UPDATE: Reviews section refreshed, redesigned, searchable: Go take a look
I went down for the day yesterday.
It was great, but the trails seem harder than last time I went about a year ago.
Last year first run was ac/DC. It was right at the top of my comfort zone for a warm up- I'm not fond of gap jumps. We did it last run and it was ace.
Yesterday there were two sizable gap jumps right at the start. I am not a fan of gaps and I'm sure I would remember them, they put me right off doing it yesterday.
A470 seemed fine last year, this year also had 2 large gaps at the start hut
Some of the other red trails seem to have bigger blinder jumps with more gaps that I remember.
Rim dinger seems massively more rough than I remember.
I can home with loads of arm pump. Much much more than I remember.
Have I got soft?
Has it got harder?
Is it just because it's dry and speeds are faster?
Don't think its got harder - theres something for everyone though so just ride another trail. Regarding A470, it seems like its a bit of a "theme park" trail with every man and his dog aiming for it. I witness tens of people on all sorts of bikes - DH rigs, XC bikes and most things inbetween pushing around the qualifier and then disappearing off down the trail.
Some trails have certainly had bits added since last year. Insufficient Funds has a gap jump that used to be a drop off and it caught my mate out leading to a blowout. I think some of them are just a bit more washed out too which makes them rougher.
[grumpy old man]
UK mtb has got a lot 'jumpier'. I never learnt to jump as we started riding natural trails. There were no gap jumps (and very few tabletops?) most trail centre loops (thinking Coed-y-brenin, Afan, CwmCarn and even the 7 stanes as I remember them way back). There were 'black' and DH runs that would have had them but as an average trail rider I just didn't grow up with those sort of features (and a number of attempts to learn over the last decade haven't gone well though I'm finally sort of getting there with some smaller stuff now. I'm still don't think I've any interest in ever riding anything much longer than a couple of bike lengths at most)
Now there are jumps getting added to cheeky woodland trails almost as a matter of course and they're all over the trails at BPW. For sure the standard of riding of people coming into the sport now is much higher - if you start riding jumps early on you I'm guessing don't develop the fear and the instinct to squash everything that I still can't get over.
But I can't help thinking it must have increased the severity of injuries. Any idiot can throw themselves into the air at speed but getting down safely requires some skills and it has always, and still does, feel like a lot more can go wrong jumping that on most other features that results in you hitting the ground hard and often head first
[/grumpy old man]
Insufficient Funds has a gap jump that used to be a drop
That was a surprise to me yesterday, but I didn't notice untill I cleared it.
There were no gap jumps (and very few tabletops?) most trail centre loops (thinking Coed-y-brenin, Afan, CwmCarn and even the 7 stanes as I remember them way back).
I remember the section near the wind turbines going in at afan with table tops. It blew me away because it was so different.
Likewise the jump section going in at glentress by the upper car park and spooky wood. They seemed so different back then.
I haven't been since last year but I imagine it's running pretty hard and fast at the moment. I don't think I've ever seen a dry day there.
Which reminds me, I have a gift voucher to use and I really should go. Probably isn't much fun on your own though.
It’s probably one of the least jumpy bike parks out there. but it is getting jumpier.
I appreciate that they grade their trails not only by difficulty but also by style.
im someone who can do a morzine black tech, but can’t clear the jumps on a blue. So I’m also deficient in the jumping ability category.
Yep, I've never learned to jump properly, and at 50 its never going to happen now. Why does everything have to have gaps in it. Table tops are great, I can try and clear them but if I come up short I'm not going to die. Just leave the bloody middle in....
If I remember correctly, most of the Jumps at Dyfi were table tops rather than massive gaps and no one was complaining about them.
At the moment it's probably super dry & fast so it probably feels harder.
I think they have worked to make some of the qualifiers harder as they get so many varied abilities it's the easiest way to stop people riding trails above their ability.
Obvsiously people push round them which kind of negates the point...
