Has anyone done one of these type of courses ( http://www.afan-valley-bike-hire.com/page7.html ) and are they any good?

Would I be better off just following mates around and learning from their mistakes,or are there real benefits to having a bash at one of these?

As I see it to coach others you need a high level of riding competence yourself. If the people you choose have that then you should get something from it, if not then all you'll get is ripped off.

From personal experience I can tell you the following – If your mates are at the same level as you, you will learn nothing but probably have good fun. If your mates are elite (national) level riders you will learn an awful lot, and if your mates or your tutor have competed on an international level you'll be amazed at what you pick up just watching them.

Having the skills and communicating/analyzing/teaching aren't the same thing but imo the more skilled your tutor, the more you'll learn and be inspired.

Skills courses I think are money well spent. For the price of a set of new uber-grippy-fix-all-your-cornering-problems tyres you can get a session with http://www.dirtschool.co.uk which I promise you will make you faster than your new tyres! Chris Ball raced world cup downhill and you have to see how fast he is to believe it. I've also cycled with Rowan Sorrell and he's the same. Obviously that'd be nothing without the ability to pass on that information but I've found Chris to be a great teacher and the same goes for Rowan (albeit I wasn't in one of his lessons.) I sort of felt like I wasn't learning anything but all of a sudden my riding just clicked into place and the important thing was it gave me a set of skills that I need to work on and if I'm riding rubbish then I know what I need to concentrate on. I didn't have that before although I was a good rider and had been riding for years.

I've not tried any of the other skills courses out there but I'm sure that they're good too. My experiences with dirt school have been top notch so that's why I'm recommending that specific one. I'll be doing a course with them again over the winter I reckon.

I've got a lot out of various courses but the trainer as mentioned above needs to be at a high and competent level. It's hard to judge that from a website.

I've used Chasing Trails and also The Break Pad for training and both were excellent and I got alot out of both.

I did have a course with a chap in the south but that was a bit Bohemian for my liking.

Also I did have a course booked with the people the OP linked to, when I arrived the course was cancelled they did refund my fuel but it was a bit disappointing to have travelled to the course, but I did get a good ride in Afan in 🙂

http://www.forestfreeride.co.uk but I would say that 😉

Stuart

I had a session with Ian at AQR, and it was a revelation – I'd always been rubbish on a mountain bike, but he was able to identify why I was rubbish and give me the right tips and guidance to get better.

Then I discovered it was less muddy being rubbish on a road bike and got out of practice…..

I work in outdoor education, and have sent staff (instructors and trainees) to two SMBLA trainers, both of whom are lakes-based and also offer skills training. Feedback on both has been outstanding. They are cyclewise (based at whinlatter) and cycleactive (who have their HQ near Penrith)