Snowdon on a Hard Tail - bad idea??

[Woody]

Guys,
Really want to ride Snowdon at some point.
Currently have a Hard Tail but looking to upgrade - but not sure if it'll be a full bouncer or another HT.

Would I be mad to consider doing Snowdon on a HT?

[Sarkmeister]

Depends which route you do. The rangers path is best for the downhill. It'll be a bit shaky but I'm sure you'll survive. If you do the Telegraph Alley bit of the descent it's actually pretty smooth (not counting drainage channels) so you'll be better off on a hard tail.

You'll be quicker going up as well.

Don't forget the 10am-5pm rules in the summer though.

[anonymous-user]

Fit some decent strong tyres and you'll be fine!

[jfdi]

No problem at all. It's not that bumpy

[Justin S]

Done it more times on a hardtail than a full suss. Ex missus did it full rigid. Gets the technical side of you working overtime. Watch out for drainage gulley bars, they can cause double snake bites, by experience, if your running tubes.

[MC Bodge]

I did the Llanberis path up and the Ranger (and Telegraph) down on a hardtail with a flexy old 130mm Marzocchi fork (likewise for Les Gets, Morzine, Chamonix Valley etc. etc.)

I wasn't holding back and I didn't get any punctures, although others in our group did (the ones who did suffered multiple flats). If you let the bike float over things, rather than just crash into every rock like a complete philistine and can hop water bars reasonably, it is fine.

I was using tubes in those days and made sure there was a bit more air in the tyres than usual, but not massively so.

It's not as rough as some of the Lakeland or Scottish mountain trails.

[anonymous-user]

If you come back down via the Rhyd ddu path, you might well wish you had a full-susser by the time you get to the bottom! ;-)

[Mr Gearchange]

I did the Llanberris path down - very quickly and I was glad to be on an AM full susser. Perfectly doable on a HT but I doubt that you would be able to smash down it. My fork and shock were extremely hot by the bottom.

If you are using tubes blow your tyres up to around 43PSI otherwise you'll suffer a lot of pinch punctures as others have said.

[Woody]

Cheers guys.
Doing a jumps & drops course this weekend with one of the trip organisers - will ask him what routes they use and how many on the last few trips have gone HT.

[Mr Gearchange]

Are you doing this with Alex from Chase Trails?

[Woody]

Mr Gearchange said:

Are you doing this with Alex from Chase Trails?

I am.

[Mr Gearchange]

Woody said:

Mr Gearchange said:

Are you doing this with Alex from Chase Trails?

I am.

You'll have a blast - it's a really good weekend. Just be prepared to get up very early the day you do the mountain.

[SuperNiceBig]

What ever bike you choose, you'll end up carrying it!
Some pics here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/23318875@N02/sets/72...