I ride at Afan about four times a week.

The rocky Shute is difficult, a few people I know and ride with struggle with it, including a friend of mine who broke his ribs on it.

Glad you found it ok to ride, however, it’s a bit beyond my skill set.

It’s the only section in all of the trails at Afan that I get off and walk down.

Nothing to do with the bike (as Lance once said….).

Thanks, looks like the angle headset will be coming off soon.

I”ll give it a few more rides, but it doesn’t seem to fit my style of riding.

I’ve got one fitted on my Chromag Wide Angle.

Using 160mm Pikes, the front wheel seems a very long way from the bars.

Might go back to a conventional headset, as I fear the front end doesn’t have enough load on it, and could wash out easier.

Interested in other people who might have felt the same way.

Yup are right about the recent dry weather, but if you think Whites descent is a bit rocky, then the final Blade descents of The Rock and Happy Life won’t be for you.

These sections are much rockier than any part of Whites or The Wall.

One option is to ride the climb out of Glyncorrwg, and ride out on the Blade trail.
Ride the Blade trail and continue all the way. , ride up through Groovy Gully ( this is on the return leg of The Blade trail.

On exiting Groovy Gully, you will be on the highest point of the trail, good views from this point (on a nice day……).

Ride along the Singletrack until you see a sign “The Rock”, if you turn down this section you will be on the final descent sections of The Blade.

Alternatively, just carry on on the Singletrack, this is the old Skyline descent.

You have two options if you ride this.

Not long after there is a set of rock steps, sign saying lower your saddle, once you have ridden down the steps there is a tight switchback, if you turn off this ( turn right), you can climb back up to Windy Point.

Climbing back up to Windy Point gives the option to ride virtually all downhill on the rest of Whites Trail.

Or , at the tight switchback, carry on down the Skyline descent, and instead of Happy Life, ride down Jet Lag, you are then on the Skyline descent.

Have a look on the trail map, this will then make a bit more sense (hopefully).

Either way have a good ride.

Have to agree, old Skyline descent being more enjoyable than the final Blade descent.

Mx’ers have caused quite a bit of damage on Ghost Train in particular.

The wooden gates had been torn down and the mx bikes have been reported to the local ranger.

Entrance gate has been repaired, and one particular section has been repaired.

The rocky Shute down to the stream however is very badly eroded by the mx bikes, and is virtually unrideable for most people.

Hi Alex,

To the best of my knowledge they were the stock 110mm as supplied by Trek with the bike.

However, I couldn’t get much more than 90mm ish of full travel out of them.

Perhaps they are designed to ramp up at the end of the travel to prevent bottoming out?

Dunno, but I quite liked them.

Hi Alex,

To the best of my knowledge they were the stock 110mm as supplied by Trek with the bike.

However, I couldn’t get much more than 90mm ish of full travel out of them.

Perhaps they are designed to ramp up at the end of the travel to prevent bottoming out?

Dunno, but I quite liked them.

Yep, Lauf forks.

But they tend to be fitted to the Vir Fortis Carbon fat bike these days.

Fat bike must weigh about 12 kilo now

dummbot

Think you’re missing the point here.

Generally it is a tad slower downhill, so I thought I would stay at the back , to my surprise I was a little faster but thought I would wait until the terrain got a little flatter where I would obviously have more speed.

Just be a little considerate not wanting to disrupt someone’s enjoyment riding downhill on a full sus vs me on the fat ebike ( doesn’t give any advantage on the downs).

Once on the flat, I thought I would ask to move over when convenient, ignored, then swore at and loads of grumbling…..

Doesn’t matter about the jibe for the electric motorbike, I genuinely don’t see what this has to do with the situation.

If I had been on either of my two human powered bikes then he would definitely have held me up.

Just out riding having a bit of fun.

martinhutch

Denis, you’re not the bloke I chatted with at Afan this summer, are you? Can’t think there’s that many fat e-bikes out there

Hi Martin,
Yes, that’ll be me around Afan

Grumpy trail rider.

In fairness, this person I met today on the trail is the only negative instance of trail hogging I have encounter.

Beginning of a descent and there are three riders in the distance, I begin to catch them up on the descent, not hand over fist, but steadily.
So, being a considerate old duffer that I am I keep riding behind them, at a sensible distance, but I’m close enough that he can hear the trail clatter etc.
He’s on a full sus bike, I’m on my hardtail ( for the haters it’s an ebike , and a fat ebike at that).

Trail turns to a level / flattish section so I politely ask if he could let me past.
He ignores this.
He ask again, he pulls over , and I say thanks.

Next thing he starts swearing at me, and grizzling about killing his momentum.

So I stop and ask him what’s the issue.

Complains that by stopping he lost his momentum.

So I tell him to. Chill, and I’ll let him and his buddies ride down the next section and wait.

