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Looking to head away over the Easter holiday and fancied a change of scenery from bike park Wales, afan, cwmcarn etc so thinking about heading to the other end of Wales. We were thinking of trying out coed y brenin and llandegla but I keep finding pretty mixed reviews of the riding.
Just wondered what people on here thought. We don't mind pedalling but we're definitely in it for the descents. We're not the type of riders that get a thrill out of pedalling to the top of the hill and this is where the problems come from.
A lot of people say both places are great but there's no way of telling if they're more cross country sort of riders or not. I guess as a guide to our style/ability, we can happily get down the blacks at bpw but generally prefer to ride the reds and blues where we can get a bit more speed up without killing ourselves.
Antur Stiniog (for the pedalling averse)
Did have a look at stiniog actually but its more or less a full on DH spot isn't it? Although we do prefer descending, a couple of the group might be a bit out of their depth riding proper DH stuff. Unless of course there are some easier trails there. I couldn't work out if it was uplift only as well or if you could actually push/pedal to the top.
You'll love CyB unless you're really unfit. Plenty of fun and challenging descents.
Llandegla is a bit more Marmite, but if you like smooth trails you might love that too. Lots of people do.
Penmachno... Thank me another time
Penmachno over CyB?
Really?
2 hour ride at Penmachno. Some of it good. Across that valley in a headwind is dire. Loop 2 is actually just a bit climbing with no amazing reward tagged onto loop 1. Then what do you do?
Plenty of easier stuff at Antur.Uplift only but you can get 10-15 runs in no problem (there's usually a bus already waiting for you).
Rorschach - Member
Antur Stiniog (for the pedalling averse)
And also piss easy compared to BPW reds and blues.
How about catching the train up Snowdon?
Penmachno easily the best despite iolo says then after I would go to Nant y Arian a great set up there
I didn't say it was bad. But got a gang of lads, some not so experienced, there are better places.
It's great if you're fit.
And if the weather turns, Penmachno is probably the most open of trail centres (xc) with zero amenities - fine if you're used to it but for the not so super fit out for a day out I would suggest elsewhere.
Stiniog red is comparable with BPW reds, same with the blue. The Stiniog black is a fair bit harder than the blacks at BPW though.
It's a VERY efficient uplift service at stiniog (certainly compared with the frankly poor BPW uplifts), the day is great value
Catching the train up snowdon is a great idea.....then they can go biking in the afternoon.
Worth a mention. You can't take bikes on the train up Snowdon or we all would be on it!
Granted, there are some longer climbs at Coed y Brenin, but they'are all punctuated with some well thought out downs.
It's not just a case of one big climb, descend , then go to the pub. Possibly a good opportunity for the less accomplished climbers to practice pacing things a bit too ?
You can't take bikes on the train up Snowdon
They've fitted a bike rack to the back of it now.
Something to do with equal opportunities for lazy bastards or somefink.
I'm with iolo, Penmachno was a big let down for me. Personal preference though 😆
If have to say penmachno, defo one of my favourite trails round here, it's cold wet and feels isolated at times, but it's fast narrow singletrack brings a smile to my face every time. Just be prepared for it to be WET no matter what the weather.
Snowdon is a good one to do, prob allow a couple of hours up from llanberis with some slow riding/spinning and some walking. Then a great descent down the ranger track followed by telegraph valley back to llanberis. Ok it IS one BIG climb followed by a descent but gives a good sense of accomplishment (especially if your lucky enough for some good views at the top) I'm not particularly fit at all, and certainly don't enjoy the climbs, it's all about descending for me, however it's well worth doing IMO.
There is some amazing natural riding around North Wales if you happen to know anyone who can guide you on some of the better trails. Llandegla is nice fast rollable with good facilities, not for everyone and I would imagine it would be pretty busy on a bank holiday weekend, but if you get there early doors it shouldn't be to bad and worth a trip the black is fairly tame really but still great fun and worth doing the blue aswell if you wanted to extend the ride, the red however I always feel is a bit of a waste of time, just cuts most of the good bits off the black.
All good info. Cheers guys. May look into Stiniog and Penmachno a bit closer. I have actually done Snowdon when I was at uni but it was snowing and we couldn't see a thing so we ended up going back down the same way we came up (the main route from llanberis) which although still ok, not the best descent ever. Was still a bit of an adventure though.
Looking at Antur Stiniog, although there do appear to be some easier options, do you think they're enough to keep people happy for a day if they're the only trails they are able to ride?
If you visit CYB then the [url= http://www.mbwales.com/en/content/cms/centres/coed_y_brenin/mbr/mbr.aspx ]MBR[/url] trail would be suitable,has some good descents and not much climbing.
I was in BPW for the gravity this weekend and very impressed with the reds and Dai hard was spot on.
Something similar up here with be the blue Jumpar at Stiniog,Climax in Machynlleth,last 3 descents of the Marin, It's is a 5km loop at the end and it's a blast!
You could do CYB MBR in the morning and do a half day at Antur in the afternoon.Ring Antur beforehand though.
You could also go to Revolution bike park or maybe Foel Gasnach
http://revolutionbikepark.co.uk/
http://www.ibikeride.com/wales/1611-foel-gasnach-downhill-mountain-bike-base
Penmachno still got a big PITA diversion
Had a look at revolution. Does look fun but i don't think it'll really be everyone's cup of tea. I'd heard about the stuff around machynlleth but i saw something somewhere saying that they've removed trail markers and you kind of need to know where you're going. Or is that not the case? Also, are the other mach trails just standard xc routes?
For me, Antur Stiniog, Penmachno and Degla are disappointing, but CYB and Nant-Y-Arian are well worth a visit. Two of my favourite trail centres- the other being Glentress. Revolution is brilliant but it sounds like it would be too much for your group; you'd only be able to ride one track (the freeride track) and then the jumps, which are what makes it fun, would be too much.
The marked stuff at Dyfi is mleh, except for the final descent but there's some great natural stuff.
Good call with Foel Gasnach. The only problem is you have to do your own uplift.
You also need to be a member to ride there but that's easy enough to sort.
Everything is on Strava 😀
Get some GPX files before you come up and get a viewer on your mobile 😉
Let me know if you need some!
Some good clips here on what to expect at CYB,Penmachno,Antur and Llandegla.
How busy does antur get at the weekends?
The uplift doesntvse to be booked too far ahead.
Would it be worth the risk of turning up on a Saturday and paying as you go as it were?
Will on ly be able to do half a day and it doesn't look like you can but a half day ticket at the weekend ..
Just so you know. Penmachno is all open now.
Penmachno is now fully open?
If you visit CYB then the MBR trail would be suitable,has some good descents and not much climbing.
How does that work? 😆
It is good though, despite not defying physics.
How busy does antur get at the weekends?
The uplift doesntvse to be booked too far ahead.
Would it be worth the risk of turning up on a Saturday and paying as you go as it were?
Will on ly be able to do half a day and it doesn't look like you can but a half day ticket at the weekend ..
If they let you buy single ride tickets then I reckon you'd get a good few runs in the afternoon.
It's hard on bikes and bodies there, and the numbers have tended to thin out later in the day when I have been before.