…for next Saturday, within a 2 hour drive of Newcastle.

A friend and I are planning a trip next Saturday and the default idea was a trip to glentress. It’s the right length to do a couple of loops in the allotted time, and is smooth enough for me to feel comfortable on my hardtail, and jumpy enough him to have fun on his Five.

However, we were thinking of doing something different and need some opinions. First thoughts were Mabie, or possibly Dalbeattie. Dalby is also within range. Neither of us have been to any of these locations.

Over to you, folks – what do you recommend?

Innerleithen or Ae

Inners. No cafe but the coffee at GT is DREADFUL, DARLING!

Do Mabie and then Dalbeattie. Dalbeattie doesn’t have many hills and can easily be done when your legs aren’t fresh.

youngrob – Member
Innerleithen or Ae

Ae – seriously? It has no flow, it’s only the last downhill that’s any good!

What’s inners like? The downhill reputation puts me off a little (I’m a big scaredycat!).

Mabie, 82% singletrack and loads of fun. I was there last Wednesday & even in torrential rain I really enjoyed it!

Innerleithen is great. If you can do the red at GT the red at innerleithen should be ok. It is more serious than GT though.

legolam – Member
What’s inners like? The downhill reputation puts me off a little (I’m a big scaredycat!).

It is a red graded XC loop. There is a (optional) black section which I would have said you would be fine, a mate of mine broke his elbow on there though!!! It’s only the last DH you need to watch out on and there’s a big warning sign at the start of it…take it easy on there and you’ll be alright, it’s all rideable, except for the third (last) drop near the top.

Inners is fine, chicken runs. I do the 3 ‘drops’ on a 100mm alloy hardtail and I’m a jessie so don’t worry.

Ae is guff.

Drive to Innerleithen, do the Red XC route.

Pop into the Pound Bakehouse in Innerleithen high street, stock up.

Drive around to GT, do a mix of routes to fill your afternoon.

I enjoyed Dalbeattie and Mabie. But do Dalbeattie second

Dalbeattie is perfect for a scardy non scardy pair as the red black options are very close and short…

What about Hamsterley? Red and Black XC Loops, DH area, 4X track, i’ve only been once but i thought the trails we’re fun. Not sure of the coffee quality though!

Hmmm. I would have said coed-y-brenin as its super fun and super technical but don’t think you’ll get there in 2 hours!! Such a shame although might not be the place to go if your beginners anyway! 😆
Yes GT is fabulous and if you can do spooky woods this is an exceptional well made downhill track, but be very careful it’s very jumpy so make sure your well protected!

Hamsterley is our go-to local trail centre, so looking to travel a little further afield to something new. I do love hamsterley though, that’s exactly the kinda thing we’re looking for.

Leaning towards Mabie +/- Dalbeattie at the moment

PS I’m not a quite a beginner – quite happy to bomb down the GT red (without protection!), just not a fan of big drop offs and rough rocky stuff on my 100mm hardtail!

and is smooth enough for me to feel comfortable on my hardtail,

Pansy

Dalby is quite rough compared to GT. And less predictable. GT was fun but it seemed almost impossible to mess up, go round a corner as fast as you can and you knew the only thing the other side was probbaly going to have been built for that exact speed. Dalby has far more blind crests to “WTF” moments.

My son did Dalby on a hardtail. I have a FS as I’m old, rubbish and my body creaks

Make sure you watch the olympics MTB to see what 100mm hard tail can do

london 2012-36 by John Clinch, on Flickr

Drumlanrig?

Absolutely fantastic to watch!! The pros really do show you how something so extreme like that is possible to do on a hardtails!! I was absolutely gob smacked by it! I really don’t think it’s a good idea to open this sort of course to the public!!
I also noticed that the pros weren’t wearing no body protection!!?? Surely that can’t be a good message to the young enthusiasts of today!

Drive to Coed Y Brenin real fast.

Are people honestly suggesting driving to Mabie instead of GT? Honestly?

I’d just go to GT without thinking twice about it. Mabie and Dalbeattie are good but I wouldn’t drive 2 hours to do either in a day. Only time I ever do them is if I’m in the area for a long weekend including Kirroughtree.

Ae – you’re having a laugh right? By far and away the worst place I’ve ridden that was actually designed as a trail centre. The only good bit is the last descent and/or going up and doing Shredder. The rest is dreadful.

Dalby might be worth a go if you’ve never done it before and fancy a change. Went at the weekend and its really nice at the moment. Very ‘green’ due to the weather this summer which has the result of the trails being quite closed in (and mega fast feeling!). If you do Dalby, I’d personally start from Dixons Hollow. Means the 2/3rds of the red between there and the visitor centre can be attacked (the best way) instead of doing it at the end on weary legs. The bit between the visitor centre and Dixons Hollow is more suited to a gentle plod with a couple of good downhills in it (or drop me a mail and I’ll point you in the direction of some good old/off-piste bits to take you back to your car 😉 ).

amzazing! absolutely breathtaking.. look at those heroes go! I can barely believe my eyes. I for one certainly thought it beyond the realms of possibility to roll over some rocks on a cross country mountain bike.

I also noticed that the pros weren’t wearing no body protection!!??

You don’t have to wear all the stuff you know.

Are people honestly suggesting driving to Mabie instead of GT? Honestly?

