Cleared it clean today 🙂 but its got to be one of the hardest trail centre climbs in the south.

It’s tricky IMO because there are a lot of large rocks and tight turns- combined with its general steepness and length it’s a real test. Well worth it for the rest of the trail though 🙂

I suppose you get used to it, but it definitely used to be a lot harder, some of the really difficult stuff is gone/smoothed out now. I know its in Scotland but Black craigs in Kirroughtree has to be the hardest trail centre climb I’ve ever done – Huge lumps of granite everywhere!

I struggle with that weird rooty stump bit. I haven’t worke out the line and can’t see that I have pedal clearance to get through the gap. Anyone care to share how it’s done (without cheating and going round the side)? The best approach seems from the right hand side over the rooty bit, but I never seem to make it through. Perhaps I would clear it if I committed to it?

To be honest the climb is easy, its the bit alongside the river that i find hard.

Rooty stumpy bit? That might be towards the end of the Mabinogion section, alongside the river that mrmo is also referring to?

If so, keep right is the right line, and a bit of speed/momentum will help you through it. Commit!

Yes, that sounds right. The rest of it is no problem – just that one stump bit. when I next head down I’ll try just smashing through – had already guessed that staying to the right side was probably best.

cheers 🙂

Mokl – Wierd rooty stump bit after the paybooth, just before the bridge? Stay to the left, about 10 feet before the stump, a line appears diagonally left to right taking you round the right hand side of the stump, get the power down and go for it. (just be careful not to clatter into the tree on the right just after the stump).
You should have enough pedal clearance if you pass the stump with the left pedal high.

Its a bit odd but i quite enjoyed that climb you know its coming its there at the start, just low gear and pedal up. Never found it too difficult what does catch me out everytime is the shitbag hill at cannock, every week a blast through the monkey then back to the dog and im always worn out, and they say cannock is flat eh?!

Ooh – thanks Twin, will try and remember that. I have a few days off the week after next so will try and get down.

The bit I mean comes after that steep short climb which is a bit loose – you get a short breather/slight downhill before coming to the stump. Think we’re talking about the same bit? It looks like it has a gap in the middle of it – right hand line is very rooty. Think it’s a fair bit before the bridge but definitely after toll booth.

Twin +1. That’s the line I always take.

I don’t get the sanitisation of trail centre climbs. The only other tricky bit on the Cwm Carn climb was flattened out a while back though seems to be getting washed out again. The one, even vaguely tricky, step up on the Afan climb was flattened last year.

Yes definitely the same bit – but isn’t far from the first bridge, where you cross to the left hand side of the stream. There used to be a couple of tricky bits on the next section and the bits just before and after car park 1 – sadly all gone now.

I know the bit you mean – I used to enjoy that. And also the bit near the top of the Cwm Carn climb – used to feel quite good cleaning that as it was pretty tricky. I guess it was pretty badly eroded though, which is possibly why they filled it?

I like Cwmcarn but I can’t help but feel that the descents aren’t worth the climb. I’m not very fit though.

You can go fast on the descent but it is not very technical in comparison with the ascent.

+1 wallop

Hoping for an “Y Wal” style descent on the new trail they build at Cwmcarn, should take some of the pressure off the Twrch – to be fair, its pretty well maintained given the volume of traffic around ther.

I never feel total satisfied at CwmCarn I think it lacks a middle section, feels straight up straight down.
IMO the second climb in the section after the pay booth is the hardest.
Also there is a bit after the picnic benches just before the final fire road climb (not the exit)
Happy to make it without dabbing. 🙂

its pretty well maintained

+1

I went a few weeks ago for the first time in ages and was surprised at how well it had survived the terrible rainy summer. Very impressive.

I like a climb that’s a challenge and this is the one I struggle to clear more than any other
But why take out the hard bits

Are you talking about the first climb out of visitors centre?

The next bit, where the big road barriers and the paybooth are – ne very steep sharp climb followed by a bit of uppy downy stuff and a nasty rooty section.

I’ve not managed to clean it yet and it’s the rooty step up bit that gets me to, I’ve spun the back wheel (and narrowly avoided removing my testicles) a few times so now don’t really properly commit to it. I have done that bit clean once but then dabbed on an easy bit later 🙁

I think it’s easier in a harder gear. I clean it far more often now I have 1 x 10 gearing.

wallop try going up the Twrch and down the DH next time, I never do the descent on the Twrch anymore

Mmm, the DH route. Is it all ‘rollable’ or is it full on gnarly?

It’s been hugely sanitised in recent years. The stump mentioned above has been cut out a fair bit, and there was another one just before the switch to fireroad at the top, which has also been removed.

I’m a big fan of the course, one of my favorites. Definitely needs to be attacked to get the reward from it. Seems to come alive at around the 1 hour kind of lap times.

The DH is doable on a trail bike. There’s nothing you can’t just roll down (even the road crossing has a chicken run that looks more intimidating than it actually is). It’s more that the stuff on it is quite sizable by trail centre standards and the gradient is there to keep things feeling a bit fast.

I’ve ridden it on a Five and a Patriot, the Five was entertaining but a bit sketchy to really let go (140mm 32s and Mono Minis to be fair). The Patriot made it waaaay too easy. Alpine 160 would be ideal.

wallop try going up the Twrch and down the DH next time, I never do the descent on the Twrch anymore

+1

I never bother with the rest of the xc route. The only problem is you have to put up with some fire road climbing, but it certainly is worth it.

The Patriot made it waaaay too easy

Surely on a DH track you just need to ride it faster on a longer travel bike rather than it making it easy?

Na FuzzyWuzzy, sure a better rider could have gone biiig on the jumps where I was flattening but as someone just enjoying an uplift day (and far from the slowest rider on the day I’ll add, the guy on the Trek Session doing big whips in front wasn’t actually pulling away in between), it just felt overbiked there.

It’s perfectly possible for a trail to be tame enough to not allow you to unlock the full potential of a bike. In fact I’m pretty sure a local got close to the track record on a Five I do believe?

In fact, up top there’s a few bits where you really need to hustle the bike along a bit more and on a slighter lighter bike, I’d wager you’d be ‘up’ for a bit.

Loads of different lines / options, sometimes take the full suss 160/170 but mostly do the DH on my steel hardtail

Took a mate there the other day but failed to mention the first climb to him, he didn’t speak to me for a while 🙂

A cut above most tc in terms of char, I reckon. Ridden hundreds of times and I still love it. The last rocky but before the top used to be hard due to fatigue, but I am fitter now 🙂

I don’t miss a middle section, but then I think it has one. It’s the bit between the top of the climb and the start if the very last descent!

Often take the Patriot too. Bigger tyres, brakes, bars etc mean very high speed which is always grin inducing 🙂