Mark, Cumbria
Oh my god! Does no-one ride natural trails anymore? Trail centres are manmade bore fests that inspire yellow belly wimps to buy the most expensive bike they can find and potter about all day on these Disney tracks that have about as much excitement or danger value as a canal towpath. Where do you people get your adrenalin rush or sense of adventure from? Get your 3 grand bike and hundreds of pounds worth of gear and set off for the summit of Snowdon, Helvelyn, High Street or Walna Scar. Do some mountain biking!
Tue Oct 14 13:53:40 2008

Andy Dallibar, Tewkesbury
I've ridden Coed-Y Brennin twice, once when It was the old buolding which I loved and wanted to go back desperately. But when I did it was the fisrt day of the new visitors centre and I was very disapointed. The new visitor centre is a bit pompus. I'm not a fan of the new visitors centre, I liked the old one best. The trail markers made no sense, I ended up straight back at the start on the Tawr trail. The Marin Trail just north in Betws-y Coed is far more of a natural less human built trail and I love it. Coed-Y Brenin never made the list of top 10 trails in one of the MTB%! 20mags last year, mind you though neither did the Marin trai which is fine, more empty trails for me and my tribe.
Tue Feb 5 09:51:49 2008

andy muir, north wales
The only essential piece of equipment needed is a map, and a compass during the winter. Forget the made up trails, they are boring, and go exploring the bridle paths and byways.
Mon Aug 13 10:55:51 2007

Nick Rogers - Wrexham
You are all talking about the Marin Trail & Llandegla like they are hard. For proper biking nothing could beat Nannerch, it was scarey, fast, technical and challenging. If you think I am wrong please correct me and I will try any trail you mention.
Tue May 29 10:56:50 2007

Greg Thomas from Manchester
All the trails mentioned on this page have their own merits. It is now up to the rider to choose his/her favourite but I do wish that there was a general rule of designation...a kind of consistency. For example: The "Black" Run at Llandegla is less difficult than the presumed "Red" at The Marin, whilst The Trail at Penmachno can be very challenging, especially in the rain and on the final descent, and yet it has no designation at all that I am aware of. Although Coed-y-brenin does not designate its trails as such, it does give plenty of information as to the difficulty of each trail. But there again, how do you directly compare one with another. For example, if you are having a bad day on the Marin and an excellent day on the The Beast, do you feel that The Marin is more difficult than the Beast? It is subjective. Whereas the Scottish Trails are quite well designated and there is consistency too, which helps the rider to choose which he/she feels up to on the day. As a rule of thumb I would say that Llandegla is a fairly recreational trail but with excellent flow. The Marin is a good all-rounder and is as hard as you wish to make it depending on the speed you wish to go, again with good flow. Penmachno is a trail which lulls you into thinking that you can attack it fast and then "ambushes" the rider with a variety of tricky tweaks and obstacles. Coed-y-Brenin is probably the most comprehensive trail centre due to the scale and number of trails and also one of the most informative.
Tue Apr 24 10:31:09 2007

Reg Deacon from The Midlands
North wales has a lot of good trails. We go to Coed-y-brenin a lot too, because it is about the same time and distance as The Marin or Machynlleth, Penmachno, and Llandegla Forest. The nature of the trails changes as you move from area to area. For example Coed-y-brenin has long climbs and demanding descents, But as you go North and West that changes a bit. The Marin is similar to some Coed-y trails but Penmachno is different and Llandegla much different. There is less height to play with so the trails are built within those limitations. Llandegla is a good attempt at a comprehensive trail area at lower levels and it is unfair to compare it with Coed-y-brenin or even The Marin for that matter, O.K it is wildly overcrowded at the weekend but that probably means that it is what a lot of mountain bikers want. Not my taste but then there are plenty of Wales trails to choose from. One caveate though, Scotland is the place to mountain bike now, there is no doubt about the superb quality of the trails there!
Mon Feb 26 10:31:02 2007

Tony Overland
I like the trails in North Wales and I'm glad they are there. Before them I had to ride with a map and faff about checking where I was all the time. I don't much like Llandegla Forest Trail because I'm sick queuing up for a parking space there like I have been doing recently and so I'm not going there anymore, and Penmachno can be like that too, but the rest are great. The Wales trails are not as good as Scotland though, and that's in every way. And I'm worried about maintenance on them too. Example...The Marin trail has hardly any maintenance budget for it, whereas there are trails in Scotland that have an annual maintenance budget of £35K!
Mon Feb 19 15:29:52 2007

