[Closed] Dissenting opinion: Yorkshire is garbage for mountain biking

Oh - and cut gate is about as valid as Sedburgh - that's the Peak district, even if it is just inside the lines - but if you insist, I will allow you it. One or two trails near Reeth, and Cut Gate.

When I were a lad, all we had was a penny farthing in a cesspit.

I'm from Yorkshire & i fully concur with you're assessment of the Dales.

Ard rock trails are probably my favourite riding in the whole of the UK, granted they ain't available all year, but I'm sure they're in Yorkshire...

Stainburn, Grenoside and wharncliffe are in Yorkshire.

cheeky Calderdale will scare you shitless I reckon.

Stainburn is a trailcentre, which quite obviously doesn't count. Also overrated.

I could continue about the moors; an enjoyable mix of gentle boggy slopes and poorly maintained off-camber doubletrack descents. Great stuff. Not.

*Sedbergh

I kind of get where you're coming from re. some of the riding in the dales. That said, I spent a couple of weeks in Settle and really enjoyed the riding. Granted, there is a lot of old school XC but very pleasant place to ride none the less.

Again, NYM has loads of trails but not a lot gnarr. Still a great place to ride any kind of bike.

It all depend what you want from a bike ride. If you're enduro max mentalist powered by monster then yes, you may be better off elsewhere.

Where in the UK do you consider to have great mountain biking?

Just searching Rightmove for Brimham, sounds ace.

Scotland and the Lake District. Consider my benchmark for a great ride Skiddaw via Ullock Pike.

I suppose, coincidentally, this is also where the Mountains are. So it would make sense that the mountain biking is better.

bet you cant ride mmbop steps.

Stainburn’s been trashed since they felled all the trees on the other side of the road... this side is pretty much normal forest singletrack. If you take it for what it is, it’s a decent enough hack.

Don’t agree on the Nidd loop, yes it’s doable on a CXer (I’ve done it plenty) but it’s challenging if you put some effort in.

I reckon, you aren’t putting enough effort in or are waiting for a van to pick you up and take you to the top.

4/10 for the rant purely because it’s a click bait formulaic mini-rant designed to rile folks up and get all frothy.

Maybe the Lakes are indeed “your thing”

I suppose, coincidentally, this is also where the Mountains are. So it would make sense that the mountain biking is better.

That depends on your definition of mountain biking.

Well there's more than one kind of MTBing and more than one way to enjoy it. Down here in South Wales we have lots of that kind of riding - 4x4 tracks across the 'mountain' linked up with road, and it can be a cracking day out.

Of course we also have stacks of technical trails hidden in all the woods too if you fancy it.. but you wouldn't know it was there unless you get the Strava heatmap out 🙂

As a Yorkshireman who lives in Scotland, I did find the mountain biking in Yorkshire less exciting after I moved back from 5 years of riding in the Highlands. But that doesn't mean it's crap - it's great by the national standard. The problem is, you're closest to the worst stuff outside East Yorkshire (where there is genuinely nothing).

The Dales is a different sort of mountain biking - long days, taking in the scenery and so on. And it sounds like you did a route on a map published 30 years ago. It's hard to sniff out technical stuff in the Dales and Moors but, particularly in the Moors, it's there if you know where to look. But West and South Yorkshire both have exciting gnadge-fest trails, you just happen to live far enough away from them that you've deemed it fit to write off an entire county of great trails.

You've mostly conflated Yorkshire with the Dales.

I'm inclined to agree about the Dales.

NYM is better but routing can be difficult, best spending some time in Guisbrough woods, doing a 2 hour loop round the other local woods with moor tracks to get some miles in, then more time in the woods.

As for route descriptions, ST is almost as bad as MBR. I did one of their NYM routes and either they put the wrong map in, or didnt ride it because their favourite descent in the area/UK (cant remember the exact platitude but regardless it was undeserved) is a bit of unrewarding grassy doubletrack.

Warncliffe, Stainburn, Guisbrough etc dont count as theyre trail centre's and/or cheeky single track. Great riding but not unique to Yorkshire. Like saying the m4 corridor has great riding and citing Swinley.

I reckon, you aren’t putting enough effort in or are waiting for a van to pick you up and take you to the top.

4/10 for the rant purely because it’s a click bait formulaic mini-rant designed to rile folks up and get all frothy.

