Newbie may have biten off more than he can chew HELP

Kelster3000

Hi I am 29 and new to MTB' I have a Specialized Hard rock sport and in three months I have a weekend booked at the Afan Forest in Wales, have I boten off more than I can chew, will my bike or more importantly me survive???? what can I do to prepare for it? both physically and work that my bike may need,

Many thanks

Chris

gibbonsimon

You'll be fine. I would suggest starting out on Penhydd. Then possibly the wall then white, but not all in one day!!

elscorcho

Hey Chris

The bike you have is a good quality mountain bike and provided it is working well when go to Afan Forest it should cope well.

I have checked the details of the trails at Afan Forest in Wales where you are heading in three months. I see that three of the trails are graded red meaning difficult and one at black meaning severe!

What you need to do is go to your local trail and start on the green graded trail which is graded easy and the place to start off as a beginner. I would recommend you keep going round the green grade on your bike. Your experience, fitness, confidence and mountain biking skill will increase.

Once the green grade begins to feel easy you should move onto a blue graded rail which is graded as moderate difficulty. Before you go to Afan Forest you should have checked out a red grade trail so that you understand the increase in difficulty from blue to red which I found to be quite a big increase! If you can a red trail this will help you increase your skill etc to a higher level and be great preparation for your trip to Afan Forest.

Some mountain bike trails have a skills area which can give you an idea of what to expect from a blue grade, red grade and black graded area e.g. Mabie Forest, Dumfries has such a skills area!

Kelster3000

Thanks so much, elscorchio, great advice, I have been on a couple of trails and have clocked up about 50 miles of trail riding in my area, so I have a helmet and paded shorts, a camelback, and glasess, so I look the part, the short have seriously save my butt, Spd pedals and shoes, In regards to fittness I gave up smoking about ten weeks ago, but I find that I can do about 10 miles before I want to die! Ha

I think I have definately caught the bug; however it is shocking how expensive this is, a decent fork costs more than two Hard Rocks!!!! :shock: I live in Essex so hills are non existent compared to Wales, I was concerned with down hills and technical bits (What ever that means!!!!?????)

Cheshley

elscorcho wrote:

Before you go to Afan Forest you should have checked out a red grade trail so that you understand the increase in difficulty from blue to red which I found to be quite a big increase!

I agree with this, the difference between the Blue and Red routes at Dalby Forest is hooooge, both in terms of distance and skill level needed and no amount of riding the Blue route will give you the skills to ride the Red route confidently.

Turveyd38

Just make sure you've got some 2.3"+ tyres fitted that are suitable and you'll be fine.

counterculture

just keep going out on your bike, get in as much experience as possible, thats the best preparation, regardless to what anyone says, do what your comfortable doing when you go to afan, and if bits are a bit hairy then you just walk it, might piss some folk off if your holding them up but no sense in hurting yourself due to inexperience and ruining it for everyone

elscorcho

Hi Chris if a mountain biker refers to a section of a trail as technical he or maybe even she means a section that is difficult to ride due to tree roots, rocks, berms and so on!

As counterculture has suggested if you come to a section that you are not comfortable with just get off and push your bike past that section and don't be embarrased to have to do this! If you are going downhill and it feels too much for you put on the brakes a bit to make things a bit easier! There are a few parts of the red graded trail at Mabie Forest, Dumfries that I have to get off and push because one bit looks too much for me and another part is a long, steep uphil sectionl which I can't manage to get to the top off!

Not smoking is a good idea in general as well as for mountain biking which requires good lungs!

There are videos of Afan Forest on youtube and it would be a good idea to check out some of those before your trip!

P-Jay

Turveyd38 wrote:

Just make sure you've got some 2.3"+ tyres fitted that are suitable and you'll be fine.

Nutter, it's not a DH track. 2.3 should be the VERY max you consider on an XC course, and then be prepared to take every corner flat out to keep your speed up.

P-Jay

Kelster3000 wrote:

Hi I am 29 and new to MTB' I have a Specialized Hard rock sport and in three months I have a weekend booked at the Afan Forest in Wales, have I boten off more than I can chew, will my bike or more importantly me survive???? what can I do to prepare for it? both physically and work that my bike may need,

Many thanks

Chris

Hiya mate, you'll be fine. As mentioned, try Penhydd first it's a sweet trail that's perfect for Newbies, there's nothing there that'll kill you, but if you keep it pinned it really rewards. There's a few very small drops, no more than a large kerb, the odd root and some jumps, but you need to really nail them to get off the ground.

Like you, me and my happy band of riding buddies started in our late twenties and Penhydd was the first man-made trial we rode, one of use even had a Hard Rock.

If you're there for the weekend, try the Wall or Whites on day two, the wall is a tough old nut with a lot of climbing, but one of the best descents anywhere, the last KM or so can be tricky in bad weather because it's muddy and in pretty dense forrest so pretty dark, but other wise it's awesome.

White is very tough if you're not used to it, both up and down. Stay off the black run if you're new, it can really bite and the final descent is fast and rocky with unaviodable drops and little rock steps, but very ridable at slow speed.

guilliano

I'm neither the fittest or most technically gifted MTBer around, but I spent a couple of days at Afan and loved every second. I found Penhydd to be the easiest of the trails I rode there and as others have said it is a great introduction to the place. Great variety of trails and they all end at a fire road so you can stop, take a breather and reflect on the last section before you go on to the next. There was nothing there that I couldn't ride and it inspires speed and confidence. Taken slowly it will take you 3 hours, meaning you have time to grab some lunch and then maybe tackle The Wall afterwards, then Whites the next day at the opposite end of the valley.

In preparation I'd say make sure you have a decent windstopper (there are some very exposed sections), plenty of food with you and a decent set of grippy XC tyres..... Kenda Nevegals are a good neutral choice, Conti Speedkings roll really well and Hutchison El Toros are a good all rounder. I rode there on Bontrager Mud X tyres and wished I'd had something a bit bigger (2.1 or 2.2 is perfect). If you are prone to crashing into stuff or coming off a pair of soft knee pads is also a good choice.... 661 Veggie are good value... as I had never ridden rocky terrain before (I'm in The Chilterns so I have nothing but mud and roots).

Kelster3000

Thanks excellent adviceI went out yesterday with the guys (All much fitter than me, and faster) and covered 25 miles all xc, it was massively tough, however it has given me a better idea of where I have to get to fittness wise, I found that my tyres really did not help me, (Fast Track - Specialised) so they will get changed, in addition I really want to shed some wieght, I have to date removed my reflectors! and bought new quick release pins, but I am actually getting quite excited by Wales! other than the uphill bits!