[Closed] Bike Park Wales is go!

can't wait, should be fun!

http://www.bikeparkwales.com/trails

theres only a tiny pro section... where will we all ride??

wonder how hard this will hit the cwmdown uplift

1 4.6km climb
21 various descents.

i wonder how busy the climb will be and how quickly it will get cut up?

I imagine the climb is fireroad as it appears to take the same route as the uplift vans, should be fine.

Edit: actually not all of it mind.

new riding is good riding - looking forward to it hopefully in September

Fab.. not too far from me either.

The climb is close to the road in parts but all off road.
2 blue runs with a couple of optional routes
2 red runs with a black option
2 black runs with pro lines
1 pump track
1 family trail

M1llh0use - Member

1 4.6km climb
21 various descents.

i wonder how busy the climb will be and how quickly it will get cut up?

Only on STW can we be presented with a bike park with a stack of descents and have someone wondering about the climb 🙂

it's flippin' epic our group Aberdare MTB have been helping out on volunteer dig days and can say it's amazeballs

got an uplift booked for the opening day and can't wait 😀

only 15 min ride from my house too - get in

Moving back to Swansea end of august from Whistler, this has lifted my spirits alot!!

Dig day tomorrow if anyone is interested. Working on the climb.

Already booked an uplift day , can't wait!

Looks interesting.

10 mins from the workshop 😀

hexhamstu - Member

Moving back to Swansea end of august from Whistler, this has lifted my spirits alot!!

Really???????? I detect slight disappointment at best.

I agree its a step in the right direction but van uplifts are not the way forward.

I agree its a step in the right direction but van uplifts are not the way forward.

Did you visit Antur Stiniog? Works brilliantly there.

Looks good, may have to make the effort of driving all the way there if this "heat wave" continues through to the start of august when I have some time off 🙂

Konastoner - Member

I agree its a step in the right direction but van uplifts are not the way forward.

I would have agreed til I rode at antur stiniog, extremely fast turnaround there. Not quite as fast a chairlift but over this distance, not a kick in the balls off it- I'd far rather use Antur's vans than Glencoe's chair...

In terms of investment costs it's hard to argue with, how many road + van + trail setups can you build for the price of one chair + trail setups?

A Stiniog has it dialed due to the ease of access to the top via a Tarmac road. Bpw wouldn't be as fast turn around as there but I believe it will still be a huge success and there's loads of room left on the mountain to expand over the next few years.
I think a chair lift would have cost £5m to buy and instal, one day hopefully.

Antur doesn't have a tarmac road to the top- they use a short stretch of main road then it's onto dirt.

Yes such a direct route including a tarmac road I should have wrote. Great service they run.

dont no if im reading the trails wrong, but it doesnt seem very long to me. its a long drive for hours ride ??

I'm not sure what kind of time the black will take to get down, but the blues & reds should be about 7-12mins

sounds about rite. all the trails in a hour 8O. afan is less than a hour away also.

Bit daft that, it's an uplift venue- you can ride all the waymarked downhills at innerleithen in about 20 minutes but you wouldn't say "long way to drive for 20 minutes riding"- partly because once you're done you do it again, and partly because you can't really measure downhill in minutes, you can pack as much into a single run as you'd get from hours of trailbike riding.

...its a step in the right direction but van uplifts are not the way forward.

I would have agreed til I rode at antur stiniog, extremely fast turnaround there. Not quite as fast a chairlift but over this distance, not a kick in the balls off it- I'd far rather use Antur's vans than Glencoe's chair...

In terms of investment costs it's hard to argue with, how many road + van + trail setups can you build for the price of one chair + trail setups?

i'm increasingly sceptical of the need for uplifts at all (in the uk)

with clever trail design you can get a lot of descendy fun out of very little climbing.

with clever trail design climbing is easy, and fun.

even flat trails can be ace!

(thankfully no-one listens to me 😀 )

Shame they couldn't have inhereted the chair lift that used to be on the other side of the valley.

Great to see some investment on this scale in MTB in the UK. I'm booked on already and can't wait to drive over on BankHoliday!

