[Closed] Afan advice please- Skyline or W2?

Apparently its because the distance mixed with the technicality makes it black. I am a big fan of skyline, but a lot of people dislike the amount of fire trail in it. The boardwalk exists in whites. If you want the quieter of the two trails, skyline wins.

Quite a good idea is to ride Whites then climb back up the sheep track (first climb) and hit the last 1/4 of the Skyline by doing this I think you hit the best decents at the place. get back to the top and turn right this takes you over to the top of the canyon
the entire Skyline route is quietest but has a large chunk of fire road slogging to do.

Brecon Beacons black route forget the long boring fore roads.

W2 Skyline is boring as it has far too many fire roads sections.

Nashwaymules suggestion is a good one. I have often done that too

I did some of skyline about a month back and it had very fast and pedaly descents without any techy stuff of note. Very good though. I didn't get to ride much of the other trails but did a bit of white's level and think I preferred Skyline although 'darkside' was alright. It was great to see so many people riding bikes, it was my first time at Afan and was taken aback by how popular it was. (Not so handy if you're a strava addict like me though!)

much prefer Skyline because it is quiet, you don't get people having picnics in the middle of the trail, the track has a more remote feel than W2. But it does have a fair amount of fire-road if that is a problem.

Goto Brechfa and do the "Gorlech" red, but just before the final decent follow the signs for the "Raven" black route. When you get back to final decent of the Gorlech you can finish off.
Best of Wales, and not too busy either.

Thanks all!

I am lucky to be in Wales so Brechfa and the other suggestions can happily be done another day.

As far as Afan goes it sounds like Skyline could be the better bet for me at the weekend- I like the idea of quiet and remote. Slogging fireroads is no problem as I'd like to get some more time legs for some of the events coming up. Descents are never bad though 😉

Are there any descents at Afan that make you think "Sh1t what on earth am I doing here"? The only trail centre I ride regulalry is Cwm Carn for comparison.

Thanks again, DanW

Whatever you decide, just enjoy being out on your bike 8)

Haven't done Skyline but descents on W2 are not at all scary, just fun!

Short Skyline - do the climb, ride along the road at the top, do the descent. Cut out the boring middle section and have more time in the pub.

Winner! 😀

You got to love this forum, OP asks for Afan advice and gets told to go to Brechfa!

W2 Skyline is boring as it has far too many fire roads sections.

No, Skyline has lots of fire road in it, W2 is a totally different trail which has very little fire road in it and lots of singletrack.

I haven't ridden everything but there is nothing too technical or committing at Afan. There is a weird descent that is either designed to be ridden exclusively by 20 lb hard tails or by people on amphetamines/ rockets stuck to their bike. (As in it's effectively an uphill with jumps and berms. There's also a bit through some trees on a narrow bit f trail that you have to keep an eye on your speed for, the trail is very smooth and fast but the corners are fairly flat so it's easy to get to excited and cause some tree-teeth interface.

Nothing as tech as White's Level on Skyline, generally faster swoopier singletrack and less rock features etc but still good fun. The only thing I struggle with on Skyline is arm pump from the sheer length of the last descent (not really something to complain about!)

Andrewj, just trying to let OP know that there's a lot more to Wales than Afan. The natural trails in the Beacons far outclass the trail centers, but local knowledge is essential

If I was not local to Wales then I'd be very happy for advice of better riding in the vicinity- not everyone always knows what they want despite what they ask for 😀 So Andrew and argoose's replies are both valid 😉

I'd like quite a chilled longer ride so Skyline still seems like the best option. Chilled = fun for a longer weekend 😀

much prefer Skyline because it is quiet, you don't get people having picnics in the middle of the trail, the track has a more remote feel than W2. But it does have a fair amount of fire-road if that is a problem

Sums it up well.

I always liked Skyline for it old school, day out feel. Last time I rode it there was snow on the ground.

