as i struggle on most climbs i was just thinking what trail centre has the toughest climb. my local is cwmcarn being just down the road from me and the middle section of the climb sould destroyed me a few yrs ago and now i got a bigger bike i never do it and hit the road up to car park 1 (i think)
just wondered where do u guys struggle too

I was going to suggest the tram road out of Talybont on Usk, over the canal and up past the reservoir.
This is STW though, so like you say, that won’t do, it’s not a trail centre.

thats a bastard too lol

Only ridden Scottish trail centres, and there’s hardly any baw-busting climbs on the waymarked routes. Understandably, they don’t tend to be popular features. There’s plenty of unpleasant, hard-working grinds, mind – but few of the ‘I’m only getting up this 6 times out of ten’ real bastids. I’ve heard Golspie has a nasty one, but haven’t ridden up there myself.

Glentress and Innerleethen are both built on steepish hills, so there’s plenty of punishing climbs off the beaten track. As far as the waymarked routes go, at GT, slightly off the black route, if you go down to the white house in Shieldgreen there’s a track that climbs up to meet the black climb to the radiomast. Doing this in a oner straight up the hiking trail to the mast would be brutal.

Climbing up to the DH start at Innerliethen is tough at the end – series of steep switchbacks that would have most people walking.

Getting the tandem up the climb to spooky woods – its a series of hairpins and although we have got round every one we have never made the whole thing without a dab somewhere in a dozen or so attempts

Not the toughest climb out there but the Syfydrin trail at Nant-yr-Arian left me disgusted. A massive fire road slog that pretty much ends with the trail centre car park.
What should be standard procedure is to start at the bottom to warm up your legs with a climb, finish at the bottom with a grin from the last decent.

old leg burn and nant is a nice too

Here’s the top 100 toughest road climbs in the UK

from this book

I did No2 on the sunday club run last week and it nearly killed me.. 1 in 4 in places

Doh! i obviously can’t read.. Missed the ‘trail centre’ bit

bowderdale up to the calf

I’ll second the Brinore Tramway up out of Usk if your doing the Gap.It just goes on for ever and ever.

The climb that nearly broke my spirit was out of kinlochleven heading for Loch Eilde Mor. Tandem fully laden with comfy campy kit and a few day s food. Just hours of grinding away in granny gears then near the top it gets steeper and rougher . I was buckled

Brechfa Black route has a steep climb which is fairly hard. Harder than Cwmcarn anyway. I seem to remember Coed y Brenin having a few hard climbs as well?

I think the whole point of trail centres is that they are rideable, so I don’t think you will find anything that is too extreme.

GT black has a tough granny ring section, Dumyat from Blairlogie has a very tough section in the road bit and on the way up later. Golspie has a very tough section ‘lactic ladder’ which is not too steep but you have to lift the front wheel up steps.

GT Black has the longest/steepest climbs of the 7 Stanes. Not really technically challenging and they’re all doable on a middle ring; but crikey do they feel like they go on forever.

I’ve heard Golspie has a nasty one, but haven’t ridden up there myself.

Aye, that’ll be the “Lactic Ladder” I’ve not managed to “clean” it yet, even with a rest prior to starting it. 😥 Anyone else managed it without dabbing or stopping ❓

D.

Inners push up track bottom to top is a nasty piece of work. As is the road that goes straight up from the hairpin bend on the way up to buzzards nest, up past the right hand side of the freeride area to the quarry then takes a left and a right and ends up at the top of spooky wood.

Heartbreak hill at Kirroughtree is the worst I can remember from the 7Stanes – not technical, just steep and it comes just after you’ve cooled down from playing about at McMoab so you have to get back in the right mindset. The descent afterwards more than makes up for it though.

The tarmac climb after the café at Coed y Brenin is also a killer, more so if you’ve had a long and hefty lunch stop. It *is* a shortcut though, and at least it’s relatively short.

There’s a really steep climb at CyB just before (I think) False Teeth which gets me coughing up a lung.

Heading North out of Abergavenny, at 50m, through Mynydd Ddu to the end of the dead end lane at 400m (via the bridleway if you want a bit more off road), then up past Grwyne Vawr reservoir to nearly 700m is a bit of a challenge. 😉

Where does the road climb up to Hartside out of the Eden valley come in that book? That’s a fun climb, seemed to go on forever as well. My support drivers were watching from the cafe and claimed i ‘flew’ up it. Certainly didn’t feel that way to me!