Neil from N.W.England
It is becoming clear that some Mountain Bikers do not favour the commercialisation of the activity. Having visited most of the trails in Wales (as well as Scotland, England, the Alps and Sierra Nevada) I have the following observations. I think that Coed-y-Brenin has facilities that have been a measured response to a defined need over more than 10 years of being a trail centre. The facilities reflect that need and the trails are extensive and varied. Llandegla, on the other hand, is purpose built, with general appeal, short trails and designed to attract bikers and make money, and as such does I think, suffer from over commercialisation. There must be a balance between the instant mash motorway cafe trails and those that really get the rider into the wilderness engaged with the riding, with all the challenges that ensue. I personally prefer the likes of The Marin Trail, Machynlleth and those in Scotland because they have a blend of man-made trails in a natural environment and not too much in the way of facilities. I think Greg's comments about Llandegla are cruel but I can see where he's coming from. I, too, do not want to go riding with half the world every time I go out and Llandegla is way too overcrowded at weekends. I find myself powering down on riders who are meandering along like it was a Sunday tea-party outing.
Fri Feb 16 09:55:51 2007

John Edwards from Manchester
The Marin, Coed y Brenin (all), Machynlleth (climax), Penmachno, and Llandegla are my favourite N.Wales trails in that order. I like the Marin because it is still a good ride if I am off form but is demanding if I go fast and it is easy to get to by road. I like Coed and Machynlleth but it takes a long time to get there and Penmachno takes time too. Llandegla is easy to get to but is overcrowded at weekends which is the only time I get to go. I love the comments below about the Yuppie bikers at Llandegla and I have to agree, it is getting like some Chelsea wine bar fashion accessory trail. Pity, as there are some OK bits to it. Still prefer the Forestry Commission trails though 'cos I think they are more involving and rewarding. I like the idea of facilities at the trailhead...maybe toilets and a cafe, kind of like Grizedale has but like the man says Llandegla is pretty commercial these days.
Wed Feb 14 11:41:47 2007

G. Dunbabin from Wolverhampton
I think most of the Welsh trails are good. I'm not sure that they are quite the same as the ones in Scotland but that's maybe because I think the Scottish trails have got a bit more of everything. Also I think that the Scottish parliament and tourist board along with the forestry commission put more money into trails up there. I like the Marin trail too and Coed-y-brenin is very good as well and so is Penmachno. I know that Llandegla gets a lot of publicity but I think it can be summed up as overrated.
Tue Feb 13 09:03:13 2007

Huw Jones, York
I for one quite like the fact that there are no facilities at Gwydir, just turn up and ride then go to Betws for cakes! In my opinion the Marin is a fanastic all weather ride,if you take it easy - pretty much anyone can ride it, if you really go for it it becomes more chalenging. I've not ridden the CyB revisions yet but the "Big Doug" section on the old Karrimor was fantastic!.
Thu Sep 21 12:53:11 2006

Rod
Out of the routes mentioned I have only ridden the Marin near Llanrwst and the Coed Llandegla routes. The Marin is a good ride with a never-ending first climb on fire roads (which is plus point in my book) before dropping to the single track stuff. As for technicality, I don't think it is technical at all. I found the riding to be long and quite easy in terms of trying not to fall off! Technical to me is step-ups, drop-offs, narly single track with a chance of dumping it. On the Marin the most technical bit I can think of was the Dragons back or ridge which can see you clipping pedals or dropping off the trail, but it isn't too hard. All in all a good days ride in some lovely scenery. It can be completed by a competent rider at a pace suitable for themselves.
Fri Jul 21 11:18:03 2006

Phil LeRoy
The Marin Trail, in North Wales, not far from Betwys-y-coed, is a great trail and probably my favourite. It has tough climbs, flowing and fast singletrack, challenging technical sections, tight switchbacks and big moguls. It is also what I would describe as an "all weather" trail, in that it is rideable in wet or dry conditions, unlike say Grizedale North Shore. The only shortcoming is that there are no facilities in or around the place. There are reviews of this trail on various sites on the net and at the risk of being boring I have to agree that the Cycle1st review is the most informative. The trail is worth a visit if you have never been before.
Fri May 5 15:49:07 2006

Jim from Oldham, Lancs.
I like Gwydyr Forest - The Marin Trail best of the N. Wales trails. I think the Coed-y-brenin trails are good too, ie Karrimore, MBR and Red Bull. I don't think that Llandegla Forest is quite as technical as the others, or as long and so not as much of a challenge but it's easier for me to get to. Go to the web for more info. I read these reviews and looked at Cycle1st and MTB Britain.
Tue Feb 21 10:41:57 2006

Graham Williams from Wolverhampton
I like the North Wales trails best especially The Marin Trail, The Karrimore Trail at Coed-y-Brenin and the new Llandegla Trail near Wrexham. I have to say though that amenities and people are not as welcoming as when I go to Scotland.
Tue Feb 21 10:36:55 2006

Colin Hunt from N.W. England
My favourite trail is The Marin at Gwydyr Forest. It has just about everything, hard climbs and technical ones, superb and flowing descents of differing levels of difficulty and it's long enough to feel like you have had a ride but no so long as you are totally drained. It's also a really good all-weather trail, I have even ridden it in the snow. I first got to know about this excellent trail by reading a great review in Cycle1st.co.uk and it made me go and try it. I have not been disappointed and now I ride the Marin Trail as often as I can.
Sun Jan 1 13:10:13 2006