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I've just finished riding today and can't say I enjoyed it much. I'm on a 100mm hard tail and can now understand why the locals ride such big bikes! My route today included Mam Tor, Jacobs ladder and a stretch of the Pennine way and apart from a fun eroded gully descent from Mam Tor the rest of the ride seemed to mainly consist of pushing or being rattled to death and don't get me started on the number of gates!
If I base myself at Ladybower tomorrow, any suggestions where I could go for something a bit more smooth and swoopy with climbs that are climable with tired legs rather than a mega skills and strength test.
Eighteen bikes in Hope to hire a bigger bike 😀
I ride a HT in the peaks and love it. There's a great route I know of around Eyam and Bakewell that is much less tech. Do you have the capacity to put a route on your garmin where you are or do you need written directions?
18 won’t hire you a bike though they might do a test ride.
Bike Garage in Bamford or mtbandb should hire you one.
The trails round Ladybower are pretty rocky so if you’re going to ride there a bigger bike might be best if you felt under-biked today.
For a smoother option you could try Lady Cannings (two smooth man-madebermy trails) over Houndkirk Moor, and though it is rocky add in some of Blacka Moor to see if you like it. This is all near Fox House/Ringinglow on the way to Sheffield.
Hope you have a better day.
The Linacre classic from the white peak book, virtually no tech, will be a bit muddy in lots of places, very wild and remote also quite longish. - https://www.justgoride.co.uk/Routes/20877
The 5 dales circuit from the white peak book with some changes by myself to cut out the shit bits, lol, namely that ****ing horrible hill out of darley dale. No tech at all and lots of long runs and is not as remote as the linacre as passes through lots of villages: https://www.justgoride.co.uk/Routes/25567
Bake / Eyam route, the most tech out of all these 3 but nothing like round Jacob's ladder, A good mix of tech and grassy tracks. Nice bit of History in Eyam plus it's the Cotic demo loop. This route also includes the superb Coombs Dale descent & the bakewell gold course descent, which will be muddy up to **** but is always fun: https://www.justgoride.co.uk/Routes/19505
My pick would be the 3rd.
Just give it a few more goes! I’m local to the Peak District and have been riding hardtails for 10 years. You get to love it!
Got an OS map?
If you base yourself at ladybower there's a great less technical ride than the one you've just done. Starting at the dam at the bottom of Ladybower reservoir (near the Yorkshire Bridge Inn) cross the damn and stay south/west of the lake and low and follow around the bottom of Win Hill, left and a little up past Haggwater Bridge, and carry on that way until you come to a tarmac section that takes you down and across the A57 at Rowlee Bridge and up past Rowlee Farm.
Follow the bridleway up there, past Lockerbrook Outdoor Centre, and go down a great descent past Gores Farm (they call it the screaming mile) which should bring you out at Upper Derwent Reservoir.
Either go up to the top and back down the other side of the reservoir or cross it at Fairholmes below the dam. Take the steep climb left up past Grindle Clough and follow that round to Whinstone Lee Tor. When there, take a left and follow it down to Cutthroat Bridge, and take a right and follow the bridleway back down to Ladybower house.
None of the climbs are *that* bad. There may be a little bit of pushing but not much. It's great on a hardtail and if you've time left then there's more in the area. Easy to figure out on the map.
Cut Gate maybe? I think of it as pretty smooth for a Peak ride, and it's not especially taxing on the legs. There's a couple of sections climbing up from Slippery Stones that are properly hard but can be easily pushed. Classic UK route if you've not done it before.
Agree with jekkyl and vickyp though - HT is good in the Peak. The locals are afflicted with Peakitis, the condition of persistently riding 25 miles on a 160 enduro bike for no reason.
https://www.strava.com/activities/1875733997
Done on the gravel bike but would be a decentish XC ride if you don't mind some road, probably more singletrack to be found there too
Agree with jekkyl and vickyp though – the locals are afflicted with Peakitis, the condition of persistently riding 25 miles on a 160 enduro bike for no reason.
Well for me the choice is the 160mm enduro bike or the gravel bike, not everyone has a fleet to choose from, plenty of stuff up there to make a big bike fun
Well for me the choice is the 160mm enduro bike or the gravel bike, not everyone has a fleet to choose from, plenty of stuff up there to make a big bike fun
Do you really think so? Short of Cavedale or skittling the walkers on Parkin Clough, I wouldn't know what to do with my enduro bike in the Dark Peak. Given that's 2% of a typical ride and the other 98% will feature some fairly arduous climbing, the big bike just gathers dust since I moved down here.
Obviously that's a minority opinion, as you can't swing a cat near Hope without hitting some fluorescent enduro warrior wallowing around the trails.
some fluorescent enduro warrior wallowing around the trails.
Ah, I see where you are coming from, it's general enduro generalisation bitch thing, right then.
Anyway rode around the dark peak and had fun on the big bike, rode cut gate and had fun on it, bit of a long ride in from the res but it's just lock and ride no actual wallowing required. But then again it's the one mountain bike I have so I do ride everything on it.
I'm another XC biased 100mm fork travel hardtail rider living and riding in the Peak District and I love it. Today's ride took in Hayfield, Jacobs Ladder, Jaggers Clough, Hope Cross, Roman Road, Broken Road, Rushup Edge and back to Hayfield via South Head.
