I rode the Twrch trail a few weeks ago and that climb is an absolute b h so don't think I'd want to push up more than once for the DH trail! Also - have found UK bike park which is really close to where I am. Anyone ridden it and know if it's any good? The website seems pretty basic. Not ridden it myself, but know a few who have, again at BUSA/BUCS (student champs). "Not bad" was, IIRC, the official verdict Certainly a good place to start out.
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R.P.M
1,282 posts
90 months
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I agree with whats been said, ride what you got and enjoy yourself.
The most important thing IMHO is protection. At the least wear a full face, knee pads and long sleeves.
Even a cheap £75 full face helmet from chain reaction is better than mashing your chin into the ground.
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Jimbo.
2,010 posts
58 months
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R.P.M said: I agree with whats been said, ride what you got and enjoy yourself.
The most important thing IMHO is protection. At the least wear a full face, knee pads and long sleeves.
Even a cheap £75 full face helmet from chain reaction is better than mashing your chin into the ground. Slight derail, but asking my old LBS if he had any full-facers resulted in me bagging (at the time) a THE full-facer with full carbon shell, for a smidgen over £100. "Last years colours" he said. "Bovvered?!" said I. One. Happy. Bunny
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pablo
10,274 posts
142 months
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one big advantage of mann made dh trails is the artificial routing, most of them have bail out routes alongside the bigger drops/jumps so you dont *have* to take the same route as the experienced riders. this means if yuo aren't confident over doubles or havent much experience of big drops, you can avoid them till you are a better rider but still get to experience most of the course.
if you ride within your capability, you dont actually need a full face helmet or body armour, whilst i appreciate that an accident can happen at any speed and temptation to push on may get the better of you, just make sure you are the last of the riders and take it steady.
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P-Jay
3,625 posts
60 months
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Not sure I can add much.
Bike will be fine.
Full Face yes.
Personally I'd switch to flats, likely you'll have a few offs early doors, but if you're well versed in falling off on your SPD's stick with them
The DH course at CC is reasonably bike/rider friendly, but is a noticable step up from Trail Centre XC routes. People have been Helicoptered off it more than a few times so start slow and build up. Using the uplift is a must, and if you're planning to do it on a weekend day you'll need to book an all-day pass to stand much of a chance of getting on it.
It's a great fun day and the bus is generally lively without many big egos, but there's a bit of an unwritten rule to start the track roughly in order of pace, go last on your first go and tuck in behind someone who looks 'slow and steady' lots of route options, rough rule of thumb the right-hand option is generally the easier one.
First run I'd make sure to be the last guy to start and try to follow down someone and stick to the 2-dot (or red in old money) route, look before you leap. there are a few places where you need to be careful, be mindful of the wind on the bottom section especially, it roars up the valley on windy days and most accidents happen off the final drop off the bridge.
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a11y_m
1,594 posts
91 months
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You'll be absolutely fine starting out with that bike - only word of caution is DHing accelerates the wear on bikes somewhat. And if you're doing uplifts then I hope you're not too precious about the paintwork! I've posted about this before but I started riding DH on an air-shocked Lapierre Spicy: surprisingly capable bike but I could see it getting too much abuse so I bought a 2nd hand Giant Glory DH bike for <£1k. I wouldn't suggest doing that straight away, but once you've done a bit and find out if you like it or not it's a good way to avoid trashing your good bike. Flat pedals: stick them on your bike for normal riding to get a feel for them - you'll pick it up quickly. I rode SPDs exclusively for 15+ years but a few years ago tried flats. Now I ride both, just change around depending on what I'm doing. Improves your technique too. Two things I would suggest, in addition to knee/shin guards: Brand X upper body suit: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...A proper DH helmet - I use a basic 661 Comp one: http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Categories.aspx...
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missing the VR6
1,476 posts
58 months
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Forest of Dean has plenty of DH tracks and it's a pretty easy push up.
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Engineer1
7,176 posts
78 months
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pablo said: if you ride within your capability, you dont actually need a full face helmet or body armour, whilst i appreciate that an accident can happen at any speed and temptation to push on may get the better of you, just make sure you are the last of the riders and take it steady. The problem here is that for most the way to discover your limits is to go one step too far. An ill chosen braking point too little speed and you end up off, or worse too much speed miss a turn and you're off.
