Marin Trail is rubbish

pilsburypie

Just got back from 2 days in Wales. Fantastic weather, perfect in my book. Yesterday did the obligatory Coed-y-brenin.... rode the Beast which is damn near 40km. Hard riding but has just what I like, great downs, great features and makes you grin from ear to ear. You sure have to earn them on the long slog up!

Today did the Marin trail. What a let down. Fire road up, fire road down, then up, then down..... small bit of trail then fire road, fire road, fire road. On a few occasions we came down fire road only to then be cycling up great singletrack - almost like we were going the wrong way. Don't get me wrong, there are some real fun bits, but they are few and far between with so much hard earned slog up just wasted coming down fire road.

Previously done Penmachno, Llandegla and found them all great...... Marin is just not my cup of tea.

Rant over

welshkev

i posted a very similar post when i rode the marin last year

popstar

Marin trail is good, when you introduce new riders into sport. My wife liked it a lot.

welshkev

popstar wrote:

Marin trail is good, when you introduce new riders into sport. My wife liked it a lot.

TBH

looking back it's not that bad, i'd ride it again, i just much prefer other places

mtbgus

Marin trail is one of the best man made trails in North Wales, as is Penmachno.

I myself never really ride the manmade trails, North Wales is littered with amazing natural riding, Snowdonia, The Clwyds, Conwy Mountain etc. etc. the list goes on and on. This is what mtbing is about, do yourself a favour and next time you come to wonderful North Wales get away from the trail centre and into the real mountains.

welshkev

mtbgus wrote:

Marin trail is one of the best man made trails in North Wales, as is Penmachno.

I myself never really ride the manmade trails, North Wales is littered with amazing natural riding, Snowdonia, The Clwyds, Conwy Mountain etc. etc. the list goes on and on. This is what mtbing is about, do yourself a favour and next time you come to wonderful North Wales get away from the trail centre and into the real mountains.

utter rubbish!!!!

but i do agree with the natural riding thing, it's just trail centres are a quick and easy fix. i ride a mix of natural and 'manmade' stuff down here.

mtbgus

welshkev wrote:

mtbgus wrote:

Marin trail is one of the best man made trails in North Wales, as is Penmachno.

I myself never really ride the manmade trails, North Wales is littered with amazing natural riding, Snowdonia, The Clwyds, Conwy Mountain etc. etc. the list goes on and on. This is what mtbing is about, do yourself a favour and next time you come to wonderful North Wales get away from the trail centre and into the real mountains.

utter rubbish!!!!

but i do agree with the natural riding thing, it's just trail centres are a quick and easy fix. i ride a mix of natural and 'manmade' stuff down here.

Each to their own, I personally think Penmachno and more so The Marin have bedded in over the years and now give a more natural ride than the smooth and very false feeling Degla (fun though it might be now and again). CyB has good trails but still has a big manmade feel to it.

elPedro666

popstar wrote:

Marin trail is good, when you introduce new riders into sport. My wife liked it a lot.

Really, my missus hated it!

For the same reasons as the OP really - all that damn fireroad :x and the down are a brutally rocky in places for a newbie, especially in the (almost inevitable) wet, so she never really felt the payback. Except the last section (after the trail crosses itself) which she loved - we should have just done the mini loop a few times! Really not a trail I'd have recommended for a new starter - anyone else have thoughts on this?

Have to say I quite like it though, although it maybe doesn't match up to CyB you have to think it is a much younger trail, CyB has had years to mature now. Although you could argue being newer it should benefit from experience elsewhere... :?

I'm a big advocate of getting out into the hills 'proper', but the beauty of a trail centre to me is that if you only have a day or two to ride somewhere you don't know, you can be sure you're going to get a good ride, regardless of conditions etc.

welshkev

mtbgus wrote:

welshkev wrote:

Each to their own, I personally think Penmachno and more so The Marin have bedded in over the years and now give a more natural ride than the smooth and very false feeling Degla (fun though it might be now and again). CyB has good trails but still has a big manmade feel to it.

if you mean a manmade trail that feels natural then, yes i agree. i rode it on my own one evening last summer, i was the only car in the car park and i was thinking if i come off here and something happens noone walking their dog will accidentally find me

but as in manmade trail full stop, i'd disagree

Thewaylander

To be fair it is a lump of crap.

Ride natural trails and trail centers here, and its shoddy. might aswell ride on road for most of it :S if i was in the area ride pen, maybe do a few loops of that last jumpy downhill that was good.

Anonymous

mtbgus wrote:

Marin trail is one of the best man made trails in North Wales, as is Penmachno.

Complete Gibberish. Marin trail is just cack. I use it as a rough barometer of fitness, and that's about it.

Whereas the Penmachno trail is quite possibly the finest mountain bike trail anywhere on the planet.

ratty2k

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Whereas the Penmachno trail is quite possibly the finest mountain bike trail anywhere on the planet.

Now I know you're taking the piss! Missing out the 'new' loop makes it a bit more entertaining, but its a bit dull....

sniper68

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Whereas the Penmachno trail is quite possibly the finest mountain bike trail in Penmachno.

I actually like Penmachno.As TC's go it's OK if a bit "Pedally" Having said that if you go on a pi$$-poor day it can be a bit of a slog :?

The Marin is what it is,not the best but nowhere near the worst :?

shx8000

Yeehaamcgee: why are your posts always so rude, if someone Point of view differs to your own?

