[Closed] Swinley Skills area

It’s a membership thing.

£10pm gets you stuff
£20pm gets you a bit more
£30pm gets you unlimited some stuff and some of the other stuff

Swinley Hub

Swinley Coaching. 

They weren't allowed to implement a pay-per-ride model. I'm not sure how I feel about the subscription, but if it's the only way it can work..

There's 5x3 hour blocks a week open to members, and  I guess it's for coaching the rest of the time. Your subscription level decides how many sessions you get to ride- 2 a month for bronze, unlimited (up to about 20 in reality) for gold.

Can't see when the windows of availability are though.? If they're weekends that's great but if they're at 2pm on a wet Thursday it's not much use.

I'd also be curious as to what happens when it's full of riders...

hmmmm. Parent and child option may work for us.

2 x open sessions per month – only in Family Fun sessions, so you will only be surrounded by other parent/ guardian:youth - this takes place on a Saturday morning. (3 hours per session, 5 per week to choose from)

That's a shame, I ride Swinley maybe once every 2-3 months so its not worth me signing up for even the cheapest membership

Was hoping it would be similar to how B1ke park run their membership scheme for Rogate/Tideworth/Windhill

I've no interest in coaching as I'm pretty confident on the bike and can ride most of the drops and jumps at BPW and I'm a bmx'er so my bike handling skills are pretty good

Maybe they will change to a free membership and then pay to ride session in the future

Right, the dad and boy seem to be 10am on a Saturday... That works for us, so we're in for the year.

Booked, paid and sorted.

Not been for a while, where is this skills area and what does it have?

escrs

Member

That’s a shame, I ride Swinley maybe once every 2-3 months so its not worth me signing up for even the cheapest membership

Was hoping it would be similar to how B1ke park run their membership scheme for Rogate/Tidworth/Windhill

I’ve no interest in coaching as I’m pretty confident on the bike and can ride most of the drops and jumps at BPW and I’m a bmx’er so my bike handling skills are pretty good

Maybe they will change to a free membership and then pay to ride session in the future

same for me but great facilities for locals.

Not been for a while, where is this skills area and what does it have?

About 10acres of hillside, its the hill that was originally blue 2, so not massive, but does seem to have crammed every conceivable trail feature into a a variety of runs. Everything from progressive drops and tabletops to 20ft hero ladder drops!

Im tempted by the 2x a month option.

I think if you look at it like BPW, Windhill etc then its not the same. If you wanted a one off pay2play days riding for £10 I think you would be disappointed and probably bored by lunchtime riding the same set of jumps all day. Its either going to be somewhere to have a play on bigger features than the red route after a lap of the red/blue, or somewhere to progress for a couple of hours a week in between sporadic visits to BPW. Worth a visit, but not a day out in itself (a bit like Swinley itself).

For the equivelent of less than £5 a session its a bargain, you cant go to a swimming pool for less than that!

And that includes some coached group sessions, which is i guess the CE/Insurance requirement, however good you think you are, you cant just sign a worthless disclaimer and go launch yourselff off a ladder and sue them.

I went along to one of the sessions on Saturday so am able to give some informed insight into this. The sessions were via sign up only via facebook, and intended to get some feedback prior to full opening in the New Year. Intense UK were also there on Saturday with test bikes, I got to ride the mullet Primer for most of the session - very nice bike.

There will be some maintenance and some minor changes over the next few weeks.

A run down of the facility:

Beginners area - 5 x mellow trails with rollers, tiny jumps & drops and berms. Great for novices and kids.

Dual course (in reality 2 mini dh lines which run pretty parallel. Good fun, no big features.

2 x drop lines of 3 x drops (I'd say more step down jumps) which get progressively bigger up to approx 6 ft. Run really nicely, just don't ride them slowly.

Red jump line - open, but berms were mushy, could be fun.

Black jump line (was closed as not fully bedded in)

'Enduro' line - mini DH run. No big features but some nice turns

Loam line - short loamy run - fun in the wet.

Hero drops - 8 & 12ft drop (they look bigger) - closed on the day as landings too wet.

There's something for everyone from beginners upwards, and it's pretty progressive. Most useful for those looking to build confidence on trail features which get your wheels in the air.

Maybe they will change to a free membership and then pay to ride session in the future

Can't see this happening. Crown Estates are not in favour as do not want a 'bike park', the solution provided is what Tom Reynolds and the team have come up with as a compromise. It must be a 'coaching' facility. Whilst they may have wanted pay and play, the landowners do not.

