It was partly tongue in cheek as it's not exactly crap there, but after a seasons guiding there I'm not sure I'd spend a poo load of cash to go there over going to the Alps. Whistler town centre is as inspiring as Telford! Hardly anyone I know goes to Whistler on a regular basis to ride the Valley trails, and I live in Vancouver. Squamish on the other hand is awesome. So within the context of this thread, I personally think Whistler is a bit over-hyped.
Funnily enough, after riding in Whistler for a season, I had a great time riding on the Long Mynd 😀
Nan Bield.
Penhydd at Afan. It just didnt work for me
Nan Bield.
See, I thought that first time I rode it. I was in my tod, didn't know it and held back a bit. I've since ridden it a couple of times with mates, and really quite like it now.
Maybe I need to do the same with sticks pass, as I only rode it once, and again on my own.
Rode CIaran path a few times now, and even after that, it's still distinctly average.
Hardly anyone I know goes to Whistler on a regular basis to ride the Valley trails, and I live in Vancouver. Squamish on the other hand is awesome. So within the context of this thread, I personally think Whistler is a bit over-hyped.
Makes sense. I've ridden in Squamish a bit, but not Vancouver yet. It makes very little sense to head up to Whistler when Squamish is closer, and the same for those of who live in Whistler.
[i]Inners red..takes forever to ride up it for what appears to be very little in the way of downhill, other than minch moor and caddon bank. [/i]
Eh, it's all of 40 mins to the top, and very little is fire-road.
Best way is to include some detours like Kittylitter and the one that pops out onto the fireroad after the quarry plus the likes of the Tunnel and the switchbacks afterwards.
For me, most trails got better once I got fitter (and more skilled), plus riding with folk who are far more skilled to give me something to 'aim' at.
In at least two cases mentioned here, it really isn't that the trails are rubbish, it is indeed the hype:
Minton Batch has been mentioned a few times. It's a nice ribbon of single track, like many. It's not outstanding, but quite how it became one of the 'top ten UK trails' or whatever in one of the mags a few years back, Lord only knows.
Responsible journalism, for some, is still something to aspire to methinks 😉
teenrat - Member
Penhydd at Afan. It just didnt work for me
The hype there was on the original trail and perhaps more so while it was closed for years. What it is now is meh to okay, which I expected given opinions after it opened. Shame I never got to ride the original. Or maybe that was over hyped anyway 😉
Gave up half way down page 2, Jesus you would wonder why some of you ever go outside let alone own a mountain bike, everything is so crap and over-rated, give it a rest
There is no such thing as a 'meh trail' any riding is what you make of it, it's about many things, the landscape, the riding, the company your with etc
Ability or speed etc shouldn't come into it, enjoy it for what it is, doing something you love (I'm assuming you still do but doubt it from some posts)
Just go out and ride and stop over analysing things, you might find you enjoy even the crappest of trails more, be it natural or trail centre, ancient bridleway or cheeky footpath
[quote=Spin ][pedant]I think quite a lot of the descent from Sgurr Dearg would be rideable. It would certainly be pretty easy to carry your bike to the top and back down. [/pedant]
To the very summit? Well I've seen the pictures of some bloke called Danny doing it, but I'm not sure I'd describe it as easy!
Penhydd is one of the few trails I've ever slagged before I was finished riding it. Couple of good bits. But the Blue Scar was unexpectedly good, really glad we went and did that.
mindmap3 - MemberAe. Just dull aside from the last descent.
I don't object to much in this thread but I do to this- since when has Ae been [i]hyped[/i]?
(it does have a load of good offpiste and DH but that's separate from the trail centre)
[quote=cakefacesmallblock ]Minton Batch has been mentioned a few times. It's a nice ribbon of single track, like many. It's not outstanding, but quite how it became one of the 'top ten UK trails' or whatever in one of the mags a few years back, Lord only knows.
I was going to comment on this before as it seems to come up a lot on this thread. It might not be the best trail in the country, but describing it as "meh" is pretty harsh. Personally I rode it without realising what I was riding was supposed to be anything special at all, let alone having seen any hype about it being one of the UK's best trails - I thought it was great as a trail to stumble across as part of a ride. Maybe if you're making a special trip to ride it the expectation spoils it?
