[Closed] Swinley, best 2quid I ever spent

Serious question - would people be happy riding those loops week in week out?

@ weeksy - btw it's rowan 😉

Would I ride it week in, week out?

Probably. But in the same way I used to ride old Swinley - have a session around Labrynth area one visit, maybe a couple of blasts around the blue on another... Mix and match kinda thing but I would get bored of riding the whole loop time after time.

Does seem a bit excessive to get the Air Ambulance out for that

Was actually fractured collar bone, ribs and hip, so not so excessive after all. Wishing her a speedy recovery.

dashed - Member

Would I ride it week in, week out?

Probably. But in the same way I used to ride old Swinley - have a session around Labrynth area one visit, maybe a couple of blasts around the blue on another... Mix and match kinda thing but I would get bored of riding the whole loop time after time.

I hope they build more red route sections as there were points on it that are so boring, but then others that are really good. Seems to be much bigger extremes than the blue route which is pretty good all the way around just not techy at all.

Just a note that your £2 hasn't gone towards building these trails 😉 . It's all come from Crown Estate money.

Very little of it will go to the Crown Estate in the future though a small amount is promised, but the primary reason for the parking charges is stated by Bracknell Council as a source of income to help deal with deficits in their budget (Bracknell Council are responsible for the car park / Lookout area, but nothing else in the Swinley estate).

But aside from that, yes great job Back on Track & Rowan, especially given the limitations of the land and restrictions placed on them 🙂

Ridden all the new routes a few times and I can’t make up my mind about them.

The trails are great fun to ride fast. But unless you like jumping over those table tops (or doubles or whatever they are called) there is nothing on the new trails that you have to really worry about (apart from loosing speed before the jumpy bits).

So quite often the new routes feel like a cross between a velodrome and a theme park ride. Seems very odd to me.

And somebody ought to get a burger van at the red/blue meeting point – they could end up making a fortune

So is Labyrinth haunted? Every time I have ridden their (on my own) I can clearly hear other riders close by. But they never appear. Last week, their voices made them feel very close and I felt that they were about to fly past me at any moment. I waited for several minutes at the end and then kept looking back from the FR - no one.

So were the voices merely the ghosts of labyrinth? 😉 It would take quite a bit for me to ride that alone at night!!

And somebody ought to get a burger van at the red/blue meeting point – they could end up making a fortune

we were talking about this on facebook, came to the conclusion that bikini-clad bike washers would be a better idea:

THM - those voices were likely from the bikini bike wash (they serve cold beer while you wait). You must have missed the turning.

😀 They were happy voices!!! It explains a lot, plus the riders who I saw skip deerstalker and dive straight in towards the start of (what I stupidly thought was) labyrinth!!! Next time.....

OK, Am I the only saddo that is going to keep displaying the last couple of years permits - just in case I get a chance to strike up a "I used to ride here before it was famous" type conversation?

If you take the permits off and then ride anywhere in the forest or on any trails closed for maintenance/nesting birds, then you can just say 'it's my first time here' when challenged, and everyone will just laugh.

This seemed to be the policy for all the riders that rode the trails before they were open and it worked for them. One even had a few years of permit bands hanging from his stem.

OK, Am I the only saddo that is going to keep displaying the last couple of years permits - just in case I get a chance to strike up a "I used to ride here before it was famous" type conversation?

The trails are great fun to ride fast. But unless you like jumping over those table tops (or doubles or whatever they are called) there is nothing on the new trails that you have to really worry about (apart from loosing speed before the jumpy bits).

errmm doesn't that apply to any obstacle? If you're not going to ride it properly then of course it'll be easy.

Trying to do the jumps is the challenge and provides the rush.

OK, for me anyway, riding Swinley now resembles bad sex. I've ridden both trails a few times now and there's a distinct lack of smiling. 😐

I know I know I'm coming across as a miserable old cah but really pleased that I had many years of fun there before the changes.

