Reviews for Haldon Forest Mountain Bike Trail Centre

Summary:
Flowing singletrack - just don't fall off it!

Review:
Firstly it helps if you take out any comparisons with the old Red route. This was a downhill route with a fireroad exit and ideal for full sussers and heavier bikes, and is sadly now closed apart from the bottom section which the new route has adopted.

The ridge route is an XC circuit and therefore aims to target a different audience. Leave your pads and full face helmet at home and take out your hardtail or short travel full susser and you will have a ball. It is well armoured and after a week of rain there was almost no mud on the whole circuit. Take a rear summer tyre for speed and a front that likes cornering - you will be doing a lot and the gravel can be slippy!

Once you get to the start of the route proper (about 2 minutes from the centre) you are straight into the main theme of the route - narrow winding singletrack that really flows. At least 80% of the 6 mile circuit is in this style. The smooth flowing surface begs you to ride it as fast as you can and the faster you ride it the better it becomes. There is very little in the way of technical ground but the course has plenty of lumps, bumps and dips; most are 4X smooth. What makes the course really work is how narrow it is. It is rarely more than a metre wide and in places barely 18 inches. With trees, stumps and rocks and in places a steep bank next to the track. You have to concentrate as a lapse could be nasty as you would roll/slide/fall down the bank. I had a couple of peddle strikes, clipped a handlebar and snagged my rucksack on a tree but nothing worse than this. There is a lot of contouring around the hill but you can blast through most of the climbs in the middle ring as they are not that long.

At about half way the trail drops down to a fireroad and onto the bottom section of the old red route - this is by far the most technical bit of the circuit (For the timid or those using ?500 superlight xc rims you can choose to miss this section by just riding on up the fireroad and picking up the track at the top)

As you cross the fireroad you are straight down a rock garden and some other nasties before dropping into a number of sweet bermed turns before you are spat out onto another fireroad. You are then faced with a slog back up a fireroad for about 10 minutes before turning right alongside the main road back onto the new skinny path.

After a little more climbing you cross the main road and after a short corner are faced with a nasty short rocky rise where there is a real risk of falling into a pit if you get it wrong (and I've heard of someone doing this!). Bizarrely it is the kind of feature that is missing from the backside of some of the rollers on the downhill sections which might prepare the inexperienced for the lowest sections technicalities.

From here on you are on a reasonably flat section of the skinny path all the way back to the trail centre. I won't describe this in detail but just encourage you to hammer it - really nice if you do this and includes a couple of jumps.

It took me about 40 minutes on my own but no doubt the fit could cut this considerably. I'm really looking forward to returning as once it gets some wear and tear the loose gravel will pack down and it will get even faster. There are one or two corners that will hopefully develop some camber or mini berms as well. At the moment they ruin the flow and you have to crawl around them (the main one is just before you cross the old red route).

So to summarise its:

Bad for:
6'+ travel bikes
Wide handlebars
Full face helmets
lack of drops/jumps/technical features
Lardy arsed mates
Tentative bike handlers
Those looking for the old red route

Good for:
XC boys
Sinewy singletrack (and lots of it)
Confident bike handlers
Hardtails/ Short travel full sussers
Ragging yourself silly
Pulling the tripe out of lardy arsed mates
Nice wet weather alternative to the moors

Summary:
ok for begginers

Review:
i rode this trail twice last week and its reall not that taxing for a red run, its a shame this has replaced the freer ride trail as its coated in kitty litter and there are no rocks or roots infact there is nothing there really to test your technical ability

i give it a 4 for being... well, dull

Summary:
A good cross country run.

Review:
Overall, it is an average trail, mostly flat incorporating one or two climbs with a nice descent near the end. Trail is kept in good nick, just watch out for the cows which occasionally wander onto the trail! NB THEY ARE ONLY THERE TO STOP THE GRASS COVERING THE TRAIL.

Summary:
ok for the locals or people in the no

Review:
ok haldon(where to begin)
the freeride area is awsum and i go there regular but the website is not up to dat
currently the site say's its all new freeride but actually the freeride is torn down and closed

all family fun though

contact me before you leave or another local

Summary:
Not for me.

Review:
Not for me, but if you have children or if your just looking for a nice short cross country ride its ideal!!! Well signposted!