[quote=deadkenny ]
teenrat - Member
Penhydd at Afan. It just didnt work for me
The hype there was on the original trail and perhaps more so while it was closed for years. What it is now is meh to okay, which I expected given opinions after it opened. Shame I never got to ride the original. Or maybe that was over hyped anyway
I tend to agree about Penhydd - though in this case it might well be the expectation I had when I first rode it. But then I had ridden the original trail and it was my favourite trail anywhere. I certainly don't think that was overhyped - it may be rosy retrospection, but then I remember how I preferred that over anywhere else I had ridden at the time (though TBH my riding has probably developed). Was waiting eagerly for the new trails to open - I posted on here once or twice about my frustration over the delays - and then when it did it just didn't live up to my expectations.
To the very summit?
Yes, to the very summit. Sgurr Dearg is the hill the Inaccessible Pinnacle sits on. DM took his bike to the top of the In Pin. I did say I was being a pedant!
Dalbeattie
death by boring undulation
the good bits are good sadly they are separated by miles and miles of basically **** all with no views
So shit it took me weeks to stop saying it was shit and now this has reminded me
Dalbeattie has one of the best skills areas/try-out loops mind. I quite like it, it's harder work than it should be but the trail that runs past the slab, and the descent immediately before the Endless Slightly Lacklustre Singletrack which ends in the really wide rocky thing, and a few others are fab. I don't know names or anything but there's hardly any trailcentre laps where I'll push back up and do things twice or ride alternative lines, Dalbeattie has a couple. Trekster was kind enough to show us some natural lines too but I've actually never ridden them since, I like the main lap enough.
(I totally approve of the lack of runoff at the bottom of the slab too, that's genius... Just what you need, a wall of spiky trees at the bottom of the signature feature)
if they put all the good stuff together it would be a loop of about 400 metres but yes the good stuff was very good it was the other mobius strip of unending nothingness I objected to
Grumbles
I really really hated. I have never ever hated a ride before , disliked, not be repeated but that I genuinely hated.
I have to admit, I'm pretty-much always happy to be riding my bike. It is rare for me not to be enjoying myself (unless I am riding the trail in the wrong direction - i.e. up).
I will make "meh" exceptions for most nothing-but-shonky-berms French bikepark stuff and for Llandegla. Llandegla was very meh.
What you people need are small children. Once you've got a couple of those you'd be grateful for a day pass to pedal through Kerry Katonas excrement.
Someone has hyped Kerry Katona's excrement?
Minton Batch isn't the best descent on the Mynd by some significant margin IMHO.
Grit CX, Issue 3. The 'Things that are better than cyclocross' edition
jamj1974
That's kind of my point. I ride on the Shropshire Hills maybe twice a year, it's only an hours drive for me.
Minton Batch isn't perhaps worthy of the hype, although there is superb riding all around, Minton Batch is a nice little singletrack, it's a really nice trail, just not outstanding, but it's almost criminal to hype it to the extent where folk could perhaps be disappointed and not return to the area.
I don't think riding it on an xc hardtail or an endooro bike makes a jot of difference.
[quote=Spin ]Yes, to the very summit. Sgurr Dearg is the hill the Inaccessible Pinnacle sits on. DM took his bike to the top of the In Pin. I did say I was being a pedant!
Well I'm going to have to uber-pedant you then. You agree the Inn Pinn is on Sgurr Dearg? Well in that case given it is the highest point on that hill it is by any normal definition the summit. DM took his bike to the top of Sgurr Dearg. What you're thinking of is the subsidiary NW top.
Junkyard - lazarusif they put all the good stuff together it would be a loop of about 400 metres but yes the good stuff was very good it was the other mobius strip of unending nothingness I objected to
You know what dalbeattie needs most? Fire roads. No, hear me out! Kirroughtree red has a ton of little trails running between 2 fire roads, you pedal them like mad then you rest on the roads. Dalbeattie has these huuuuuge and yes, pretty flat singletrack sections, which are actually fun if you attack then and rotten if you don't. And for most folks, they're too long, certainly are for me. If they just smashed 3 or 4 fire roads across the trail, to create some gaps and rest spots, it'd improve them no end.