I think it's ace. An utterly brilliant thing to have, and I expect it'll bring loads of people to the area. Can't wait to get some time in there.

Can't wait to see what the trails are like.

Rowan Sorrell is the director of BPW. That's all the confirmation I need 😀

You know it!!! 😆

I would worry you are going to spend more time sat in a van than sat on your bike... besides I like riding uphill.

I am with ahwiles on this but then I am an old fart 🙂

mduncombe - Member

I would worry you are going to spend more time sat in a van than sat on your bike... besides I like riding uphill.

I've nothing against riding uphill, but yesterday I jumped on the innerleithen bus a couple of times and it meant I could do an average day's climbing but about twice as much descending. Can't be bad can it?

For me, uplifts aren't about avoiding climbing, they're just about spending more time descending. After a good uplift day I'm just as knackered as after a day's xc, it's differently physical but still no lazy option.

besides I like riding uphill.

i'm increasingly sceptical of the need for uplifts at all (in the uk)

with clever trail design you can get a lot of descendy fun out of very little climbing.

with clever trail design climbing is easy, and fun.

even flat trails can be ace!

(thankfully no-one listens to me )

I feel you may have completely missed the point 🙄

Well I think its crap.

We are going on hols down that way but for the first 2 weeks in August FFS.

Are there no xc trails at all then ?

The press release says...

designed to be enjoyed by mountain bike riders of all kinds from XC whippets to elite DH racers and everything In between with a real emphasis on trails that can be enjoyed on mid travel trail bikes.

I love a good climb but I also love improving my riding - these sort of places are great for that. You can repeat runs and gradually improve without having to do laps which can increase tiredness and risk injury.

Gawton is similar with HSD and Proper Job both red runs, you can rinse and repeat all day and its amazing how you improve in such a short time.

Are there no xc trails at all then ?

Yes. Was a tongue in cheek comment cos I would have liked to have tried the trails at the bike park as well as the other riding we will be doing.

mikey74 - Member

I feel you may have completely missed the point

i know, i was just responding to a post further up the page - debating the relative awesomeness (or not) of vans vs chairlifts.

singlespeedstu - Member

Shame they couldn't have inhereted the chair lift that used to be on the other side of the valley.

Was never a chairlift there, it was a button lift.

I got an opening day uplift booked, cant wait!

Sounds good, did an uplift day at the FoD and those criticising the idea are missing the point completely, its not an XC day out, you're paying to get as many DH runs in as possible....a 5 minute van trip to the top and arrive fresh as a daisy or pedal uphill taking twice as long (at least) and get far fewer runs in that day?
Its a no brainer for me if i'm going to a DH venue.

Its a no brainer for me if i'm going to a DH venue.

I think it's a no brainer even for venue's which aren't full on DH they are worth it too (Although the definition of Full on DH will vary from people to people - Some say FOD doesn't actually have any blacks). Bit like going skiing for a week and riding blues and reds - If Skiing was just doing blacks far less people would do it. This will make biking far more accessible.

I always feel out of place when doing DH runs on a 125mm trail bike because most of the time they have sections that definitely wouldn't feel so good on a trail bike below 160mm. I can't imagine my bike on a trailer next to a Scott Gambler, sitting next to a guy wearing a full face, full body protection, whilst i'm wearing an average helmet and an XC kit.
Will this become the first place (from what i know) where it doesn't matter what bike you have, you can get the uplift without a DH bike and without feeling out of place?

Bit like going skiing for a week and riding blues and reds - If Skiing was just doing blacks far less people would do it. This will make biking far more accessible.

Come to think of it I am quite fond of skiing uphill as well, maybe its just me then 🙂

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Will this become the first place (from what i know) where it doesn't matter what bike you have, you can get the uplift without a DH bike and without feeling out of place?

It doesn't matter what bike you have on any uplift or chairlift, just stop caring what other people think (others on the uplift probably don't even care what bike anyone else is riding) and have fun riding your bike...

Plenty of Trail/XC/Endurowhatever bikes on last few uplifts Ive been on -Cwmdown, Pearce, FOD & Antur. 'DH' is alot more inclusive than other forms of 'traditional' biking.

