We're thinking of going down to Glentress over the half-term.
Would we (me, 10yo, 6yo) be okay on cross bikes, or should we plan to hire mountain bikes?
Should we look to put 6yo on a tagalong? or is he likely to be able to cope on his own bike?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Questions/Support/Help
Glentress advice needed
(14 posts)- Started 7 years ago by SRD
- Latest reply from neddie
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Posted 7 years ago #
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It rather depends which route you intend to do. I would say that mountain bikes will make things a lot easier, but the blue is certainly doable on cx bikes, (depending on your skill level of course.)
Posted 7 years ago # -
If you aim to do the green route from the buzzards nest car park that'll be absolutely fine on the cx bikes. Anything blue and up I'd be happy doing on a CX bike but I think might be a little troublesome for little legs. Although I know that they would be fine doing blue velvet and carefully decending berm baby berm too. Those are fun tracks with enough excitement but nothing too steep. These are also a big of an uphill cycle or push from buzzards nest car park.
Posted 7 years ago # -
We've done greens & blues on CX bikes with little people. The bikes were fine but it was hard to get them to 'flow' over obstacles the same way that you could have with some suspension.
We've also used a trailgator on some of the routes, which is quite a challenge to take a line that will get all the wheels round without hitting big bumps. Good fun though :)
Posted 7 years ago # -
With kids, we've parked up at the Buzzards' Nest to do the greens then taken blue/green down to the cafe. A couple of us then cycled back up to collect cars while kids had a hot chocolate - basic bribery.
Kids were reasonably cycle confident 5/6 year olds (on IB Beinn 20s) and all coped just fine, really enjoyed it, so I'm sure your younger one would be fine on his/her own. However, green at the top is a short loop so if it's not going so well you have an option to change plans and not do the more challenging run down the hill.
Saw plenty of CX bikes out, sure you'll be fine on them.
Posted 7 years ago # -
In the past, I've done the blue with one child in a copilot on back of my mountain bike and one on a cheap halfords 5 speed bike, aged 7 at the time. There are a few bits where there are steep climbs or drops so kids either need ample warning or decent anticipation. My son didn't manage some of the drops too well and didn't enjoy it too much, but he is a cautious chap. Most kids would handle it fine I think.
The green route is easily doable on cross bikes for riders of all ages and is a good 'warm up' loop to see how the kids do. The blue would be doable but personally I would rather do it on a mountain bike, just for the slightly rougher / steeper bits. I can imagine it being a bit harder to keep control on the thinner single track sections. I have seen people doing it on what looked like victorian boneshakers, so it all depends on rider ability. You might struggle with a tagalong on the blue route, a lot of tree roots etc to contend with.
Posted 7 years ago # -
There is also a wee skills park between the buzzards nest and green route which is a nice spot to access to let the kids have a nice safe go at some more "techy" bits.
Posted 7 years ago # -
Thanks everyone for all the advice and suggestions!
Posted 7 years ago # -
Good day's cycling had. thanks again for all the advice. We did several laps of the two green routes with micro-srd on a tagalong. Mini-srd and I also did the blue 'skills' route which was great fun - i did three laps until I could do it without having to put a footdown. She probably did 10 complete laps, and a few extra goes on the steep downhills. She also did some of the 'free style' section, including the 'fun box' and has now declared mountain-biking the best thing ever. Tagalong hampered MrSrd a bit, but he got out later on with MiniSRD-and did some blue bits too.
Posted 7 years ago # -
mountain-biking the best thing ever
Ah. Reminds me. With the nichts drawin' oot we need to set a date for the CCE Overnight Capable Bikepacker Section outing to the Borders Drove Road.
New thread required...
Posted 7 years ago # -
“
“Although the Championships are now over, we’re not resting on our laurels and are looking to add the finishing touches that we couldn’t complete before the event was held. Once fully completed, our regular – and hopefully many new – visitors will soon find a destination that lives up to their expectations and offers something for everyone.”
“
Posted 8 months ago # -
Maybe just some better public transport, with adequate bike carrying capabilities, to Glentress would be a start.
At the moment, how do I get my family of 4, plus bikes to Glentress? Genuinely asking...
Posted 8 months ago # -
The borders buses double decker bike buses which run on the X62 route can take 4 bikes according to their website. The route goes via Peebles and Innerleithen.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Yes, I’ve considered the Borders Buses, but they only have 3 double deckers in service that can carry the 4 bikes and the single deckers only carry 2. And the only way to find out which type of bus will arrive is by checking the live bus tracker - by which time it’s too late to get to the stop. Then there’s no guarantee someone else won’t be on with a bike. Waiting another hour for the next one not really an option either…
None of it very practical
Posted 8 months ago #
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