on a 625wh battery (bosch) i managed 5 full top to bottom runs and three climbs from about half way down (end of sixtapod & melted welly). Threw battery on charge over lunch and got 31% back which got me another 2+1/2 and my body was dead before the battery was.
I was mostly using tour+ and had a mix of routes up. If you are going from the bottom then take the beast of a burden climb onto the fire road and as roots manouvres crosses the fire road take the next non signposted trail up through the trees and on the next bit of access road turn right and you'll cycle up past the road gap for 50 shades of black and have a much easier time for the battery getting to the top.
Full beast of a burden climb took me 18 mins, using the fire road took that closer to 12-13 mins.
The E-Bike Steep climb (next to ac/dc end) is a quick way up but will absolutely smash your battery
Going down from AC/DC and running the route the uplift goes just takes too long.
So take this as about 120% of a 625wh battery on a 25kg bike with ~85kg rider running fairly low tyre pressures (22/24) on assegai tyres on dry trails. I'm notoriously bad for still using some battery on the way down
View attachment 70675
on a 625wh battery (bosch) i managed 5 full top to bottom runs and three climbs from about half way down (end of sixtapod & melted welly). Threw battery on charge over lunch and got 31% back which got me another 2+1/2 and my body was dead before the battery was.
I was mostly using tour+ and had a mix of routes up. If you are going from the bottom then take the beast of a burden climb onto the fire road and as roots manouvres crosses the fire road take the next non signposted trail up through the trees and on the next bit of access road turn right and you'll cycle up past the road gap for 50 shades of black and have a much easier time for the battery getting to the top.
Full beast of a burden climb took me 18 mins, using the fire road took that closer to 12-13 mins.
The E-Bike Steep climb (next to ac/dc end) is a quick way up but will absolutely smash your battery
Going down from AC/DC and running the route the uplift goes just takes too long.
So take this as about 120% of a 625wh battery on a 25kg bike with ~85kg rider running fairly low tyre pressures (22/24) on assegai tyres on dry trails. I'm notoriously bad for still using some battery on the way down
View attachment 70675
Thanks for your reply mate was very helpful !on a 625wh battery (bosch) i managed 5 full top to bottom runs and three climbs from about half way down (end of sixtapod & melted welly). Threw battery on charge over lunch and got 31% back which got me another 2+1/2 and my body was dead before the battery was.
I was mostly using tour+ and had a mix of routes up. If you are going from the bottom then take the beast of a burden climb onto the fire road and as roots manouvres crosses the fire road take the next non signposted trail up through the trees and on the next bit of access road turn right and you'll cycle up past the road gap for 50 shades of black and have a much easier time for the battery getting to the top.
Full beast of a burden climb took me 18 mins, using the fire road took that closer to 12-13 mins.
The E-Bike Steep climb (next to ac/dc end) is a quick way up but will absolutely smash your battery
Going down from AC/DC and running the route the uplift goes just takes too long.
So take this as about 120% of a 625wh battery on a 25kg bike with ~85kg rider running fairly low tyre pressures (22/24) on assegai tyres on dry trails. I'm notoriously bad for still using some battery on the way down
View attachment 70675
Fuck that shit! I've ridden up every time I've been there and every time I say I'm getting the uplift next time, and that was with FFs! With the SL I'm definitely buying an uplift ticket if I ever get organised enough to book it.If you are using your ebikes though you obvs don't need the uplift and can pedal up.
Hi Mate, the uplift and entrance fee are all in one. If you are using your ebikes though you obvs don't need the uplift and can pedal up.
When you tot up your totals I'd say its a lot for biking anywhere for 2 days.... let alone BPW. I don't know about mecca, but it is a good day or two out. If you are going for 4 days and fancy some adventure you have Cwmcarn/Risca Bike Park 30mins to the East above Newport then loads of trails to the West - Afan, Afan Masts, Smilog etc. 4 days doing all those trails centers in some hopefully beautiful Welsh sunny weather would be an awesome trip.
Also be prepared for the totally different grading to what you are used to. The blues are fantastic reds. The reds are more like blacks. We never got near the black runs as we are a bunch of pussies and it was our first visit and after two days we were all fubared.
It's a good place to ride if you've never been but I wouldn't call it MTB Mecca - Think of it more as a trail centre with an uplift.
Good mix of trails, they run really fast and ride well in any weather. Uplift service has always been good when I've been, although they've sometimes finished by 15:30.
The prices seem to go up every year and it's got to the point where I'd just go on the FF Ebike in future, you don't get the same value for money these days.
There's usually a bit of a crowd waiting to go into trails at the top but once you're going you don't usually see many people
The drive is a total chew from our way tbh, it's a much nicer drive to Scotland.
We’d need a minimum of two nights accomodation, roughly £80-120 a night
BTW I am doing the coast to coast Wales in a fortnight {top to bottom} so I will be sick of the place
£80-£120 a night? In Merthyr?
Didn't know they'd built a Savoy there
All weekThat sounds like quite a trip though. How many days do you expect it to take ?
I like BPW a lot and I only live down the road so I go as often as I can but if it was costing me that much, I would drive to the alps instead.Now then …
Been thinking about a South Wales mini tour next year, mainly for BPW
My question is though, is it really worth it ?
Hear me out …
There’s two of us, myself & my partner, and I pay for everything
Firstly, we’d go for the uplift, so that’s 2 x £40
I presume we also have to pay entrance fees, so that’s 2 x £19
It’s 260 miles (5 hours) from where I live, so a 520 mile trip at (I pay £0.16 per mile) £83 in fuel
We’d need a minimum of two nights accomodation, roughly £80-120 a night
So, just to go to BPW for us is going to cost a minimum of around £360-440
That’s a lot of cash just to ride some new trails, bearing in mind there’s plenty where I live, for free, or for just a parking fee
We’d probably stay for four nights and get some more riding in elsewhere, so costs are going to escalate to at least £600-700. Add food and all the other unexpected expenses and it’s more like a grand
So, back to my original question, is BPW worth it ?
Alternatively we can go to Scotland for a road trip and some new trails, fancy Comrie Croft, Dalbeattie, Adrenaline uplift etc, this would be half the cost, far less travelling and just as enjoyable. North Wales is also around the same distance as Scotland, Antur Stiniog, DYFI, CyB etc
We’re also not too keen on busy places. Obviously once you’re out on the trail it won’t feel busy but what’s it like mid week using the uplift and cafe ?
Just typing this post has probably made my mind up for me, just wondered if BPW is really the UK Mecca of MTB’ing it’s made out to be, or is it just far more accessible if you live down south ?
Yeah I’m leaning towards Scotland for another road trip next year. We’re off up there again in a couple of weeks time. Probably just Glentress again, last time we went she was on the hardtail so it’ll be a whole new experience for her riding there on the Rise
It'll definately feel a bit more comfortable on the rise for her
If you wanted to try any off piste Ho Chi Min is a good starter, quite rooty but flows well and isn't as steep as the others, Mast of Zorro is another good one.
Gypsy glen on the opposite side of the valley has a nice natural descent into Peebles and definately worth a trip up for the views. Enjoy!
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