Relax on the decents, knees out, arms bent, heels dropped and a long look ahead of you not what's about to be directly underneath you and you'll do fine. if this was your first ride in the Dark Peak, don't write it off. You'll do better every time you ride it.
For a less rocky ride I'd go up the bridleway next to the car park on the road into Fairholmes (sorry, I can't remember its name but it's directly opposite the village ruins that are now apparent as the water is so low). Right upon the top and over to Lockerbrook, right on the road to Fairholmes and then up to Whinstone Lee Tor, down to Yorkshire Bridge and back to the car park. Short for tired legs but fun. Get there early if your driving though. The village ruins are proving to be quite a spectacle and the car parks fill quickly.
At risk of sounding like geex, I'm not sure what the problem is? I live there and my main ride is a 120mm 27.5 HT. 20mm more isn't that much of a difference. Admittedly, a 29erer makes life much easier but it's hardly necessary.
If I needed to only have one bike around here it would probably be a 130-150mm 29erer FS though, simply for do it all...
Right! Bolstered by your suggestions, I'll do the Cut Gate route I have on my GPS tomorrow. Have no means of plotting new routes so will stick with that this time and plot alternatives next time.
Ah, I see where you are coming from, it’s general enduro generalisation bitch thing, right then.
Hahaha! Spot on. If I had a HT then I'd use it some days in the Peak and some days I'd use my full suss.
Don't see the problem with it myself, but then I tend to judge others by what they say and do, and not sonething as stupid as what bike they ride.
3 of us were out today around Hope / Ladybower. Me on a 150mm full suss, mate on a 130/140mm full suss and one on a 100mm (at most) HT.
We all had fun.
To the OP - prob worth checking Keeper of the Peak to see if there are any conditions reports for Cut Gate - no idea how boggy it's got (or not).
Hope you have a better day, there's lots of great riding up here - I'd definitely recommend getting the Vertebrate Publishing Dark Peak book - lots of good easy to follow routes. Or the White Peak book, some less rocky but equally enjoyable stuff in there.
I'd also second the suggestion of Lady Cannings / Houndkirk / Blacka moor for some less rocky but great fun riding.
Si
Sorry guys. Twice this evening I've written long replies expressing thanks and thoughts but this hellish site has closed the page and removed my text.
Anyway tomorrow I'll hit Cut Gate with a full belly a good nights sleep and renewed expectations.
Thanks for your help.
I’m in the peaks for the first time this weekend and will probably ride cut gate tomorrow (0n a hardtail too as it happens ) is there anything worth knowing or that I should look out for ? Also I’ve got a demo at Cotic on Monday pm, does anyone have a gpx link to a route that I can ride around there before hand ? (3hrs ish) thx for the help and apologies for the thread hijack, I’ll look out for the OP on the trail
Oysterkite - have you asked Cotic if they have any suggested routes? I'd be surprised if they dont!
I don't know where Cotic are based so no idea about routes, sorry!
Cotic are at Calver.
The Peak, not the Peaks! 😇
There's trick to riding in the Peak(s), kinda relevant to any bike, but its easier to do it "wrong" on a more XC set up.
Essentially don't try and be too precise about your line choice. The trails are generally pretty wide, so there's no real need to "pick a line" its more a case of just avoiding the odd rock that'll have you off. I guess you could say an "anti-line". Point the bike down the hill, get 'er wound up to speed and hang on. Pinball time. Yes it's more comfortable on a fullsus, but its all perfectly doable on any bike (we all rode rigids with 130mm stems round here BITD). The trick is to get going fast enough that the bike skims over the chunder rather than tried to plough through it, which can take a bit of commitment on a short travel bike.
Jacob's is a prime example. Its 3 straight lines joined by 2 corners, one of which has a gate on. Point and shoot.
Keep trying, and you'll find the place don't half get under your skin though. (you've no excuse on the climbs, mind - 100mm hardtail, you should be up anything with ease!)
Today I was out on the big bike. It was ace. Blue skies, carpets of pine yellow needles everywhere in the trees, perfect loam. The hardtail (albeit with chunky forks) would have been differently, but equally ace. Last week I was on the gravel bike - guess what - that was pretty damn fine too. Riding bikes is ace 🙂
A lot of reckless advice on this thread. Particularly the Peak / Peaks thing. We'll be waffling on about ancient tribes soon and how they all rode rigid and that's how the area got its name.
I did cut gate from langsett today.
Doubled back on myself half way down the reservoir and went over Derwent tops, down cutthroat, into ladybower, up hagg farm, over lockerbrook and back around the reservoir to hit cut gate in the other direction.
An excellent 50km had by all.
That said, it is 50/50 as to whether or not it's too muddy to ride and not cause a lot of erosion. Perhaps better after a few days of drier weather?
Poor little dog might headover Langset and go up the north side of cutgate tomorrow morning
bike choice 29er hardtail 130mm fork 2.3-2.35 tyres as it needs a wash, the 130mm full sus is clean
Once rode my lefty 90mm fork 29er up cutgate, it was a bad idea
Like a pogo stick and had a blow out
Rule 5.