I’m been coerced into breaking my trail centre virginty this weekend with a visit to Cwm Carn.

Can anyone give me an idea of what to expect and what to take with me? pads? camelbak etc?

I’ve been riding for a while, mainly in the Chilterns and around the routes at Swinley forest. Thanks.

Are you doing the downhill or XC or both?

XC route?

Expect a steep, rooty technical climb, followed by a fast smooth descent. No massive drops to look out for so let go of the brakes and enjoy. It’s good fun and weatherproof.

Just the XC. The DH looks a bit mental!

Forget the off road climb just go up the road

As Wallop said, expect a tough technical climb early on. It’s fairly short but tough all the same. I don’t wear pads but if you normally do I can’t see no reason not to. There’s nothing technically hard on the descent, bloody good fun with the brakes off. You can also shortcut back up to the final descent (or the end section of the DH) if you want a second go

no do the climb properly, afterall its mountain biking not road

“Forget the off road climb just go up the road”

Really?

Sounds like it should be good fun. I’m becoming more excited than nervous. Thanks.

I went back to Cwmcarn after not going for 3 years, i was scarred mentally after doing the Uni xc champs around the whole course, almost passed out.
Anyhow i thought it was ace, i rode rigid single speed and still had fun! nothing scary, only the river section was very hard work

The climb is fun although a little trickier in the wet. Its well worth the effort!

err like riding outside but with the crap bits of bog and dull bits removed.

Go with an open mind, pads are always good as falling off hurts whatever your riding:)

like riding outside but with the crap bits of bog and dull bits removed.

I second that 🙂

You have to do the climb, it’s tricky and it’s fun.

Pads are a personal preference. There’s nothing hairy at Cwmcarn. It’s more flowy than hairy.

It’s also quite short so you might want to do it twice.

It’s a nice trail. Enjoy it! When it feels like you are getting near the top, you actually are, which makes a nice change.

You will love it, proper singletrack thats completely weather proof. Once your at the top, thats pretty much all the climbing over.

Do it twice, but dont have an all day breakfast at lunchtime like I did the first time I was there. I nearly puked it all up on the climb second time round.

I believe the course record is something bonkers like 37 mins ?!

Id be very happy to do it in an hour.

It takes me 30 mins to get to the top!

I’m told twice is the plan. I guess that taking it really slow on the first lap should leave enough energy to really enjoy the 2nd 🙂

Twice? Hope your FIT.
Best bet is try and get an Uplift to the top then do another loop.
One of the best/hardest climbs IMO so good luck on your second attempt.

I do quite a lot of exercise, triathlons etc. More worried about the technical aspects as we don’t exactly have mountains in the South of England 😀

I’m told twice is the plan.

I bet you take the road the second time

I’d rate the climb as ‘technical’, and I used to live in Calderdale…

Yeah it’s pretty common to do the road climb on a second loop, you def want to do the off-road climb first time around though. There’s nothing technical on the flats/downs there but you can quickly get a lot of speed so probably err on the side of caution first time around. I can confirm it hurts to crash on the rocky bit of the final descent (my fault, wasn’t really concentrating enough and front wheel clipped the edge of a rock and I got got spat off).

It’s quite a nice route, just make sure you do the ‘black’ option at the top of the climb. There’s still no drops, but there are jumps if you like them (all rollable) and plenty of berms to throw yourself around. There’s nothing scary, it’s all just good fun.

Enjoy it, I might even head over myself thinking about it!

R.e. the descent being ‘Smooth’; while I’d agree there are no wheel swallowing holes or drops that I can remember, compared to Swinley or the Chilterns South Wales is pretty rocky and rough. If you’re on a hardtail or even a ~120mm FS you’ll certainly feel it after a couple of laps.

(Not saying you’d want a downhill bike, just that OP should be aware the surface is rock and not mud)

P.s. Rode it last Saturday in the glorious sunshine.. it was lovely. Was annoyed at myself though, I wanted to do more descending than ascending(Gotta have an aim when you go out!) so I did 3 laps of the black freeride section at the top.. when I got back to the carpark my Garmin informed me I’d done 2m less down than up. Grrrrrr.