Maybe the Lakes are indeed “your thing”

Not sure I remember many shuttle vans in the lake district the last time I was carrying my bike up the hill on my shoulders. Truth be told; I would probably have accepted the lift if it was capable of getting up there!

I'm quite proud that you think my rant was formulaic and incited people to click - It was a stream of consciousness, all from the heart baby.

A ride is what you make it , set aside any dissapointment and focus on aspects that you enjoyed.

Complaining about an entire county's terrain just makes you sound a miserable douche

Haven't done much MTB in Yorkshire - one day round Hebden with a local 'guide', one day out of Todmorden way back in the early days of GoFar, and a Settle / Malham loop which sounds a bit like what you describe. The first was a grand day out on mostly double track with packhorse trails, the second was double track, tarmac and a beast of a climb up Malham road (name escapes me for the moment - ah, Mastiles Lane) and the third was decent rock gardens, off camber blast..

It was fine, plenty nearer to home but I'm very lucky (and happy with big days out of XC riding.

I don't know who wrote that guidebook on the Settle Loop, but that is not so much over-egging it, as launching a 2-tonne chicken at your head. But I think you (or the guidebook writer) must have gone wrong somewhere if you ended up going down Cove Road into Malham, as that isn't on the Settle Loop.

But only the guidebook author is pretending it's anything other than an mild XC loop. As with your example from the Lakes, you have to know the area and be prepared to ride cheeky stuff if you want a bit more challenge.

(And to be honest, if Ullock Pike is your benchmark of a good quality ride, you need to prepare yourself for a lot more disappointment elsewhere).

Part of the challenge of what we do is finding ways to enjoy whatever terrain we find ourselves riding. If you can only derive pleasure from steep, rocky tech, I reckon there's a huge percentage of any ride which is just the drag to get there.

The French have it right, VTT is a much more accurate name for it. We should have stuck with ATB*, rather than MTB.

*Which is also my initials!!

Beauty of a lot of West, North and South Yorkshire is the riding out of the door's OK and the neighbours (Derbyshire and Cumbria) have great trails. Bloody huge area though for the avoidance of doubt. Me - I'm in Holmfirth and rarely stick my bike in the car - when I do it's for 20-30 mins.

Pffft, everyone knows the home of British Mountain Biking is Surrey.

Ilkley Moor – A short five minutes of fun before someone indignantly tells you off

You're doing it wrong.

Also, try the peak district.

All areas seem to hve prevalent types of riding and locals get used to it. Eroded ancient rights of way - drove roads and cart tracks in northern england. short little singletrack sections in the south. Big days out in Scotland that go road / good estate road, poor estate road, path, where is the path? and then the reverse in Scotland.

Pffft, everyone knows the home of British Mountain Biking is Surrey.

Swindon surely?

All areas seem to hve prevalent types of riding and locals get used to it. Eroded ancient rights of way – drove roads and cart tracks in northern england. short little singletrack sections in the south. Big days out in Scotland that go road / good estate road, poor estate road, path, where is the path? and then the reverse in Scotland.

Kind of misses the OP's point - muddy ascent, small bits of gravel at the top, and tarmac descent is not what he feels he was led to expect! There's plenty of great cheeky riding around Yorkshire, but he's denying himself the pleasure by bowing to the almighty dog walkers/red socks/whoever else is berating him for being there on two wheels. And clearly not riding the right places in Yorkshire if he does want to stick to bridleways.

Swindon surely?

Bro, do you even have a trail dog?

We had a Labralurcher called Rapha, but he started shitting in the T5 after he burned himself on the pizza oven.

We traded him for some gravel socks.

Yeah Bro, I have a Vizsloodle in the back of my Audi.

I love off road cycling in Yorkshire especially the Dales. But I tend to make it more about the scenery and Cafe/pub stops and generally take my crosser rather than a mountain bike.

Coolio.

Fancy going bike packing sometime?
I'll bring the coffee grinder.

As I descended into Malham on the classic road cyclists’ climb, I rued that I couldn’t meet the person that sold me on this route and slap him in the face.

I remember Back In The Day when MTB guide books used to be all about carrying up a steep hill and the "blasting" (relative term...) down a fireroad or tarmac descent. 😉

MBR carried on that fine tradition for many years by constantly publishing route guides the wrong way round, it became a bit of a running joke.

