Hello, doing a trip to Wales for a few days in the new year, it’s only three days so was looking at doing some of the trail centers Ive read about growing up in the 90’s!!

I know there are some brilliant natural trails in Wales Ive ridden some awesome ones, but this is blatant consumerism I’m afraid!!

Yes best of its kind in North Wales IMO.

[video]http://vimeo.com/34329707[/video]
Bike like this though sometimes the weather is worse 🙂
When the singletrack points down it’s blindingly quick and narrow. Just beware that in bad weather the long loop has some long sections exposed to the elements and can hold a bit of water.

Nice one chaps that’s what I wanted to hear and see!! Great video Mike Thats what I’m after!!!!!!

Because of all the water, which is there all year even in summer, in winter it is very icy.

Are you sure it was a week before I found all my toes after that day!!
The long traverse section had iced over puddles about 1ft deep 🙂

It wasn’t too bad at least there was nobody else out there – reassuring when your slipping on the ice 🙂

One of my favourite trails though don’t forget to pop something in the box and slow down on the way as there is nothing other than a lay by to tell you that you are there.

Brilliant trails, but very wet normally, top tip is to make it the last of the rides you do so your boots etc don’t need to be dry for next day’s riding.

It’s the wettest trail i’ve ever ridden, most of it like riding through a beck last time I rode it (October 2010).

If I could describe it one word it would be – Challenging.

What’s your fitness like?

Just beware that in bad weather the long loop has some long sections exposed to the elements and can hold a bit of water.

Nicely understated there Mike. We were daft enough to ride it last year when the snow was melting (like in your vid). It was like riding through a stream for a few hours. A really, really, really, staggeringly bloody cold stream!!! I couldn’t feel my hands or feet by about half way round. I have never ever been so cold on a bike!

Great trails though!

I went to wales and road marin in the evening we arrived spent a day at code y brenin,did the beast then the MBR then the flying fox,and the next day headed to penmachno for a quick blast, the quick blast took us alot longer than it was ment to,mainly because of the pain we were in from the day before but we all wished we had gone there first, wet challanging but some of the best decents and single track a trail centre has to offer. IMO

Quite a lot of fireroad climbing on the loop but personally I prefer that (easy way to gain altitude for the fun stuff later), I don’t remember it being that wet apart from the odd section, that was back in September though before the recent rains. Overall it’s a great trail centre track, with a mix of fast & flowy + some technical descents.

Mid level fittness!?! 🙂

Thanks all looks like its worth a day then!

Was there in August and sections were wet even then.

Wasn’t that keen on all the fire road climbing but it is broken up a bit by other sections.

Having said all that, the final singletrack section is brilliant, and the long forested singletrack about 2/3 of the way round the big loop is probably the best section of ‘natural’ feeling fast trail centre stuff I’ve ridden anywhere.

We had a blast there at the start of October, it was a lot drier than the video, but I understand it’s rained a bit since…!

Got round the long loop with my 10-year-old on his rigid Orange in under the five-hour suggested max adult time… was knackered after that (and CyB the day before) I can tell you.

Trust me you dont have to be fit or fast .

I went on a recomendation from NBT , and it was great .
Alot more flowly and less ‘built’ than most trail centers . I didnt find the turn off for loop 2 , so rode loop 1 , then studied a map and used the road to get me up to the start of the 2nd loop ( great views ) , then did the second half of loop 1 again . With simply the best ‘last mile’ you could want ( save some energy for this )

Not any great distance but alot of fun .
Highly recomended

Rode Penmachno about 8 weeks ago. Absolutely brilliant. Would concur with pretty much everything written here. It’s got superb narrow, fast and technical singletrack. It’s very natural and not sculpted like so many trail centres. The last few descents of the big loop are brilliant. It is however soaking wet, particularly on the additional 10k loop. All things being equal I’d probably skip the additional loop altogether next time (and there certainly will be a next time). When we finished we were frozen, soaked and knackered and we said “never again”. Once we’d recovered over a pint, we all agreed it was the best biking that we’d done in ages! Still grin thinking about it now. If you’re only medium fitness, definitely stick to the big loop only. Enjoy, I’m jealous!