I rode it last with a group of epic faffers and stoppers, it was [i]perfect[/i].
Twrch at Cwmcarn. Loads of hard work for 3 minutes of descent.
Blade. Badly made, some sections still haven't bedded in, not much flow, always seems to be ruined with little climbs which kills it, and the fact they got lazy and used old Skyline sections given the fact they got loads of money from the windfarm to do it.
I'd like to say Penhydd, but I think that would be unfair given the purpose of the trail, which is an in introduction to the trails at Afan. But after hearing much hype about the original i thought when it reopened it was pretty poor. They should have called it something else. lol.
SDW for me, I find it a bit pointless and just use it as a quick way to get to other stuff on either side of the ridge of which theres a fair amount, 100 miles of tedium for me.
Sorry to all the local guys who spend a lot of time there building, QECP, never found any flow there at all, I give it another chance every now and then but I just dont get it, it never feels natural enough or flowing to me.
Oh that Stob Dearg, thought we were talking about the Buchaille, which Sanny from here rates.
I can't help myself. The more I read this the more I cant get over the amount of analytical crap being applied to here.
What a bunch of winging nanny's.
You are out on your bike, you ride, you win.
I cant see how doing that anywhere could be boring or mundane. I can think of a few trails that aren't as good as other trails, but seriously, would you rather be watching [s]Arse[/s]East Enders or riding 12 loops at Sandwell Valley Park ?
I know what I'd be doing.
I cant see how doing that anywhere could be boring or mundane. I can think of a few trails that aren't as good as other trails, but seriously, would you rather be watching ArseEast Enders or riding 12 loops at Sandwell Valley Park ?
I know what I'd be doing.
The point being there are trails that seem to be on the must must must do list. You can then spend a long time, lots of effort head past some great trails and then find the one everyone said was the best was really just average. Nothing to do with watching East Enders.
I found la vada a bit meh, especially considering what I could have been riding.
This whole thread has been overhyped. I started reading it with a sense of massive, possibly unrealistic anticipation, I could barely hold my mouse steady enough to click through to the next page, but after a page or two, I just found it a bit meh.
It's been a very disappointing experience.
Agreed Mike. I think I got up on the wrong side this morning 😕
I would edit, but to late. Oops!
but after a page or two, I just found it a bit meh.It's been a very disappointing experience.
Lol
Mikes got it spot on there. No whining, just an observation.
@ thestabiliser
Spot on, I used to get out two/three times every week, used to enjoy riding no matter where I was. Junior came along and I get out once a week now and every time is amazing. I get the anticipation prepping everything the night before, up early and off, no matter the weather or location it's always great. Then spend the rest of the week tinkering with the bikes and getting stuff ready for the next one.
[quote=BadlyWiredDog ]It's been a very disappointing experience.
You're just not reading it fast enough - is it possible you're a bit underskilled?
Having speed read the thread I think I must have missed the bit where Hora thought about a new bike 🙄
You know what dalbeattie needs most? Fire [s]roads[/s]
FTFY
Not an unreasonable point you make
You're just not reading it fast enough - is it possible you're a bit underskilled?
Chuckles
Minton Batch isn't the best descent on the Mynd by some significant margin IMHO.
Which are the better ones? Thinking of popping down next week possibly. Are they on the 'numbered chart' of Long Mynd which you see floating around?
I'll still be doing MB though - I enjoyed it a lot last time.
I like Dalbeattie, always have done. I think it's similar to Kirro black in that you really need to be putting a bit of effort in for the reward.
Haven't ridden it for a couple of years mind, Comrie for a trail centre fix nowadays.
Stepping back a moment, where does all this "hype" for particular trails come from? Is it the magazines (easy target) doing a "best of" type feature and people repeating the mantra until everyone believes it?
As it happens I've an MBR "20 Best UK Rides - Our favourite singletrack hotspots" supplement next to my desk. To quote: "The 20 places we've chosen (are) areas where exceptional riding flourishes. That means that anywhere we've picked has to be worthy of travelling the breadth of the UK and they need to be able to entertain you for more than a day when you get there."
Included in the list are several that have been mentioned on this thread: Swinley Forest; Doethie Valley; Long Mynd; Kinlochleven; the Quiraing; etc.
