Hello

[silxboy]

Hi All,

Just thought i would say hello. I have on order a specialized fsr xc comp on the c2w scheme. I live in south wales (Newport) so there i know there are quite a few good trails around here although i have never been to any of them yet. Can anyone recommend a good 'Starter' trail around this area? and does anyone have any experience with the fsr xc comp?

Cheers,

[Mandog]

Welcome aboard. Good choice of bike, you can't go wrong with a Stumpjumper. There's a few on this forum who live your way and who'll no doubt tell you of some good local trails. Obviously there's Cwmcarn but you'll probably want something a bit easier to start off with.

[mk1fan]

The technical climb aside, Cwmcarn is all ridable for the beginner - although it can look gnarly. Same for Whites Level at Glyngorgg.

You may want to try some of the local bridleways to you - a landranger OS map will help find them - to get used to mud under the tyres.

[GHW]

The other side of the valley - the hill with the Mynydd Machen TV transmitters on it - has some fairly nice and easy trails to play with.

This route is a nice one to start with (although the hill up past the farm is a bit of a push).

I usually start off near Morrisons in Rogerstone, head under the dual carriageway and up the hill the far side, then follow the fire road along the hill-side, making my way up to the TV transmitters, then along the hill top from there, around the back of one of the spoil heaps, along a bit of a rocky track and then a short, sharp rocky descent back down the hill towards the Sirhowy country park car park - then back into Crosskeys and along the canal path home. If you're interested I can sketch it out on a Google Map or something.

Apparently there's some nice trails around hills over the back of Cwmcarn too, but I've only been up there once..

[Rolls]

mk1fan said:

The technical climb aside, Cwmcarn is all ridable for the beginner - although it can look gnarly. Same for Whites Level at Glyngorgg.

You may want to try some of the local bridleways to you - a landranger OS map will help find them - to get used to mud under the tyres.

Completely agree - you can even take the raod climb at first to make things that bit easier, and by-pass the more tech parts!

[silxboy]

Cheers for all the replies guys, GHW that route looks really good, I know morrisons in Rodgerstone (I used to live right near there) so i should be able to find the start, will defo get lost after about 2 miles though, but i will defo give it a try as soon as my bike arrives.

Thanks again,,,