The second loop on a dry day in summer (rare) is awesome. In winter it can be a mission.
As for Fire road climbing it’s not that much and gives you a chance to chill out for a bit before the next singletrack

Roll on August!!thanks all!

Rode round loop one about 2 weeks ago, the local trail crew have done some work and a lot of the big puddles have gone.
But as others have said if it’s icy take lots of care.
The last downhill section is superb by the way.

personally it’s ace fun flat out on a rigid single speed. dull as ditchwater flat out on a full boinger.

My favorite trail centre. Very natural feel. The 3 section roller coaster is brilliant and the last 3 descents are just superb.

tazzymtb – Member
personally it’s ace fun flat out on a rigid single speed. dull as ditchwater flat out on a full boinger.

Utter balls or top trolling.

Loved it, hard work a couple of years back and not sure I’d find it a whole lot easier now.

Still a good day out though with some great memories, will definitely go back some time…

Great trail, just remember your mud guards 😉

Love it, my favourite Welsh trail centre. We usually ride it at the start of a weekend with lights, which makes it pretty atmospheric and feel even faster on the roller coaster sections! It was like riding down a river in places last time we were there though, so agree with the advice about leaving it to the end so you don’t need sopping wet kit the next day! Also used to find some bits pretty tough on fitness when I first started riding; but I found that the harder I worked on some of the traversy/climby bits the easier (and more fun!) it was. No facilities at all, so take a thermos (or hip flask) if you’re going in the winter!

Only ever rode Penmachno once, and it was a blast. Even after riding the Marin trail first.

However next time Penmachno will be getting rode first.

Great free flowing parts. The rock work is epic, really enjoyed it. We rode on June and it was like a stream in parts.

We did it in September and loved it. I didn’t think it was particularly testing on the fitness front, but I would echo the above comments about wetness! There was a long section probably just after half way which was basically like riding down a riverbed for what I remember feeling like 20 minutes. It’s all rock and hard-pack so no mud but would be VERY sketchy in icy conditions.

I’d probably avoid it in sub zero conditions due to the above.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/penmachno-trail-details-anyone

and what I said there….

Obviously seem to be in the minority but: the worst trail centre trail Ive ridden and not worth the effort when there is far better natural and man made near by. Went up there a couple of weeks ago for a midweek break, did penmachno, CyB Beast and the Marin at Betwys. Not a single section of the Pen is memorable for the right reasons, but there are loads of bits of the other two that thinking about makes me smile now.

They also seem to have an issue with trail build/design and water. A significant proportion of the second “loop” at Pen had deep standing water on it. When you build an all-weather trail out of hundreds of tonnes of aggregate you end up building an impervious stream bed, and if you dont manage it it will hold water. We got soaked through on Penmachno, yet finished the Beast which is twice the length bone dry and almost totally clean. Same for the Marin. The Marin is a bit old-skool trail centre fireroad-up-singletrack-down, but the quality of the singletrack just gets better as you get further around it.

Its definitely worth taking a bike to “the area”, but its the worst built trail in the area IMHO.

Utter balls or top trolling.

not balls, or trolling, just truth for me. a full boinger with gears is dull on it personally, not needed and nowhere near as fun.

We also seem to be a lot quicker on the climbs and just as fast on the descents as the other trail users, so more fun for me, a better workout on the climbs and certainly not a hindrance to other riders. 😛

osum

osum

you knows it

Great trail though did manage to break 3 spokes and snap a chain on it one day. Just remember to put some gold ones in the box in the carpark.

The local volunteer gang have done a bit of work on the drainage so it has improved in the last 18 months or so.

Worth the trip if not only for the last 3 or 4 downhills.

Loved it but I have since bought waterproof socks. Bits of loop 2 are quite exposed so take an extra layer if it’s windy.