How'd you rate C-Y-B?

shx8000

Got back yesterday, and can't say I was all that impressed. Did the fox trail on Saturday with the missus. She hated the first bit leading out of the centre, but really enjoyed the rest. I then did the Tawr trail. Snap, crackle and pop was good, but far too much fire road riding. With all the up hill I was expecting some amazing downhill single track, but was rewarded with mostly fire road down.
Did the MBR on Sunday. Again, plenty of fireroad up hill, but was rewarded with some pretty cool single track. Especially able/Abel.
Just wish I hadn't bothered with the final climb. The trail leading back into the centre wasn't all that good IMO.

Think most of the people I spoke to had a similar opinion.
That said, the scenery is stunning and the weather this weekend was great. Bile shop there should be much bigger. With more stock and a better selection of sizes, they'd make a killing.

welshkev

i hadn't been for years and i went about 3 weeks ago and did one of the shorter trails, it was great apart from the long fireroad slog back to the centre. i can't comment on it all because i only did the 1 trail but i liked it

shx8000

That sounds like the fox trail. Although it's called summin else in welsh. Missus only lives 60 miles away from there, so looks like I'll be going there regularly. Only £20 for a years parking pass. Really is a beautiful area, with so much to do. There're quite a few trail centes in the area .

Anonymous

The "fox" trail, (Cyflym coch, meaning quick red), is just a very short blast to give you some of the sections linked together.

On the Tarw, I can only think of two long descents that are on fireroads, unless you got lost. Next time you ride it, go faster, and become aquainted with the lost art of high speed drifting round corners on the foreroads.

dan shard

I'll be there this wknd if I get my forks back in time. I take it you didnt have a go on the beast of brenin? Never done it but it looks amazing from the vids

Anonymous

The Beast is basically all of th eMBR, and all of the Dragon's back. Last time I checked, I don't think it had any unique sections.

shx8000

I'll not do the Tarw again, unless I take a hard tail. I flew down snap though, and was left under no illusion as to how it got the name. Many of the rocks were scraped to bits, dare say there has been some pretty expensive mistakes made up there.

Definately didn't get lost, even checked the map to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

dan shard

yeehaamcgee wrote:

The Beast is basically all of th eMBR, and all of the Dragon's back. Last time I checked, I don't think it had any unique sections.

I thought the false teeth section was on the beast? Again Im only saying what Ive seen on youtube and head from mates so I dont really know, but I thought was supposed to be fairly amazing

pilsburypie

Beast and Dragons back are the best IMO

Anonymous

False teeth is on the beast, and MBR.

stubs

I rate it good fun and well worth a weekend to ride everything, nothing is too awesome for an average rider to have a go at.

Trail centre is fine and it doesnt get absolutely rammed like say Llandegla.

Scenery is awesome, local pubs and B+Bs are nice and local natural trails are an excellent alternative if you get a bit bored.

It rains a bit but hey you dont go to west Wales for a suntan.

Anonymous

Only done the place once, but Beast / MBR / Dragons Back I love.

Loads of singletrack and good rock gardens. False Teeth is especially good.

I don't remember which bit is which but I seem to remember there's a bit you can cut out to avoid a pointless fireroad climb.

Tarw was a bit of an XC slog for me. More fireroads, more climbs, less singletrack, and just not so interesting.

Anonymous

Tarw is also the oldest purpose built trail in Britain. In fact, if my memory serves me well, it was the first purpose built mountain bike trail in the world.

thel33ter

I found it a bit boring/easy TBH. I rode the Beast and Tarw, Snap, Crackle and Pop and Dragons Back or Abel, I can't remember, anyway they were the only bits that I would want to ride again.

Mostly though I remember are the bumpy rocky pathway bits, which were not nice too ride on, not challenging and overused.

My best memory though was a cake stop halfway round the Beast. The chocolate and caramel flapjack thingy I had was fantastic 8)

ed_arnold

Hell, are we even talking about the same place here??! Coedy is AMAZING!! Great choice of different trails and very highly maintained. Epic stages like Uncle Fester, Pink Heffer and Dreamtime! Brilliant scenery and facilities. One of the few places you can go for a full-day epic and still not find everything it has to offer. What more do you want from a trail centre? :shock:

ed_arnold

And there's a GoApe by the top car park now too!!

thel33ter

I don't know, I just didn't find it anywhere near worth the long drive up. It did have good bits but had too many fireroads, it felt just like riding in Surrey Hills but with more rocks, and less scary/fun bits.

Anonymous

ed_arnold wrote:

Hell, are we even talking about the same place here??! Coedy is AMAZING!! Great choice of different trails and very highly maintained. Epic stages like Uncle Fester, Pink Heffer and Dreamtime! Brilliant scenery and facilities. One of the few places you can go for a full-day epic and still not find everything it has to offer. What more do you want from a trail centre? :shock:

A few people don't like the rocky ground, huge climbs, large drops to the side of the trail,singletrack that isn't as smooth as tarmac, and high speed drifting.
Not sure what they DO like, but...

shx8000

Think the only thing I didn't like was the fire road climbs and descents. Nothing to do with smooth single track are sheer drops at the side of the trail.
If the up led to rocky, tight single track with some good drop-offs/jumps, tight berms and crank set destroying rocks if you took the wrong line it would have been worth it.