Andrewj, just trying to let OP know that there's a lot more to Wales than Afan. The natural trails in the Beacons far outclass the trail centers, but local knowledge is essential

Yes I know, I live in the Brecon Beacons and have the knowledge 😉

Funnily enough, I'll be using that knowledge to ride from home and do Skyline tomorrow, then I'll be riding back. Should take me around 7 hours 🙂

Andrew J JEALOUS !! all i have to look forward to is shopping with the wife 🙁

W2 smashes skyline for riding although some people prefer skyline for the views. You will be riding LOTS of fire road (up and down) on skyline.

Crickhowell black mountain killer loop if the weather is good has to be some of the best riding available IMO

W2 smashes skyline for riding although some people prefer skyline for the views. You will be riding LOTS of fire road (up and down) on skyline.

unless you know the sneaky local bits that cutout alot of fireroad

Crickhowell black mountain killer loop

Andrewj, I see you also live in Gods pocket 😀

Beware if you're doing W2 (or White's Level)as there was a diversion in place last weekend due to logging which sends you way up and back over the top once you've done the Energy section. Goodwood was closed (the boardwalk bit) and I assume The Dark Side was closed too. We ended up going down the fire road to Abercregan then back to Glyncorrwg on the multi use track which follows the river. It might be worth giving the centre a ring on 01639 851900 to check before you go as it was a big disappointment.

Hi Andrew, it's Simon M. Good to see you're still at it too. 😀

DanW - Member

Are there any descents at Afan that make you think "Sh1t what on earth am I doing here"? The only trail centre I ride regulalry is Cwm Carn for comparison.

Thanks again, DanW

There are a couple of largish rock steps on the way down where you need to have your wits about you. You can see grooves in the step where other people have bottomed out.

Nothing too scary though - just needs some concentration. The final descent is excellent.

Do Skyline, Excalabor and South pit alone are better than all the other worn out bits on W2 and the final is great. A good afternoons ride.

Another question for future reference:

Is there a quick way to join Skyline from Treherbet?

There only looks to be 1-2km between Skyline and Treherbet train station and if there was a path/ road/ fireroad linking the two that would be great. This looks like the only feasible way to ride Afan using the train (all other stations are quite a distance away).

Any pointers or gps maps from the locals between Treherbet and Skyline would be very much appreciated!

Do Skyline, Excalabor and South pit alone are better than all the other worn out bits on W2

Failing that I guess Maesteg is the closest train station roughly 5.5 miles away 😕

Have always joined skyline from the top of the Rhigos to Treherbet road, cross road from top of the Darren out of Dare Valley country park, road up from Treherbet is pretty mean on a montain bike

If you decide to do Whites and Goodwood/Darkside are closed, then follow fireroad back up to top of whites climb, continue on fireroad up and along, until you get a right junction, follow that fireroad down a little until trees start, turn right and you'll be doing the last few sections of Skyline, excellent and longest descent in Afan.

I did skyline today and loved it.
There may be lots of fireroad but the quality of singletrack makes up for it.
W2 is too busy on weekends for me, skyline is always quiet.

We did The Wall in the end as time was tight and the weather was a little damp. It was good but not a trail I'd be super desperate to ride regularly. It felt like a XC trail for downhillers- much less balance between challenging climbs and fun descents than say Cwm-Carn. Also, very little of the trail was memorable- only "zig zags" sticks in my mind as having any real flow. I'll have to get Skyline done when I have more time 😀

It sounds like you need to get into the natural trails 🙂

I ride plenty of natural trails around South Wales, the majority of which are far more up my street 😉 My feeling of The Wall was probably "awkward"... the only way to sum it up. Maybe my spirits were just dampened by the weather 😀

Wall was very good when first finished, but they've been working on the final decent, and messed it up.
The top part, just after the church, seemed to be rode at 6" above the trail for long parts. Just couldn't keep bike on the deck, massive fun.

Was it wet?