Why would anybody push around the A470 qualifier?! If you can’t jump a small double, you ain’t gonna clear any of the other jumps on that line
The problem with building table tops is they require loads more maintenance as pretty much anyone can ride up and over them which destroys the take off lip and the landing as those people are more likely to drag brakes down them. This probably adds to user conflict also as there’s the possibility of vast ability levels on any trail
Insufficient Funds has a gap jump that used to be a drop off and it caught my mate out leading to a blowout.
Where abouts is that then?
It, like many other places seems to be getting more and more i to smooth flow trails and bigger jumps. If that’s their makrket then I don’t blame them, they certainly make for good photos. Personally I do t like flow and jump lines and much prefer tech which is getting harder to find
Did you miss the creation of Boomslang and Ych A Fi? Or the new top half of Watts Occuring?
I think it's fairly balanced. I never touch the flow trails unless I'm with a mixed group.
+1 to that ^ I think BPW just has a bit more of everything.
I don't feel it's got harder. Sometimes a trail gets a refresh and changes a little
Rim dinger seems massively more rough than I remember.
I think you must be going faster, I'm sure Rimdinger is the same as it ever was but the rocks have been smoothed by about a billion tyres over the years
I'd say no, I went a few weeks back and have also been about a year ago and can't say I noticed that any trails had changed that much. All the new trails are welcome and there's a good mix of types of trail. I do think a lot of the jumps have improved over the years as they didn't all used to be built the best, now they're much more consistent. I also think that the qualifiers are better as they often used to be too easy and attract riders who perhaps weren't ready for that trail.
Doubles are better than tables for the reasons mentioned above. People can't roll over them dragging the brakes and turn them into pointless little humps.
With a gap jump you can carve a nice transition into a take off and have a nice sharp lip and it'll stay that way for ages.
Insufficient Funds has a gap jump that used to be a drop off and it caught my mate out leading to a blowout.
Where abouts is that then?
Near the start from memory? It's a similar obstacle but instead of dropping to a flat track there's been some slabs added with the second section higher than the first. My pal hadn't got up to speed and whacked the lip with his rear wheel which blew out.
Love the new trails I tried this time, it does get better and better.
A470 used to have a big (for me at the time) drop just before the table top section which caught me out so haven't tried it since!
Did you miss the creation of Boomslang and Ych A Fi? Or the new top half of Watts Occuring?
We rode Ych A Fi and Watts Occuring. They were all right. I preferred ych a fi. To watts occuring.
After getting spooked by the qualifiers for the red jump trails I gave the blacks a miss.
Haven't been to BPW but i've noticed generally that since I started riding about 8 years ago that trails are getting jumpier generally. When a trail is rebuilt there will be more than a tidy up, but added jumps or increased difficulty. I see that as progression to match the general increase in ability of riders.
Mostly that suits me and my kids as we're riding better bikes and clearing bigger jumps... but what shits me beyond belief is that a lot of jumps are being built not as tabletops or gaps but tables with reverse kicker landings... as if there's not enough dirt or it's too much effort. They're fine for people that can clear them or are just going to roll them, but potentially lethal for people that try but can't clear them.
Near the start from memory? It's a similar obstacle but instead of dropping to a flat track there's been some slabs added with the second section higher than the first. My pal hadn't got up to speed and whacked the lip with his rear wheel which blew out.
Ah thanks. A bit like the qualifier at the start then?
From a trail building perspective;
-'Tables with reverse kicker landings' are no doubt for drainage if they are as I imagine
-It's easier to rebuild a knackered trail as a flow trail than it is too build technical trail
From a rider point perspective;
I went this earlier this year and was surprised how beat up it was, I wouldn't say it was harder but it's adjusted in line with other places. Jumps are definitely bigger on blues than they once were but safer too
Ych a fi was a high light for me
Near the start from memory? It's a similar obstacle but instead of dropping to a flat track there's been some slabs added with the second section higher than the first. My pal hadn't got up to speed and whacked the lip with his rear wheel which blew out.