Problem with GT is that it’s too busy.

Personally, I’d suggest drumlanrig.

Problem with GT is that it’s too busy.

I went the weekend before last and whilst it was busier than say the North Yorks Moors on a bleak Tuesday morning in November, I still had 90% of the trails to myself (i.e I only had to slow down for anyone in front on 5% of the trails) and those where I caught up with people were mainly the blue nearer the car park and a group I yo-yo’d with on the black.

Well what a nice dilemma to have…

I’d say go do GT (once) then go do Innerleithen. Innerleithen is a very good trail but different to GT in that it’s more technical and much less groomed.

Both excellent trails so as I say a nice dilemma to have. 😀

PS – the food served at Glentress cafe is overpriced and sh!t3 so don’t bother.

Defo gt and inner for me did not enjoy dalby at all its too long with no great features to make it worth the slog.

I’d say go do GT (once) then go do Innerleithen. Innerleithen is a very good trail but different to GT in that it’s more technical and much less groomed.

Maybe GT was more worn out a couple of weeks ago, but Inners was pretty smooth and flowy compared to GT black, the surface is much looser through on Minch Moor and to maintain speed you had to be comfident with middling sized drops to gap the rocks placed under the drops (i.e. they’re roll-able, or gap-able, but trying to squash/pump/not drop at an inbetweeny speed was uncomfortable and lost speed anyway. The middle bit (after the long fireroad) is similar to GT, and then Caddon Bank is fast, but the drops aren’t bad, certainly not as bad as the warning signs make out, and the double’s are more like tabletops with as lsight depression in the top, it’s pretty tame.

rupertpostlethwaite Hmmm. I would have said coed-y-brenin as its super fun and super technical …… might not be the place to go if your beginners anyway!

Um, exactly which bit of CYB is super technical?
Have you ever been mountain biking, like on technical trails?

Also, have you done Whinlatter?

If not then you should do – Excellent trail which oozes flow imo.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ie=UTF-8&hl=en

Dalby isn’t a route for an adrenalin junkie. Its more a ‘proper’ XC ride but man-made whereas GT etc are primarily about fun (and why not!).

Horses for courses. I think Dalby is good, not great but as a local(ish) resource, its not bad to have. Especially in the depths of winter when the trails next door on the moors are liquid.

thegeneralist – don’t feed the trolls…

thegeneralist – Member
rupertpostlethwaite Hmmm. I would have said coed-y-brenin as its super fun and super technical …… might not be the place to go if your beginners anyway!
Um, exactly which bit of CYB is super technical?
Have you ever been mountain biking, like on technical trails?
POSTED 22 SECONDS AGO # REPORT-POST

Yes I assume by your post that you haven’t, if you had ridden there then I can assure you that you’ll know that coed-y-brenin as as technicaly demanding as you’ll find in the uk! And I’ve ridden most trail centres now, even lee quarry!
Have you done false teeth at coed-y? Probabley one of the most extreme downhills you will find!

FGS – here we go 🙄

I’m new to riding and thought what a jolly good idea to start my learning on a cycle forum

coed-y-brenin as as technicaly demanding as you’ll find in the uk!

Actually, now I come to think of it, you’re right. CyB is proper hardcore. I was mistaken before. Thanks for keeping me right.

You mentioned Lee Quarry as being a good comparator to CyB, but have you tried Landeglar? It’s totally off the scale.

Dear Rupert,

Why don’t you go and get a life.. Stop trolling on this forum.

Your first post or 2 were mildly amusing, the Orange 5 post was as funny as a dose of food poisoning, and your post on this thread is as amusing as a kick in the nuts…

We all know you are obviously an active member posing as a gonk but please stop now and go away.. The phrase “quit while you are ahead” has never been applicable to you so it can’t be used.. So just quit.

If I knew what bridge you were under I’d come along and place explosive charges on it to destroy the bridge and you.

Yours thankfully,

1981miked

that coed-y-brenin as as technicaly demanding as you’ll find in the uk!

You had me interested untill you qualified it with………

And I’ve ridden most trail centres now, even lee quarry!

That’s like saying tidlywinks is an extream sport, and I’ve played chess and everything!

Trail Centers are fun, but with the possible exception of Stainburn Black, I’d not say technical.

Blue – can you ride a bike fast
red – can you ride a bike fast, with optional jump/drop/manual ‘skills’ required.
black – can you ride a bike fast, skills above not optional.

I’d not considder someting technical unless it required lots of stopping, sucking air through teath, re-trying, and possibly crashes.

Within two hours of Newcastle (keeping vaguely to the speed limits) you won’t get much further than GT/Innerleithen. You certainly won’t get to Ae, Drumlanrig, Mabie or any of the other places. Whinlatter is pushing it too.

Hamsterley is more local (1hour) and is suprisingly good now that they’ve done all the new bits.

Kielder (just over an hour) is a nice ride in good weather but not very technical and more suited to long rides than quick thrills.

Both Glentress and Innerliethen will be good fun too. There is more variety and options at glentress as you can mix the blu black and red up (Innerliethen is pretty much up then down with only a coupl of options).

I personally wouldn’t drive to Dalby as I think it is a bit rubbish.

I also wouldn’t drive to Whinlatter as, while the trails are good, there are only about 15 miles of way marked stuff.