There is an off-road descent into Malham although to be fair if you're hooning down a road, you're likely (a) to have missed it already or (b) to miss it as you go flying past it. I've ridden it both ways, I know it's there although I'm not sure I could tell you where it is!

Anyway, you're confusing "the Yorkshire Dales" with "Yorkshire". To be fair, I prefer the CX bike in "the Yorkshire Dales". The Yorkshire Dales (IMHO) is lovely on a CX although there's a few honourable exception trails, mostly more hidden away. Malham Cove itself has some wonderful technical rocky descents alhtough perhaps best outside of sunny weekends when they're invariably packed with walkers...

Embsay crags is in the dales. It is quite good.

Embsay crags is in the dales. It is quite good. Not as good as the lakes or scotland or Morzine or Whistler or Torbole but good.

I'm a regular in the Dales (because it's close to home) and yes it is mostly tame XC fitness rather than hardcore, maybe even a slog, but it's big ups and big downs fitness challenges. The Settle loop descent on tarmac to Langcliffe is better if you turn left and descend into Settle. Still not remotely hardcore but off road and more errrr fun(ish). As others say, you are talking about a very small area of Yorkshire that has lots of big MTB options but that isn't very technically challenging, but is a dam sight better in options and remoteness than many others on here have any sort of access to. You're a spoilt brat, imagine if you were regularly riding in East Anglia, East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, South East etc.
If you can't find fun on Ilkley Moor then you're doing something wrong

Warncliffe, Stainburn, Guisbrough etc dont count as theyre trail centre’s and/or cheeky single track. Great riding but not unique to Yorkshire. Like saying the m4 corridor has great riding and citing Swinley.

Wharncliffe ....trail centre / cheeky ?? an odd description some excellent natural trails and DH / technical rockgardens for those that can do that of thing...only crossing the open Chase is cheeky ...limited in volume maybe...the OP seems to be quoting a route description from the "pipe lagging on the top tube a must to help carry you bike" era...maybe Yorkshire lacks proper mountains but for those that live there plenty of good riding

Edit and can only assume that those who live in the Hepstonstall/Hebden Bridge / Calderdale area of Yorkshire are too busy riding to speak up

OP - have a look at the NYM route in Singletrack issue 120 (or stop into the Yorkshire Bike Hub). I'm not saying it's going to a Lakes-esque gnarr fest but there is some decent techy riding to be had. Certainly at least one trail that would give most the fear.

 a cesspit.

Get you and your fancy plumbing.

I grew up in Ilkley and there's plenty of great singletrack around there. Find someone local and ask them to show you.

Or move to Peaslake.

The Settle loop descent on tarmac to Langcliffe is better if you turn left and descend into Settle.

I think that section will be the muddy slog he climbed to start with. Must admit I've not ridden that up or down for a while. Descending into Stainforth is more fun IMO, plus you can add a bit of cheek on the opposite side of the valley heading back to Settle.

Stockdale Lane is probably the best descent on the Settle Loop itself. Lot of guidebooks will still tell you to climb it, which says a lot about the philosophy when they were written.

EDIT: Talking of 'garbage' Yorkshire trails, has anyone been up around Reeth recently, was wondering whether anything around Fremington Edge was rideable or still in a complete mess? Fancied a trip up there this weekend.

Not sure about Scotland, but Lakes in a few short years will be all smooth and graveled if they will continue at the pace they are ekhem... "improving" things up there.

So better ride it whilst you still can OP...

Can't fault likes of Ingleborough, Howgills and Farleton Knott. Pretty good riding IMO.

Definitely not like Blacksail, Honister, Helvellyn or Nan Bield but still decent.

Cheers!
I.

I agree that lots of the riding in Yorkshire consists of long grassy or stony slogs but that's because it's on ancient unsurfaced roads. If you go for the beauty of the scenery you'll enjoy it.

Calderdale has the best mountain biking in England and the greatest variety, thanks to its industrial heritage. See my article The Packhorse Trail in a very early edition of ST mag.

Martin - we went through Reeth a couple of weekends ago, didn't get up on to Fremington as we were heading south but there's still a lot of damage evident. The nature of these events does concentrate damage so it appears very localised: there's devastation then 100m away it's as if nothing has happened. If you are on FB then I'm told Dales Bike Centre have trail updates on there.