I've not ridden all of the locations but some I'd happily visit again whereas somewhere like Swinley I'm only likely to visit again if passing on the way to the continent, I certainly wouldn't travel from The Dales for a weekend's riding there.
Another vote for Minton Batch. I like it, but I can't see what all the fuss is about tbh.
Doethie Valley too. Again I enjoyed the ride, but I was expecting something more memorable from the trail itself, given all the hype.
Neither are bad trails, but both are a little short of the awesomness you might expect given their legendary status IMHO. Even the Vertebrate Wales Mountainbiking guidebook includes the Long Mynd (even though it is in England,) basically because of Minton Batch.
In the past I've really enjoyed Llandegla, though I went back earlier this year, on my own, and found it pretty dull. I think it's maybe a great place to ride with friends, but when there's nobody chasing you/to chase/mess about on the jumps with, it's a bit boring. Good cake though, right?
The magazines are still re-printing 20 year old 'best places to ride' articles, same as the trail center articles which is at least 5 years out of date, lazy journalism fed into folk who don't know better.
(Oh, and if you don't enjoy Minton Batch there is something wrong with you)
Lots on here seem to have missed the point entirely. You can still enjoy a trail whilst also thinking it did not live up to the hype. Not that hard a concept to grasp
Minton Batch is very Meh....but the Mynd is superb. Explore and you will be rewarded
nor is it hard to grasp that we have all looked fwd to a ride and been disappointed by it and think it was not worth the effort/other options were better.
nor is it hard to grasp that we have all looked fwd to a ride and been disappointed by it and think it was not worth the effort/other options were better.
agreed
You're just not reading it fast enough - is it possible you're a bit underskilled?
I really bloody fast, trust me. It's simply that this thread does not in any way live up to my expectations. I've read a lot of classic literature in my time from Jayne Eyre through to Five Go To Blillycock Hill - one of the true greats of modern writing - and this thread just doesn't compare. Maybe it's fundamentally unrealistic pitching STW against Enid Blyton? I don't know...
Yeah, yeah, I bet your lips moved when you read Jayne Eyre. Anyway I'm not sure you're as fast as you think - I still have almost all the Enid Blyton KOMs, though I do have to keep reporting the people using e-readers.
+1 on 5 go to Billycock. Definitely one of my favs
Drumlanrig. Definitely been much hyped on here.
Minton Batch is a nice little singletrack, it's a really nice trail, just not outstanding, but it's almost criminal to hype it to the extent where folk could perhaps be disappointed and not return to the area.
I don't think riding it on an xc hardtail or an endooro bike makes a jot of difference.
He's right you know.
You need to ride it on a tandem for to to really come alive. 😉
No one here has a good word to say about Llandegla it seems, but Mr Pea and I always enjoy it, as do our friends. A couple of laps swooping round the red + black, with a brew and cake afterwards. What's not to like?
Swinley
Just got a tad bored of its twisty flatness?!
Loads of people there though so perhaps its just me??
No one here has a good word to say about Llandegla it seems
It's not that folk [i]don't like[/i] Llandegla, it's just that maybe it's not as good as it's hyped up to be. I like Llandegla, but only with a few mates [s]to race[/s] to high five and chest bump.
Garburn pass. Not as interesting as I had hoped. Lean bike, stand and carve into scree most of the way down.
Yeah, yeah, I bet your lips moved when you read Jayne Eyre. Anyway I'm not sure you're as fast as you think - I still have almost all the Enid Blyton KOMs, though I do have to keep reporting the people using e-readers.
Sorry for the slow reply, I've just read War and Peace which took me almost 25 minutes. The whole thing with Blyton and Strava is small beer. I barely even bother with it these days. Too easy.
failedengineer - Member
Drumlanrig. Definitely been much hyped on here.
Genuinely surprised, as probably my favourite man made type trail out of all the Scottish ones....
Gisburn Forest, is just utter crap we go every 8 months or so then realize why we left it so long 🙄
Max Wall - Member
SwinleyJust got a tad bored of its twisty flatness?!
That silly bit near the start of the Blue, where you go around about 300 million 180deg bermed corners for what feels likes hrs, then finish about 12foot from where you started........
