[Closed] Bike Park Wales is go!

can't wait, should be fun!

http://www.bikeparkwales.com/trails

theres only a tiny pro section... where will we all ride??

wonder how hard this will hit the cwmdown uplift

1 4.6km climb
21 various descents.

i wonder how busy the climb will be and how quickly it will get cut up?

I imagine the climb is fireroad as it appears to take the same route as the uplift vans, should be fine.

Edit: actually not all of it mind.

new riding is good riding - looking forward to it hopefully in September

Fab.. not too far from me either.

The climb is close to the road in parts but all off road.
2 blue runs with a couple of optional routes
2 red runs with a black option
2 black runs with pro lines
1 pump track
1 family trail

M1llh0use - Member

1 4.6km climb
21 various descents.

i wonder how busy the climb will be and how quickly it will get cut up?

Only on STW can we be presented with a bike park with a stack of descents and have someone wondering about the climb 🙂

it's flippin' epic our group Aberdare MTB have been helping out on volunteer dig days and can say it's amazeballs

got an uplift booked for the opening day and can't wait 😀

only 15 min ride from my house too - get in

Moving back to Swansea end of august from Whistler, this has lifted my spirits alot!!

Dig day tomorrow if anyone is interested. Working on the climb.

Already booked an uplift day , can't wait!

Looks interesting.

10 mins from the workshop 😀

hexhamstu - Member

Moving back to Swansea end of august from Whistler, this has lifted my spirits alot!!

Really???????? I detect slight disappointment at best.

I agree its a step in the right direction but van uplifts are not the way forward.

I agree its a step in the right direction but van uplifts are not the way forward.

Did you visit Antur Stiniog? Works brilliantly there.

Looks good, may have to make the effort of driving all the way there if this "heat wave" continues through to the start of august when I have some time off 🙂

Konastoner - Member

I agree its a step in the right direction but van uplifts are not the way forward.

I would have agreed til I rode at antur stiniog, extremely fast turnaround there. Not quite as fast a chairlift but over this distance, not a kick in the balls off it- I'd far rather use Antur's vans than Glencoe's chair...

In terms of investment costs it's hard to argue with, how many road + van + trail setups can you build for the price of one chair + trail setups?

A Stiniog has it dialed due to the ease of access to the top via a Tarmac road. Bpw wouldn't be as fast turn around as there but I believe it will still be a huge success and there's loads of room left on the mountain to expand over the next few years.
I think a chair lift would have cost £5m to buy and instal, one day hopefully.

Antur doesn't have a tarmac road to the top- they use a short stretch of main road then it's onto dirt.

Yes such a direct route including a tarmac road I should have wrote. Great service they run.

dont no if im reading the trails wrong, but it doesnt seem very long to me. its a long drive for hours ride ??

I'm not sure what kind of time the black will take to get down, but the blues & reds should be about 7-12mins

sounds about rite. all the trails in a hour 8O. afan is less than a hour away also.

Bit daft that, it's an uplift venue- you can ride all the waymarked downhills at innerleithen in about 20 minutes but you wouldn't say "long way to drive for 20 minutes riding"- partly because once you're done you do it again, and partly because you can't really measure downhill in minutes, you can pack as much into a single run as you'd get from hours of trailbike riding.

...its a step in the right direction but van uplifts are not the way forward.

I would have agreed til I rode at antur stiniog, extremely fast turnaround there. Not quite as fast a chairlift but over this distance, not a kick in the balls off it- I'd far rather use Antur's vans than Glencoe's chair...

In terms of investment costs it's hard to argue with, how many road + van + trail setups can you build for the price of one chair + trail setups?

i'm increasingly sceptical of the need for uplifts at all (in the uk)

with clever trail design you can get a lot of descendy fun out of very little climbing.

with clever trail design climbing is easy, and fun.

even flat trails can be ace!

(thankfully no-one listens to me 😀 )

Shame they couldn't have inhereted the chair lift that used to be on the other side of the valley.

Great to see some investment on this scale in MTB in the UK. I'm booked on already and can't wait to drive over on BankHoliday!

I think it's ace. An utterly brilliant thing to have, and I expect it'll bring loads of people to the area. Can't wait to get some time in there.

Can't wait to see what the trails are like.

Rowan Sorrell is the director of BPW. That's all the confirmation I need 😀

You know it!!! 😆

I would worry you are going to spend more time sat in a van than sat on your bike... besides I like riding uphill.

I am with ahwiles on this but then I am an old fart 🙂

mduncombe - Member

I would worry you are going to spend more time sat in a van than sat on your bike... besides I like riding uphill.

I've nothing against riding uphill, but yesterday I jumped on the innerleithen bus a couple of times and it meant I could do an average day's climbing but about twice as much descending. Can't be bad can it?

For me, uplifts aren't about avoiding climbing, they're just about spending more time descending. After a good uplift day I'm just as knackered as after a day's xc, it's differently physical but still no lazy option.

besides I like riding uphill.

i'm increasingly sceptical of the need for uplifts at all (in the uk)

with clever trail design you can get a lot of descendy fun out of very little climbing.

with clever trail design climbing is easy, and fun.

even flat trails can be ace!

(thankfully no-one listens to me )

I feel you may have completely missed the point 🙄

Well I think its crap.

We are going on hols down that way but for the first 2 weeks in August FFS.

Are there no xc trails at all then ?

The press release says...

designed to be enjoyed by mountain bike riders of all kinds from XC whippets to elite DH racers and everything In between with a real emphasis on trails that can be enjoyed on mid travel trail bikes.

I love a good climb but I also love improving my riding - these sort of places are great for that. You can repeat runs and gradually improve without having to do laps which can increase tiredness and risk injury.

Gawton is similar with HSD and Proper Job both red runs, you can rinse and repeat all day and its amazing how you improve in such a short time.

Are there no xc trails at all then ?

Yes. Was a tongue in cheek comment cos I would have liked to have tried the trails at the bike park as well as the other riding we will be doing.

mikey74 - Member

I feel you may have completely missed the point

i know, i was just responding to a post further up the page - debating the relative awesomeness (or not) of vans vs chairlifts.

singlespeedstu - Member

Shame they couldn't have inhereted the chair lift that used to be on the other side of the valley.

Was never a chairlift there, it was a button lift.

I got an opening day uplift booked, cant wait!

Sounds good, did an uplift day at the FoD and those criticising the idea are missing the point completely, its not an XC day out, you're paying to get as many DH runs in as possible....a 5 minute van trip to the top and arrive fresh as a daisy or pedal uphill taking twice as long (at least) and get far fewer runs in that day?
Its a no brainer for me if i'm going to a DH venue.