Back to the OP's complaint - it's a bit like the guidebook saying "this is really great carrot cake" and the OP screaming "but I want chocolate!". No idea why he was heading down the Cove Road in to Malham as that isn't on the Settle Loop at all, nor on any published version of it that I've seen.

The climb out of Settle towards Gilbert Lane can vary quite a bit, the upper bit does get quite muddy after rain but being on limestone soon dries out. No idea why guidebooks show Stockdale Lane as a climb - it's a good test of technique going up but it's better as a descent.

Don't think anyone was claiming the Dales was as good as the Lakes anyway.

As others have said, Hebden is a lot of fun and better than most spots outside Cumbria or Scotland.

I can do a 50km loop from my doorstep in Leeds toward Wetherby, 95% offroad, lots of super nice singletrack, barely see a soul outside of the weekend. All XC of course, aside from the jumps and mini-DH trails at Adel. I'm pretty happy with it, makes for a satisfying ride, doable mid-week with zero logistics.

Ilkley and Beamsley Moor are great, miles of stuff once you know your way around.

The Dales is super easy of course. But I like that I can catch a train there that leaves an 80 mile (largely offroad) ride home. And it's stunning in the right weather.

I ride a rigid 29er or a gravelbike, which probably helps appreciate the lack of tech.

Oh – and cut gate is about as valid as Sedburgh – that’s the Peak district, even if it is just inside the lines

Actually on a point of pedantry, Cut Gate Path is in the county of South Yorkshire - the county line pretty much dissects Howden Reservoir (and was formally in West Riding / Kingdom of Northumbria ... Yes it is also in the PDNP but it's very much in Yorkshire and Margery Hill is the highest point in the Sheffield area ... but I digress).

I'm inclined to agree with the OP about the Yorkshire [Dales] though in terms of mountain biking when comparing it to Scotland, The Lake District, Alps & Pyrenees, but it depends what you ride/like I guess. I did the 'Hope Pre Peaks' recently which takes you up around Malham and I really enjoyed it - but I did it on a 'gravel' bike.

Controversially, I'm also underwhelmed by what many consider to be 'Peak District Classics' that are actually just old rocky double-track/Land Rover tracks. Local Knowledge is key for sure!

All areas seem to hve prevalent types of riding and locals get used to it

+1 ... I think where you live & ride kindof dictates to a degree your hobbies & activities. vive la différence

Local Knowledge is key for sure!

True of everywhere, not just Yorkshire

Any good Calderdale or Hebden GPX about?

Just buy the OS map OL21. I've worn out three of those in 21 years of scoping out then riding trails in Calderdale. It's an amazing map.

Any good Calderdale or Hebden GPX about?

Best to make friends and get someone to show you round. Takes a while to learn how it all links up though. I still haven't managed it.

You took the wrong bike.

Save your mountain bike for the mountains.

Take an xc bike or a rigid bike next time, I remember the settle loop being fantastic in 1992 with cantilever brakes, but as you say it ain't superlative dragging a LLS FS bike round.

Pretty much what @wzzzz says - 95% of Dales riding is fine on a HT either rigid or with front suspension. Certainly in the southern Dales there's very little legal* tech riding and what there is is only very short stretches. Go cheeky and there's more but the underlying terrain just isn't suited to providing tech rides.

*I stress "legal" because that's only really what guidebooks can publish.

something something wrong route to Malham

Unfortunately as i tried to slip off The road onto the footpath I was collared and almost strangled by an officious 'park ranger' who almost ran a road cyclist over gunning his landy at me. Stupid bright endurbro clothes.

something something wrong bike

I would agree fully - as I said, bike packing on a crosser? Grand. Is this cycling? Yup. Is it awesome? Probably. Is it mountain biking as we know it? Eh... Not to me.

something something fremington edge

I was up there last weekend. Barn doing a roaring trade. Tracks mostly intact but a lot of line choice required to pick your way through the classic mine descent.

The slate path in the gunnerside valley is still pretty defined.

I’ve always thought the Dales is s bit naff on often got slated for saying it, it’s ok but very much grassy non technical stuff (on the whole)

Yorkshire does however have some brilliant riding around West Yorkshire and Calderdale, you just need to know where it is

Sounds like what you want is the lakes but closer to home. Think it’s time you think about moving, you just won’t find big days with fast rocky & technical descents like you do in the lakes and Scotland, but big xc days definitely.

If you want excitement rather than big long xc dales rides then you haven’t looked hard enough, there are a ton of places with some great steep fun technical trails to ride. Keep looking you will find them.