Anonymous

There are very few berms and manicured jumps there, because it (generally) favours a more natural style of trail. Sadly, that seems to be going away, as whoever's in charge of it now seem to want to turn it into another manicured trail centre. Now that's fine is some respects, but it means Coedy's going to lose it's "thing".

stubs

yeehaamcgee wrote:

There are very few berms and manicured jumps there, because it (generally) favours a more natural style of trail. Sadly, that seems to be going away, as whoever's in charge of it now seem to want to turn it into another manicured trail centre. Now that's fine is some respects, but it means Coedy's going to lose it's "thing".

Please god they dont turn it into another bland identi kit trail centre, surely we have enough of them now. CYB isnt perfect but at least it has at least got some character, if they turn it into Llandegla or similar I wont be going back in a hurry.

At least at CYB there are mercifully few of the big mouth self proclaimed trail riding gods that infest the caffs of trail centres in the Scottish borders and the rest of Wales.

Anonymous

You know, stubs, I think that may be because you rarely see anyone really nail CYB's trails. To proclaim yourself a riding god there, you'd need to actually know what you're doing, whereas a lot of other trail centres are so smooth and manicured that any big-headed sheepstwat can reach the end and think they're a riding god for riding it so well.

stubs

True I go to Llandegla 3 or 4 times a year mainly because it nearish and its a good bailout option if the weather is threatening to try and kill you. I know the place quite well and could ride most of it with my brain switched off.

CYB I get there about 5 times a year and have been doing so for a good 10 years and every time I go there I find something new. Only ever fallen off twice there and both times I could see the caff once at the start of the ride once on the last section which dips round the car park. :oops:

Briggo

Just come back from a week in South Wales mostly did the Brecon Beacons but took a trip to Afan, compared to Afan (my first time and the second Welsh trail centre I been too now) CyB is bloody awesome.

Afan just didn't do it for me, but hopefully the work going on will improve that as it has much more potential.

CyB sections as said above have so much character to them, I specifically remember each individual one, where as other trail centres they all seem to blur into one.

ed_arnold

I like the fact that you're rewarded for every climb, and it's not just all climb for the first half, descend for the latter (Cwm Carn?). You're constantly challenged and the fun levels stay topped up right to the end. And hell, I really enjoy that massive fast fireroad descent!!

I for one will have a blast when I go there tomorrow afternoon! It's been too long - used to live above Dolgellau..

For those of you who don't like the rocky stuff in Wales, come ride in the Forest of Dean! It's not all bad - there are wet roots as well as mud!!

Anonymous

Afan is picturesque and nice on a sunny day, and the descent on Whites is pretty good as it just keeps going, but CYB is far better when you put it all together. It perhaps doesn't have one long near endless rocky descent, but it's got loads of pieces that can link together and some of it definitely left me grinning.

No better than Surrey Hills? It's just different. Surrey Hills is no trail centre and I hope it never becomes one. It's not a mountain either. It's a mass of mostly natural trails all over the place over a bunch of hills and every ride can be utterly different. Linking together everything that's there makes for a lot of fun. Though you need to know where the trails are and in some cases ride sneaky stuff. CYB is managed and the official stuff is good compared to other trail centres I've been to (not having experienced Scotland however, or anything outside the UK).

It's true that Surrey Hills, and really a lot of unofficial trails, have some stuff that can scare you and is properly dangerous, whereas official trail centres are more sanitised to reduce risk. Though CYB got my heart going in places. Cwmcarn is more of a thrill though, but it's just less of an area in general.

shx8000

I was grinning from ear to ear when I first did cwm carn. I like how there is a loop at the top so you can do the freeride stuff at the top over and over again. Initial climb is slow and not like anything I'd ridden before. Some bloody big rocks to bounce off if you fall. But tgat just adds to the fun and ensures you concentrate. Gonna do Afan sometime soon as well, and going to forest of dean beginning of next month.
Wish I'd never taken 5 years off riding, missed out on do damn much.

frogstomp

Just had a week at CyB (via Cannock, Llandegla and Nant Yr Arian) and loved it... there are quite a lot of rocky sections but it definitely seems to be a case of the more you put in, the more you get out - a bit of extra legs helped smooth out and clear most obstacles..

popstar

CYB is the daddy of all trail centers. Conversation closed.

Anonymous

Compared to trails in Scotland?

Not that I've done any up there yet.

Anonymous

deadkenny wrote:

Compared to trails in Scotland?

Not that I've done any up there yet.

if Glentress and Inners are anything to go by, then the general technicality is similar to CYB, but there are larger man made features, karge berms and jumps, whereas coedy is more of a natural feeling trail. Like I said, it seems to be losing that appeal slowly as more and more "trailcentre by numbers" features pop up.