I went last summer with the family. Mabie is the easiest of the 3 we did. I loved it teenagers thought it a bit tame

Kirroughtree red. Teenagers loved the challenge 11 year old was walking quite alot

Dalbeattie. Teenagers found the first third quite hard. But then loved the rest.

We didn’t do any black. The grading is not really the same as Wales

We road the reds in order of increasing difficuilty

Forgot to say. All were top quality. The best trail centres I’ve been to

Forget Ae, it’s pants! And that does seem to be the general conclusion from other peoples opinion as well. Kirroughtree is a bit further away but still good. If you’re there for a few days it doesn’t really matter which one you go to first as they’re both good. Mabie has had some new berms added though so if it was me I’d be heading there first.

I’ll second Drumlanrig, great trail. Nothing too technical but still really rewarding.

Always had a soft spot for Mabie, its just a really nice day out on the bike. Again nothing too difficult but there is harder stuff there if you look for it.

Kiroughtree is a bit out of the way but worth the trip, I’ve only done the Red though

Dalbeattie I’ve never been a big fan of. Big obstacles aside it just doesn’t seem to flow. Lack of any real elevation is probably issue. The taster loops are good fun though.

Personally I like Ae, its more technical than the other routes but I can see why some don’t like it.

So if it was me I’d do Drumlanrig, Mabie and Kirroughtree and have a play at Dalbeattie if I had time

If you need help deciding then tune in tonight as I will be premiering my new Mabie video 🙂

Mabie and Dalbeattie definitely improve when you add in all the secret natural stuff, and also Dalbeattie’s skills area has plenty of black stuff too to enjoy. With Ae the trick is to add in the Shredder!

The only technical feature of Ae is riding one handed whilst looking at your watch, hoping that the misery that is the red route there ends soon. Theres always haters for every trail centre but I’ve ridden a lot of trail centres and Ae is, by a loooooong way, the worst of them all. The Marin trail is brilliant in comparison.

Kirroughtree is only 45 mins from Dalbeattie so not really out of the way!

Just back from a week in a campsite near Dalbeattie. The trail has some major diversions in place due to foresting but its still very enjoyable. superb rock features not to hard on climbs.
Ae is by far the worst trail in the area unless your into downhill. Cafe / shop has closed down recently.
Maybie, is a great wee trail although not very challenging since recent upgrades have smoothed out all the good bits.
Kirro – is long and tough, very very good flow and great features.
Drumlanrig, is entirely different to all the others, natural and beautifull.
If i only had two days – Dalbeattie and Drumlanrig with Kirro in third due to the extra drive getting there.

have fun!

It’s very simple. After the zig zag berms on Omega Man, before the very last bit, you carry on up the fire road for just a few metres, There is a map on a post to show you how to ride to the top. You then come down the Shredder, which is very ridable on a hard tail and awesome fun, and that throws you out at the same point where you left the red, so you can treat the second half of Omega Man as a continuation of the Shredder, which is more of a continual downhill really, compared to the first half of the Omega Man which also includes riding uphill.

After all those new berms on Omega Man, I am sure there is a dip and then the singletrack turns into a wider forest road. You just take that up. The bit I am talking about is the bit where the push up path from the bottom of the Omega Man ends, if that makes sense. When you look at it all on a map, you should see what I mean.

I love the Shredder. It’s really steep but you can roll the jumps. I am not saying you will, but if you are a wheels on the floor type rider it is still awesome!

To be honest i wouldnt bother asking about whats best, just choose one and give it a ride, if you listen to some on here you would never get out your bed because everything seems to be crap.

All of the Stanes are very different and have some great sections and their own challenges.

My ritual involves friday pm dalbeattie red/black. Camp at kippford, wander down and sink a few pints at the anchor by the waterfront before heading to a cafe in dalbeattie sat am for bacon roll in preparation for the black at kirroughtree – the all round best 7 stanes route but just watch out for hissing sid and the jabberwocky! Some dude posted this: http://vimeo.com/9488396 – great flowing sections interspersed with awesome natural rocky features. You wont be disappointed, but both are on the trickier end of the spectrum.

Ae – Shredder & final descent good but the rest is a bit mundane and doesn’t flow well.

Mabie – Its really grown on me and after Tweed, probably my second favourite Stane, flows well and great for an XC blast.

Dalbeattie – Some really great riding again but some bits feel like technical features separated by fireroad.

Kirro – The king of flow. Used to love it but its just so out the way, I find myself stopping at Mabie or Dalbeattie instead.

Drumlanrig – Ace, just ace and stunning scenery too. Like your favourite ride in the woods on steroids.

Just a few words on Dalbeattie.

It has one of the best skills loops with plenty of tough granite slabs to mess around on. These can be easily missed if you have not been before and are thinking the skills loops is just for kids to get going on.

Yes, it maybe flat (ish) but it’s lovely 🙂

31st March by simon ralli, on Flickr

It has a lot of secrets which more than make up for any closures

IMG_3864 by simon ralli, on Flickr

And the other thing that people can miss is the loop you can add on at the bottom for a much longer and scenic ride along some ace coastal singletrack. Those of you who are fit will do this loop in around an hour, hour and half, but for me there are some brilliant places to stop for sandwiches and cake etc.

August 16th by simon ralli, on Flickr

IMG_0017 by simon ralli, on Flickr

IMG_0031 by simon ralli, on Flickr

But obviously, it’s horses for courses and not for everyone!

I really like Ae, but then I do understand those who find it a little dull. Maybe it is more of a red route but for me there is still a lot of singletrack to enjoy, and it has an “out there” feel to it. Like Dalbeattie, Ae Forest has much to explore for some big day’s riding.

Simon we need to start the Ae appreciation society.

All we need to do is petition for a new bit of singletrack to link Rabs slippery to Grannies Green luv and avoind the long bit of fire road.

Grannies green love down to the river and back up must be one of the best sections of singletrack in any trail center.

Have they not sanitised a lot of that in recent times though?

Maybe there is some confusion here? They have smoothed out the bit in the woods, but not the descent down to the bridge. What you lose in terms of fun for expert riders, you gain in terms of making it more popular for the masses.

Richmtb – I think your last comment hits the nail on the head really – We are spoiled in that area with some brilliant trails, both natural and trail centre. Ae for me is pretty poor compared to some of the other trail centres in that area but rated on its own is probably a pretty good place to ride.

Each to their own though and I can see why some people may like that TC 🙂

Hi Fotherington – how was your ride yesterday? Did you do it no dabbing?

When I’m down that way I’ll do Kirroughtree and Dalbeattie and miss Mabie and Ae as I find them a bit boring.

Drumlanrig is ace though not one of the ‘7Stanes’

It is such a shame that the link is not there, it would transform Ae. The new section at burn brash bash is great now, to me it was a bit on the bumpy side, but then I ride a hard tail.

The trail centers around D&G are such a great resource and bring money into the Area, still i just cant see the council putting money into it.

Cycling in all its forms should be right at the forfront of what D&G plan for the area.