Basically i am chasing the sun tomo, i usually like heading up to the lakes, but it looks like north wales will have the sun.

Not been to Llandegla before, and looked at the you tube vids, and its nothing like whinlater or gizburn, they both seem more technical, more roots, rocks etc.

I may have got it completely wrong, but the black section looks easy, nothing i have seen looks very technical, its all fast bermy jumpy stuff.

Will me and my 12 year old son be disappointed

Should we just get wet in the north (whinlater, glentress) or head soth to the sun (Dealamere,llandegla)

Cheers

Kev

Carrying on a bit and head for Penmachno , much better trails ,but thats only my opinion

+1 for Penmachno, much more interesting. No facilities though if that bothers you

I'd agree with spanishbarry, penmachno, Marin and Coed-y-Brenin are far better and there are a lot of trail diversions on at present at Llandegla I beleive.

I prefer Pen too, but Degla is ok. It like any man made. If you pootle round it will bore you to death, you have to hit it as hard and fast as you can and then it will reward you.

On a side note, i did see somewhere that they had a lot of trails closures and diversions in place at the moment might be worth checking before you set off.

Was'nt there a thread on here yesterday to say much of Llandegla was closed due to Tilhill to some forestry work?

Llandegla is fun.Not difficult,that's why it's so popular and so many smash themselves up.
Another vote for Penmachno. Got a natural feel to it and the Audi boys won't drive past Llandegla to get to it. Bliss!

and the Audi boys won't drive past Llandegla to get to it

What do you mean by this?

penmachno all the way but llandegla is a good 1.5 hr blast bit like a mtb rollercoaster, penmachno is a proper trail but holds a lot of water (im local)will be wet this weekend after all the rain we,ve had. rear guard a must for the second loop as theres one down hill section before the zigzags thats like a stream!take a towel and some foam mats to stand on post ride as its changing behind the car unfortunately!try and stop in the pub in penmachno village for a freshener and a packet off crisps on yer way home, im sure they,d be glad of the trade ,we always try to give something back as this trail is free to ride and a real gem!

go penmachno in my opinion or have fun in delamere – i prefer dealmare actually – more technical and harder but shorter climbs – I would love to show you 'my' trails there but i am off the long mynd – far better for the views – I would go penmac if i were you…

paul

yeti guy – Member

and the Audi boys won't drive past Llandegla to get to it

What do you mean by this?

Stereotyping people by the car they drive? 🙄

i drive an Audi 😯

Am i allowed at penmachno

no. 😛

You might want to consider the climbx at Mach also. Bit shorted than both loops of Pen but the last descent is ace.

"Will me and my 12 year old son be disappointed"
I suspect your 12 year old son will. Whether you will depends on what you expect should constitue a black trail (which it just isn't). As above if you go open minded and prepare to push yourself trying to go faster and faster you'll probably enjoy it.

"we always try to give something back as this trail is free to ride"
There is an honesty box wuth a suggested donation on the gate at the top of the car park?
Visiting the pub etc in penmachno village is good too though

As above if you go open minded and prepare to push yourself trying to go faster and faster you'll probably enjoy it.

You'll have to be able to jump in order to take the black trail at any speed as being its Llandegla they've scattered little mounds in all over the trail to keep speeds down unless you you can carry speed by jumping them. Unfortunately for those like me who can't/don't jump that just makes it boring.

Young Dave Riley is referring to the swarms of 'weekend warrior' fat middle management types who turn up in their company lease Audi's and BMW's with a 4k bike on the back and ride like complete jessies.[1]

[1]I assume.[2]

[2]Not that these people riding mountain bikes is a bad thing, it's all good if it's bikes but it's the type of people who like places like Llandegla. Sanitized, safe, easy to follow. Other trail centres may not carry the same level of secureness.[3]

[3] This is an observation, not my personal opinion. Personally I just love riding bikes and couldn't care less where it is. Llandegla is good, the alps are good, the flat tow paths of Holland are good.

llangdegla is a good laugh in my opinion – much more on c hardtail than bouncy bike. However it always feels like they didnt bother finishing it off – last five kilometres are dull dull dull . . .

Go to Shropshire

– weather in whinlatter has improved

– i am not that good at jumping

– prefer technical stuff

– 7:18 in the morning – off to whinlatter

new stuff coming next year to brighten up the last dull bit RRR

Try a post saying that Brechfa is boring* you'll get a much more heated response. 😉

*I found it very dull.

The Marin is pretty crap too. There, I've said it.

Samuri can read my mind. Have no axe to grind with German car drivers,or flabby types with 4 grand bikes,or Llandegla.I've enjoyed every visit.
The first time I went to Penmachno,I had a lift in a…………… Q7.

Llandegla is deffinately worth a visit. No the black route isn't hard but it's fun and thats what it's about isn't it? The whole trail is very flowy and well thought out. Good facilities too!

I saw a couple of people mentioning the Marin trail, personally i wouldn't bother. There were only a few short descents that were fun, the majority of the trail seemed to be riding either uphill or on fire roads!

Personally, thought Llandegla was OK but nothing spectacular, flows quite well, but as said above, better if you can jump (I can't!). Looking forward to going back and trying the new bits, as it really has potential and is the location is convenient for so many people.

As to the Marin, are we talking about the same place? The one I've been to has lots of fireroad climbs, granted, but loads of superb twisty descents, well thought out singletrack blasts and that wonderful rocky bit at the top (Pandora's Rocks?).

Prefer Penmachno personally, but come on, the Marin is really good fun and worth the trip for the last couple of descents on it's own.

Buy a copy of the Bikefax Snowdonia guidebook if you really want to experience the best trails in North Wales though: The Druids Circle route for starters is fantastic.

I would say you could easily do both Llandegla and Penmachno, they are only half an hour apart and offer a great double act. Llandegla is usually the better call in the winter when wet ( but not snowy or windy) than white water biking at Penmachno. The visitor centre like the trails at Llandegla is getting a bit of a refurb revamp at the moment so hang in with them.