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Right on the way to Skye for weeks holiday in the North bit of the island tomorrow. What bike do I take ? CX , Hardtail or full boing
Three Peaks coming up so need to ride lots for that but don't want to miss out on the big stuff that would kill the CX bike. Only room for one bike as the kids want to take theirs as well. Help.
HT
North bit of the island? Take a road bike.
Are the kids taking a cx, hardtail or full sus?
Kids are on 29+ e-bikes
Was on Skye in June and surprised how few opportunities I found to ride.
I'll try to explain, the terrain is spectacular but there are very few trails to explore as the hills are so steep or the ground is a boggy boulderfield.
We met two guys with bikes at the Quirang, (you'll find it), they said they were carrying and pushing most of the way and I could see why.
Back to your question, take a hardtail.
Most of the rides I did were from the top of passes, down the roads to sea level. There's some great blasts, winding small roads and very few cars.
If you can find a local guide I expect there is some great riding but by myself I didn't take any risks. The Cullins look epic but you would need local knowledge to explore in there.
The Quirang is almost entirely rideable, there's one section you have to walk, it's best on a full bounce but doable on a burly hardtail.
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The Old Man of Storr DH is the same- best on bounce, doable on a hardtail.
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The trail out to Macleod's Tables is best avoided on a mountain bike but I bet it'd be an OK laugh on a cross bike.
Sligachan I think you could ride on a hardtail just fine.
Hardtail. Best mtb ride on Skye is Sligachen (there and back) epic scenery and really nice but not too techy single track. Hardtail will be fine for that and then you can use it for some road riding too.
Although Scotroutes speaks sense, a road bike would also be good. Take both!
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Thanks all Singletrack mind hive works again
I actually found the Quiraing a pretty rubbish ride in an incredible location. Guess it depends on your skills. Going anti-clockwise there were a few nice bits of singletrack at the start...
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...but with a fair few rocky bits to make you stop and lift over. I've heard some people aren't keen on the exposure either as there's a bit of a drop to one side. It doesn't take long until you reach a steep hill where we had to shoulder our bikes to walk up:
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And then you're on a plain old grassy hill up to the top. It's rideable, but not exciting so perhaps not worth the effort. The headwind was incredible the day we were there so we walked, as did all the others that we could see:
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Then from there it's another open grassy descent - without much of a specific path to follow - and it's potted with enough rabbit holes and Tussocks to make sure you have to pick your way down.
Took us 2-3 hours to ride it (admittedly stopping for a million photos, lunch and a hike to the cliff top) but then immediately afterwards my friend ran the loop again in sub 35 minutes.
Great walk, not a great ride I'd say.
Sligachan on the other hand is a fantastic ride out and back.
The Old Man of Stoer access trail is usually rammed with tourists, beware.
Wouldn't be my first choice.