What do you mean by…
All Mountain (AM)
A style of riding or bike that would cover the middle ground between Cross Country and Downhill riding. All mountain bikes will be heavier and more robust than Cross Country bikes but lighter than Downhill specific bikes. In reality the difference between “All mountain” and “Cross Country” is more about the attitude and aggression level of the rider than the trail itself. You might also use an All Mountain bike for Cross Country riding if you’re a bit fat, (like me) because you’d get a bike more able to withstand a bit of a battering.
Berm
A berm is a banked corner built into a trail to allow you to corner without losing speed.
Bermed corner, Bedgebury
Cross country (X-C)
A style of riding that involves covering a lot of miles. Bikes classed as “cross country” or “XC” specific will tend towards being lighter with less suspension travel. Cross Country riding would generally be more demanding in terms of fitness than in terms of skill.
Downhill (D/H)
A style of riding that involves riding as fast as possible down a specially constructed trail which generally doesn’t involve going uphill. Downhill trails are generally more likely to feature jumps and steep drops and would be more a test of skills than fitness. Bikes built specifically for downhill riding will be heavier, more robust and have a lot of suspension travel.
Drop-off
A short, steep section of trail. This can vary from a roll down a smooth slope to pick up some speed to a rutted, rooty, near-vertical test of your nerve.
Fettle
Making mechanical adjustments to your bike
Fire Road
Wide, evenly surfaced roads through woodlands. So called due to their main purpose being to prevent the spread of a fire. These are often used at Trail Centres to link sections of singletrack, in most cases the bulk of the climbing you’ll do at UK Trail Centres will be on Fire Road.
Full Sus/Full Susser
A bike with front and rear suspension.
Gnarly
Anything difficult, dangerous or scary. Rough terrain.
Hardtail (H-T)
A bike with front suspension only.
Kicker
A small mound (Usually compacted earth but other materials can be used) strategically placed to help you jump.
North Shore
Trails made out of wood. In it’s most basic form, North Shore trail building was designed to ferry bikes over delicate or exceptionally boggy terrain without causing further erosion or damage. This has evolved into trails which are designed to test bike handling skills to the extreme and can feature narrow wooden platforms several feet into the air, see-saws, jumps and drops.
North Shore @ Bedgebury
Routes -(Blue/Red/Black)
Mountain bike trails are generally graded Blue, Red or Black.
Blue trails are aimed at riders with a basic level of offroad competency and a reasonable level of fitness. The trail surface will be mostly smooth and not too steep but you might encounter the odd root or short, steep section of trail. Dismiss blue routes at your peril, when ridden fast they can be a lot of fun.
The bulk of trails at UK Trail Centres will be graded Red. Red trails generally require a rider proficient with offroad riding, a good quality mountain bike and a good level of fitness and stamina. Red trails will be generally at least 10km in length and involve steep ascents and descents as well as challenging trail features such as steps, large rocks, drop offs and water crossings.
To be graded Black, a route or section of trail with either be very physically demanding, feature sections which demand advanced riding skills or (in most cases) both. Many of the black routes at Welsh and Scots trail centres will be 30km or more in length and feature large, unavoidable drops, sections exposed to the elements, long climbs and steep descents. Black graded trails will require high levels of fitness.
Singletrack
A trail wide enough for only one bike, hence “single” “track”. Generally this is the fun part of your day out on your bike.
Singletrack at Afan
Trail Centre
A location with waymarked trails (Often specially constructed specifically for mountain bikers though this is not always the case) specifically aimed to give Mountain bikers some easy-to-access fun. There are dozens of trail centres in the UK from the Highlands of Scotland to Friston Forest, barely a stones throw from the English Channel.
