Guided Rides South Wales Archives - Wye MTB

🚵‍♂️ What to Expect on Your First E-Bike Guided Ride (Beyond the Trail Centre and Bike Park)

Group Shot, Brecon Beacons National Park
Guided Rides, south Wales

You’ve ridden your e-bike before… but mostly in trail centres or bike parks?

You’re not alone.

A lot of riders we see at WyeMTB are confident on trail centre loops—but feel unsure when it comes to:

  • Riding in open hills or mountains
  • Dealing with mud, rocks, and changing grip
  • Tackling features like water crossings
  • Or just heading somewhere new without second guessing it

That’s exactly where a guided ride comes in.

And it’s even more relevant when you’re riding in areas like the Brecon Beacons, the Wye Valley, or the Forest of Dean—where the terrain is natural, varied, and often unpredictable.


🌄 Real Riding Means Real Terrain (And Real Conditions)

This is the biggest shift from bike parks.

In places like the Brecon Beacons and across Monmouthshire, you’re riding:

  • Narrow singletrack
  • Open, exposed hillsides
  • Trails that change with the weather

There’s no perfect surface—and that’s where real confidence comes from.


💧 Features You Don’t Get in Bike Parks

Natural riding in the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean brings features that most riders haven’t experienced much before:

  • Water crossings
  • Loose rock entries and exits
  • Uneven, unpredictable surfaces

This is where many trail centre riders hesitate.

On a guided ride, we help you:

  • Read the feature before riding it
  • Choose the right line
  • Decide whether to ride or walk

No pressure—just better decisions.


🧭 Navigation Is Taken Care Of

One of the biggest barriers to riding new terrain is simple:

👉 Not knowing where to go

Across the Forest of Dean, the Wye Valley, and into the Brecon Beacons, there are endless trails—but not all of them are obvious, or suitable.

With WyeMTB:

  • You won’t get lost
  • You won’t end up somewhere above your level
  • You’ll ride trails that actually suit you

🧠 You’ll Learn Without It Feeling Like Coaching

This isn’t a formal lesson—but you’ll improve anyway.

Riding across varied terrain in areas promoted by Visit Wales and Visit Monmouthshire, you’ll naturally pick up:

  • Better line choice
  • More confidence in natural terrain
  • Smarter decision-making

It’s all part of the ride, not something separate.


👥 Riding With Others Changes Everything

Riding somewhere new on your own can feel like a big step.

But whether you’re in the woods of the Forest of Dean or out in the hills above the Wye Valley:

  • You relax more
  • You ride better
  • You naturally push your comfort zone

And importantly—there’s no pressure to “keep up”.


⚡ Your E-Bike Makes Bigger Rides Possible

These landscapes are what make riding here so special—but they also make it more demanding.

Your e-bike allows you to:

  • Cover more ground across Monmouthshire
  • Explore deeper into the Brecon Beacons
  • Enjoy longer days in the Wye Valley

Without burning out before the best parts.


🎯 Who This Is Really For

This is ideal if:

  • You already own an e-MTB
  • You’ve mainly ridden trail centres
  • You want to explore more natural terrain
  • You want to do it safely, with guidance

✅ What You’ll Leave With

By the end of the ride, you won’t just feel like you’ve had a good day out.

You’ll have:

  • Real confidence riding beyond trail centres
  • Experience across varied terrain
  • The knowledge to explore areas like the Forest of Dean, Wye Valley, and Brecon Beacons on your own

🚵 Ready to Take That Next Step?

If you’ve been riding—but feel like you’re only scratching the surface…

This is where it changes.

📧 Hello@WyeMTB.co.uk
📞 01600 228474

Used and Abused – Gear Review 2019

We are in the lucky position that we get to ride our bikes almost daily in some amazing terrain in Wales – alright I know that is rubbing it in – which means we really use and abuse our kit!  We have picked 6 of the best we have used for our guiding and coaching this year;

Here are first few of the standout bits of kit….!

Orange Bikes 

I know their looks divides opinion, and that people think the suspension design is simplistic , but these bikes really do just keep on working!

We have had 2 this year, Windy’s Five and Gareth’s Stage 6.

Both have done over 150 big days out, and the only maintenance has been one set of bearings each. That’s a massive £40 spent between both bikes to keep them running sweet, and less than an hour on the tools. Compare that to some of the fancy linkage bikes out there, the Oranges just keep handling the abuse we dish out with no complaints.

The angles are super sorted too, which means you can grind them up the hills, and then have a smile for miles all the way down, and we all know there are some epic downs here in South Wales!

