Having a slow trip through Wales next week - mostly trail centres. Is Brechfa worth a day better to do two at Afan? I dont fly well so what ever I do its wheels down.
Whats the best route to link the Marin with Penmachno? Esp best point to join the second loop?
Brechfa rocks. Go ride it! Lovely stuff there.
Penmachno was a BIG disappointment on Saturday. No speed, no flow, very dull trail IMO, apart from a couple of bits on Loop 1.
Did loop one at Penmachno about 2 years back in mud and monsoon conditions not tried loop 2 yet - thought the second half of loop was better than the first.
Brechfa aint worth the trip.
doof_doof - Member
Brechfa aint worth the trip.
Jolly good. All the more for those of us that like it!
Brecfa ,well worth it, good food near by too, local pub.
which day u planning for.
doof_doof - Member
Brechfa aint worth the trip.
well you must have ridden somewhere different to me! defo worth a trip we did the red and black routes toether in one loop and added an 8 mile road loop to the pub just for good measure (the pub in the local village was closed). the middle of the black Raven loop has a brilliant 'bike park' bit with some huge table jumps.
I think Brechfa is worth the extra traveling but it seemed to suffer badly when wet compared to Afan but they've been sorting the surface over winter so hopefully sorted - can't wait to get back there.
I'm not a massive fan of Brechfa either... mind you i did it 3 days after it opened and it was not bedded in at all.
but then again it is very 'scaletrix track', hence i prefer the more 'out in the open' trails like Penmahcno and Nant which are my favourite two centres.
in answer to your question i would spend 2 days at afan, bare in mind there is **** all down in Brechfa just the local pub
The first ascent on Brechfa (Red run) was shut about 2 weeks ago and as such we missed out on some great single track and spend extra time riding up and round the hill on fire track. The berms here are awesome though and worth a trip.
That said Afan is great fun and theres plenty to do. I love The Wall.
Check with the forestry commision to see if the trail is open again before going all the way to Brechfa.
The Gorlech Trail at Brechfa is one of my Favorite trails after Nant yr Arian. The jury's out on the Raven. I rode it in February and found the mud and general trail conditions very hard going. I may pop down again in a couple of weeks and do it again 
As for linking Penmachno and The Marin trail, I don't know. I've ridden both (well most of Penmachno until a big crash) and can give the 
for both of them..
With the current trail closures on the Gorlech at the moment it means there's a fair bit of fireroad which I find a bit off putting, but the last descent really is excellent.
Penmachno is brilliant if you're more XC than DH. It's for riders that know how to pedal
I know the route as a whole, never broken it into loops. Only suggestion is start from CP and follow the signs.
Cheers
Did Brechfa and Afan at the weekend
Perfect 2 days was Pennid, Wall, Whites (We couldn't manage the July trail as well) in one using the old railway link then Brechfa Red and Black in one (start in on the Red as the first black climb is a killer). If you are staying in Wales then it's worth leaving plenty of time for repeating sections at Brechfa, it really is quite good.
The diversions on the Red route are because they are logging and using parts of the forest roads. None of the singletrack sections are affected and obviously they are not logging on the weekends.
Make of that what you will 
Personally I much prefer Brechfa to Afan and never get bored of either the Red, Blue or Black trails.
oh and the Brechfa closures can be circumnavigated if you get a trail map and a bit of sense about you.
ie what he said
Penmachno loop 1 is a fantastic trail IMO. One of the best whelsh trails, with plenty of flow once you get "dialed in". If you add in loop 2 though, I'm also not a big fan, really one for the XC boys then.
i hated brechfa, boring apart from the final descent.
Brechfa does seem to polarize opinion
but i liked it
and i am right
Penmachno was a BIG disappointment on Saturday. No speed, no flow, very dull trail IMO, apart from a couple of bits on Loop 1.
If you put the effort in there then you get plenty of reward. It's an ace trail ridden hard
I think Penmachno is one of the best trails i've ridden ! No speed or flow? I agree with Simondbarnes ..if you put the effort in and ride it hard its fantastic (and the views are superb on a good day!)
not ridden penmachno but brechfa sounds similar, it seems to reward a good level of fitness as you have to push hard to find the flow. it certainly wouldn't suit big cumbersome 6" travel bikes.
Brechfa = Marmite
BRECHFA = GREAT RIDE
THE RAVEN = GREAT RIDE
TO BE HONEST THEIR AINT MANY RIDES WITHIN WALES THAT ARE BAD, OTHER THAN LLANDEGLA ITS KNACKERED AND WORN OUT AND FULL OF SUNSHINERS WITH BRAND NEW BIKES YOU KNOW ALL THE GEAR NO IDEA !
I'M VERY INTERESTED IF ANYONE HAS ANY INFO ABOUT LINKING THE MARIN TRAIL TO PENMACHNO I'VE HEARD A FEW PEOPLE MENTION IT BUT YET TO FIND ANY INFO
Brechfa is good, especially the Raven (some big jumps there:)) but Afan IS better!
Not a fan of Marmite itself but Brechfa it is. More likely to get back to Afan area in the foreseeable future. Thanks for the pub advice but prob just a stop off job between Mach and Afan.
A bit of googling turned up a route map for Penmachno on the Woolly Backs website, going to link via sarn helen and Gwydr South trail.
Both are good in different ways, so ideally do both.
If just 1 - then Brechfa.
Penmachno was a BIG disappointment on Saturday. No speed, no flow, very dull trail IMO, apart from a couple of bits on Loop 1.
Jeez CFH... I don't know if you were on the same trail as us (did you get your directions right ), but yesterday (in howling wind and pissing rain) it was awesome. Great flowing, pumpy singletrack that passes through some lovely forest and open country with loads of rock.
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