Trail News – MBR

Meet the team behind BikePark Wales that repaired 32 trails in three days in the aftermath of Storm Darragh

Rebecca Bland — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 07:00:54 +0000

The team of 11 trail builders also known as SIDZ Trail Crew keep BikePark Wales running year-round - even in the aftermath of Storm Darragh

SIDZ Trail Crew, BPW

With the weather being the way it has over the past few weeks, it’s hard not to think about how …Continue reading »

E-biking is one of the fastest growing sports in the world according to Garmin data, with e-MTB rides surging 18% in 2024

Jamie Darlow — Thu, 19 Dec 2024 07:00:25 +0000

Garmin’s annual data dump shows e-bike rides are up on 2023’s figures

YT Decoy SN

E-biking is one of the fastest growing outdoor activities in the world according to data from Garmin, which reckons the …Continue reading »

“The storms are wreaking havoc and putting undue pressure on already stretched resources.” We speak to trail groups across the UK about how recent weather is impacting their mountain bike trails

Rebecca Bland — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 09:19:17 +0000

From fallen trees to flooding and stretching volunteer time to the limits, Storm Darragh has taken a heavy toll on the UK trail network.

Storm Darragh trail damage

Storms and bad weather are just part and parcel of living in the UK, particularly at this time of year. …Continue reading »

The Forest of Dean’s Dean Trail Volunteers awarded the highest accolade for volunteer groups in the UK

Rebecca Bland — Fri, 22 Nov 2024 17:47:28 +0000

DTV are a prolific and dedicated group of volunteers that keep the Forest of Dean among the top UK riding destinations, and they've just been rewarded for their hard work with the The King's Award for Voluntary Service.

Dean Trail Volunteers

The Dean Trail Volunteers (DTV), a team of 147 volunteers based at the Forest of Dean, have been given The …Continue reading »

Coed y Brenin cafe will close on March 31 2025, with NRW accused of dragging its heels on finding a new lease

Jamie Darlow — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 17:00:35 +0000

The visitor's centre will close at the end of March, but Natural Resources Wales won't put the venue up for tender until after the doors close.

Coed y Brenin's visitor's centre will close as we know it: long term, NRW plans to lease out the venue to commercial contractors

Coed y Brenin and Bwlch Nant yr Arian will close their cafes as soon as April 2025, with the last …Continue reading »

Access to area of Lancashire nature reserve restricted after “significant damage” apparently caused by bike jumps

Rebecca Bland — Thu, 21 Nov 2024 08:56:14 +0000

Areas of Cross Hill Quarry floor have apparently been damaged by riders building jumps.

Mountain bikers near Clitheroe are being blamed for causing damage to wildflower grassland at Cross Hill Quarry nature reserve, which …Continue reading »

Coed y Brenin visitor centre closure: “We need people to get angry about this”

Jamie Darlow — Mon, 18 Nov 2024 13:00:37 +0000

It might be Britain's oldest trail centre, but Coed y Brenin needs reform to save it, and the local community should take up the mantle, says Toby Bragg from Beics Brenin and Caru Coed y Brenin

Coed y Brenin

Coed y Brenin must become a community run trail centre with a new “vision for the future”, or accept trail …Continue reading »

The UK’s trails are officially harder than the rest of Europe’s, according to the first ever State of Our Trails Report… and we want more

Jamie Darlow — Wed, 13 Nov 2024 07:00:58 +0000

The UK has a higher percentage of black-graded trails than France and Switzerland combined, and the UK Trails Project reckons this shows demand for techie riding

YT Tues Core 4 29

It’s official, the UK has gnarlier trails than the continent, with a greater percentage of black and red-graded tracks than …Continue reading »

After a year of speculation, Coed y Brenin visitor centre will close, but there’s still hope for the surrounding mountain bike trails that make the destination great

Rebecca Bland — Mon, 11 Nov 2024 13:06:46 +0000

Welsh trail visitor centres including Bwlch Nant yr Arian and Coed y Brenin to close, temporarily for now - what will the future of Welsh mountain biking hold?