Dales is indeed pretty shit and disappointing (with a couple of exceptions), but Calderdale isn't, and Calderdale cheeky is even better. Still, if you like big descents, natural tails and tech stuff, nowhere in England is as good as the Lakes IMO, and I'm Yorkshire born and bred.

Ton - which steps? Last ones down to the ruins and chimney?

So the title of the thread should really be: ... Yorkshire is garbage for my take on mountain biking.

For pretty much everyone who's not an STW riding god Dales style riding is mountain biking.

It should be noted that I'm a Lancastrian (actually from Ulverston when it was still part of Lancashire), grew up in the Lakes and I'm a Lakelander at heart. So defending the dark side doesn't come easy!

Without reading all the above, you are missing the best part of the Dales - Swaledale is the place to head to. Alternatively the North York Moors has countless miles of quality singletrack.

Unfortunately as i tried to slip off The road onto the footpath I was collared and almost strangled by an officious ‘park ranger’ who almost ran a road cyclist over gunning his landy at me.

I can't think of any footpath off Cove Road where you could be pursued by a landy, and if you've actually been physically assaulted by a National Park employee, you should report it. You're not just making this up, are you?

something something intentionally taking things too literally

Caught me as I was climbing over a footpath style, bike on shoulder. Luckily I had my bombers with me.

So you got a telling off then for not looking up and down the road before hopping over a stile. 🙂

You do seem a little prone to hyperbole.

Been up to Swaledale a couple of times in the last few weeks,most of the trails are open,call in at the Dales bike centre in Reeth and they can advise on any closed trails

Agree with the OP. Guidebooks are shite...

I'm in Calderdale, just let me know if you want a guide to some of the better stuff

Yep having done the ardrock and ardmoors I was expecting a little more of the dales, this summer I Did the 3dales mtb challenge grassington to settle and back 36 mile
And a day trip to pateley bridge scarhouse loop with an over the top and back to horse house and back

Neither were great , ok xc rides..

Head to West Yorkshire holmfirth Marsden Calderdale and you can’t go far wrong , so much cheeky footpaths up and down the steep valley sides
Cobbles moorland singletrack, steep tech

I rode holmfirth honley woods, deer hill, black moss onto Pennines way to hebden a few weeks ago, brought back to me why I love mtbing so much.
The descent from stoodley pike is awesome as is ernies love tunnel to end the ride

Try the West Yorkshire vertebrate book for ideas,
Willykay clough was/is an amazing descent to (damn sanitisers are gonna ruin it)
Ruts and bends into the reservoirs above holmbridge/holmfirth is quality
Cheesgate nab another above Jackson bridge/ holmfirth
And all 3 are legal bridleway

Damn...

Where have you been whatyadoinsucka 3 months ago when I was asking about Holmfirth???

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/riding-around-holmfirth-local-knowledge-wanted/

Better late than never I guess...
Cheers!
I.

Ivanmtb sorry missed it been an odd summer far too much work so less bike and riding time

Theirs some very cheeky stuff topside of newmill/thurstonland/ brockholes cliff wood
, fulstone wood is fun, honley woods has some good tracks and the widow maker descent,

Back of the quarry above hade edge is good singletrack, a few good descents around the reservoir around hades clough (hade edge) , ramsden road descent to riding wood/ yateholme reservoirs are fun, the cheeky from Holme village, the rock slab steps to drop to the bilberry damn wall above digley is fun, the track down from upperthong village hall to holmfirth fire station is a cracker too..
The track from cartworth and down to dunford road..

They are mainly on strava

Cheers!

Can see little trip brewing already 🙂

I.

Edit and can only assume that those who live in the Hepstonstall/Hebden Bridge / Calderdale area of Yorkshire are too busy riding to speak up

No, nothing here but towpaths and tarmac, not worth coming at all.

Try Lancashire

I saw Stainburn mentioned earlier.....hands down the hardest XC route I’ve ever done. I’ve not done many but definitely showed me where my weaknesses were! There’s some good short off piste stuff up there and the red is a real workout that’ll bite if you’re not switched on too... as with everything there’s some climbing to get you back up for another go! There’s a soft Ard-rock route from near Reeth that’s really good which we did a year or so ago...amazing views and some good techy stuff, takes you past all the old mining area and what I think were ovens...