I’d also be curious as to what happens when it’s full of riders…

I think they will limit places and have a sign in facility to stop overcrowding and a coach will be onsite at all times. The weekend sessions were fully booked and didn't feel overcrowded. I imagine initially there will be a big rush and then it will die down as demand levels out / people get bored of riding the same features. Looks like they will also do summer evenings which could be good.

Im tempted by the 2x a month option.

This seems the best bet for me, any more and you'll need to be in there a lot to make the most of it, and there isn't a huge amount to keep me going back so often as I like to mix up my riding.

So in conclusion, nothing ground breaking, but a nice facility which is set up to run in the best way possible given the limitations set by the landowner. Kudos to Tristan and Tom for actually getting something set up and I wish them luck.

but berms were mushy, could be fun.

Black jump line (was closed as not fully bedded in)

I think the membership business model should help with this too, the gully used to get trashed as soon as it rained, and since it became a trail center so has deerstalker, babymaker etc. This seems like a good way to keep the summit area running well throughout the year with lower numbers, less brake dragging, less skidding and hopefully acting a bit more responsibly regarding litter if they're a member of something rather than just a user.

I'm local, so have been past many times during construction. Well done to them for getting this set up, seems like there are a significant number of people who like the place, despite the usual online detractors.

Only thing that grinds with me is the pricing - not that its too much, it seems on par with the B1ke places; but the way its phrased.

Unless I've mis-interpreted, you must pay for the year membership - and so I hate that they call it a cost of £10. Its not, its £120, or £10 per month

I guess it targets people on their £80 (per month) Santa Cruzes showing up in £400 (per month) Audis.

Looks like they will also do summer evenings which could be good.

As they'd be fools not to read this thread, may I make a suggestion. If there was a summer only membership for these evenings, I'd be all over it.

For those 4 months of daylight after work rides, would fit with my schedule perfectly. Committing to 2 weekend days per month for an entire year, sadly not for me.

Committing to 2 weekend days per month for an entire year, sadly not for me.

I'm the same with this, as I am not really local I'd struggle to maximise even the lowest value option. May be worth having a chat with Tristan/Tom at the Hub about other options as they seem open to feedback. I really do think that they are trying their best to make it work given the restrictions they have.

May be worth having a chat with Tristan/Tom at the Hub about other options as they seem open to feedback. I really do think that they are trying their best to make it work given the restrictions they have.

My plan is to let it run for a few months - then maybe pitch the "summer evenings club" idea come spring.

Looks cool that. Like B1ke stuff, but with a few extras.
I only get up to Swinley 2 or 3 times a year, otherwise I'd be all over the hero drops 😆

For those 4 months of daylight after work rides, would fit with my schedule perfectly. Committing to 2 weekend days per month for an entire year, sadly not for me.

£60 of the subscription is the group skills course you get with it, I guess a bit like a gym induction / risk mitigation exercise. If that's not compulsory for the risk assessment you might be on to something.

If I lived round the corner, I'd be all over it. But even with just a 30 minute drive / 45 minute train I'd still not use it enough to justify it. I also suspect I'm not quite gnar enough to get the most from it.

Swinley is my nearest trail centre but I was completely unaware of this, I've not been there for a few months though and tend not to bother during the winter TBH.
The whole annual subscription coaching thing doesn't seem like a terrible deal IMO, I could be tempted by the 'Bronze', 'Silver' or maybe even the 'family' packages (if I could persuade the kids they wanted to do a session or two).

But I don't think the term "Summit" should really be applied to anywhere as flat as Swinley 😉 ...

Would like to try it but not prepared to commit to paying for a year.

anywhere as flat as Swinley ...

said the man who is [i]definitely[/i] hucking it off the 12 footer..!

