We’ve got a cottage near Brechfa Forest soon and I’ll be taking the cx with me. I believe the Black is pretty hairy chested but what are the other trails like there?
Also any recommendations of stuff to see and do in the area? I think we might bob over to Brecon Beacons for a run with the dogs.

The black has lines that let you avoid the hairy chested bits. It’s much like the red when you do that.

You could ride the red on a CX bike OK. Not sure I’d enjoy all of it if it were me, but you could easily enough. As another option there are loads of fireroads that interconnect the singletrack, so you could just stick to those.

The coast isn’t far. The beach north of Newquay or Cwmtydu are both good walks. Cwmtydu has a loop with waterfalls, hidden coves and an iron age fort falling into the sea.

Green and the Blue would be fine on a CX as well, the red is a bit further up the road.

Green and the Blue would be fine on a CX as well, the red is a bit further up the road.

Depends where the cottage is…

Ha ha! It’s in Abergorlech, right next to the Red!
Cheers all.

The Green, Blue and Black are just down the road at Nantyffin.

I did it on a rigid SS with a broken (plated and stitched up, but definitely not healed) arm and survived, so it just depends on your skill level and definition of fun. It’s quite fast and/or hard on the brakes in places which might be an issue on a twitchy CX bike with small brakes/tyres but other than that it’s just your average slightly eroded trail center surface.

Why not just take an MTB and do Cym Rhyadder whilst your there?

do it. the trails are boring on a real bike. would be a really fun ride on a cx bike i think. the few jumps there are would be a rush in the drops.

I’d say that the trails are great fun if you do them fast enough, and if you were on a CX bike you’d not have the right riding position to properly pin it. MTBs are designed that way for a reason.

When I go back I’ll take my 6″ bike, because it’s got a dropper, wide bars, big brakes and slack angles, not because it’s got suspension.

However if you aren’t bothered about going fast on the downs then a CX bike would certainly be better on the ups.

thisisnotaspoon – I don’t have a fully functioning mtb at the mo. And with the cx I can go for a spin on the road too if I fancy it.

DJTC & molgrips – I’m 54 and knackered so there’ll be no jumping or pinning going on.

Thanks to all who have replied. I’ll let you know how I get on. One big plus about where we are going is that there is a muddy rider and dog friendly pub within a few hundred yards. Result!

I don’t have a fully functioning mtb at the mo

Bit of a moot point then isn’t it? 🙂

Well, no, not really. If folk had said ‘Ooh, no, you’ll rattle your brains to death in that there Brechfa on a cx’ then I’d have looked for somewhere more appropriate in the vicinity. Anyway, I’ll suck it and see. It’ll be reet.

You’ll have a great time in the area on a CX bike whatever you do I reckon. Lots of lanes and fire roads, lovely scenery.

Red or black on a cx bike will be fine

The other trails down the road at Nantyffin will be fine (Raven/Black was quite a climb up), I didn’t get as far as the red when I was up there a few months ago.

Depending on whether you have transport, Gower Peninsula, Brecons (Pant, Torpantau and up towards Brecon its self (Part of the Brecon Beast route), Pembrokshire area generally, and of course Afan forest are all lovely places to spend time on a bike.

There’s a couple of sections of the black that I (personally) wouldn’t ride on a CX but there’s so much more in the forest that is rideable. If you want a few pointers (or company) let me know.