[Closed] Hyped trails that you found a bit meh

I enjoy being on my bike no matter what the trail is.

However in answer to the OPs questions, Spooky Woods descent at Glentress fell way short of my expectations. I cant see myself riding it again now i know other trails in the area.

Hyped by people who think they can ride, by people who think the Orange 5 is the best bike available.

whitestone - Member
@glasdowan See my post about this from yesterday:

What folk are disliking about Ae (and other trail centres) are the marked trails not the secret *local* ones. If the secret trails are so good then get the FC to include them in the marked trail network.

This will never happen as the serious trails used by those who ride in all of these trail centres are way too far outside the FC trail guidelines! No hardpark, too steep/loose etc. Not to mention the fact it's a damn good thing they're not on the maps as they probably wouldn't stand up well to several times more traffic each day.

All I was saying is that referring to a location such as 'Ae' doesn't just mean the trails that the FC have put on some random map, it includes the whole trail network. Many people go to these places and spend most of their day off the map stuff. Last time I was at Ae I did 30km of riding and didn't do one piece of map descent. These trails aren't the quiet obscure minority secrets...they are the bread and butter of mtb-ing in the woods.

So basically the Uk is shite for riding.

Some staggering suggestions in here.

Yeah, all the ones mentioned on here that I've done, I've absolutely loved. Maybe I like riding too much (cos I don't get to do it enough!)

any route map from MBR and MBUK

too many roads and bridleways

For me, the standout disappointment was the Portal/Poison Spider Trail in Moab. Slither and push your way up sand trap after sandtrap, a nice short techy bit of singletrack to the 'amazing' bit...which is actually a few hundred metres of singletrack clinging to the edge of a shear 800ft drop - not really worth riding 'just in case' - it's not hard to ride particularly but one wrong wobble/slip = certain death drop. Then the down is a load of slick rock interspersed with piles of rocks to clatter/hop/ walk over. Got to the bottom thinking, "did we miss a turn or something - what the hell was all the fuss about?"

I've never been back and I don't recommend it to anyone. I don't stop people going up there but if you've only a few days/weeks in Moab to ride, there are so many other better trails.

I don't think there is such a thing as a bad trail.

Clearly the only thing that's hyped in this thread are the poster's own perceptions of their abilities. All they need to enjoy the trails is a significant injection of speed.

Last time I was at Ae I did 30km of riding and didn't do one piece of map descent. These trails aren't the quiet obscure minority secrets...they are the bread and butter of mtb-ing in the woods.

Not to mention the fact it's a damn good thing they're not on the maps as they probably wouldn't stand up well to several times more traffic each day

'Hyped' probably only applies to when it was opened, but Lee Quarry has never done anything for me.
Original Cragg Quarry didn't improve it either. The newer Cragg Quarry is much better though and I'll probably be back at some point.

Generally though - riding any of these trails beats most other activities for me - it's only the drive distance which induces the 'disappointment' if you think you could have had a better time locally.

@glasdowan

I understand what you are saying about the sustainability of the unmarked trails but you have basically reinforced the point about there being two trail networks: one for those "in the know" and the mapped trails.

I'm an atypical trail centre user as I hardly ever use them. I've been to Ae. Once. It's quite a way from darkest Yorkshire. For another visit, I've a choice: ride the mapped routes thus reinforcing the reasons why I don't use trail centres or spend the day checking out every potential trail/track that I come across. I'd probably enjoy the latter but many wouldn't. I also suspect that many of these trails are traditional tracks that weren't designed for mountain biking with maybe a few little adjustments.

I recall a couple of MBUK routes that seemed to have been put together in a pub but never ridden before inclusion in the magazine. ("Save yourselves! The muds got me - I'm a gonner! Keep walking for a several miles and you might find the track. Tell Pinky I'm fond of her and Jeffers can have the Alvis.)

Red trail at Dalby forest:

Boring, 'technical' features amounted to regular slate intrusions which scrubbed off speed, but held little interest.

Found the surface a bit slow too, perhaps because on a hardtail found hard to maintain momentum - seemed to be peddling the whole way.

Gisburn, just seems like I'm doing it backwards.

whitestone - Member

I also suspect that many of these trails are traditional tracks that weren't designed for mountain biking with maybe a few little adjustments.