(i mean, that bit bores me, and i'm GOOD at riding berms! I see some people get to the end and still have no clue about how to carry speed round a bermed bend...... lol)
Continental divide trail in colorado.
Much hyped, supposed to be the highlight of the trip, all the best bits were within 30 minutes of the start leaving 30 odd miles to go that could have been in a welsh plantation or quarry.
The rest of Colorado Crested Butte area was mind blowingly awesome though!
Thetford hasn't been slagged off yet.............must be brilliant then. Not been hyped either though.
Continental divide trail in colorado
Agree to that in part, although the trail section running south from Molas Pass to Durango is excellent. Not for the feint-of-heart as it starts at 10,900 feet and climbs to over 12,000 feet before dropping into Durango
Edit--I misread, you were talking about the Continental Divide trail through CO and I was referring to the Colorado Trail that runs north out of Durango.
It has to be Whistler and the mega for me. Never been, probably never will. Just spent far too many hours in the company of Whistler/Mega bores.
Gosh - this thread goes in a bit.
Hyped trails - there aren't that many over hyped for the fun they bring. Most of the UK trail centres are good if you are having a good day physically and mentally it can all be great. On a bad day - not so much. In the wrong company it can really stink.
Ones i don't like are Swinley and Cannock though.
vickypea - MemberLlandegla ... What's not to like?
the enormous boring climb at the start?
i understand that time/money is usually limited, and building singletrack descents linked with existing forest roads is 'efficient', but wow, it makes for a boring ride.
(time spent climbing is bound to be at least 70% of any hilly ride, if not more. It helps if that +70% is entertaining)
The singletrack climb up to the Buzzards nest at Glentress is superb, i'd happily climb like that for hours. Easy gradient, corners, occasional swoopy bits, views, optional skinnies, ace.
[quote=helpful1 ]It has to be Whistler and the mega for me. [b]Never been, probably never will.[/b] Just spent far too many hours in the company of Whistler/Mega bores.
has this thread just jumped the octopus...
I really bloody fast, trust me. It's simply that this thread does not in any way live up to my expectations. I've read a lot of classic literature in my time from Jayne Eyre through to Five Go To Blillycock Hill - one of the true greats of modern writing - and this thread just doesn't compare. Maybe it's fundamentally unrealistic pitching STW against Enid Blyton? I don't know...
Comedy gold!
Worse I've had like this most recently was trails round Santa Cruz. Over there for work, took the bike, pretty bloody dull to be honest. Lots of riding I could do on a cross bike quite happily for 2 minutes of twisty stuff. Everything was just so spread out and not linked together well at all.
Other than that, Afan (I don't like riding next to drops on my side like that after a few previous incidents) and Glentress (Ok, but just felt it a bit over-hyped, preferred places like laggan wolftrax)
@gardron
If you rode places like Wilder Ranch, then yeah, wide open double track which is mostly rideable on a cross bike. Ride those tracks for the big open views...
Would like to see a cross bike going down Braille though - The area in demo forest/Soquel is some of the best riding I've done. You just need to get some way out of town on old roads to find it.
I've just booked a weekend in Moab, riding slickrock and Whole Enchilada, so having some second thoughts but will do it as its so different from the riding i normally do...
helpful1 - MemberIt has to be Whistler and the mega for me. Never been, probably never will. Just spent far too many hours in the company of Whistler/Mega bores.
Perhaps.... it's just that is THAT good that people can't stop bleating on about it? (hint, it's probably not)
I'll try to be fair though I have been to Whistler and actually when it comes to Whistler Bike Park it is very good fun, but it's not MTB nirvana.
First time visitors who've previously enjoyed the delights of say... Morzine might be shocked to discover that the park is only serviced by 2 lifts (might be 3 now) that are one-above-the-other.
80% of the park is serviced by the first lift and as you might imagine it's VERY busy and the queue can be very long.
Compared the huge multi-valley even multi-country huge expanse of lift-accessed trail in PDS, it's tiny.
Lift passes cost about the same per-day as they do per-week in the Alps.
There are lots of trails outside of the park, but you'll need to earn your descents, which is fine, but it's less smiles per hour compared to lift-accessed stuff and you are on Holiday..
