What do you trail riding Gods think of it? Any good? Or not worth the bother? Not one of those places that has miles of road/wide boring track before you get to just a short stretch of singletrack that's ok but turns into a boulder field so that people with 6" All Mountain Bicycles can feel teh awsum, is it? When North Wales has so much to offer?

Has it been butchered since a few years ago when it was actually ok?

The Tarw (old Red Bull) has quite a lot of fireroad, including the cardinal sin of downhill FR. The rest, however, is more or less non-stop excellentness, with the odd evil climb thrown in. (There are a couple of boring bits either side of the forest café that we usually skip though)

It's fine. you'll have a blast.

some new bits are less good than the other new bits, but it all strings together reasonably

Go and try it for yourself, some people love it others think its over-rated, they have done a fair bit of work recently and IMO improved a good few sections, so I'm sure it won't disappoint.

If you don't like Coedy then you've got bigger problems than trail selection!

Coed y brenin had become very boring. The ranger in charge of trails had no idea and really didn't are much about the place.
He destroyed some of the best bits and built terrible sections as he had no idea.
I only live down the road but never bothered as it was really that poor.
Since they got rid of him and employed someone who actually rides and cares about the place it has really improved there.
I love it there now and some of the new stuff recently built is actually very good.
Its well worth going there for a blast.

It's a bit boring, a bit tame and suffers terribly from welsh trail centre-itis, a bizarre affliction of descents that are not descents but unenjoyabale flat bits of trail with no flow or technical interest. Go ride snowdon instead.

beast is good, some people dont like it cos it is too tough.
mbr is a blast, new broken teeth bit is very good.
tawr trail is fun for a easier ride.
adams family stuff is a grin inducing blast.

Ok, so I went there today, looking forward to returning to stuff I found great fun a few years ago. The weather didn't help, but wasn't too bad once you get going. Nice bit out of the centre, then a mile and half of road, followed by another couple of miles of fire road. To get to half a mile of trail which is nice and swoopy at the top, then just gets all bouldery, breaking up the flow. Then back to the centre. That's the Temptwr trail, the purple apple one. Advertised as 'Red' – 'difficult', 8.7km. No, less than 2k of actual trail, which wasn't all that difficult really. I'm from the South, so obviously I'm crap and lack the skilz of people from other parts of Britain. But I was expecting a bit more gnarl than that, I have to say. Piss easy stuff. Riding London's pot-hole ridden traffic filled streets is far more challenging.

We gave up because I threw a tantrum and had had enough, so we buggered off and went for a drive to Llanberis (Pete's Eats 'Big Burger £4.10). Extremely dissapointed and now Kevevs has had enough of me beceause I've been bitching and whining and moaning and wants rid of me. Can't blame him really.

Please tell me there's more good stuff there? My last visit, about 8 years ago, there was a bit of fire road stuff, but loads of really good flowing trails. I just wanted to ride me bike. We just didn't want to carry on with more of the same.

Don't think I'll bother with CyB again. All North Wales has to offer, and they give you that? Poncey multi-million pound 'visitors' centre', but really contrived artificial trails? What happened to all the good stuff? Why all the miles of fire road before you get to anything good? Is it just an easy up-fast down full bounce rollercoaster? I'm really quite upset.

I have great memories of CyB around 2000/2001 before the sanitising really kicked in.

It became hugely popular and 'new' sections like the adams family were destroyed by volume of traffic – understandable since they were originally earth trails.

Its like it is now for two reasons – volume of traffic, and no long term budget for trail repair.

"If you don't like Coedy then you've got bigger problems than trail selection! "

Eh? What does that mean?

I've got ADHD, and get bored easily.

I mean, we could've gone to Rhyll ffs. Far more exciting.

To get to half a mile of trail which is nice and swoopy at the top, then just gets all bouldery, breaking up the flow.

Awwwwww did the nasty rocks make it all bumpy ?

Sounds like you went to the wrong trail centre.

If you want fast and swoopy and nothing technical or stuff you've got to think about then it's the Quantocks you want. Natures trail centre.

Fred just go to Penmachno and shut up 😉

I like C-y-B

I like the Beast

I've got ADHD

I'm sure someone else who used to post on here had that…..

🙂

Oh that's a shame. I've been a couple of times and liked MBR, Dragon and Beast combos. Tawr's seems a bit of a waste of space overall.

I really like the opening part of MBR, which always shocks me with how armoured it is. And also the final part which is fast. OK so there's a lot of dull climbing – s'pretty normal for trail centres to use easy forest roads to gain height – I just zone out. I'm not sure the descents are as easy as a potholed London street tho! It's no easier than Whytes at Afan or Gorlech at Brechfa. And rougher than Penmachno and Marin and about 80% of XC trails I ride everywhere else. Where the hell are you riding normally, Chamonix? 😉

CaptainFlashheart – Member

I've got ADHD

I'm sure someone else who used to post on here had that…..