Nope! 🙂 There are a group of guys local to most of the Scottish trail centres, and other known bike locations, who go out with mattocks and rakes and make some of the best riding in Scotland. I respect their work and hugely appreciate it. A lot of people don't and still find room to moan about it, but these trails will never get the hype that magazines give official trails as they are often just kept ticking over under the radar. They are still the main aspect of our sport for many people I ride with, and use official trails often just as links to get between the best bits.

Some of these dug tracks are getting better known though, especially after inclusion in EWS races and so on. And I don't think any of them belong in here because any hype they get is certainly lived up to!

Best idea, as always, is to follow your nose when you see tracks or exit skids 🙂

Mach 3
A few minutes of fun descent but the rest a waste of time.
(We had a go at Mach 1 and 2 but ended up getting the map out to find some cheeky trails)
Loved the sign telling you not to ride stuff in the wrong direction despite it being bridleway...

ndthornton - Member
any route map from MBR and MBUK

too many roads and bridleways

I don't know about MBR/MBUK routes, but some bridleways are awesome. Just not the ones in the south east 😉

Looking at local stuff to me (south east) and Evans rides are a lot of bridleway stuff, I know the routes they're using and that stuff would bore me to tears for an official or group ride. That said I quite enjoy exploring round farm tracks and bridleways (with odd cheeky footpath), but usually looking for something with singletrack potential and a descent or two. I try to make it part of a loop to go somewhere good to keep the ride off road as much as possible.

A bridleway in the Lakes or similar is another matter though.

Clearly the only thing that's hyped in this thread are the poster's own perceptions of their abilities. All they need to enjoy the trails is a significant injection of speed.

[img] [/img]

An MX bike wouldn't make Penmachno interesting. though to be fair a jetski would be more useful there. Speed doesn't make a crap trail interesting, it just gets it out of the way more quickly.

I thought the rule-of-thumb for MBR routes was to ride them in the opposite direction?

oh diddums. didn't your nappy keep your botty dry?

on a serious note, what was it about Penmachno that you found dull, and where
do you ride that you do find interesting?

I like Dalbeattie but I've been going there since the 'man made' stuff was built so it does hold something special for my I guess. I still go fairly often and its usually fairly quiet, which is a good thing as I would hate to go on a trail with a constant stream of riders - I like to escape.

The only thing I don't like is the amount of boardwalk - I just don't get what's so good about riding over planks covered in chicken wire.

And every time I go the widow maker brings back a lot of memories.

I've got a feeling if there was a thread "what trails have you ridden that lived up to their hype" all the same trails on this thread would be mentioned, just by different voices 😆

[quote=fergal ]The Aonach Eagach, zero flow and not techy enough, up down, up down at one point i had to take the wheels off to negotiate a precipice, rubbish trail.

Well that's just because your skills aren't up to it and you're not carrying enough speed. I bet you think the same about other awesome bike trails like the Sgùrr Dearg summit route.

I bet you think the same about other awesome bike trails like the Sgùrr Dearg summit route.

[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]

The whole of the lake district is crap if you live down south I wouldn't even bother driving up here bloody steep rocky nightmare.
NO SUCH THING AS A BAD BIKE RIDE

Ashton Court .
Never again.

Ok so its not exactly a hyped trail that had an expectation to live up to

but what I didnt expect was a long ,loose, ashphalt covered snake, with berms that almost let you corner quicker than thhe grip afforded by the aforementioned cinders.

A nice few rocky drops and steps near the end but pretty much 75% rubbish, unless its rained for 40 days and 40 nights

But then I still wouldnt go, I think either a session on a turbo or at a velodrome would actually be better

I've not been disappointed in any marked trails I've been too. Granted, I've only been to Wales, Lakes and SoE, but I've chosen the bike and what to expect from the trail before setting off. I mean I wouldnt go to Swinley expecting big descents. I wouldnt ride Mach/1/2/3 expecting loads of tech and I wouldnt go to the Lakes expecting groomed easily rideable climbs.
Each marked trail has its own characteristic and sometimes I fancy more of an XC epic ride (eg Syfidrin), or a rockfest, manmade trail (eg MBR)

Whistler.

I've seen you dismiss Whistler before, but I'm not sure why. The riding is superb. Everything from a huge bike park to 'hard to flow' tech, trails that are steep and loose, even lift accessible non bike park singletrack. The only thing it's missing are trails that are similar to UK blues in difficulty for beginners and a big alpine trail. I can understand how particular trails may be over hyped, but the whole area?

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 - Member

Ae. 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

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.