Never been before but me and Mrs Sox are holidaying on the Lleyn in July so figured I ought to check it out.

fantastic place with a whole host of trails for every skill level. if you’ve been riding a while but haven’t got much time ride the tarw trail (old karrimor trail), its awesome. if you’ve got more time then do the beast, 30-32km i think and its brill, long descents and fantastic single track.

if you’ve not ben before you’ll love it

It’s certainly worth riding but can I suggest that if you’ve got the time you do the Pont Scethin route instead, navigation is straightforward and it’s a bloody huge day out.

Pont Scethin

Or drag yourself up Cadir Idris, that’s good fun too.

People will slate it for being ‘sanitised’ compared to what it used to be like but I reckon its the best trail centre I’ve been to (all of the Stanes, Dalby and the other North Wales centres). The Beast is an awesome ride but be sure to stop at the cafe halfway around for cream tea!

It is frankly rubbish compared to what there was, and there’s much better North (Penmachno) or south (Climachx, Nant-y-Arian) now. Most of the good singletrack has been replaced by either pointless rock slabs or the BMX-style ‘thin fireroad’ of Llandegla et al. I’d second Pont Scethin too – that really is a good route done the correct way round (i.e. in the bikefax guide) and not the wrong way round (flattyresmtb.co.uk – the one linked up there). If you would like a guide, there’s loads of decent stuff if you know where to look, and I’m only in Bangor. However, if having a grumpy northerner-in-exile tagging along isn’t your idea of a holiday, may I suggest http://www.bike-fax.com – it’s a great guide, and the money goes to people who do a lot for MTBing.

Back to CyB:

MBR is still the MBR, but with a few changes to remove the better descents and replace with smooth swoopy stuff (about 20 k)

Red Bull is now the Tarw – over teh side where the old cafe was, but some new stuff – not really worth a trip on its own, and about 15 k

Dragon’s back – a watered down version of the old karrimor – 30k but pretty tame

The Beast – 40 k, nowhere near as tough as the karrimor used to be, and most of the descent bits have now been watered down to swoopy Llandegla-esque skill-free dross. You could make it a bit more like it used to be by adding the Tarw to it to at least get some of the original single track from over the other side of the road.

Basically, IMO, as a relative local it’s a crying shame what the FC did to CyB. I used to ride there almost weekly, now it’s nearly 2 years since I last rode there, and they were in the process of ‘renovating’ the singletrack then. I’ve not heard great before and after comparisons from other riders, so haven’t gone back, and neither have most of the others I ride with up here. The Adams family descents, Herman and the Pink Heiffer were some of the best man-made trails about, now all gone…

How anyone can comapare its current state to even the dreariest ‘Staine’ is a mystery to me. 4 years ago, YES, now, it makes the Marin trail seem interesting. (And at least that can be taxing if done fast)

I like the Marin, I like Penmachno and LLandegla more, but I really dislike cyb now. Went to it for the first time a few years ago when it was based on the other side of the road, had a great time, been back two or three times to the new set up and found the carparking and centre overpriced and routes fairly bland, I don’t enjoy riding over pointless sections of rock slabs on the flat, it’s not a challenge, it’s not exciting, it’s just a pain! (perhaps I’m spoilt with the peaks on my doorstep) 🙂

Well I thought it was great – did the Beast and it was really good, some techy stuff and some nice fast flowy stuff. I ride in the Lakes all the time and have ridden a few other welsh trail centres and most of the Stanes. I think some people miss the point of trail centres, it’s not meant to be like a natural trail.

Been twice, Rode the twar (sp), MBR and the Beast.

I think they are just a bit dated now. I certainly would never go back.

Go and check it out for yourselves would be my advice, I went last year for the first time and loved it. But the only what you’ll know for sure is to ride there. As good as it used to be? possibly not, but I don’t know what i’ve missed so why worry?

Perhaps I’m easily pleased, as I love riding everywhere from Kirroughtree to Sherwood Pines to the Lakes and Peak District to Dalby and the welsh trail centres.

