North Wales Trail Centres
Discussion
I've got a driving weekend in North Wales planned with a few friends later in the year and as a few of us are into mountain biking we thought we could hire bikes one afternoon and have a blast around one of the trail centres - but which one? Llandegna and Coed Y Brenin look like the good bets, but is there anywhere else I shoud be looking?
The group is pretty mixed ability, a few of us are used to red routes at Cannock/Sherwood, but some have never been to a trail centre and some haven't been on a bike for 10 years, but want to see what all the fuss is about. I'm not sure that dragging beginners round a red route straight off is good for anyone, so somewhere with both blue and red trails might be best.
The group is pretty mixed ability, a few of us are used to red routes at Cannock/Sherwood, but some have never been to a trail centre and some haven't been on a bike for 10 years, but want to see what all the fuss is about. I'm not sure that dragging beginners round a red route straight off is good for anyone, so somewhere with both blue and red trails might be best.
Llandegla and CyB are like chalk and cheese IMO.
Coed is an Old School Trail Centre (not surprising as it was the first in the UK) rocky trails, natural obstacles like roots, rocks and streams.
Llandegla is very New School, so it's an XC loop punctuated by Bike Park style stuff, smooth and flowy and most obstacles are man made, table tops, doubles, 'north shore' etc.
I love both of them, if you've got a mixed group Llandegla might be a better bet, it technically has 4 trails Green, Blue, Red and Black - but in reality it's one trail with different skilled options - Red and Black follow each other quite closely so if one group goes red and one black you can spilt and regroup as you go along.
Coed is an Old School Trail Centre (not surprising as it was the first in the UK) rocky trails, natural obstacles like roots, rocks and streams.
Llandegla is very New School, so it's an XC loop punctuated by Bike Park style stuff, smooth and flowy and most obstacles are man made, table tops, doubles, 'north shore' etc.
I love both of them, if you've got a mixed group Llandegla might be a better bet, it technically has 4 trails Green, Blue, Red and Black - but in reality it's one trail with different skilled options - Red and Black follow each other quite closely so if one group goes red and one black you can spilt and regroup as you go along.
I'm 9 miles from Deggie.
I often do a red and then a blue, two runs up the hill and two decents.
Red is a mix of flowing single track mixed with some technical features, the blue is straight up and straight down.
Once that's done, the cafe is a nice place to relax, and they do some decent grub and cakes!
I often do a red and then a blue, two runs up the hill and two decents.
Red is a mix of flowing single track mixed with some technical features, the blue is straight up and straight down.
Once that's done, the cafe is a nice place to relax, and they do some decent grub and cakes!
I'd say Llandegla too echoling the comments below. Its a nice gentle warm up, mostly climbing gently for about 3 miles which is a good stretch and should get everyone going. You then have the red/black or blue routes back to the trail head. The red route is all roll-able and there are no really big drops to catch anyone taking too much speed in, its a lot of fun and will increase confidence. The black options are pretty much rideable too but will punish a little easier. Personally the cafe at Llandegla is better too though not by much.
As much as I love CyB, from memory it throws you in at the rougher end very early on and that can be a bit of a confidence breaker for those who havent ridden a bike in a while as it could sour the rest of the day. The terrain is different too, as others have said CyB is quite rocky where as Llandegla is a bit more "landscaped".
Be very wary of leaving your bike unlocked and unguarded at either place though, its a thieving scumbags paradise....
As much as I love CyB, from memory it throws you in at the rougher end very early on and that can be a bit of a confidence breaker for those who havent ridden a bike in a while as it could sour the rest of the day. The terrain is different too, as others have said CyB is quite rocky where as Llandegla is a bit more "landscaped".
Be very wary of leaving your bike unlocked and unguarded at either place though, its a thieving scumbags paradise....
pablo said:
As much as I love CyB, from memory it throws you in at the rougher end very early on and that can be a bit of a confidence breaker for those who havent ridden a bike in a while as it could sour the rest of the day. The terrain is different too, as others have said CyB is quite rocky where as Llandegla is a bit more "landscaped".
If you havent been in the last 9 months, a lot has changed. really catering from everything from almost tarmac smooth trails right up to the big rocky trails. 
Went with a similar mixed group 15 odd years ago so much has changed since then but we had an absolute blast.
Stayed in a farmhouse near one of the trails and rode for probably 6-7 hours a day for 4 days.
Dafydd Davis and his wife ran the centre back then and we had a great chat in the cafe with them after each outing.
He gave us a great 'unofficial' route for the 3rd day, one of the best days MTBing I've even had.
Stayed in a farmhouse near one of the trails and rode for probably 6-7 hours a day for 4 days.
Dafydd Davis and his wife ran the centre back then and we had a great chat in the cafe with them after each outing.
He gave us a great 'unofficial' route for the 3rd day, one of the best days MTBing I've even had.
That's a s
tter, I seem to recall that all the trails at CYB start with the same rock-garden / trail straight out of the gate, it's not an easy start.
I wouldn't recommend Antur Stiniog next time, was there last weekend, it's a massive rock covered in slightly smaller rocks - it's great fun on a big bike, but Geeee-us it's hard work!
tter, I seem to recall that all the trails at CYB start with the same rock-garden / trail straight out of the gate, it's not an easy start.I wouldn't recommend Antur Stiniog next time, was there last weekend, it's a massive rock covered in slightly smaller rocks - it's great fun on a big bike, but Geeee-us it's hard work!
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