Ah thanks. A bit like the qualifier at the start then?
Could well have been the qualifier tbh, just remember we had to bail out halfway and head back to the visitors centre where he found that the two inner tubes he'd brought were both punctured! 😆
what is a 'table with a reverse kicker landing'?
I'm going to be honest here, There have been jumps involved in MTBing since day one, just because some old bluffers have always opted out doesn't mean jumps on trails have only just been invented. We all get the fear and choosing not to ride a given feature is fine, BPM has variety and there's still plenty of choice for wheels on the ground type riding (IMO/IME).
That said I think the modern 'Edit' has skewed the expectations of the yoofs a bit to the extent that some of them seem to be straight on the Black runs by default and wouldn't even consider a nice little warm up on a Red.
Thing is if you're going to BPW for the day, what were you really expecting? a series of low challenge trundles down a hillside with an uplift? (which you can do there if you want) Or a bit of "progression" (as they call it these days) where you push a little and take on the odd trail feature a bit outside your current comfort zone? Most people go there for the latter IME. YMMV of course.
If there are jumps there that make you a bit uncomfortable, that is somewhat by design. You always have the option to not ride those lines, hence many Black lines have qualifiers to set expectations and prevent people getting out of their depth halfway along a line.
What I find a bit puzzling is AC/DC now has a dirt jumpy style gap as a qualifier, but no gaps in the trail.
I’ve ridden AC/DC in the past with a swing crank due to a spannerd knee.
Boomslang Qualifier is a couple of small gaps, way smaller than the gaps in the trail.
Not to mention the massive jump to almost flat.
Ych a fi Is fun in the wet, less of a challenge in the dust of last weekend.
Roots Manoeuvres is probably my sweet spot as an old duffer.
what is a 'table with a reverse kicker landing'?
An abomination.
Imagine a profile view of a single span suspension bridge. The main cable traces the exaggerated outline of the jump. The drainage of the ones i've seen doesn't work - when it's wet enough you end up with a pond in the middle.
I'm going to be honest here, There have been jumps involved in MTBing since day one, just because some old bluffers have always opted out doesn't mean jumps on trails have only just been invented. We all get the fear and choosing not to ride a given feature is fine, BPM has variety and there's still plenty of choice for wheels on the ground type riding (IMO/IME).
Old duffer mode on 😃
I rode down the fort William world cup track with my wheels firmly on the ground in 2002. 100mm hard tail check, 130mm stem che... I borrowed a 50mm half way through the day and things were a lot easier.
Other than the biggish jumps at the end, which I rolled, I don't remember any jumps on the trail.
I think it depends on where and who you ride with. 1997-2004 in the Pentlands, occasionally Glentress there were very few jumps.
2004- onwards there were jumps about as I learned to drive and went to trail centers and started going to uplift places.
I found the second qualifier on Ych a fi a bit feisty for a red. Each time I was glad I didn't just face plant.
I think jumps are naturally getting a bit bigger because bikes are infinitely more capable than they used to be. I can easily send it off a natural lip and land on a rock garden without worrying I'll go over the bars or destroy a wheel.
I found the second qualifier on Ych a fi a bit feisty for a red. Each time I was glad I didn't just face plant.
I think its fair, Ych-a-fi is classed as a Red/Black and the 2nd qualifier is more of a mental challenge than a technical one. The trail itself is steeper than most BPW reds and I can see a need to stop people before they end up committed to the rooty sections in the wet.
I think that Root Manoevers and Hot Stepper have become more difficult as a result of weather and wheels deepening the drops and steps but they're not as steep as Ych-a-Fi.
I think BPW have a good balance with Ych-a-fi and the new top of Watts Occurring for riders like me who want tech but also adding in trails like Double Barrel to help people transition from the Blue flow trails to the Red flow trails (something I am struggling with personally)