Possibly my tyre choice/pressure was wrong but the surface felt pretty unforgiving on a hardtail.

C-G, i know what you mean about the HT being unforgiving. That was quite a shock for me last week. And first time round the surface felt very odd and I wasnt sure how to ride it. I was stupidly slow first time round on the very first bit. It just looked a bit weird.

But what are you missing? Isnt the Deerstalker area pretty much in tact? Tank traps, seagull, corkscrew (I assume) ditto. And there is a better way home now.

the surface felt pretty unforgiving on a hardtail.

I thought that as well. Pretty sure my tyre pressures were too high and my seatpost was too low.

I haven't ridden the new stuff on a HT yet but a lot of the older manufactured trail was very similar in construction and I didn't particularly enjoy riding that on a HT. Too many unnecessary little bumps here and there for a groomed trail, and too hard a material with no natural 'give' to make it pleasant on a HT.

Given the softness of the natural forest floor (apart from all the nasty slippery rooty bits) the Swinley of old was a great spot for HTs, seems like you're just pining for days gone by CG. Wake up and get with the program 🙂

Edit: And the 'softness of the natural forest floor' was actually more down to the 4 inches of mud you were riding through!

[i]If you're not going to ride it properly [/i]

Sorry, I didn't realise there was a "proper" way. Will I be laughed at because i like to keep my wheels on the ground?

[i]Trying to do the jumps is the challenge[/i]

Not for me it isn't.

[i]and provides the rush[/i]

I'm quite happy rushless thank you.

I'm looking forward to visiting Swinley, possibly over the upcoming weekend. What are these jumps like though? I've been over the ones at Llandegla at full pelt but I have to admit that after getting a jump majorly wrong once and knocking myself out cold for several minutes, getting airborne isn't my favourite pastime.

Cheers

Don't understand how why anyone moans about the new trails. As someone has already stated "Isnt the Deerstalker area pretty much in tact? Tank traps, seagull, corkscrew (I assume) ditto".

Regarding the bumps etc - I heard people moaning about this a couple of weeks back. If you keep your speed up and rider big wheels then you fly round. Much prefer a firmer surface.

Regarding the bumps etc - I heard people moaning about this a couple of weeks back. If you keep your speed up and rider big wheels then you fly round. Much prefer a firmer surface.

What do you ride out of interest?

I only get over there once or twice a year and I have to say I'm really impressed with what they've done - I just see it as a better way to get over to what is now the "red" section and back again.

I think the blue route has been really well designed to accommodate fast and slow riders. I rode it on a hardtail (which I don't normally do) and I think I took the right bike in the end.

They could definitely do with some signs to keep the walkers off though. What looks obvious to us must look like something else to them.

theotherjonv - completely understand what you're saying! I've tried to be open-minded but fear the charm and character has gone for good. 🙁

tony - I don't deny it! Used to ride to Swinley from home and had lived in the area for decades. Local knowledge was needed for knowing what trails to use at what time of year. My routes were random with huge possibilities especially if you include the RMA side.

Another observation is that by having the blue giving access to the red, it can be rather intimidating having people flying past you. There's a shortage of 'lay-bys' for a spliff and cider so that potentially makes for tired riders. 😉

I'm running Nobby Nics, possibly tyre pressure was too high, but always found a hardtail/ss perfectly acceptable there.

Scott Scale 29er pro

that's my problem - I am on a Turner Flux Amateur - I think I need to upgrade to the Pro model 🙂

[b]somewhatslightlydazed[/b] - I wasn't having a dig at you. I don't clear many of the jumps either and am far from being a riding god, so I'm in no position to laugh at any one myself.

Its a blue trail in an area where you will get a lot of people new to riding bikes. Meaning you can't build anything too steep or with mandatory obstacles. You need to build things that can be rolled over by a novice. But at the same time, a more advanced rider can choose if they wish and have the skill, to go much faster round the berms taking a higher line or try to clear the jumps.