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james239
Original Poster
373 posts
34 months
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Yeah I agree the only real way to know your limit is to first exceed it. But with a decent set of pads/armour that shouldn't be too much of an issue...I hope haha.
Looking at Cwmdown it says you can expect about 10 runs in a day. Is it just me or does that not seem a lot considering it can't take very long to get all the way down the trail? Do they have a timetable of, say, an uplift every hour and you just have to wait around for a while when you get to the bottom, or do they wait for the last slow person (i.e. me!) to get to the bottom and then take everyone straight back up?
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P-Jay
3,625 posts
60 months
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Trust me, 10 runs will be enough first time around - you can do more if you take every lift - 13 is my record. The bus will usually arrive not long after you at the bottom, but it's first come first served (to all day pass holders) so you're not guaranteed to jump on the next one (32 seats across 2 buses 40 placed available and it's usually fully sold) so there's some incentive to get down!
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james239
Original Poster
373 posts
34 months
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Yeah I didn't think I'd be hitting all the runs on my first time. Just wondered if everyone spends much time having to wait for a lift back up but that makes sense.
Really want to get back to Cwmcarn now but I've got mountain bikey plans for the next 4 weekends and no weekdays off work!
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deadtom
736 posts
34 months
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sometimes you have to wait a bit, but rarely more than 10 or 15 minutes. you will probably be surprised how long it takes you to get from top to bottom, especially if you're new to it and are taking it easy.
also, if you get the opportunity it's always worth watching some of the faster riders and seeing how they get through stuff quickly and apply this to your own riding. I find this is one of the best ways to progress your skills.
do you have someone to go there with? on bigger tracks especially, i always feel safer knowing there is someone else who can get help if you don't reappear at the bottom of the hill when you should
you might also want to make sure the tyres on your bike are up to the job. as well as dh generally requiring more knobbly tyres, if you are using lightweight trail tyres you may find you keep getting punctures as the tyre casing isnt as heavy duty.
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deadtom
736 posts
34 months
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oh and I forgot to add, have fun!
DH is an absolute blast, and having tried pretty much every riding discipline there is, i can tell you it's easily the most fun
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jaedba2604
706 posts
16 months
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i used to race downhill years ago on the same bike i raced cross country, so you should be fine. good thing is with a hard tail you're forced to consider your lines and braking points more. so i would cut your teeth on what you've got...good luck! actually, i used to enter trials, cross country mtb, down hill mtb and road time trials, all on a trek 8500... must've looked an arrogant little f ker turning up for the thurs night 10 mile tts on an mtb! i was 15 at the time!
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Jimbo.
2,010 posts
58 months
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jaedba2604 said: i used to race downhill years ago on the same bike i raced cross country, so you should be fine. good thing is with a hard tail you're forced to consider your lines and braking points more. so i would cut your teeth on what you've got...good luck! actually, i used to enter trials, cross country mtb, down hill mtb and road time trials, all on a trek 8500... must've looked an arrogant little f ker turning up for the thurs night 10 mile tts on an mtb! i was 15 at the time! Sir may be interested in the STW Weekender, wherein you have to compete in a DH, and XC and a trials event on the same bike. re. full face lids: are you even allowed to run at uplifted DH venues without one?
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jaedba2604
706 posts
16 months
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Jimbo. said: Sir may be interested in the STW Weekender, wherein you have to compete in a DH, and XC and a trials event on the same bike.
re. full face lids: are you even allowed to run at uplifted DH venues without one? whereabouts are they? as far as i know, some do some don't - i've certainly ridden downhill without full face protection...stupid-ish maybe...!
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Jimbo.
2,010 posts
58 months
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jaedba2604 said: whereabouts are they?
as far as i know, some do some don't - i've certainly ridden downhill without full face protection...stupid-ish maybe...! From memory, it's held at Lee Quarry. Not sure when, mind, nor can I recall anything about entry fees, numbers etc. Hows that for helpful? re. FF lids. I think I may've been getting my race days and uplift days mixed up. At races, it's FF only.
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