Eveyones always very friendly, helpful and respectful which is one of the reasons I have a DH bike.

What I've found for a number of uplift days is some people who have massive £4k bikes and all the body armour to take on Bruce Willis in a Die hard film can't actually ride as well as you'd expect 😉 This is something I was surprised about having thought that all people on uplifts were riding gods - totally changed my perception.

I've also met some sound people riding uplifts recently - both people riding full on DH rigs or like the guy I met recently from East Anglia who was riding Gawton in an XC lid and a bike which some may say was unsuitable but wasn't at all. I was a little wary of uplifting on my own but have turned out to be some of the best days riding recently.

It doesn't matter what bike you have on any uplift or chairlift, just stop caring what other people think (others on the uplift probably don't even care what bike anyone else is riding) and have fun riding your bike...

Bushwacked - Member

This is something I was surprised about having thought that all people on uplifts were riding gods

Even downhill racing has a huge range of skills- it's just mountain biking, it's not a higher plane or anything, just a different flavour. I mean, I do a fair bit of uplifts and some racing but I'm pretty ordinary on a bike.

I think this is a bit of a UK perception because uplift mostly equalled downhill. Even now with the likes of the nevis red, people still think it's a "red dh" just because it's lift accessed. Antur seems to be beating that perception a bit.

Maybe it's not for everyone but it's a shame to miss out, Innerleithen for example is fantastic on a trailbike, nevis wc is hard work but perfectly doable, Antur I've only done on a 5 inch bike and loved it. It's funny, Innerleithen rides a lot like the trails we rode in/around Les Arcs and the Tarantaise, and when on holiday there everyone embraces the uplifts and the descending... But much the same thing over here is Not For Us.

I love a good climb but I also love improving my riding - these sort of places are great for that. You can repeat runs and gradually improve without having to do laps which can increase tiredness and risk injury.

Though that tiredness is also an indication of improving your riding. Just your up-hill riding, which let's face it if you mean by improve - go faster - is where the gains are to be really made.
But I am a sad old fart in this respect 🙂

Eveyones always very friendly, helpful and respectful which is one of the reasons I have a DH bike.

Yep definitely, the uplifts at FOD are always friendly and a good day riding 🙂 I used to ride them on my old Trailstar and xc helmet, never (afaik) had anyone looking down their nose at me!

Dh bike will suit the black trails, but the blues & reds are built for trail bikes. On An uplift day you'll get to try out every trail, so next time you visit you can ride up the xc and down your favourite.

I still say a chairlift is the way to go, a lot of learning can be had from watching others ride the trail from above. A chair lift gives without doubt the best view for lines, speed of attack and all round trail planning. Plus its more fun than sitting in a sweaty van 😆

As for cost, its about commitment and not throwing good money after bad. Longevity is also the key providing more local jobs (installation, Maintenance and servicing). Also a chairlift can service a hell of a lot more people per hour than a van can.

There's even a website selling 2nd hand ones (Have a look at 2.3-4258): - [url= http://www.seilbahn.cc/webdaten/en/aktuelles.asp ]2nd hand chairlifts[/url]

As one famous actor once said, build it and they will come.

I'm not sure what to make of the concept, trail centres aren't for everyone, but personally, I'm not that keen on the idea of having uplifts for red trails, or having to ride the same climb repeatedly to get a decent days riding in. Mountain biking means lots of different things to lots of people, to me though I think I'd soon get bored, to me it's more about adventure than repeated runs, and it's nice to feel you've conquered something at the end of the day. For some I suppose that is improving your skills by doing repeated runs. One thing's for sure, it'll be busy!

Don't forget there would be a planning issue with a chairlift: It may be that the local council wouldn't approve the installation of one.

Or maybe because they cost about £4.9million more than mini busses?

Bike parks aren't trail centres and the red runs at BPW will have nothing in common with trail centre red trails.

Or maybe because they cost about £4.9million more than mini busses?

Obviously, the cost is the prohibitive factor, but no one seems to have mentioned the fact that with all the money in the world, a chairlift still may not be viable.