4 posts up CFH 😉

CyB is awesome, just stay off the waymarked trails.

So, the 'start' that you ride from the centre, is it worth doing that? I mean, there's a nice initial bit for half a mile or so, then it's 4 miles of road and fire road. In a 5.5 mile trail. We would have done the rest of MBR or something, but I was crying at how shit it was, so we left.

Is there anything actually worth going there for in future, or is it better to stick to the mountains?

Epping's more fun. And the weather's better….

sounds like you don't get on with the place, no worries, 'spose some places just don't click.

Go to other places, there are loads

Fred just go to Penmachno and shut up

All right then I bloody will so shut up! 😀

You did the Temptwr trail – the purple apple one. ffs no wonder you didnt like it. Thats an easy family ride with 1 downhill section.

should of done the Beast or MBR imho.

i agree coed y brenin is pants…. I reckon its only good for a night ride in shitty winter…

I much prefer penmac / nant y arian for a blast as more fun…wales has MUCH better natural riding than trail centres- try riding the elan valley area or other gems in mid wales or link up nant y arian with mach trails etc!

try cadair idris / snowdon or the wayfarer / pont scethin etc etc – try the clywyds / berwyns too !

paul

you're cycling in Wales, and not working at your desk…

remind me why you're moaning?

If you lack the imagination to go anywhere other than CYB on your day release then you got what you deserved. A couple of hours research and a map would have meant you had a ruddy good time, but I guess you are too lazy.

God some people talk utter sh*te, I wonder if they really say this crap enough times so that they end up believing it.

CyB is a good laugh, esp if you haven't been there before.

Some of us didn't go biking before 1836 and don't need do head down everest on a unicyle to enjoy an afternoon on the bike.

Elfinsafety, janesy is right, that "temtwr" or whatever it's called is supposed to be a fairly easy intro or taster of c-y-b – I'm pretty sure if you'd done MBR, Beast or Tarw you'd have had a much better experience.

I'd give it another chance…

you went all that way and rode the wrong trails? no wonder you're pissed.
maybe you should just stay at home and play internets.

Thats an easy family ride with 1 downhill section.

And even that was too bouldery! LOL! This has got to be a troll right? I mean, no one would travel from the south to do an 8km trail and then leave disgusted after missing out the 100kms or so of good trails. I do think the OP would probably be better suited to Wrexham.

I went there once, did the mbr trail and had a great time,

its excellent, beast isnt all its cracked up to be, the tawr trial or whatever its called that starts between the horns is fantastic, some really fun technical rocky stuff and although there is a long section on downhill on forest road it was the best bit of forest road iv ever done, just go full on down it, has some great sweeping turns!

Epping's more fun. And the weather's better….

you're having a laugh aren't you 😀
epping forest???
epping bloody forest

Yes, Epping Bloody Forest. Where I can string together 40 miles or more of singletrack. That's singletrack, not miles of bloody fire road.

And it's in London, where the weather's better, the ladies are prettier, and the beer nicer. 😀

We're off to Penmachno once I've had me chicken pasta and me coffee.

no wonder you're pissed.
maybe you should just stay at home and play internets.

Yeah well maybe I will, and then you'll be sorry!

So there.

Epping forest lacks elevation in the same way as Thetford, but they both make the most of what they've got.

The problem with Epping is that because its london clay, half the singletrack is impassable or not fun to ride for 9months of the year. I'd not make a special journey to ride either from where I am now (Mendips) but I did when I was living more local to London.

I like CyB…..but will admit to being particularly under-skilled & over-biked.

I always go with mates on weekends away and the fire road sections are good for chatting,general messing about, eating, taking the p1ss out of each other etc….

Only bit I don't like is the car park snobbery that goes with trail centres; last time we were there my 2001 Stumpy FSR got suitably sneered at by a bunch unloading far newer, shinier, pricier bikes out of their A4 estates. They weren't sneering quite so much as we overtook them on the first technical section…….

Well Kevevs would like to know if the other trails are similar (miles of fireroads and short sections of trail)? Or are they much better?

We would have done more, after the purple apple bit (which is the beginning of the other trails, no?) but just didn't want to carry on if they were the same. Anyway we were soaked and I had a temper tantrum, so we packed it in.

What a dick! 🙄

A bad day on the bike's better than a good day in the office though.

you went all the way to wales to a trail universally raved about and did the piss easy kiddie trail that's there as a sop to families, so that little johnny can be just like Dad, and didn't think to try any other trail. None of the Blacks or Reds, nuffink?

You're an idiot, you idiot.

I rode CyB the day before all the bad weather started last winter, between Christmas and New Year.
Had not been for a number of years and found it to hold up well against the weather and rolled really well.
Does what it says on the tin, good place for a weekend.