HT550 less the northern loop

ericrobo · Post by **ericrobo** » Sun Jun 15, 2014 10:31 pm

In other words the HT430, but with this year's changes...

I did it over 12 days from May 20th, and it did seem to go on and on. The weather was not good on some days with a constant wind wearing you away, but I'm really glad I got round it, as I have such fond memories of the Highlands, walking, climbing, and winter climbing.

The hike-a-bike was a bit difficult for me due to my old injury...

http://ericrobo.wordpress.com/2014/06/1 ... -pleasure/

gairym · Post by **gairym** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 7:00 am

Sounds like a proper adventure!

Ray Young · Post by **Ray Young** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 7:58 am

A proper good read that and some lovey photo's too. Hope the injury gets better soon.

deejayen · Post by **deejayen** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:06 am

I really enjoyed reading that, and looking at the great photos. They really give a feel for the terrain. I suppose it's more down to the rider than the bike, but do you think the Cannondale copes well? I'm looking to buy a first MTB, and trying to weigh up what's available.

ericrobo · Post by **ericrobo** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:28 am

Cannondale Flash with Lefty fork: its main advantage is its lightness, weighing 20lbs. However the Lefty fork was a bit 'twitchy' on a lot of this stuff, and on some of the rocky descents such as Coire Lair I decided to treat it very gently - that said a full sus bike such as a Scott Genius I have, would feel more robust and rideable on some of the stuff... BUT it's about 4lbs heavier...
there again it's not just weight but rolling weight that matters ! (except when you are wrestling with getting the bike, its load, and you up and over some of those rocky ascents)

Wotsits · Post by **Wotsits** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 11:47 am

Great write up & pictures, thanks for sharing

deejayen · Post by **deejayen** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 1:06 pm

Thanks very much for the info. I like the sound of 20lbs, but not the 'twitchy' part. I'd read that the Lefty is supposed to be really great, but perhaps it's more at home on smoother cross-country tracks. I need to try and test a few different bikes. I've been tempted by a rigid 29er with fat-ish front tyre, but it probably weighs about the same as your Cannondale with your camping gear. I know I would struggle to drag a 40lb+ bicycle through peat bogs, although it might be a small price to pay for a relaxing ride.

Charliecres · Post by **Charliecres** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 1:27 pm

Great stuff!

Richpips · Post by **Richpips** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 1:42 pm

Great write up, I especially enjoyed the pics.

I saw you'd stayed at Duag bothy in the journal.

ericrobo · Post by **ericrobo** » Mon Jun 16, 2014 8:59 pm

Cannondale Flash
Another thing about the Cannondale Flash is that the bottom bracket is low, so you do catch the ground/rocks quite a bit. That doesn't happen on my Scott Genius. Probably also a full sus will ride the rocks a lot better than a hard-tail, you can control where the bike wants to go when going over rocks because of the give in the rear suspension. When its a hard-tail it just bounces off the rock to where-ever it wants to go...
That said though I think a hard-tail light 29er might be the way to go, for such a varied trip as this.

deejayen · Post by **deejayen** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:02 pm

Thanks Eric. There's a lot to research when buying a bike! I think riders successfully completed the HT550 on some pretty diverse bikes - those on steel singlespeeds (even with rigid forks) seemed to do well! That sort of bike appeals to me, but I have read people say that hands, wrists and eyeballs can take a real battering, so perhaps I need to consider suspension of some sort.

ianfitz · Post by **ianfitz** » Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:20 pm

Enjoyed the words and pictures thanks fork linking

FLV · Post by **FLV** » Wed Jun 18, 2014 11:25 am

deejayen wrote:Thanks Eric. There's a lot to research when buying a bike! I think riders successfully completed the HT550 on some pretty diverse bikes - those on steel singlespeeds (even with rigid forks) seemed to do well! That sort of bike appeals to me, but I have read people say that hands, wrists and eyeballs can take a real battering, so perhaps I need to consider suspension of some sort.

Comfort is the key for completing things like this. I dont mean suspension as such but whatever bike you choose, make sure you are comfy on it for looooong days. Low weight is a bonus, but its no2 to comfort.

AlasdairMc · Post by **AlasdairMc** » Fri Jun 20, 2014 12:42 am

FLV wrote: Comfort is the key for completing things like this. I dont mean suspension as such but whatever bike you choose, make sure you are comfy on it for looooong days. Low weight is a bonus, but its no2 to comfort.

Agreed. I originally rode rigid but my wrists got a battering so this year I had a Reba up front which was brilliant. A lot of people on 29+ too, which is an interesting concept.

deejayen · Post by **deejayen** » Fri Jun 20, 2014 9:08 pm

Thanks - that's useful.

Alasdair, were you on a Swift? I've read a few HT550 reports now, and I've lost track!

I seem to be leaning towards a (radically) different bike each day! I've said it before, but it's so difficult to choose a bike. I've read one or two reports which indicated that a Krampus (29+) takes more effort, and based on my experiences with road bikes, additional effort can add up on a long day in the saddle. I'm still hankering after a Jones, but I suppose that would suffer similarly if fitted with a Knard up front. The Jones fits me well, and I really enjoyed my test rides on it, but I'm stumbling over the price - and there are so many completely different bikes to consider...

