Had a couple of days there and a few observations/questions

Is the red bull being left to die? Got a real abandoned feel to it also could have done all the good bits and not bothered with all that fire road.

Was the entire bike owning population of London there this weekend?

Oh and the.new false teeth is brilliant!

I’m there quite a lot on weekends and did the dragons back, benefit of living locally :-). Its always mostly packed there on the weekends if the weather is dry/sunny.

went last weekend and did the “Beast” it was brilliant felt like a summers day too. The False teeth section is bloody brilliant !

give me some info on this regular guys – first trip up this weekend, and going to be doing the beast 🙂 how long will it take for somebody pretty fit at mtb’ing?

also is nice and flowy? singletrack? (please say yes) and the likes???

cant wait to go but really dont know much about it 🙂

If you average 15km/h (thats going very well) you’ll do it in just over 3 hrs. I’d say anything between 3 – 5 hrs unless you’re a racing snake. There is a good cafe around 1/2 way around if you want a breather and something to replenish your energy.

Some sections are nice and flowy, some are steep and quite technical.

Hi, I went to CYB on Tuesday with Mrs Ivnickkate, and did the Dragon’s Back trail. The Beast follows the same route but has an extra 7km loop.

The CYB shop has a booklet of maps for North Wales mtb routes at £2.50.
At Mrs Ivnickkate pace, it took about 4 hours, but you could probably knock off 30mins.

There’s a big up/down fireroad section between Hermon and Gomez which had fantastic views, but had no technical parts to it. It looks as if you could miss this part out, if you stuggle for time.

Lots of nice bits, have fun.

p.s. car park £3 for a day ticket, showers £1 coin for 3 minutes.

was it only me & my kid who thought the ‘caution’ sign on False Teeth was about 6feet too close to the obstacle?

Not that the obstacle was too hard even for my 12yo, but it puts just enough doubt in your mind, just too late for you to stop before the drop (at the speed we were going)), which makes it more exciting LOL

Didzy,

I rode there in June (have ridden quite a few times before) and its great. Lots of fun singletrack to enjoy.

Rode the Beast in 3 and a half hours then the Tarw trail in the afternoon.

Here’s a brief sample video of some of the Beast trails

The tarw trail does seem disappointing after the beast, it does have an abandoned feel to it, I reckon it’s the 85% forest road content that stops people revisiting it.

I really liked the Tarw trail, sure it’s got a lot of climbing considering how short some of the descents are but the R74 and Flightpath descents were just fantastic I thought. Sure R74/Black Steps is pedally but it’s so rewarding. It feels a wee bit abandoned but in a good way, it’s not like it’s overgrown or falling apart.

I just love the stone pitching, so different from most of the trails up here and a real treat to ride. The Beast is probably the better trail but Tarw is still a treat if you ask me. Though I was on a hardtail, I think on a big modern full suss it might be a bit too unchallenging maybe.

I particularily liked that you can do the first clattery section of the Beast (Badger?) then the fire road climb then just bomb back down Beginning Of The End etc, there’s an amazing amount of entertainment in there for such a short loop.

And yup, never rode the old False Teeth but the new one’s fantastic.

All in all, it’s up there with my favourite places to ride. I’d still take Fort William or Glentress I think in preference but let’s call it a close third.

cheers for the info guys – really appreciated! 8)

sounds quality, my mate has done the one below the beast (31km i think) and said that was awesome! so this extra 7km should make it a bit better, its gonna take over 2 hours get there so im hoping its worth it and not like a cannock chase type centre (which im guessing its not being in the mountains etc) cannot wait!!

ohhhh one more thing, no doubt it will rain on us from start to finish 🙁 does this affect the trails at all? does it get clogged up in unrideable mud etc etc?

going to check out some vids now cheers guys!!!

naah, its 99% ‘machined’ trail of rock & chippings. Rain makes it better – more ‘Welsh’ 🙂