Swinley is the closest place for me to ride, so I ride there often, especially during the winter as the trails hold up remarkably well in the wet, but I've still only ridden there 20 times in the last year. Even if I had a play in the Summit area every ride, I still wouldn't be getting good value from a £120 annual Sub, especially as I'm not interested in a Trail Confidence (beginners?) course included in the price.
Secondly, There currently appear to be too many unanswered questions...
When are the open sessions?
Do you have book in advance?
What is the subscription cancellation policy?
Can you carry unused sessions forward to the next month if you are away, or working a shift pattern that doesn’t fit the 5 session times available per week?
What if the only sessions you can attend are fully booked?
What if you’re injured and can’t use your open session allocation?
Will there be different training sessions available in the following years? I doubt many will want to do the same ones every year.
Details in regard to these type of questions are non existent on the website.
I'm sure all these will be answered once they're up and running, and I hope it works out for Tristan and Tom, I know they've put a lot of effort in and the Crown Estate have been quite restrictive with the conditions they've placed upon them. It's just a shame I don't think I'll be able to use the new facility given the current subscription model.

Beginners area – 5 x mellow trails with rollers, tiny jumps & drops and berms. Great for novices and kids.

About my limit then 😄

For those 4 months of daylight after work rides, would fit with my schedule perfectly. Committing to 2 weekend days per month for an entire year, sadly not for me.

True, but like gym memberships it probably anticipates less than 100% usage. You don't take up a £30 a month gym membership on the basis that you'll go 30 times a month therefore good value at £1/session. Which is why gyms offer peak, off-peak and short term memberships too. But the shorter the term and more 'peak time' you want to use it, the higher the price .
conversely the off-peak isn't half the price even if it's only available half the time.(special introductory offers designed to suck you in in January when it's actually really busy are an exception, that's just market forces).

Good business sense would dictate that a summer membership would need to cost almost as much as an annual one otherwise you're just loosing annual customers (that would probably end up visiting <24 times/year anyway).

Logically if you wanted to make a commercial success of it you would offer off-season short term memberships to keep it full over the winter months.

And £10/month, however much you moan about it being a £120 annual subscription, I can point to Gyms* near Swinley with higher monthly membership fees than that annual fee!

*Nirvana in Wokingham, actually not bad VFM when you consider it's a nice enough place to spend 3 hours in an evening rather than a rushed 40min session queuing for equipment whilst yoofs take selfies in some painted concrete converted warehouse.

Looks like a great resource and a fun addition to Swinley, but it's a shame they've been a bit hobbled with that awkward commercial model.

I suspect it's too different to how people are used to paying for MTB rides for it to really catch on, but I hope I'm wrong and it proves a success. Bit vague on what you get in terms of coaching input?

On a tangent - I would probably be interested if there was a subscription based model with a decent instructor near me where I could get one hour in a smallish group once a month or so.

And £10/month, however much you moan about it being a £120 annual subscription, I can point to Gyms* near Swinley with higher monthly membership fees than that annual fee!

Gym is open 24hours a day. I assume this will be weekends only? or 9 till 5 etc..

Gym is open 24hours a day. I assume this will be weekends only? or 9 till 5 etc..

Worse than that, only 5 3hr open sessions a week, one of which is I think is the family session on a Saturday morning.

Worse than that, only 5 3hr open sessions a week

£1.66 an hour, this being Swinley the wear on your drivechain will cost more.

Gym is open 24hours a day

Yea, but would you really want to spend 3 hours in one of those 24h Gyms?

I'm astounded people are not all over this for the money, in terms of value it's very very tough to beat.

6 hours for 2 people for £15 a month, that's insane value, even if we could only do 1 Sat in a month, it's still only £15 for 3 hours each... £7.50 LOL... for 3 hours... Hell, i'd spend more than that sitting in a costa waiting for the wife to finish shopping.

I wonder if they would do a £60 a year 'membership' which includes the annual skills course to cover the H&S requirements. Then you pay a fee for each session you wish to attend. I imagine quite a few would pay the fee then only go once or twice a year for £10 a go. With non of he extra discounts it would offer a more accessible membership with the flexibility that modern life requires?

It's a good thought for sure Marky, i'm sure if it would have been viable with the land-owners they'd have suggested it. I'm a little sad because even though i'll have 2 weekends there a month, i won't be with my usual riding mate for them, i'll be with my boy... Of course that's GREAT being with him.... but well, his conversation skills are limited to Xbox and finger boards.... (No, they're not what some of you are thinking)

I’m astounded people are not all over this for the money, in terms of value it’s very very tough to beat.

Well TBF (ignoring the cost of a parking ticket if you drive) you've still got the entire rest of swinley to go and play in to your hearts content for free, no subscription required, just turn up whenever you like ride as long as you want... it's only the new "Summit" bit you can't use for that £10-£30 PCM and some coaching.