ScotRoutes · Post by **ScotRoutes** » Fri Jun 20, 2014 9:21 pm

I'd start off with something cheaper - a LOT cheaper. Get your kit together and get out there riding and bivvying. If you are serious about the HTR 2015 then you've 11 months to hone your preferences. It's much more important that you get out and ride/camp than obsess about your personal bike choice, especially since, as you've pointed out, folk are participating on a whole variety of bikes.

RobMac · Post by **RobMac** » Fri Jun 20, 2014 9:29 pm

ScotRoutes wrote: It's much more important that you get out and ride/camp than obsess about your personal bike choice, especially since, as you've pointed out, folk are participating on a whole variety of bikes.

Very true.

deejayen · Post by **deejayen** » Fri Jun 20, 2014 9:52 pm

ScotRoutes wrote:I'd start off with something cheaper - a LOT cheaper.

Would you mind suggesting a suitable sort of bike? I'm just going round in circles at the minute! I'd prefer to get going on something cheap/used for now and see how I get on.

...a couple of things to bear in mind...I suffer from numb fingers on bikes, and the Jones bars seem to be good in that regard. Also, I could do with a confidence-building bike - I don't want something really skittery which wants to buck me off and makes me scream in terror on the descents!

I don't want to hijack this thread more than I already have, so feel free to email or PM.

Ian · Post by **Ian** » Fri Jun 20, 2014 10:04 pm

I don't think there's such a thing as a perfect bike for the HTR. You kind of need different attributes for different parts of the route. However, as a basic spec, depending on what you're used to:

Frame: hardtail
Wheels: 29"
Tyres: 2.2-2.4"
Suspension fork: optional
Gears*: optional

* as in, more than one.

Bearbonesnorm · Post by **Bearbonesnorm** » Fri Jun 20, 2014 10:25 pm

Would you mind suggesting a suitable sort of bike? I'm just going round in circles at the minute! I'd prefer to get going on something cheap/used for now and see how I get on.

I think the reality is, any reasonable hardtail will more than do the job. These days it's quite difficult to buy a truly bad bike given a reasonable budget (say over £600).

I suffer from numb fingers on bikes, and the Jones bars seem to be good in that regard.

There's no reason why you can't fit Jones bars to any bike if you find them comfortable (many folk do).

Also, I could do with a confidence-building bike - I don't want something really skittery which wants to buck me off and makes me scream in terror on the descents!

Talking as a coach I have to say that confidence is something you develop, it isn't produced by the bike. It's fair to say that some bikes do make the process easier / quicker but at the same time any mechanically sound bike can't be blamed for making you squeal like a girl while descending*

As Colin says, you've 11 months to get used to things, get out there and just ride ... you may find that your requirements and preferences end up quite different from what you think they are now.

*No offence ladies

Ray Young · Post by **Ray Young** » Fri Jun 20, 2014 10:41 pm

Buy the bike you really, really want and can afford because then you will ride it. If you buy a bike you think you should have but don't really like then you will not ride it. I learnt this the hard way with an expensive Pace racing frame many years ago ( one of the square tubed ones ). I was doing a lot of xc racing and doing OK at it and thought I would do better on the Pace than my custom built Dave Yates. How wrong I was. Yes it was lighter, yes it had very direct power transfer but still I didn't like it, in fact I hated the way it rode, if I had test ridden one I would never have bought it.
Sorry if I'm waffling, i'm on the g n t's

.

RobMac · Post by **RobMac** » Sat Jun 21, 2014 12:00 am

Ray Ive still got my RC100.

Ray Young · Post by **Ray Young** » Sat Jun 21, 2014 12:05 am

RobMac wrote:Ray Ive still got my RC100.

Sold mine to my now ex brother in law, well the rolling chassis at least. Think he then sold it and got into road bikes, no accounting for taste

.

ScotRoutes · Post by **ScotRoutes** » Sat Jun 21, 2014 12:47 am

Ian wrote:I don't think there's such a thing as a perfect bike for the HTR. You kind of need different attributes for different parts of the route. However, as a basic spec, depending on what you're used to:

Frame: hardtail
Wheels: 29"
Tyres: 2.2-2.4"
Suspension fork: optional
Gears*: optional
.

That about sums it up. For comfort (and your hands) I'd suggest suspension forks and unless you are into single-speeding, I'd also suggest a spread of gears to get you up those hills.

There are lots of bikes that meet those criteria. The Pinnacle Ramin Two is only £575 from Evans and has a fairly decent spec to get going with.

Bearbonesnorm · Post by **Bearbonesnorm** » Sat Jun 21, 2014 8:07 am

Buy the bike you really, really want and can afford because then you will ride it. If you buy a bike you think you should have but don't really like then you will not ride it.

That's a very valid point Ray ... but you're coming at it with mountain bike experience, ie you already had a good idea of what you liked / didn't like. Also I assume that when you bought the Pace you really, really wanted it

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