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Which is the best trail?
Subjective. Both great, both old school, both rocky, both about to be slaughtered by the haters........ 😀 Penmachno is a trail of two halves, with choice of extending it withte h second part. The first loop is very XC, the second part is more entertaining IMO. Marin is slagged off because of its saw tooth profile.... loads of climbs to get to varied fun sections. The final descent is great, and you can short cut to it and miss some of the (some say) more boring bits.
You can do the long loop at Penmachno and the Marin in a day.
I like both but would pick Penmachno if I had to choose
Both are great rides but I will say Penmachno is awesome.
I love fast xc riding, with my wheels leaving the ground at the highest when going in and out the car!
Penmachno starts with a mega climb, starts off slow in the trees but once in flow, is 'probably' some of the best xc singletrack you can ride.
Of course, this is just my opinion and I love my Cotic Soda (gives you an idea of my riding!)
link them together...best of both worlds.
I want to do both but my riding buddy's legs (and weight) wont let him so thats why I ask which 1. Looks like pen hands down. Thanks
Both great.
Marin is fun, fast, has some classic bits of trail and is a proper old style blast.
Rocky section on the top is my favourite bit, just such a great bit of trail.
Penmach, as above, is superb - loop 1 is so well designed, always fun and safe but most of it feels very natural.
Loop 2 doesn't do it for me quite as much.
Anywhere else it would be great, but loop 1 is so good it feels like a bit of a letdown.
Only a bit though.
There's an honesty box near the map at the start.
link them together...best of both worlds.
Oooh, sounds fun. What's the best way of doing that then?
Definitely Penmachno for me.
Penmachno feels like lots of singletrack linked up by little bits of fireroad, whereas the Marin (although I've only done it once) feels like lots of fireroad linked up by little bits of singletrack.
Off at 'Cyffty Tube',Crafnant,Geirionydd,down to Capel,BW behind the chapel to Dolwyddelan,up the fire road to Penmachno.Back via Sarn Helen,over the miners bridge and back onto the marin.
Personnely I'm lucky enough to live under an hour from them and I love them both.
If you want to do both but your mate can't. Do the original Penmachno loop, they grab a bit to eat on the way to the Marin and do the first big climb and the final 3 descents (shouldn't take more than 45 minutes, give you a good taste of both.
Or leave your mate in the car park 😉
Wouldn't do either in the next week or so mind....... Rain and wind don't mix well with Penmachno and given the wind up here as I right this there are bound to be trees down on the Marin.
Enjoy
penmachno sucks... marin trail every time.
penmachno
Marin is just fire road from what I remember
Penmachno for me, but best bits of the Marin are easily looped and done again (not just the final descent). Both great though but Marin more of a sociable chatty ride. Penmachno still probably best avoided at mo' cos final descents are closed.
Penmachno for the riding, Marin for the views
Marin for me... But it's longer since I did penmachno so maybe when I do it again this year I'll change my mind 😉 Marin is kind of hard work for the return, so I can see why people are down on it but I just forget about that and look at the quality of riding (and the location)
Is Penmachno still fitted with anti-drains? Bizarre place, we went there in a heatwave, all the drains and ditches were dry and the trail was still underwater in places.
Penmachno for the gnar -Marin for the views and chats!
Penmachno still probably best avoided at mo' cos final descents are closed.
That would be a disappointment!
Bit sad to see so much vitriol aimed at a great trail created by volunteers, but hey ho.
Yeah, last time I was there those sections were well and truly closed. Same seems to apply now:
Marin for me too, Penmachno bored me somewhat. Admittedly I did only do 1 loop as I thought that the second would be similar to the first.
I recently did the full Penmachno loop, endless singletrack (good) with very little in the way of challenge (bad) apart from the biblical amounts of surface water.
I enjoyed it but Marin is better. But then it's all subjective. You'll enjoy both I'm sure.
Do the link up with a cafe stop at [url= http://www.conwyfalls.com/ ]Conwy Falls Cafe[/url], an awesome day out. One of my personal favourites.
Personally I'd drive the extra to CyB. If I had to choose I'd go with the Marin, but only because of the last descent (unless you happen to be staying at Tyred Out in which case Penmachno as it's literally 50yds from the door)
Marin is just dull forestry road slogging for not a lot of return, Penmachno is great.
Which is the [s]best[/s] better trail?
FTFY. You're only describing two things - there is no 'best', but one may be 'better' than the other.
You're welcome. 😉
Marin was a boring slog, Panmachno was top. 😀
Pen for me, it just feels better. Even the into to a head wind pigyn bit.
Linking is a good idea if you've got it in yer legs, or there's a loop that turns the Marin into a 42km loop with a couple of big ass climbs and an awesome rocky, loose, dry riverbed kinda feeling descent.