It's not too hard to kill a couple of hours pissing about on the regular trails, and there's sufficient jumpy pumpy stuff to keep mortals reasonably entertained...

I'm in Reading, quite local so it's not too hard to get over to Swinley, Like others I'm tempted by the 'Bronze' membership, but I'm just not sure I'd make full use of it.
The annual coaching session would be a good bonus but I certainly don't make 26 visits a year to swinley as it is, even with some fancier bonus Gnarr trails thrown in I'm not sure I'd have the time or inclination, especially during the winter months, to go every couple of weeks, I'd be interested in a deal that struck a balance between more coaching and fewer 'summit' sessions perhaps, but then you can't suit everyone and I'm not sure I'm target market anyway....

Will they be offering 1 off coaching sessions or is it all via subscription?

Plus being sat next to the M4 I can head west, £120 is what three, maybe four (frugal) BPW/Cwmcarn/Afan trips? That would do me for my annual Gnarr subscription just as well...

It's not a bad deal, but there are other options that might suit people better...

Well, BPW for me if i take my lad it's £100 for the day, that's assuming we don't stay over (which we are in a few weeks), sure Afan etc is cheaper, but Swinleys new area offers us somewhere for him to practice and hone his skills in a controlled environment, it gives him lines, jumps, drops etc where he can session time and time again to put into practice what he's learned himself and at Jedi for example.
Plus, it's a bucket load of fun too 🙂

So for me and him it's an absolute no-brainer, especially as they're only allowing family on the Sat mornings which is great as there won't be any lunatics jumping into him 🙂 well.... hopefully. But that said, he can more than hold his own on a trail anyway, so would be fine. I think he may be the one scaring everyone 😀

The coaching isn't a massive appeal to me and him, if he wants more tuition it will likely be done with Jedi anyway, so it's just the riding that's for us.

I wonder what it will be like at night? Full of sneaky riders with lamps, making the trail look like a chain of twinkling fairy lights????

Will they be offering 1 off coaching sessions or is it all via subscription?

It's £95 for 2 hours 121 IIRC, or lower cost group sessions on specific skills.

I only get up to Swinley 2 or 3 times a year, otherwise I’d be all over the hero drops

From what Tom posted on the SFMB FB group you have to earn unlocking of features (sounded like a video game).

From what Tom posted on the SFMB FB group you have to earn unlocking of features (sounded like a video game).

To be fair there's going to be a coach onsite at all sessions, so I don't think it's going to be a problem 'unlocking' stuff. They let us run all that was open at the weekend without any problem. The only thing they said was ensure that you could do the entire smaller drop line before doing the bigger one (which makes total sense).

I see this as more a way to stop inexperienced riders totalling themselves like they used to in the jump gully (and still do on Babymaker).

I also think it's fair to have to show the required skills to send the big drops, those things are huge (8 & 12 ft is a lot bigger when it's not been exaggerated by the storyteller). There's a lot of have-a-go heros on the SFMB FB group who I expect to be slowly backing away making excuses.

8 & 12 ft is a lot bigger when it’s not been exaggerated by the storyteller

+1, also it looks like 12ft from the ladder to the lip of the landing, so unless you plan to nosedive onto the dirt directly below the ladder, really you're landing quite a bit further down the slope! It's certainly a lot bigger than the drops that used to be up by the reservoir.

Just popped up in my YT - nice vid showing all the stuff at the skillZ area. Incl. drone footage 🙂

Can't wait for this!!! Excited.

GOt our first session on Saturday... Going to be EPIC !!!! Although potentially more epic for my lad than it will for me as i'm likely to only have my Parkwood as not picking up the new G-160 until Sat evening. I really can't ride the Parkwood even a tiny bit offroad on tech stuff LOL.

Why not hire something from the bike hub or from Mountain Trax down the road??

Don't forget to film it and post here afterwards 🙂

Simply because I'm collecting my G-160 that afternoon and we're booked in at Swinley for 2 sessions per month for the next year, so don't think it's really worth hiring at £80 for a day when we're back there so regularly.

Between £20 to £35 per day for a Whyte bike from Mountain Trax (depending on model), but if you're booked for twice a month then probably not worth it.

Isn't the first session a coaching session??

Isn’t the first session a coaching session??