Thewaylander

Just the way he is, Ignore it and accept that sometimes he is funny and other times rude as hell and read what he is trying to say

darren555

Ive done the Marin a few times and won't be rushing back. Yes the scenery is great but I remember it mainly for endless fireroad climbs (and descents!) with no payback.
Some bits are good but they are over too quickly and you are back on another fireroad climb.
Llandegla does feel very man made compared to it (but still more fun) and CyB is far far better.

Anonymous

shx8000 wrote:

Yeehaamcgee: why are your posts always so rude, if someone Point of view differs to your own?

Rude? What? You must have very thin skin, or not heard of "banter". I said "Gibberish". Hardly offensive.

dan shard

Never done the marin but I can HIGHLY recommend Nant Yr Arian to anyone. The 35k route that we did incorporates manmade single track and loads of natural stuff. Some epic descents and a great Cafe too

TBH I really dont understand how any trail can be rubbish, trails are what you make of them. My commute to work is 22miles on road and along a canal toe path and I enjoy it every time I do it. Every speed hump is a table top, every curb is a drop off every set of stairs is a technical descent. If you find any part of mtb'ing boring then maybe its time to move on

Anonymous

dan shard wrote:

TBH I really dont understand how any trail can be rubbish, trails are what you make of them. My commute to work is 22miles on road and along a canal toe path and I enjoy it every time I do it. Every speed hump is a table top, every curb is a drop off every set of stairs is a technical descent. If you find any part of mtb'ing boring then maybe its time to move on

I see what you mean. But that's finding fun in "the little things". What I don't like about the Marin is that is was specifically designed as an MTB trail, yet it contains very little of interest - you'd be far better off just riding in the back country.

shx8000

I've not ridden the Marin trail, but it sounds like something tgat those with good fitness levels but limited technical ability might enjoy.

stubs

Marin is one of the original dedicated MTB trails. When it opened we all thought Mountain Bike Heaven had just landed in North Wales all the MTB mags raved over it and the place was rammed and you couldnt find a camping site for miles that wasnt full of sweaty bikers all raving about the place.

Its never changed really trails have got hundreds of times better since and designers know what makes bikers go whoop.

Everyone should ride it at least once just to realise how things used to be when mountain biking was the preserve of a few weirdos and people used to look at you riding your bike off road like you had 2 heads.

Anonymous

stubs wrote:

when mountain biking was the preserve of a few weirdos

Is anyone else nostalgic for those times?
The average skill level seemed much higher back then. I remember back in the very early days of the Coedy caff, there used to be all kind of impromptu trials shows and all sorts in the car parks. Silly little competitions about who could do the most linked 180 endos and so on.
Happy days

pilsburypie

dan shard wrote:

TBH I really dont understand how any trail can be rubbish, trails are what you make of them. My commute to work is 22miles on road and along a canal toe path and I enjoy it every time I do it. Every speed hump is a table top, every curb is a drop off every set of stairs is a technical descent. If you find any part of mtb'ing boring then maybe its time to move on

Pppppfff. Sounds a bit patronising. You must be some Walter Mitty. Sure I like riding, but my commute to work serves only for fitness and I don't get much of a hard on from speed bumps or kerbs. When I ride, in my limited spare time, I want maximum bang for my buck, and no fire road trail or 4" kerb stone is gonna get me sprung.

Do I find mountain biking boring? No, not on decent rides, off piste or trail centres. Did I find the Marin boring? Yes...... So if mountain biking was all at Marin standard or commuting levels of fun then I probably would jack it in. But heegh, those bits are low points for me and there is plenty more that does keep me hooked.

dan shard

Its neither patronising nor walter mitty. I'm constantly hearing heroes talking about how rubbish a trail centre is as if to say they are so good that this lowly trail cant possibly excite them. I find it rather pathetic. I go to llandegla at every opportunity and often choose to do the blue twice rather than do the black, and I can have as much fun on that as I do on the black, I also genuinley love my commute, I too do it purely for fitness but it doesnt mean I dont love it and make the most of every contour and feature on the route. Admittedly some trail centres are more fun than others and I too want to make the most of my little free time, but to say it is rubbish?

pilsburypie

Oh Dan, you can't impose your love of every turn of your wheel on everyone else. Nor can you suggest that others who find a particular ride or trail boring are elevating themselves to riding God status. Not everyone eats, breathes, lives mountain biking.

I too like a bit of variety, sometimes a bit of follow my nose cross country, sometimes trail centres, sometimes some light downhill. I have my preferences and some rides are better than others. I also hold the opinion that out of the centres I have ridden and the routes I have randomly fashioned that the Marin is rubbish. With the risk of repeating myself, I get little enjoyment from riding on fire road.... or anything else flat and unchallenging for that matter. Just me. Don't get me wrong, the scenery is beautiful and I enjoy that - but I'd rather have that and some hard riding from the plethera of other opportunities available.

Feel free to ride the Marin whenever you like. My opinion does not prevent you from doing so. Enjoy your tow paths, speed humps and kerbs. I however will not be going back to the Marin and be on the hunt for more fast and furious rides where I can huck my pathetic neanderthal self stupid.

dan shard

Naaah I've heard it's rubbish

Anonymous

dan shard wrote:

Naaah I've heard it's rubbish

Well, if you get excited riding along roads and pavements, you may explode with delight on the Marin.

dan shard

You should see how I react when I see an owl

Anonymous

dan shard wrote:

You should see how I react when I see an owl

Do you evacuate your bowels with delight? :roll: