Reviews for Penmachno Mountain Bike Trails

Summary:
Great Train let down by really poor signposting

Review:
Me and a friend tackled Penmachno recently and found the trail generally breathtaking. We were however really let down by the poor effort made in signposting the trail, and got lost several times up blind tracks. Surely a few general signposts would cost nothing to erect but there was literally nothing the whole way around. I would therefore say if you are going to tackle this route a trail satnav is a must (unless you like asking for directions every 20 minutes).

Summary:
A brilliant XC trail

Review:
Time of year; end of September 2011
Conditions: warm, dry and sunny

Judged as an XC trail I would rate this as one of the best in the UK. It certainly beats the nearby Marin (though well worth doing) hands down. It perhaps doesn’t flow as elegantly as, say, Glentress, but it’s big plus is that it is a ‘proper’ mountain bike XC trail. Proper in the sense that it doesn’t have the feel of being manufactured. On the contrary, it is a serious ride where if anything went wrong, you’d be a long way from help. A buckled wheel, let alone a busted collarbone or a dislocated shoulder, would be a bigger deal here than many locations. That, to me, is a big draw; that feeling of remoteness add an extra dimension that the ‘centre’ based trails sometimes lack. It reminded me at times of the outer sections of Kirroughtree. Moral: be prepared, take a couple of extra tubes, and a good basic first aid and tool kit. Having said that, the waymarking is clear throughout, so you don’t have to add getting lost to your list of concerns.

The scenery all along the trail is superb, constantly changing and worth savouring. I would personally recommend making a day of it rather than riding it as quickly as possible. Take plenty of water, some butties and a flask and just enjoy being out there. You wouldn’t gulp down your favourite meal as quickly as possible, so why your favourite trail? Investing in a bothy bag, if you don’t already own one, makes stops on foul days much more bearable.

The trail itself is sometimes wet. There are plenty of deep puddles and occasionally the trail shares it’s course with small streams. All to the good! after all, this is supposed to be mountain biking. Although sometimes wet, it rarely gets muddy (not when I was there anyway) and I can’t remember any boggy sections. The surface is generally excellent, so the water doesn’t spoil things. Fire road sections are generally short (not nearly as much fire road as the Marin, and certainly no more than some of the Seven Stanes) and are interlinked with long interesting sections of singletrack, sometimes little more than a foot wide, which demand concentration. The challenges, though never extreme, are maintained throughout. The trail is a proper, sustained RED; not far short of 20 miles long if you do both loops one and two.

I agree with previous reviewers that the trail has a sting in it’s tail, so stay sharp and keep a little in reserve for the final steep leg. If you really want to enjoy it, this is not a trail to choose after a night on the pop or if your basic fitness is not all it could be.

I have to congratulate the team who designed and maintain the trail; brilliant job guys!! All they ask is a couple of quid in the honesty box at the trailhead. I would suggest donating at least double that, after all, parking is free and four or five quid (which in any case goes back in to the trails) for a superb day out is an absolute bargain.

Summary:
Awesome Trail,

Review:
Last time we rode it, it was in January 2009, when it was 3 degrees, blowing 70mph gales, and thrashing it down with rain. The bits of trail that weren't running water, were covered in ice. After having too abandon the ride about 2/3 through, because we were all going down with exposure, I've been back today on a nice sunny day in July.

What a fantastic trail this is in the dry, and when I say dry, I say that in the loosest possible sense. I think because most of it is so rocky, it just holds the water, so there was lots and lots of deep puddles, despite all the dry weather we've had. Personally I wouldn't say this is a bad point as it keeps you guessing and keeps you and your skills sharp.

In general I'd say this is about 70% single track, both up and down. There are a couple of fire road type climbs, but even they are reasonably rocky. The downhill sections are varied, some very rocky, rooty, off camber, fast, and slow. Some of the sections flow really well, and will leave you grinning.

I'd agree with what other people have said about running tyre pressures a bit higher, (if you're running skinnyish tyres that is) as it is rocky, and you're sure to snake bite if you run them soft, either that, or take some bigger tyres. I ride an Anthem X1 and ran a 2.2 Mountain king on the front with about 33 psi and a 2.1 racing ralph with 38-40 psi on the back and I didn't get any punctures. (I'm about 68kilos)

This is a challenging trail, and quite physically demanding. The climbing is not too bad, but the last three sections of downhill are pretty brutal if your tired before you drop into them so I'd save a bit for them, as they are pretty tasty.

Time wise, I did the full loop, which showed at 20 miles on my computer, and finished it in about 1hr50min.

To sum up, this is a proper mountain bike trail, in proper mountains, and the fitter you are the more you will get from it. It definately rides best in the summer.

Summary:
It rained all day but still was better than climax trail on a sunny day.

Review:
This trail was hard work we only did the one loop it felt like we was by mistake doing the second loop - never ending. It rained all day when we was there but the decline was so fun it made it worth while doing. Way better than the climax trail. Came all the way from midlands to do 2 days of biking still would say the monkey run Cannock chase is better than this trail and climax. Maybe south Wales is better?

Summary:
wet wet wet!

Review:
First time on this trail, wet, windy, low cloud - great start. Lots of technical narrow single tracks, with lots of standing water. Low branches and bushes often hid the track making line choice interesting! Quite tough on the exposed areas due to conditions. Doesnt flow naturally giving you an adrenalin rush, but a track that gets you thinking - tiring on the mind as well as the legs.
Good fun even in these conditions. Thanks to the 4 lads from Coventry who stopped after i'd slipped big time on wet steep rocks, snapped gear cable made for and interesting last 20 minutes :-)