Good steep road climb up towards longridge fell as well in Lancs, was a bit that had me standing on the pedals with the bars nearly in my chest..

Not cleaned Lactic Ladder – you need to try harder.

Tried twice, cleaned twice. Just to show it was not a fluke. Was the only one out of ten though

Smith’s Combe climb-out. Snaps did it on Sunday. Chapeau!

Lactic ladder. End of thread. I have yet to clean it but have gotten v close with just the slightest of dabs. I’ll have it ticked off this year. NyA and CyB have nothing in its class. If you ended up at the carpark after the Leg Burner you went the wrong way! I think NyA has the climb/descent positioning just about right, there’s lots of both but not all in one go.

Cleaned lactic ladder quite a few times but the legburner at Nant y was the closest I’ve come to bonking, for those that haven’t done it, it’s not the least bit technical, just a fireroad slog but I think it’s because it was towards the end of quite long ride. To this day I don’t remember getting back to the car.

can only talk from an SS point of view as i dont tend to take gears to trail centres but lactic ladder was a huge let down when it came to toughness.

the inners push up trail smee mentions is a toughy though !

as is the full Lazy K at fort bill

Ae from the bridge after Grannie Green Luvs loose & Steep with a nasty rock section to finish when you legs are burning

Lactic Ladder is probably my favorite trail centre climb as it’s loads of fun. Did it first time without stopping but I did dab a couple of times here and there 😛 It is challenging though.

Always find the climb out of Deliverance on the GT black trail a proper grinder.

Not that tough in fitness terms, but needed a bit of technique for the stone steps at Balblair..

Going up “Dreghorn Drop” in the Pentlands is quite brutal. It is right on the edge of being ridable, but eroded gulleys in the middle of the road, plus steep incline and loose surface, conspire to break your will. Don’t think I’d have a chance now I have gone 1×9, but I did not too badly when I had my granny, still lost it at the bend / steepest bit.

the road that goes straight up from the hairpin bend on the way up to buzzards nest, up past the right hand side of the freeride area to the quarry then takes a left and a right and ends up at the top of spooky wood.

A mate cleared that on a single speed in 2:1… I was breathing out my ass in granny gear :-/

The right hand side of the freeride area ^ is no more (The steeper one) trashed to make way for new trail 🙁 so i guess you’ll get a breather now 😀

Lactic ladder at Golspie is fairly easy if you’re fit.

On the road Hardknott pass, 1 in 3, horrible.
On the mtb, a rocky climb in the lakes from Ambleside.

I’m going to get that greatest climbs book, love climbing 🙂

I’ve never found the leg burner @ nanty arian that tough, long but not that tough. There’s a short switch backed climb at penmachno where, in the wet, i was sliding back down faster than i was peddling up.

also i find the start of whites always gives me rotten cramp, which makes the rest of the climb most unpleasant.

Funny isn’t it how we’re all different. I think the legburner is a piece of cake. I’ve ridden the whole Syfindrin trail a couple of times without stopping at all save maybe a couple of gates. To me it’s a non issue but the LL requires fitness and technique. My lungs are bursting when I’ve finished it. I’d forgotten about the Balblair staircase thing as well. That is quite tough.

Tal y Maes aka Hermitage in the Black Mountains is fun. For trail centres, hardest I’ve done is definitely Cwmcarn. Difficult to do without a dab nowadays since it’s eroding a lot.

I’m going to get that greatest climbs book, love climbing

take a look here…

The climb that nearly broke my spirit was out of kinlochleven heading for Loch Eilde Mor. Tandem fully laden with comfy campy kit and a few day s food. Just hours of grinding away in granny gears then near the top it gets steeper and rougher . I was buckled

Good call. It’s all rideable but sections of very loose rock keep you on your toes. The descent back down (singletrack) is the one of the best. Singletrack with 3/4 variants all the way down, good for racing your mates as the trails all cross over each other! Rocky , rooty ya beauty!

At a trail centre the only climb I have ever had an issue with is the short concrete ramp at Cwm Carn. I know it can be ridden just never seem to get it right.

For trail centres, hardest I’ve done is definitely Cwmcarn.

Agree with Matt that the climb on Brechfa black is harder. Also agree that by their nature trail centres are designed to be rideable by most, so tend not to have any particularly crazy climbs.