Trails in the park are by and large VERY wide and VERY smooth, if you think a UK Trail Centre is too groomed, you ain't seen nothing yet. They make it easy to go VERY fast, which is a lot of fun, but our chalet had 15%-20% of riders looking at spending the rest of their holiday on the sofa full of pain meds and hoping their insurance would pay off their credit card bills.
It's very expensive to get to, stay at and eat and drink. When the local riders are having their stuff sent over the from same place in Northern Ireland we are, you know it's on the pricy side!
It does get ALL the Hype and whilst I enjoyed my trip there a hell of a lot, I don't think it can live up to it fully. I'd happily go back, but IMHO if I was given a choice between a week in Whistler or a week in PDS I'd be equally happy with either, but it costs a couple of hundred quid to go to the Alps and thousands to go to Whistler and the trip is hell. 14 hour flight, followed by a couple of hours on the road and the sort of hellish jetlag you only get going East to West. Not that driving to the Alps is easy, but EasyJet only takes an hour.
Oh, and Dalby Forest is lame and hysterically overpriced compared to anything in Wales.
Odd comment considering its free?
Gisburn features highly on my list of over-rated trails. Any type of biking is good and man made trails are great but theres just something about Gisburn I really don't get. You've got stuff like Homebaked which is excellent and apparently Hully Gully is great when its not blown to pieces but the rest of it almost without exception is totally and utterly pants. Just loads and loads and loads of featureless motorway smooth singletrack broken up by fire-road and the stuff up towards the cragg which (unless they're rebuilt it all) looks like the set from a WW1 war film in the trenches.
Real shame as a) its relatively local to me and b) the good bits are really good. The bits inbetween just seem to have been built in a rush with little thought.
Hmmm, interesting.
Since moving to the North West just over a year ago from Northern Ireland, most of what I have ridden here has been underwhelming. I came from natural, woodland trials. Completely different grip levels and completely different trial layout. I'm yet to find a place I want to ride every week.
I agree on Glentress to be honest, but any time I visit it's with a group of mates and it's much more about the criac than the trials. Inners on the other hand is one of my favourite places.
Someone find me some great natural woodland trials in the North West please.
Bike Park Wales in general.
Some nice bits of trail but so disappointing to find myself at the bottom waiting for a bus after 10 mins on the bike. Not my idea of bike riding.
dbukdbuk - Member
Bike Park Wales in general.Some nice bits of trail but so disappointing to find myself at the bottom waiting for a bus after 10 mins on the bike. Not my idea of bike riding.
The waiting is pretty poor, considering the buses are often sat just up the road.
BPW is good, although would like to see some more challenging tracks or option lines. Uninterrupted runs from top to bottom makes it more interesting/harder
Cut Gate. Perhaps I was expecting the holy grail given all the praise it gets, but my whelm was well and truly undered.
Hey Colin, drop me a line. Will show you some stuff you'll enjoy as promised.
🙂
Someone find me some great natural woodland trials in the North West please.
The trouble with the northwest is that much of it is moorland where all the trees were cut down 1000 years ago. What trails there are usually short sections in patches of woodland that are often highly cheeky. Hebden's the best place I know. There's a group of us ride there most Thursday nights if you fancy joining us: [url= http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/heptonstallhebden-bridge-riders ]http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/heptonstallhebden-bridge-riders[/url]
dbukdbuk - MemberBike Park Wales in general.
Some nice bits of trail but so disappointing to find myself at the bottom waiting for a bus after 10 mins on the bike. Not my idea of bike riding.
I think that's always going to be the case with UK gravity parks, I've certainly not found the buses at Antur or Cwmcarn to be any better.
The fact they have to use the same road to go up as well as down and it's not always wide enough for 2 to pass explains the bit of a dance they do.
Personally I like it there, but it's a 20 min drive for me so not so much of an 'occasion' as someone who's spent a few hours getting there or come down for the weekend.
I know the people who run it have always dreamed of opening a chair lift, they even caused a huge fuss when they first launched their FB page and it showed a pic of riders on a lift, but it's a very small hill for a chair lift.
Cannock Chase, id rather a road ride....!