Hopefully the visitors it brings to Merthyr will warrant a chair lift one day.
Just hope we get the promised rain in the next few days so the trails can get whackered.

I thought they had just named the baby,sorry.

Anyone here payed for a yearly pass yet? I only live 8 miles away so I do qualify for the £40 yearly ticket so I can't see me paying £75 and getting my monies worth

Chairlifts would be great but it really doesn't make a lot of financial sense...

I mean, I support the inners AIMUP proposal one in principle but in practice, even the low end of the cost estimate would pay to run the current uplift service for free, for about 10 years... Tally could buy a lot of minibuses with a million quid, with enough change to make the road go all the way to the top (without going halfway to Galashiels on the way)

cubemeup - Member
Anyone here payed for a yearly pass yet? I only live 8 miles away so I do qualify for the £40 yearly ticket so I can't see me paying £75 and getting my monies worth
POSTED 11 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

There's a meeting tomorrow night in Pentrebach for local about this from 6:30pm. Check out the FB page for details

I reckon uplift is better than chairlift for the UK. Mainly due to our weather, sitting on a slow chairlift in the rain and cold isn't much fun, much rather be in a van tbh!

wrecker - Member
Rowan Sorrell is the director of BPW. That's all the confirmation I need

Luckily we have a full time trail maintenance crew 🙂

😀 good! they're going to be employed full time upkeeping his 'vision'. Shame really, build a great trail, only for it to be destroyed by a combo of weather and numptys.

Yeah, British weather hey, too wet to complete some jobs a few months ago, then frozen ground, now too dry. At least we can rely on getting the odd numpty 😉

Any idea how they will police the area if its £5 per rider? Sorry if its already been mentioned

No idea sorry, I just hope the majority will be happy to pay to ride such a good network of trails, if not, the maintenance team will disappear along with the park in a few years.
Strange how people don't want to pay to enjoy this hobby ( myself included ) but will happily pay to play golf, go to the zoo or any other outdoor activity.

I can see it ending like inners- ie, sure, you can push/ride to the top, but the first time the bus passes you halfway up while you're sweating your balls off, you're just like "**** this! I wouldn't push this bike up a hill for £5, so why am I doing it to save £5? TO THE BUS!" Or likewise, you're in the carpark at the end of the day, all like "Yeah I rode gold run and then I did matador and half of cresta and now I can't be bothered to push back up" and your mates are all like "Yeah we did that... by 11am. And then we ate cakes on the bus" The higher cost option just sells itself if it's good enough.

Lots of people refuse to pay parking at trail centres because they're bellends, but hopefully you'd get a bit less of that (or equivalent) at a private location, less of a sense of entitlement.

Will this become the first place (from what i know) where it doesn't matter what bike you have, you can get the uplift without a DH bike and without feeling out of place?

Well if you can do it in Whistler you can do it anywhere! I've seen old people (i.e. even older than me) taking 80's mountain bikes with racks and fenders on the Fitz lift. Easy Does It is pretty well just a fireroad down the mountain.

I can see it ending like inners- ie, sure, you can push/ride to the top, but the first time the bus passes you halfway up while you're sweating your balls off, you're just like "**** this!

I was at Rostrevor (our new trail centre) on Sunday in full XC mode and took advantage of the uplift along with the DH boys. Cost £3 and and saved about 15 mins of steep climbing. Yes, a bit of a lazy option but i still had well over an hour of climbing to do and it was rather hot. I don't think i'd use it every time, but it's great to have the option. Those 15 minutes saved were traded in against doing some of the best sections a few times until my tank was empty.

Any idea how they will police the area if its £5 per rider?

I hope they do police it, and do it firmly. FFS someone has just built a £1.5m bike park, would people really try to get out of paying a fiver?

Looks great. Not sure why people bother coming on this thread to explain why uplift is pointless and how they don't like doing the same trails over and over. There's loads of XC centres in Wales - can't we just be pleased there's something new and different on offer?

On reflection, from reading this thread, it actually sounds rubbish and I won't being going 😉