Looks at me guilty and forlornly, probably cursing being caught up my an aging old duffer on a 21 kilo monster truck.

In the end I just carried on down the trail,

Never had any issues with anyone ever, people going faster than me are always asked if they want to pass, no issue, no fuss.

If we are really concerned about erosion then perhaps we should stop riding full stop.

We could ban stop those pesky walkers as well, must be loads of them causingerosion as well………

We seem to be having a weekly thread about the evil ebikes now, perhaps it should be a forum sticky thread……

Almost forgot about the cars and road building causing environmental issues, not to mention the erosion caused by building new roads…..

Come on, it’s not the biggest problem out there,

The skyline descent is still there, instead of turning left down The Rock, carry straight on the trail.

Follow the trail and you will come to the first set of steps. This then leads to the section that picks up part of the common Blade and Skyline descent.

After the gate that arrives on the fire road, there is a gate here.

Turn left to follow the Blade (Happy Life), or just go straight on to follow the Skyline descent.

Not too many people ride the Skyline descent these days, which is a pity, as it is much more of a flowing trail, and slightly easier compared to the Blade descent.

Blade for me, hardly any fire road sections to talk about.

Ghost Train is being cut up a bit by Moto crossers riding in there, only two parts ( very short), have been cut up badly.

W2 is also very good, bit more fire road climbs though.

Can’t go wrong with either really.

I have a Vir Fortis, you won’t regret it.

Lovely bike, very light, amazes everyone when they want to lift it up.

Felt Lebowske e fat bike here.

I went for a fat bike as it would offer some compliance with the fat tyres, and the additional drag associated with fat bikes wouldn’t matter with the e motor.

Can be a bit of a handful on fast descents, all that weight and big fat tyres take a firm handful of brakes.

ESI

I know it’s tv, but I’m waiting for the day when one of the candidates stands up to Sir…..Alan Sugar and his caustic comments.

Wouldn’t work for anyone who has his attitude.

Yes, Vir Fortis.

Changed the stock wheels out and fitted the Lauf forks.

Lovely, light and excellent geometry for general trail riding.

Front brake hose on the outside of the fork leg.

My son now lives in Santiago, has done for the last two years.

Valparaiso is his favourite place, Santiago is just for work.

Plan on going out soon to spend some time there.

Dumbbot

You mean the environmentally friendly internal combustion engines that roll up at all the trail centres across the UK with mountain bikes in tow……

Not more trail damage than an normal bike, in fact some of the fastest riders uphill are probably causing more erosion.

Who is Rik? Is he some sort of police God who will dictate who rides where and when?

It’s just riding a bike and having some fun, perhaps we need to have some form of ration on an individual’s fun these days.

ajantom – Member
But why? It’s a lot of money for something that you don’t need (obviously most of us don’t really need any of our bikes, but you know what I mean) Why the need for electric assist if you can ride a normal bike. Admit it, I bet you feel that you’re cheating just a little bit when you’re on it

Afew reasons, probably why more people are getting ebikes.
Firstly, I have a bit of pain and strength issues with my left thigh after riding around Afan. Ride from my house to the trails, usually 30 miles in total with about 3,000 ft of climbing.
the next day I wouldn’t be able to ride due to my lack of strength.
Being retired now, I can go for a ride on the ebike quite easily.

Secondly
My wife can ride the ebike and I can ride the normal bike, this way we can both get out and enjoy the ride together.

Thirdly.
Its nice to be able to go further and explore some off piste without having to slog up some of the steeper climbs.

Fourthly
I don’t feel like its cheating, but it does feel good to ride like i was some 40 years ago. Nice cadence uphill and the climbs become very different when you have a degree of speed, as opposed to my slogging away.

Jeez, quite a few opinionated views on here……

Not a real mountain biker – whatever that is.

Take the piss out of someone on an ebike………

so, lets get this right then.

Uplift days, well I suppose thats cheating.
Taking the bike to the trail centre, thats ok I suppose, its not cheating by taking the environmentally unfriendly internal combustion engine to ride your bike around the trails.
Not in keeping with the sport of mountain biking, although most people don’t race anyway. They just want a bit of fun on their bikes.

I understand that alot of folk have to take a car to get out and ride, thats fine, it means they ride more often and have fun.
I understand the uplift days, they are out having fun riding their bikes.
You still have to pedal the ebike both uphill (with assistance), but downhill the assistance cuts out and if anything its a slight hindrance due to added mass.

The key thing is out riding, different strokes for different folks.

Everyone is out riding their bikes and having their sort of fun.

By the way, I ride both sorts of bike.
Ebike and a normal bike.

Suppose that makes me only half a real mountain biker.

+1 martymac

I think part of the issue is when people call it a sport.

Racing , yes, sport, training well yes.

I ride my bikes , any bike for fun really. I don’t class it as sport but recreational exercise.

