[Closed] cwmcarn. any good?

I've ridden it on my soul and on a 150mm trail bike and whilst the soul is fun the rail bike is better suited for my riding.

Watch out - 15mm more travel than that and you'll be getting called a mincer 😉

All a bit marmite then 😀

Cwmcarn was looking good with everything open. Two XC trails you could spend the day doing and/or mix it up with some DH, or uplift most the day and spend some time on the XCs.

A mix of everything and an okay café for lunch, so nice day out. Only lacking the old freeride area which was fun before Twrch.

With only Cafall and Pedalhounds, it's just not worth it.

Off piste of course would be fine, but I just don't know any of it. I'd need locals to show me the stuff.

There isn't much between them in terms of difficulty.

You appear to be in a minority of one on this issue.

So? My opinion is as valid as anyones. Nobody said you have to like it and nobody cares if you don't.

Everyone loves a good internet disagreement don' they? Oh and I love a "Cafall isn't overly technical" statement, it certaiblty gives me the impression that the poster is a heady mix of Brendog, James Bond and Chuck Norris.

Anyway, I find it quite tricky in parts, not so much I dislike it, but it has a lot of featres that simply don't exist on other Trail Centre trails in South Wales, namely mud, roots, drops and rocks, which I enjoyed - I can understand why some people don't like it, some of my riding buddies don't either - they say the descents aren't worth the climbs. Some of the climbs are steep and some of the swtichbacks tight which adds to the leg burn - I would say it's got the steepest climbs in any South Wales Trail Centre, bar perhaps the Raven at Brechfa (which is technically West Wales, but when it comes to these things people tend to split Wales in two and go North/South).

You can mitigate the whole climb v descent thing with a bit of local knowledge - you can skip the first climb after the ranger station by following a longer, but quicker and easier fire road up before rejoinng at Quadzilla and a lot of people skip the last descent on Cafall, pedal back up the Forrest Drive Road backwards for a bit (don't worry, it's closed at the moment) through some tape which we assume was put there to show the way, up a bit of fire road, past the road drop on the original DH (whihc is also closed) and down the final descent of the Twrch - which is short, (56secs on Strava if you're me) but simply sublime taken at full speed.

The Twrch however is sadly, simply not riding at the moment, it's mostly closed and the bits that are open are under ridden and unmaintained so seem to be returning to nature - if you like your trails "naturally" man made rather than "unnaturally" man made it might be more your thing, but it does mean a slower paced ride and without the speed it's not as fun - for me anyway. Again with local knowledge you can make a decent ride of it, but it's very difficult to say in words which way to go.

mud, roots, drops and rocks

it has a lot of featres that simply don't exist on other Trail Centre trails in South Wales

So? My opinion is as valid as anyones. Nobody said you have to like it and nobody cares if you don't.

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😛

OP - if it were me travelling from the Isle of Wight to ride in south Wales tomorrow I would personally sit in the car for another hour or so and head toward Afan.

In my humble opinion the Cafall is fun, but not worth a massive effort to get to given what else is reasonably local. It's definitely worth heading to on the way back from BPW or Afan, but unless you're in the area I wouldn't bother.

However, once the Twrch is open again I'll definitely consider it a daytrip venue.

I would say it's got the steepest climbs in any South Wales Trail Centre, bar perhaps the Raven at Brechfa

Ah, Raven... now there is truly an example of the descents not being worth the climbing 😛

That's not to say the descents are rubbish, some bits are really good, but the amount of utterly tedious climbs for 10 seconds of trail, then tedious climb, repeat, repeat, and then chuck in a descent on a bloody fireroad!... makes it really not worth it.

But climb masochists love it. If it was climbing like Twrch was, Whites Level climb or even Cafall, then I'd understand. Raven's climbs are just tedious and dull and too much of them.

Blimey it's all kicked off in here since this morning .I see the Twrch and Cafall as the same trail now really and the variety of different riding and singletrack they both offer always add up to a great and satisfying time for me.I've always had a soft spot for it,it's like an old reliable mate that's always there for you if things turn bad or don't go to plan and will wave you home back over the bridge with a smile.

Wrecker when was the last time you rode it? It definitely has rocks and drops on some descents.

Fire road up to rapist tent ftw. Then when you do the loop to forest drive, back up the fire road to the shortcut to pedalhounds DH, do that then over to last Twrch descent is one of the best couple hours of fun you'll have at a trail centre imo.

BTW they have now removed almost all the gates from Cafall and it rides much better for it. Think there are only a couple now on the main fireroad crossings. As an XC route I reckon it is fantastic, combining good quality climbs with fast and interesting descents which cannot just be "ridden flat out".

steepest climbs in any South Wales Trail Centre

Blaengarw black - a genius trail that barely anyone bothers with

either wrecker needs to go ride it again, or s/he's the riding god...

I've ridden it with beginner mates, handy riders (local level enduro podiemists) and sponsored riders. If wrecker thinks there's nothing to jump/drop off and it's a simple, straight run, then he/she's missing something... everyone i've ridden it with has come back grinning.

off the top of my head i can think of a number of tight twisty bits through trees, hip jumps, drifty corners, drops, doubles, small rock gardens, big fast corners, slow tight ones.

it's not pontypool, abercarn or other hand-dug steep s wales stuff that's not to be mentioned on a public forum, but for a trail center, it's far better than FOD, AC/LW, Twrch etc IMO.

I'm just gutted i'm off the bike for the next 8 weeks with a separated shoulder, as i was looking forward to another spin round there soon.

When both xc trails are running I'd say it was possibly the best trail centre in S Wales.....but then I like earning my turns!