Different trails have different challenges. Just happens the challenge at the new Swinley trails is taking berms as fast as possible and doing the jumps.

If you don't like the challenge laid out by the trail that's fair enough, different people like different things.

But to say I didn't try to the challenges and found the trail a little unchallenging is a bit silly.

[i] What are these jumps like though? I've been over the ones at Llandegla [/i]

From memory there are only four sections in 14 miles (two on the blue and two on the red). If you know what you are doing I'm sure they are no problem. Although if you're not careful, I think the second bit on the red route (where the pink bridge used to be) has the potential for something to go seriously wrong. If you are in to that sort of thing, best to try it once then go back up for a proper go.

EDIT: just checked the route map. Its section 25 - 26

[b]jairaj[/b] - I wasn't really talking about the blue route. I know thats meant to be fairly easy.

I mean ALL the new sections taken together. Its seems to be either berms or jumps, which are fine taken at whatever pace you feel comfortable at.

Its suppose my mixed feelings are because last weekend, I rode 14 miles there with no dabs, no falls and only one involuntary dismount(and that was on the black bit). I'm a slow crap rider and it just doesn't seem right that a route should provide no challenge unless you ride fast.

Ride faster then.
I followed one of my mates round swinley, and you can double up a lot of the rollers.
It has to be easy to ride slowly, otherwise beginners would crash, and never ride again.

[b]somewhatslightlydazed[/b] I know what you mean. I'd like some lower speed technical sections in there to act as a change from the fast bermy jumpy bits. I've not tried the reworked Satan's Grotto yet (is it even open?), but that might be a start. There's plenty of scope for more technical routes coming off from the reservoir near the old Twisted Sister/DH bit but I guess it's a question of priorities, time, money and effort.

However I'm not sure which super-sexy old tracks CG is missing - Watson's Wander is a good riddance, a few of the other bits have been bisected by the new trails so aren't rideable any more but all the Crowthorne side and a lot of the other off piste stuff is still there. I live practically next door to the place and think I've only done a handful of rides that have solely stuck to the signed routes since they've been open.

C-G, i know what you mean about the HT being unforgiving

I wasn't really talking about the blue route. I know thats meant to be fairly easy.

And if you don't think the Blue is technical, try getting round in sub 28 minutes of an evening, once the crowds have dispersed.

Missing the bomb craters - my collarbone nemesis 😳

try getting round in sub 28 minutes

[i]It has to be easy to ride slowly, otherwise beginners would crash, and never ride again. [/i]

I teach beginners.

What you need are a lot of technical features close together on a trail where its hard to build up much speed. So when they fall of, they don't hurt themselves.

I used to use a bit called (I think) "New England Switchbacks" It had a steep down, a drop off (with chicken run), a bermy section and a loose granny ring climb, all in about half a mile. But apparently there is some rare lichen there so its been closed 🙁

I ride Swinley on a weekly basis and wasn't a fan of what they were proposing, but have been open minded since the trails started to open

The trails are good fun - not my kind of thing to be honest, with both the traffic and surface resembling the M25 at times

However, i also understand that this type of riding does suit a lot of people and is good to get newbies into the sport

I know that i'd get bored of it pretty quickly - so i haven't attacked it with some of the vigour of some of the other local riders

I do fear that Deerstalker and Labyrinth will be armoured before long, as the breaking bumps are getting to Les Gets depth already - this will be a massive shame as the Labyrinth is probably the best trail west of London for 100 miles

It's interesting to see how many visitors its bringing into the area, but also worrying how many are getting airlifted out.

Change is change - so i'm using the non-Swinley routes a lot more and sometimes venturing into our new trail centre for a quick blast

Serious question - would people be happy riding those loops week in week out?

Yes, I'm doing it 3x a week at the moment, chaseing a sub 1:20 for blue/red/blue.