Only the first 30 mins which i assume is like a saftey briefing type thing, your 'coaching' doesn't need to be on the first day.

edit :
I'm 99% picking up the G-160 on Thursday anyway now so will be ready for weekend.

Article on the Swinley skills area in the latest MBR magazine. Apparantly, phase 2 will include some skinnies................

The pricing is ridiculous especially for what you get to ride if like @weeksy its for his son you can have 3hrs coaching at Aston Hill for £17.55 Firecrest

It was great fun, for £7.50 i can't see how anyone can argue. Sure they're short, but that helps as i can keep an eye on my lad easily... but they're GREAT fun.

Here's the fun from today at Swinley.

The new G-160 was excellent. Rides beatifully, although as expected i was bottoming out the back end, but we knew that as the volume spacers never arrived until an hour ago.

But the handling, jumping, turning, all fantastic !!!

I impressed myself by doing them 3 drops, including the 3rd which was right outside my comfort zone and i had a massive rush of adrenaline after the first time over it... proper scared and elated moment.

It may not look that high to some of you, but DAMN it was to me !

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49367104607_8f33527f50_5k.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49367104607_8f33527f50_5k.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2idpjgZ ]2020-01-11_12-38-14[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

Here's the fun from today at Swinley.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5wMAxo-b5o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4E6uusVQwo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i46pP_vWpII

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXscHcpp3SE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgJztaZU3Wc

Looks great 🙂

I was there on Sunday, it really is brilliant. I have done all the drops apart from the last one on the left side. Need to build up to that. progression is the word you hear a lot there.

I think this is going to be a great way to improve in a safe(ish) environment.

I have done all the drops apart from the last one on the left side

Currently too big for me that one..... Its a weird one as seeing a few guys do it, they don't look THAT skilled on the other stuff compared to me... but they were OK to do that drop.... But i'm not there, not yet... maybe not ever LOL.

I thought the same, i think that shows how much of a mental aspect there is to that sort of feature.

if I can get there once a week, it should happen at some point.....

how much of a mental aspect there is to that sort of feature.

It's 99% of the game isn't it.... Once you've got the right technique (whichever one you use), then it's all just about perception, the jump doesn't change, the landing doesn't change.... it's just higher or further.... but essentially, it's the same as jumping off a kerb....

Until you're 3' from it and thinking "Oh i'm about to DIE !!! "

All you need is a few teenagers shouting SEND IT!! at you like on Babymaker and it will seem easy 🙂

What was the surface like? Had it bedded in/dried out since the open day?

After a couple of sloppy winters I've promised myself I'm keeping my nice bikes clean until spring and riding the gravel bike! But £7.50 to ride some trails that haven't been eroded into a drive chain eating bog practically pays for itself compared to the red route!

Wasn't boggy in the slightest.... 1 minor sloppy bit on the Enduro line on the left hander, but dry and puddle free apart from that.
Bikes came back remarkably clean...

I think there's a pile of rain due this week which may change things... but Sat was great.

I was up there today and it was running nicely, no particular areas of bog, although the dual track was closed as it had some standing water.

Really enjoyed it, progression on the drops is great, albeit I didn't quite progress to the biggest on the left hand line, next time 🙂

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49393730726_e286796509_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49393730726_e286796509_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2ifKMi1 ]Swinleyjump3[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

Is that landing to flat?

Only if you roll it 🙂

If you jump it's a declined slope.... but you do have to be carrying a bit of speed to get to the downslope...

Is that landing to flat?

There's a slight slope to them, and IIRC they drop off a bit a couple of bike lengths from the take off (not ridden them, just looking over the fence).

[edit, beaten to it]

the 11 year old getting all excited at nailing all 3 jumps/landings.

👍

Getting pissed off with winter, between the weather and my back ive barely ridden since new year and that looks brilliant!

It's small, almost quaint. But it's perfect for doing repetition. It's how I can now ride them drops without fear, do it, do it, do it. It then becomes normal. I'm not going to be Danny Hart by any stretch, but I feel I'm more confident at certain features than before, which is worth it alone.

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49505674902_8d9ad85f4b_h.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49505674902_8d9ad85f4b_h.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2iqDwp1 ]2020-02-08_12-18-48[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

He did the left side !!!!! I didn't...

I will next time though !

Thats great to see! Left side is quite intimidating. Wish I had been doing that at 11, kudos

Tasty! He got some height there.. for an almost flat landing! 😊

Weeksy that's ace 👏