Another Coed y Brenin question

leaflite
leaflite Posts: 1,651
edited September 2012 in Routes
I'm thinking of popping up to Coed Y Brenin on Saturday, but I can't decide what trail to do. I live quite a distance away so will probably only have time to do one of the longer trails or 2 shorter ones. Also, ive never been to coed y brenin before so dont know what to expect. Which of the 6 would you recommend? How technical are the black routes?

Thanks
GT Hardtail
The Apollo Project
Titus FTM Carbon

Comments

  • deheinz
    deheinz Posts: 7
    3 years since I rode there and really enjoyed both MBR and Beast of Brenin. If I was there for one day I'd do the Beast - there is a good cafe half way round (still there I hope), some cracking views and it feels like you're getting away from civilization a bit more. Can't remember how technical it was, but I do remember thinking that the Beast was a cracking route and having a great day.
  • welshkev
    welshkev Posts: 9,690
    as above, i haven't done the beast for a while but it was a great trail :D
  • mintedox
    mintedox Posts: 273
    The beast was the most fun I've had on the bike this year, highly recommended.

    The cafe is still there too :)
    Papa? Nicole
  • leaflite
    leaflite Posts: 1,651
    Seems to be a 100% vote for the beast then :)

    How technical is it, say compared to the monkey at cannock chase, whinlatter, dalby, llandegla etc?

    There seems to be a bit of confusion with the trail grading-according to MBWales the most technical section of the MBR trail(black) is the "beginning of the end", but the much longer Dragons Back trail also includes this section but is only red graded?

    Thanks
    GT Hardtail
    The Apollo Project
    Titus FTM Carbon
  • drumandguitar
    drumandguitar Posts: 74
    Its technical in a rocky sense, more than epic drop offs/jumps. Obviously length also comes into when talking about the Beast. The start of the trails has a few rock features to put less experienced riders off, although part of it was closed off when I as there a few weeks back. The last couple of sections (beginning of the end etc) are tricky-ish in places too (for me anyway). Out of the places you've listed Ive only ridden Llandegla and theres nothing really there to compare with some of the stuff at CyB. Having said all that, if I can get round CyB with no major problems it cant be that hard.
    Canyon Nerve XC7
    Carrera Fury
    Specialized Secteur Elite
    Planet X Uncle John
  • mintedox
    mintedox Posts: 273
    The beast takes in a lot of Dragons back and MBR, we were thinking of doing one of those as well untill we realised.

    There is a lot of rock, not a bad thing though, Lurchs corkscrew is awesome :D
    Papa? Nicole
  • chrisylad
    chrisylad Posts: 15
    hello mate was up at coed y brennin a few weeks back i did the dragons back and it was great ,ridden cannock a lot and it is quite different cuz the braking bumps are made of rock :lol: but you should have no problems in fact i am off to do the beast on sunday with a couple of mates think the weather may even be good.
  • leaflite
    leaflite Posts: 1,651
    Thanks to all who replied

    Due to traffic and leaving a bit late, we only had time to do dragons back in the end. I still enjoyed it though-some of the sections like the rock corkscrew were amazing. All of it was a good balance of technical and speed IMO.
    GT Hardtail
    The Apollo Project
    Titus FTM Carbon
  • JayKay3000
    JayKay3000 Posts: 163
    If you can do black runs try the mbr next time, that's such a great trail and it's fairly short. There are some average drops, but if you can clear dragons back easily then you should have no problem on the mbr. I hated some of those climbs doing dragons back. Love that first section out from the visitors centre.
  • danlightbulb
    danlightbulb Posts: 701
    Im also thinking of trying cyb soon. Is it all rollable ? The one think i can't seem to do well is non rollable drops.
  • leaflite
    leaflite Posts: 1,651
    danlightbulb wrote:
    Im also thinking of trying cyb soon. Is it all rollable ? The one think i can't seem to do well is non rollable drops.

    On dragons back I didnt come across anything I thought was non-rollable. You may need to watch your chainrings on some bits though, if you have a 3x chainset.
    GT Hardtail
    The Apollo Project
    Titus FTM Carbon
  • danlightbulb
    danlightbulb Posts: 701
    Is the beast any harder technically or just purely the distance element?
  • JayKay3000
    JayKay3000 Posts: 163
    Nothing on cyb is really that hard even the drop off named cavity (that's not on the beast), but there are sections that you need to commit to in order to pass and that require more than simply inching through at zero speed. U'll have more fun if you can get some air time on some of the sections. It's still an XC centre so nothing massive.

    In the end it depends how much u've ridden and what u've ridden in the past. A lot of the trails share sections. It's quite rocky at cyb so fs is advised, but you can have just as much fun on a ht.

    I would not do the beast unless you are used to fairly long distances on the bike and have a whole good day to tackle it. Take enough spares, clothes and tools though.

    Plus you can hire a bike and pay an extra £5 to cover damages if you're worried about trashing your own bike.
  • danlightbulb
    danlightbulb Posts: 701
    The longest ive ridden is 13 miles. That was degla black whivh i did in just over 2 hours.

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