Old school XC on The Twister at Kirroughtree 7Stanes in Dumfries & Galloway - GoPro Hero 8 MTB POV

When I edited this one, I ended up cutting so much out... on screen it's less exciting than many of my vids... Kirroughtree the 7Stanes trail centre in Dumfries & Galloway is old school technical XC. It might not make the best video, but it is a superb ride. If you want to test your climbing and hit up some super sketchy minimal air time descents, then this is for you!

I rode the red route, The Twister, and I'd say it feels harder than your average red in the UK. It's not that it has big air, gaps or even many drops, but my goodness it's technical, especially the climbing.

What makes Kirroughtree such a good XC course? First of all, go when it's wet, there is granite everywhere, when wet the climbs and descents take on a super slippy technicality. The ground is mainly granite scree, even in the wet it's pretty loose, there aren't many berms, and those that do exist are not very high and again they're pretty loose. So the descents aren't that steep, or conventionally technical, but throw in some loose unbanked corners and ice like granite, you've got yourself a good route. I'd say the climbs are more technical than the descents. Classic XC stuff, but with just enough fun to stop it being boring if you're mainly in to Enduro type stuff.

On to the tyres, if you follow my Instagram you'll know that the Wind Wave rep and the guys at Ken Foster Cycles in Chorlton, gave me a pair of Hutchinson Griffus 29x2.4 tyres to try and give a little feedback on. So one ride in and these are my initial thoughts: Looks, they're straight up sexy, they look insane on my Orange Stage 6, but lets talk function I found them to be a bit slippy on muddy climbs, especially when the power is down. They are very grippy on the loose stuff, on the scree they gave lots of confidence when pointing down. As good as the Maxxis Minion DH... more riding required before I commit to that one.

-------------------------------------

🎥 Instagram:   / the_dunc_g  
🗺 Route on Strava: https://strava.app.link/3952696270