Coed y Brenin visitor centre

After a year of speculation and confusion, National Resources Wales (NRW) will now close three visitor centres at mountain biking …Continue reading »

England and Wales have been left behind in the race for trail access, with Scotland now boasting over 5,000km of singletrack, according to a groundbreaking new study

Jamie Darlow — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 17:00:23 +0000

The UK Trail Project's new report on trail access shows huge differences in mountain bike access across the country, and hopes to bring land owners and riders closer together

Scotland has nearly as many kilometres of singletrack as England and Wales combined thanks largely to its liberal land access …Continue reading »

Live, work, or study in Shropshire? Sign the petition to help Oswestry get a pump track and skate park

Rebecca Bland — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 07:01:11 +0000

1,000 signatures are needed by February 2025 to get Shropshire council to consider the plans to build a pump track in the town.

Aerial photo of pumptrack in Roma, Lesotho

A petition for a ‘skateboard facility and pump track’ in Oswestry, Shropshire, has been launched, with 1,000 signatures needed in …Continue reading »

Flyup 417 Bike Park forced to close again due to massive National Highways project near Gloucester

Rebecca Bland — Wed, 06 Nov 2024 11:49:18 +0000

Flyup, one of the best-known bike parks in the south, will reopen 29th March 2025 after yet another closure due to ongoing roadworks.

Flyup 417 bike park

Just mere months after reopening, Flyup 417 Bike Park has once again had to close its gates to the public …Continue reading »

The Trail Pot launches a new central fund to help finance trail-building projects across the UK

Rebecca Bland — Wed, 30 Oct 2024 07:01:31 +0000

The Trail Pot is a new central charity fund seeking to foster a "sustainable and thriving biking community across the country" and give cash for new singletrack.

Shimano New Trail Born Fund

Trail Pot is the UK’s first grassroots mountain biking trail development fund, created with the aim to “empower local communities …Continue reading »

BikePark Wales opens a new Quarry Skills Area with tables, gap jumps, drops and techie steeps designed to replicate real trail features

Jamie Darlow — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 11:15:46 +0000

Riders asked for it, BikePark Wales has delivered: the new Quarry Skills Area opens tomorrow (17th October).

BikePark Wales has just opened a brand new skills area, packed with gaps, drops, skinnies and techie bits the idea …Continue reading »

Forest of Dean’s new kid-friendly green trail opens, 2km of berms, rollers and “mini rock gardens”

Rebecca Bland — Tue, 15 Oct 2024 12:00:36 +0000

The Old Bob's Trail at the Forest of Dean features different skills areas to build rider confidence and technique

Old Bob's Trail

The Forest of Dean has announced the addition of a brand new green level trail to its repertoire. It is …Continue reading »

Dyfi Bike Park gives you 4 new reasons why you must ride there this winter

Rebecca Bland — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 08:01:18 +0000

Dyfi, the North Wales bike park frequented by all the top UK pros, gets updates to its Insta360 Flowstate track and loads more in a big summer overhaul.

Dyfi Bike Park

Wales’s most hardcore bike park, Dyfi Bike Park has been subject to a few enhancements over the summer. From a …Continue reading »

Glentress’s new skills area will be bigger, better and feature dedicated “tech zones” for jumps, rollers, drops, corners and more

Rebecca Bland — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 06:00:48 +0000

Forestry and Land Scotland's new plans show more emphasis on skills area as part of the Glentress Masterplan

The Castle Black trail is the newest edition to Glentress, the skills zone will help build riders up to tackle it

Forestry and Land Scotland (the organisation that runs Glentress in Scotland) has submitted new plans to develop the Skills Area …Continue reading »

Go Outdoors names pan-flat Cambridge as the UK’s best mountain bike destination, thanks to its “moderately difficult” trails

Jamie Darlow — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 12:00:27 +0000

No hills, mountains or proper riding? No problem. But why has Go Outdoors’ research named Cambridge its fave mtb hotspot?

Rock ‘n’ roll: Sheffielders know how to let rip in style

Which UK city has the best mountain bike trails on its doorstep? Cardiff, Sheffield or maybe Edinburgh would be near …Continue reading »

Wiltshire might seem like an unlikely place for a bike park, but it has two, and one of them – Tidworth – has just reopened after an exciting rebuild

Rebecca Bland — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 14:28:16 +0000

The freeride-style bike park in Wiltshire has reopened its doors to riders after a long rebuild, and it looks better than ever.