Think of it like a spinning class for people who (much as they like ladies derrieres) don't want to spend an hour in a sweaty room.

But on the hope that the red would be another improvement over the blue - it was a bit of a letdown to me. There are a few great fun sections for sure, but there seems to be an awful lot of fireroad and flat / traversing singletrack just to connect them up

Asside from 11-15 there's barely any fire road, and the only tedious bit is the muddy slog, the rest is an exercise in cornering quickly! Although I do see a lot of people teetering round them very stiff an upright which looks less fun.

I think the issue is peoples
a) opinion of themselves
b) oppinion of what a red should be.

Case in point section 15, there are some pretty big (10ft+ ?)doubles, but you can pump them easier than you can the 4ft squirrel catchers on the blue, which means some people complain they're easy, when a better and more objective interpretation would be they're a step above the majority of riders skill level.

Switched to a carbon seatpost and all is fine.

must admit on my steel hardtail kona with a carbon post it was lots of fun, just as much as on the full sus

Right booked thurs and fri off, going to try swinley out and QE. Cwmcarn on sat too. Wonder which one will be most fun.

Have ridden at Swinley a fair few times over the last few years on a HT and rode the new blue/red last week.

The newer stuff is definitely harsher on the derriere than the older armoured stuff. As stated by others it needs to be ridden reasonably flat out to make it more challenging, but found being sat down pedalling on the HT quite fatiguing. Maybe it will wear down/smooth out with use. Saw a lot of people on short travel FSers, that were hammering along.

Still fun though if taken for what it is. But agree with CG that much of the charm of the place. i.e. being able to mix up trails, has gone.

I really like the blue and there are a couple of places I get a little bit of air and I mean a little.
As I don't have the skill or confidence to go for anything big as of yet.
I would like to see more jumps to flat with enough straight before and after, as the more air I get the more confidence I get.
Maybe widen the trail slightly in places with a few small drop offs to one side and a roll over on the other like the big rock about half way round.

Switched to a carbon seatpost and all is fine.

Anyone ever used planet-x:

http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/SPFSSLK-316-350-20/fsa_sl_k_carbon_seatpost___316_mm___350_mm___20_mm_layback

Seems like a very good price.

Have to admit my rear end did receive a good pounding too! and one of my first thoughts on the blue trail was "I miss my full sus" but it was still good fun on the HT all the same 🙂

I live about a 25min ride from the start of Deerstalker and used to ride Swinley a lot, and still ride it a lot now the trails have opened. I think most of my rides on the new trail have been on a 29er hard tail, which has a fair bit of flex in the seat post and it is pretty good around the trails. I also have an Epic 29er and that does allow pedalling on some sections where it gets a bit bouncy on the hard tail. Overall I would happily ride either bike around there.

I think the great thing about the Blue trail is that it has been designed to suit all people, if you want to ride it flat out it is a challenge (to be fair more on fitness than skills) and it is equally suitable for beginners. I have done a few laps with my 7 year old son and he can ride all it apart from the one sharp short climb. I have also taken my Father in Law out for a lap, he is very much a beginner mtber in his late 60's, although did ride a motorbike when he was younger so has some bike skills, he managed to get around without any incidents and I think enjoy it.

Some improvements are needed. Better signage would help, both direction signs and warning signs. A few skull & crossbones signs would be good at the start of all the downhill sections.

The carpark was chaos at the weekend, hopefully that will improve as the novelty of the trails wears off, but maybe not.

Well as a "foreigner" (dorsetlander) and a crash "victim" (2 wrists, 1collarbone) of swinley I really liked it before but agree with those above about the blue being better than the red but will always have a special place in my heart for deerstalker/babymaker/labyrinth.

Actually managed to take both bikes (spicy and c456) round and although both have their place the HT took a bit of relearning how to ride one again but boy was it fun once I'd found:
A) my legs
B) some flow
C) remembering how pumping a HT and FS differ slightly