Who thinks a lot of man made single track is boring ?

Generally rocks for trails come from on site, not brought in, so cost not so much of an issue. Wider trail can get decent sized machinery in to construct and roll, narrow trails need narrower machines. It about the time to build more than width.

If you've moved away from decent trails out in the hills its not the fault of the trail centre, they are just there fufilling a purpose

I spent many years riding natural trails with built trails near by and did an IMBA trail building course too and a bit of paid trail building in Wales, I think there, thin soil, with bed rock just under in many places and water courses etc led to certain trails being a lot simpler.

Trail centres are to Mountain Biking what indoor climbing walls are to outdoor multi-pitches. Blotch are good for practicing skills but that's about it.

trail centres are 'the passification of a sport through controlled environments due to the insurance requirements' :evil:
give me a dangerous environment where i have to assess my skills and ''Exactly how deep is that pool of dirty mud ladden water'' as i steam straight into it

IMO all riding is good riding, I love the natural stuff, I love the trail centres :!: just get out and ride

FSR-Si":25i2ry9s said:

IMO all riding is good riding, I love the natural stuff, I love the trail centres :!: just get out and ride

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^^^ What he said.

Wish people'd stop bashing 'modern' bikes and trails and start enjoying their riding. Lifes too short.

Takes so little time to toss off some slaggings to modern bikes and trail centres.

Life is long enough!

FSR-Si":m84cpg4u said:

IMO all riding is good riding, I love the natural stuff, I love the trail centres :!: just get out and ride

Click to expand...

Amen to that

Boring to me is watching saturday night TV. Riding my bike offroad, or even on the road is infinitely better than sitting on the sofa, or going round tescos/the garden centre/B & Q/ etc....although the Pub comes in a close second

Personally my BITD experience involved lots of narrow single track. In Scotland our countryside access has always been more liberal than England and Wales and thus riding down twisty walkers paths and deer and sheep trails has always been what I've ridden. If anything trail centre single track is quite wide but its also fast so its great fun.
As for viewing a trail centre as a scalectrix track, so is your favourite backwoods loop if you do it often enough. Its not slot racing only if the terrain is unfamiliar.
Many tracks of which the OP refers in my experience dont always need a mtb as I've ridden a fair few on a touring bike.
Single tracks always been there, it was not invented by trail centres but for a fair few, you just were not allowed access to it.

I think trail centres are great, and have been challenged by some black runs.

The old natural trails are still there (with the exception of some that have been "maintained" and are less fun than they were BITD).... I ride both

What's missing most about trail centre riding is the "exploration" aspect, getting out into the middle of nowhere with no one around, you have to be able to judge trails your self and stay within your abilities. With a trail centre every trail is possible to ride and you are never far from the car park.