Told you toxicsoks!

Some of the singletrack is now definately better if you really attack it. I wouldn’t compare it to Penmachno (ie, some fireroad with the odd half decent downhill singletrack section in the middle of nowhere with no facilities).

Do it yourself and make an opinion. Mine is that its great as long as you ride it so fast you scare yourself. I think some people don’t ride it quick enough!

Yep, one mans meat another mans poison.

I think Penmachno is one of the best manmade’s I have ever ridden. 8)

I think some people miss the point of trail centres, it’s not meant to be like a natural trail.

Well, 4 years ago it was much more like a natural trail. Now it’s like a giant BMX-park in the woods

Some of the singletrack is now definately better if you really attack it. I wouldn’t compare it to Penmachno (ie, some fireroad with the odd half decent downhill singletrack section in the middle of nowhere with no facilities).

If you apply the ‘really attack it’ theory to Penmachno, and are actually fit enough to ride the flatter sections with some speed, I think you’ll find Penmachno to be miles ahead. It should be too: the original CyB trail builders were behind some of it…

I’ve spent a few weekends at CDB but rate Afan higher.
Less fire trails – which can be tedious.
Tim

its good if your not a very good rider

Well, 4 years ago it was much more like a natural trail.

Yeah and what’s the point of that when there are already hundreds of miles of natural trails in Wales?

Now it’s like a giant BMX-park in the woods

Yup and it’s ace.

Penmachno is good too but CyB is better. I like the way you try to claim other people aren’t fit enough to enjoy Penmachno. 🙂

its good if your not a very good rider

What a ridiculously arrogant comment.

I’m with Zokes on this one. There’s always going to be people who enjoy the trails as they are now, but the changes have killed it for me.

just in response to zokes, he right, the flattyres route is the wrong way round (I should have checked it sorry), we based an epic ride on the bikefax route, you can find a link to it on this thread

Pont Scentin Thread

I don’t agree that CyB has gone down hill but admit that I’ve only ridden it half a dozen times over 8 years.

My advice would be to stay in the Bothy, ride Pont Scethin one day and CyB the other, the trails run within 300 yards of the bothy.

On trail centres in general, I think it’s ace that they each have their own characters and have differing appeal, for me Penmachno starts off badly but gets progressivly better, I’ve ridden bits of Glentress and Laggan and didn’t think they were any better or worse than CyB.

Now it’s like a giant BMX-park in the woods

Yup and it’s ace.

Well, that’s what Llandegla and Brechfa are for, and do it much better IMO. Horses for courses…

It makes sense to have some trails like natural trails. After all, it takes the best bits of riding, but means you don’t need a map. I just don’t understand why the FC chose to destroy some of the best man made stuff in the country for sub-standard, 1m+ wide smooth swoopy stuff. They could have tarmacced it and it wouldn’t be any easier. (Well, actually I do understand, it’s all about money, and with the exception of the ‘fun’ trail, CyB used to be too difficult for anyone who wasn’t pretty experienced.

I like the way you try to claim other people aren’t fit enough to enjoy Penmachno.

Good, because I meant it. The usual gripes because you have to pedal a bit to get some speed amuse me. Same applies for the Marin – if you don’t find the singletrack there (and I concede it does seem to have a lot of fireroads) taxing, you’re simply not riding fast enough….

Mountainbiking is one of those sports where you simply have to be quite fit to enjoy stuff at speed. I’m not the fittest by a long way, and on an uplift day at Cwmcarn recently, I discovered a whole new load of muscles I’d obviously not found a use for previously. I know I would have enjoyed that more had I had more upper body and quad fitness, and it’s that lack of fitness that prevented me from attacking the course a bit more. (That, and my inherent jey-ness)

On trail centres in general, I think it’s ace that they each have their own characters and have differing appeal,

This is the main point of my argument. CyB DID have its own character. Now the FC seem to want mould it round other trail centres, when they’d have been much better off leaving it as it was. Llandegla and Brechfa do fun and swoopy; The Marin, Penmachno and NyA do tight and twisty, and The Climachx does and CyB did rocky and rooty as well as twisty. Now all CyB seems to be is a poor imitation of Llandegla, with a few flat rock slabs thrown in for some poor Staines imitation.