I’m told twice is the plan. I guess that taking it really slow on the first lap should leave enough energy to really enjoy the 2nd

It’s deceptive because it’s essentially one big climb, then one long downhill, so you get down to the car park all buzzed up from the decent and raring to go for another lap but your legs fall off when you get to the climb after the toll booth.

I wouldn’t call the climb that technical though (not ridden it for a few years so may have changed?), it’s all doable without any trials type trickery. If you’re feeling fit then you can blast through most of the rocky / rooty climbs quite easily, it’s if you’re tired that they become a grind.

My top tips, change down before the concrete ramp or else it’s a struggle and when you are on the bit on the side of the mountain don’t look left!

when I got back to the carpark my Garmin informed me I’d done 2m less down than up. Grrrrrr.

You started and finished at the same point, how much difference were you expecting?

I’m not the fittest or most gifted of riders but have to say the climb is technical and bits of it are steep, the decent is good but you will feel it on a hard tail as it is rough not technical but you have to stand up. Other trail centres I have been too are much groomed between the technical bits. Suspect it is fine on a full suss but usually end up feeling shaken to bits on the decent but a huge buzz.

The climb isn’t crazy technical but as far as trail centre climbs go it’s one of the more technical. I’d say slighty harder both on fitness and ability than Whites Level’s climb.

Forget the off road climb just go up the road

Really? Cwmcarn stands apart from a lot of trail centres for not having endless fireroad climbs for a change…

After almost a decade off the bike until two years ago, and now the wrong side of 40, I’ve set myself a personal goal of getting enough strength and technique back to clean the Cwmcarn climb.

after the chilterns/swinley you will find it rocky and it might sour your local riding.

despite what some say, dont cut corners, do the whole route, if you are gonna ride up the road… why travel all the way to wales to do that?

its a long way up and a long way back down, that said its a pretty short loop so just take your time first loop, grab some lunch, and you know what you are in for on the second lap so you will enjoy it a bit more

EDIT: if you have pads that you ride in, no harm in taking them, if you take them, wear them, dont leave them in the car!

I’ve set myself a personal goal of getting enough strength and technique back to clean the Cwmcarn climb.

I hate to disappoint you but it’s not as hard as it used to be 🙁

mrlebowski – Member
The climb is fun although a little trickier in the wet. Its well worth the effort!

Exactly this. Still not managed to clean this section, always end up picking wrong line/losing momentum etc. 😳

Yeah there’s a couple of bits where if you don’t fully commit for fear of stalling the front wheel and cracking your nuts on your stem then you’ve got no chance. I think it’s only slightly easier now than it was a couple of years back, the first step-up rooty bit is still as tough IMO and that’s only the bit I usually end up dabbing on.

Usually the case for me, I’m going too slow to bump front wheel over root due to having picked a crappy line – or if I do, I end up with the rear just spinning on the slippery buggers. Weight transfer too far forwards I guess? Just feels a bit counter-intuitive to ‘lean-back’ whilst climbing.

EDIT: Still love the trail though – always ride it on the Sunday on the way home from a weekends riding

irelanst – Member

…..You started and finished at the same point, how much difference were you expecting?

😆

I rode it over the very wet Jubilee weekend and it didn’t get boggy or flooded at all.

Great route, nothing really silly steep either on the climb (but I walked it when it got too bumby for me to climb) or the descent.
Very flowey, no big decsent or drops (which is good for me) buts lost of small rocks and root fun.
Enjoy

You started and finished at the same point, how much difference were you expecting?

I guess that really depends on whether I’d stopped the Garmin for the push back up to the start of the Freeride section now doesn’t it?

I said do more descending than ascending, what I perhaps should have said was ‘ride’ more descending than ascending.

Glad I’m not the only one who struggles on the climb…!

Im not a fan. Tough climb for not a great deal of fun going down on a hard tail.

Yes the small section at the top and the one at the bottom are good but for some reason it just feels like your going up all the time.

I think it’s only slightly easier now than it was a couple of years back

They cut a big chunk out the big stump down by the river. The run up is still a bit tricky but if you’re still riding when you reach the stump you can just roll through now. They also removed a stump right near the top just before the fireroad to the very top, which always seemed to be a bit of a pig.

^^^^

That’s a shame, maybe we could have some gravel to cover the rocks on the big descent.