Right, in the face of such adversity I'll go again. And if I'm wrong, I shall come back and report as such.
I'm no riding god, but I do enjoy rougher trails. I like Blade at afan, trailhounds, Antur and really like Blaengarw.
Hip jumps? Doubles? On Cafell? Really?

Hip jumps? Doubles? On Cafell? Really?

yeah, if you hit stuff fast enough and know where to look.

The young lad at P S Cycles (in the car park) is pretty handy round there - showed me a line or two!

Cafall is swoopy, tame trail. Beginner stuff compared with Twrch. Jeez, about a 3rd of the last (and only notable) descent is fire road!

Sorry - I don't remember any fire road descents on Cafall? It's certainly not smooth. When did you last ride it? I think you might've gone wrong somewhere!

The climb is smoother, for sure. Much of it is quite similar to the Twrch after the Twrch's first couple of rocky ups in terms of trail surface - dirt with rocks poking out. Cafall has more man made swoopy corners, but also lots of very natural style peaty Welsh trail and a few odds and sods. Bits of Cafall are becoming very ragged with loose rocks in mud, but this is good - at least it's good to ride, hope the trail doesn't get too battered.

They are both very sweet indeed, IMO. I think Twrch is faster whilst being rocky, you can get up exhilerating levels of whoohoo-omg-if-I-hit-a-tree-I-will-be-badly-injured speed. Cafall is more of a ride, but going fast on it still requires some thought. I think it's more tiring on the way up though, and harder to to sustained fast, because it goes on for longer and has more short steep uppy downy.

Right, in the face of such adversity I'll go again. And if I'm wrong, I shall come back and report as such.

When you going to be there? 🙂 If you find the fire road descents, take pictures!

There is 1 fireroad descent. It lasts 150 metres and you use it to carry loads of speed and peel off to the left into a swoopy, jumpy section where you can find doubles if you look. Very hard to carry full speed trough it all. Considering how little area it all fits in it's a very good trail.

^^^^ I thought my wheels were going to collapse I carried so much speed into that section while chasing down my brother.

I wonder how many people commenting how good/bad it is on here that actually ride it regularly?

Why would I? I don't like it!

Really? Doesn't come across that way at all... 😆

Having ridden both, I think I prefer Cafall. Twrch seemed like one long (tricky in places) climb, a flattish bit at the top and a long, fast but quite dull descent back to the car park.

Personally I like the swooping through the trees of Cafall. It's not really technical or tough descent wise, but its good fun. I'd go back.

So? My opinion is as valid as anyones. Nobody said you have to like it and nobody cares if you don't.

The OP asked if Cwmcarn is any good. The OP can consider your opinion, the opinion of absolutely everybody else, and consider, on the balance of probability, who's more likely to be right.

That's quite simply not true though is it? Numerous posters have said that Cwmcarn isn't worth a trip at present, not just me. I am not the only one who was disappointed by Cafall either.

That's quite simply not true though is it? Numerous posters have said that Cwmcarn isn't worth a trip at present, not just me. I am not the only one who was disappointed by Cafall either.

Err, no. One or two think that it's not worth a long trip, given the other trail is mostly closed, because you can't do a full day of riding. I agree with them. One other poster was "disappointed" but liked parts of it.

You're the only one banging on and on about how terrible it is.

Cafall is probably my favourite welsh mtb trail. I agree people might prefer one trail to another, but I'm not sure how you could hate riding it, but enjoy riding your bike elsewhere ? It's a track that goes up and down, round bends up a mountain and through some woods, whats not to like !!! If you find it not particularly challenging, just go faster untill you do. 😀

Never ridden Caffel. Looking to find somewhere to practice riding rocky XC on a race HT without killing myself - does Caffel fit the bill?

There are always people there on HTs and stuff but I only have a 160mm travel bike and enjoy going as fast as I can down the descents at Cafall which I think are much more fun than those on the Twrch Trail (for all the reasons stated above). If I'm going to pedal all the way to the top of the hill then I want more than a few mins in a straight line to the bottom.

And if you think BPW is too smooth and dull, then you've either: not got the point of the place, not going fast enough or not bothered riding the black runs (50 Shades of Black is renowned for being as easy and smooth as a freshly tar aced road

I was at Cwmcarn last week and would agree the Cafall is much, much better than Twrch. Very, very litle fireroad at all, swoopy, fast and in places, technical enough to make me flinch.

I really enjoyed it. The view from the top isn't bad either:

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@ adsh

if you want proper rocky for XC practice then Afan is possibly a better bet. There are a few "rocky" sections at Cwmcarn although Twlch was far rockier than Cafall is. Of course, if you can get up to Coed y Brenin then you will be spoilt

Never ridden Caffel. Looking to find somewhere to practice riding rocky XC on a race HT without killing myself - does Caffel fit the bill?

My friend rode it last Sunday on a fairly low-spec, short travel HT. He enjoyed himself, so I think you'd be fine. He was a bit slow on the downs but not ridiculously so.

Twrch seemed like one long (tricky in places) climb, a flattish bit at the top and a long, fast but quite dull descent back to the car park.

The last descent is one of the best sections of trail I've ever ridden, and I've ridden quite a lot.

It's an interesting thing this, people arguing over trails. It all depends on how you ride. Some folk want the trail to be a challenge to get down, and the last Twrch descent is not that in any way. If you roll down it, you'll be bored. Other folk are handy riders and want to pin it, and if you do that it's exhilerating. Over a certain speed it flows very well - the tricky bits are keeping your wheels on the ground where you need them, and in the air where you can, whilst trying not to have what could be a very serious off.

Sounds perfect - want some fun, climbing and need to adjust to some short sections of steeper rocks on the race bike. The extra time to Afan is a pain at the moment.