And btw I thought there were bits of the MBR trail that were reasonably techy – I ride all the time in the Lakes on stuff most people consider fairly rocky/techy.

I didn’t find Penmachno too pedally, I enjoyed it – and I’m not that fit.

whenever we went the oracle(worked in the shop) used to give us a route off piste to do.sometimes using the hiking routes.twas awesome

Now all CyB seems to be is a poor imitation of Llandegla

They are completely different imo, (ridden both in the last 12 months) in terms of technicality, scale, variation, physicality etc. In fact apart from both being trail centres the only things they have in common are good cafes.

Now all CyB seems to be is a poor imitation of Llandegla

What a ludicrous statement, honestly. I quite like Llandegla but that really is a BMX park in the woods.

I do attack Penmachno and the singletrack sections are good. Its just the tedious fireroads inbetween that get on my nerves.

Llandegla is also good if your not a very good rider

Llandegla is good if you are good enough to actually ride it fast and jump off everything. It’s not good if you’re a joyless snob.

Jeez, this place is great. OP asks for some advise on a place to ride and everyone gets all tribal and angry.

Get a massage people and ride your bike. Its all good.

dont even ask me about penmachno 🙄

Sorry you’re right – it’s just the kind of arrogant snobby attitude displayed by some in this thread that is one of the things I really hate about mountain biking. ‘I’m better than you because I ride a singlespeed, I’m better than you cos I ride at a certain trail centre, I’m better than you cos I don’t ride at trail centres at all.’ lalalalalalalalala

my work here is done

*skips off*

I have no problem with llandegla. I enjoy llandegla. But I would have preferred to have a choice of smooth-fast-swoopy at llandegla and rocky-rooty-twisty at CyB like it used to be. Now I have the choice of smooth-fast-swoopy-pointless-rock-slabs at CyB, or smooth-fast-swoopy done much better at Llandegla

But as I appear to be a joyless snob, I simply ride from my back door in the Carneddau range these days, negating my need for trail centres completely 🙂

Oh, well, that prompted a bit of debate. I feel I ought to report back after I’ve ridden it. * NB – not fast or, particularly, technically accomplished 😐 *

Zokes with bit between teeth… 😉 … but the point is well made CyB DID have character, it was root, rocky and techy and very natural in a challenging & interesting way. I learnt a lot riding there in the early days – the Adam descents were classics that are sadly no more. I have fond memories of cleaning the whole thing succesfully for the first time on my old Zaskar repleat with orange Z1 bombers… 🙂

The older you get the better it was 😥

CyB is a victim of its success and the old rooty and randomly rocky trails are not ‘sustainable’ with traffic levels as they are now (one could argue that trail sanitisation is a cause of this increased traffic, chicken and egg).

Definitely worth a visit to make your own mind up and…

…put the midge repellent on **before** opening up in the car park!! 🙂

Paul

ART – I see your Zaskar with Bombers, and raise you my green GT Outpost with Marzocchi Zokes Pros (not the later imitation non-zocchi Zokes either…) 😀

i feel like going back there.not been since 2003 🙂

I’m happy to concede that it’s still good fun, just that it’s been horrendously dumbed down from what it was. I’m sure if I rode there once a year or so I’d still enjoy that day. The point is that it’s not what it was, and especially given that it was the proper first trail centre in the UK, I find it a crying shame the way the FC have ‘taken it forward’.

My current use for the place is as a meeting venue as it’s exactly halfway between Aber and Bangor Universities – quite handy for project meetings over a coffee!

It’s interesting how perception differs and how time affects this, but the last time I was at CyB we rode the MBR and I remember thinking how rocky it was compared to the other trail centres I’d ridden (with the exception of Laggan) and even compared to how it was the time I ridden before (when the old cafe was open).