Tidworth B1KEPARK

Tidworth bike park, one of the B1KE venues that includes Wind Hill, Rogate, and S4P in Milford, has re-opened after …Continue reading »

Mountain biking groups unite to fight back over planned Welsh trail centre closures, including Coed y Brenin – the birthplace of trail centres

Rebecca Bland — Tue, 10 Sep 2024 17:20:50 +0000

Over 90 organisations and trail groups have joined forces to voice concerns over planned cuts to trail centres by Natural Resources Wales.

coed y brenin

In an unprecedented show of solidarity, over 90 organisations have pulled together to highlight concerns over the fate of several …Continue reading »

Despite Tom Pidcock’s Olympic mountain bike gold medal, Britain’s 2012 Olympic XC legacy course at Hadleigh Park is in a ‘terrible’ state, according to local riders

Rebecca Bland — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 09:30:43 +0000

London's Olympic MTB venue at Hadleigh Park in Essex is apparently in varying states of disrepair, with several features being out of action for long periods of time, according to local riders.

Annie Last in the Olympic womens MTB race

Only a month ago we were celebrating Tom Pidcock’s dramatic win in the mountain biking at the Paris 2024 Olympics. …Continue reading »

Coed y Brenin visitor centre among three riding spots under renewed threat as Natural Resources Wales struggles to plug funding gap

Rebecca Bland — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 14:37:06 +0000

Natural Resources Wales has a £13 million hole to plug in its budget, with 265 jobs potentially on the line, and this could lead to the closure of the visitor centre at the birthplace of mountain biking in the UK.

Coed y Brenin visitor centre

National Resources Wales (NRW), which owns and runs several mountain biking hotspots in Wales sent its staff an email last …Continue reading »

BikePark Wales confirms massive expansion including 46 new trails and on-site accommodation

Danny Milner — Mon, 05 Aug 2024 09:42:14 +0000

Wales' largest bike park announces 33-year lease and huge development plan including dozens of new trails, skills areas, and 'glamping' pods.

BikePark Wales

BikePark Wales has confirmed the exciting expansion plans that we revealed earlier this year, thanks to a new 33-year lease …Continue reading »

Shimano to commit $10 million to new global Trail Born Fund aimed at helping trail building projects around the world

Rebecca Bland — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 16:00:55 +0000

This move means Shimano joins the likes of SRAM, Santa Cruz, Specialized, and others in financially supporting and safeguarding the trails we love and ride.

Shimano New Trail Born Fund

The world’s biggest bicycle component manufacturer, Shimano, has announced it will be financially backing global MTB trail building projects under …Continue reading »

Great news for West Country riders: Flyup 417 Bike Park is to reopen early, as major road project runs ahead of schedule

Rebecca Bland — Thu, 04 Jul 2024 06:00:13 +0000

The Gloucestershire based bike park was forced to temporarily close so that work on the A417 missing link road project could commence.

Fresh trails waiting to be ridden (Noakes)

Gloucestershire bike park Flyup 417 will be reopening on 17 July after work on the A417 Missing Link road project …Continue reading »

Better than Morzine? Crans-Montana in Switzerland should be on your riding bucket list

Danny Milner — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 14:00:53 +0000

The Swiss resort makes the perfect stress-free escape for those last-minute long weekend riding trips.

Crans Montana video thumbnail

Start planning an alpine riding holiday and the first places that probably come to mind are Morzine and Les Gets. …Continue reading »

The little-known Austrian resort that’s heaven for both kids and mountain bikers

Jamie Darlow — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 06:03:57 +0000

Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis gets two new high-Alpine trails, it’s perfect for kids and newbies... and how bloomin good do the tracks look?!

Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis probably isn’t high on your list of overseas riding locations, but if you like smooth singletrack, berms and ski-lifts …Continue reading »

“Seminal moment in the history of mountain biking” as 130 trail groups and bike parks unite

Jamie Darlow — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 09:57:08 +0000

New trail advocacy group UK MTB Trail Alliance has pulled together trail builders and community riding groups from across the UK, to give mountain bikers a voice... and get what our sport needs, too

More than 130 trail groups and bike parks have teamed up across the UK to give mountain biking more power …Continue reading »

Riding Red Bull Hardline… on a motorbike

Jamie Darlow — Tue, 28 May 2024 14:25:22 +0000

The 90ft gaps should be a doddle on the moto, but the tech sections... we're not so sure

Red Bull Hardline is nearly here, and to celebrate 10 years of the most bonkers downhill track in the sport …Continue reading »

BikePark Wales launches suspension ‘breakdown service’

Jamie Darlow — Fri, 24 May 2024 11:30:32 +0000

It’ll lend you a fork or shock, and help you fit it too

BikePark Wales Summer

Blowing up your shock or fork is usually game over for your day’s riding, but now it doesn’t have to …Continue reading »