Often just stop somewhere with a nice view in the sunshine and have a read of my Kindle.

Each to their own, honestly, I don’t mind anyone racing or training, they are riding and having a different challenge and type of fun.

I’ve got an ebike ( fat bike) and a normal fat bike ( pedal powered).

Enjoy both, for me it’s just about getting out on either bike and having some fun.

Technology just keeps on advancing.

Front suspension made it easier.
Full suspension made it easier.
Carbon frames made it lighter and somewhat easier…….

If we were just concerned about having a workout, then I suppose a draggy normal fat bike should be the ticket.

It ain’t cheating, or riding a moped, it’s just going out and having a laugh on your bike. Sure it makes climbing easier, and if I was 25 again, that would make it easier, but I’m not.

Just going out for some riding around Afan in the sun on my ebike now.

Have a look at the Sonder Vir Fortis, sold by Alpkit.

I bought one recently, very close to your budget, carbon fram, 1 X 11 SRAM, guide brakes, Jumbo Jim tyres.

You won’t get far riding in Turbo mode.

Turbo drains the battery very quickly, and then you are left with a flat battery. Haven’t tried to work out the range in Turbo, but can’t be more than 10 miles off road.

I usually ride in Eco for about 85% of the time, only time turbo gets used is on the sharp climb on Tarmac back to my house.

I have a 500 watt battery, and the range is about 35 miles off road.
Turbo will severely restrict the range, as will the other increased power options.

Eco is like being 25 again

My uphill speed is not that much greater than some of the faster bike riders to be honest.

It just makes it easier.

For instance, the Skyline climb out of Glyncorrwg is achievable by young fit fast riders in about 30 minutes, that the same as I can manage on the ebike with a little bit of effort.

Therefore, in reality I just become quite fast at climbing if I put my mind to it. It is still an effort to go this fast for me, just makes climbing a bit easier if I don’t push too hard.

I bought the ebike in order to ride more.

Riding a normal bike takes it out of me in terms of climbing really. I’m fine for everything else, but I get a pain in my left thigh which restricts my riding. I wouldn’t be able to ride the next day.

I went out yesterday on the normal bike for 25 miles, and the ebike for another 25 today.
Feels good to get out more often.

Tomorrow will be a day off the bike, probably ride the normal bike on Wednesday again.

Allows me to ride more often, sometimes further.
But I enjoy both of the bikes, just riding and being out.

How many people responding have actually ridden an ebike?

I have just got back in from a ride around Afan, about 25 miles, and can assure you that I am a little tired and feel as though I have been riding a bike off road.

It just increases your climbing speed dependant on the level of assist you choose.
Climbing is still quite a challenge , but in a different manner.

We have had solar panels for the last three years.

Installation cost was £7000 for a 4kw system, with a device which also heats the water during the day.

Our electricity bill has dropped by about £200 a year.

We usually get paid about £800 a year tax free from the FIT.

This year has been the worst of the three years in terms of energy generated, the sun seems to have gone away.

I look at it this way.

I’ve spent the £7000, and if I had bought a more expensive car, then that money would have depreciated and the car would be losing value and costing me money.

At least this way , my £7000 is providing me with approx £1000 of income each year.
I’m happy with it.

Well I have a normal bike and an ebike.

I ride both.

I’m not buying fitness with the ebike, I’m buying a bike that allows me to go out and ride and enjoy trail riding.

Both are fat bikes, so I’m definitely not trying to be the fastest up the hill all the time.

In fact I’m off out on the ebike right now, it allows me to get out more often as I can’t ride the normal bike 2 days in a row as I suffer with some strength issues.

I don’t see what all the fuss is about, went to Bike Park Wales on the ebike and rode up and down all day. Some folk said I was cheating – then they climbed into the uplift bus……..

You do have to ride, you do have to pedal, in fact my riding on the ebike is only about 10 beats per minute lower.

Bless, I’m off out having fun.

Here’s my e fat bike, I like the look of it, and it always draws alot of comments.

Might not be what you call good looking though.

£4K replacement battery on a 10 year old car isn’t my idea of fun.

During those 10 years the range keeps decreasing also.

In 10 years time the battery technology will have moved on a long way.

The car would be obsolete really with no value the anyone.

Brand new Surly Nate,mshould rename as Wizards Sleeve.

Just put a used Maxxis Mammoth on the same wheel, and it inflated first time with the Airshot.

Leaf range is more like 80 miles with a brand new battery in real time driving.

This gets worse with age, temperature dropping and any extended motorway driving greater than 60 miles per hour.

I’d love to buy one, just doesn’t make sense at the moment.

Yeah, I’m close to giving up really.

The inner diameter of the tyre is much larger than the outside of the rim. The tyre literally falls off.

Running a tube doesn’t seem sensible given that in the event of a puncture the tyre will probably roll off.