Dalbeattie Mountain Bike Trails

Wadam00:

Rode here while on holiday in the pouring rain. Enjoyed it but missed out the steeper blacker sections like the slab as it was evening, I was on my own & grip was minimal. The trail was a good challenge and some of the steeper rocky drops with multiple lines were good. Few to many km spent going up & down on fire road but it did not spoil it. Liked the skinnies towards the end e.g the one on shakey Jakey. Will definitely come back in the dry with friends and ride it all

Challenging rocky sections & a great skills trail for beginers to advanced riders

stumpy_dan:

Dalbeattie is not like other trails. I thought it be rocky like the Lakes. It takes rocky to a new level. It's probably the most technical red trail I have ridden. I was a bit shocked at first by the unusual terrain and it took me a while to get me trail groove on and warm up. Probably would have been a good idea to have done the taster loop first to acclimatise. Once you get used to the unique terrain you get a great sense of achievement either on ups or down (which are all very short) from nailing the technical trail features thrown at you. It's pedally and the facilities very limited although there is a car park, toilets and free bike wash. I found some of the descents a bit wasted (I.e. they could have more features) and overall it is more a trail that you get a sense of achievement rather than one that gives you the grin factor. I also think this trail more than any in the UK is about line choice. The line choice is not always obvious so you need to really focus. I'd like to follow a local another time and I sense the second time would be very different to the first on this type of trail. Second time round I'll have my seat post dropper on too which would help here as otherwise its a constant faff. I broke my rear mech hanger half way round and did bad maintenance for a bit and had to abort eventually. Was a shame I was just starting to really enjoy it and starting to find some flow in my riding. Was a very long walk back so I will need to come back soon and probably update my review.

Rocky Loads of technical trail features Free bike wash

bikingbunny:

Red route in Dalbeattie is a nice technical ride. Quite a long distance on fire road but once you get to the singletrack you can't be bored. Think you should feel quite confident on a bike to try it due to rocky surface and challenging features. Black graded options available, haven't tried then though as both, The Slab and Terrible Twins, looked too steep for me. The trail has no big climbs or long descends but is a good place to build up your skills. It was nice and dry when we've been there but rocks may get slippery when wet. Taster Loop is a great fun, two nice small drop-offs and a little wooden jump to have fun at, less steep slab to test yourself. Snapped the chain at Taser Loop but luckily managed to fix it and ended up doing a few loops. Green and Blue Trails for less experienced riders. You can wash your bike free of charge, toilets on site. The car park is not too big, the place doesn't seem to be overcrowded during the week, not too sure about weekends. Good day out, if you're looking for a challenging ride you should have a go!

Challenging sections

beardedbiggs:

i rode here about a year ago and very much enjoyed ourselves, there is quite a bit of fire road but i think the quality of the singletrack sections certainly make up for it, the slab is scary as f**k when on top of it looking down! (i bottled it and went round which i regret)

good, technical, has black options

P Jaram:

Make sure you and your bike are in tip top shape.

If you think you are confident heading out on the toughest red and black routes that the Welsh and English trail centres can throw at you don't get too complacent. The 25km of Hardrock red route at Dalbeattie takes things to another level. Sure you get recovery time with regular fire-road sections between the rough stuff but this is technical riding and you have to be at your best. It's unforgiving it will beat you up...think I'm exaggerating....well take a look on You Tube at some of the epic offs on the SLAB, the QUALIFIER, TERRIBLE TWINS. However when you stitch a few sections together and come out the other side you know this is the real deal and that you were on it. Although there are the sadists who ride hardtail or rigids, suggest best on a medium travel FS. If you go enjoy and revel in the knowledge you've ridden and survived one of the toughest!

Alibobness:

The blue is a great trail for beginners The Red is a really great technical trail which will really progress your riding! The Hardrock challenge which happens every October is a highlight