Yes the single pivot means that it can ‘jack up’ under braking, but choose your braking spots, anad learn to keep the throttle open and these are as fast as anyuthing else out there!

Burgtec Grips and Pedals

We have been using a range of the Burgtec products, from the bars, stems, chainrings, pedals and grips, but the two stand out products have been the grips and pedals.

We have used the new Greg Minnar grips. First thing we admired was the price…..£19.99 is mega competitive for some grips.

We really got on with the shape – 31.5mm seems to be the perfect width for our hands, and the tapered core means our hands sit really comfortable on them. The 25A rubber is supersoft (when you think the softest tyres are 42A) and this seems to really help absorb vibrations and help maintain grip, especially in the wet. All in all, they are the best £20 upgrade we have spent on our bikes!

What can I say about the pedals?

The composite ones below have been on the e-bike all year. £44.99 and they haven’t missed a beat!

They have the same great shape as the Penthouse ones, and have the same bearings and sealing too. The thinner pins, means they aren’t quite as planted as their more expensive brother, which means when we have been getting rowdy on the trail bike, the Penthouse have been the go to pedal of choice.

More to the point though, we haven’t had to touch them all year. Sure, they have some great battle wounds, from some of the rocky descents in Wales, but they just won’t die!

Still running the same bearings from new, and still super smooth!

Madison Flux waterproof Jacket

This has been the ultimate guiding waterproof, and we have given it some testing! It has a lovely soft shell construction, and a 4 way stretch to the material, which makes it super comfortable to wear, and a great fit!

It’s also super light and pack down really small, meaning there is never an excuse to not pack it in the guiding bag!

I think this also helps with it’s versitility. You don’t get too hot in it when cuaght in a summer downpore, but it’s great with a few layers underneath in the winter too.

The soft shell material, together with it’s great breathability, means we wear it a lot as a wind jacket when it’s not raining as well.

We really do think we are going to be hard pushed to find a better one, particularly for the money (£119)!

You’ll have to wait until Friday to find out what the other 3 bits of kit are!!!

Happy Shopping

British Cycling Mountain Bike Leadership

Mountain Bike Leadership

Mountain bike leadership, National Governing bodies and insurance. What’s is all about?

WyeMTB is an accredited centre through British Cycling which allows us to deliver their Mountain Bike Leadership Awards. David Windebank better known as ‘Windy’ was one of the original BC leadership tutors moving from the Scottish Cycling Mountain Bike program when it was updated in 2011, since then he has gone to become a Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 tutor.

Last month saw Gareth Sheppard complete the tutor pathway under the watchful eyes of Rachael Crewsmith and Windy to become a Level 2 Mountain bike leadership tutor. Gareth brings a vast amount of experience to the WyeMTB team, leading the British Cycling Paralympic team to London 2012 and taking the Welsh team to the Commonwealth Games. One of the first level 3 guides back in 2013 the pathway for Gareth to becoming a tutor has been long but fulfilling journey!

What is the British Cycling Mountain Bike Leadership award Scheme?

British Cycling (BC) is the national governing body of cycling in the UK. Over the years, BC have been focused on road cycling, track cycling and cyclocross. In recent years their focus has moved to more recreational cycling like Mountain Biking and this is where the leadership scheme fits.

Membership and Registration, why so much?

To become a mountain bike leader, you will need to become a member of BC and register with the MTB leadership scheme. If this is the first time joining a national governing body this will feel like a lot of money, it is, but you get a lot for your money!

The majority of the payment goes to the leadership department to affiliate with their Leadership scheme, and you will be sent a great 200+ page handbook based on the level 2 Mountain Bike Leader Award.  The cost also includes the compulsory Level 2 Safeguard training course and finally, this is the best part; once you are qualified, BC will provide you with public liability insurance which can be used when leading guided rides…. Amazing!!!!

British Cycling Mountain Bike Leadership

The British Cycling Mountain Bike Leadership scheme is split into 3 levels

  • Level 1: Currently a site-specific training course, used in conjunction with a British Cycling centre accreditation. There are some developments coming with this award, so watch this space!

 

  • Level 2: The MOST popular level and the one that most people enrol as their first step to becoming a mountain bike leader. The award is split into 3 parts
    • Training: 2-day event where the BC tutor runs through a range of topics, for example, trail side repairs, navigation, leadership styles and a number of practical sessions
    • Consolidation: at the end of the training event your tutor will sit down and create a development plan specific to each candidate. This development plan will look at exactly what needs to be done before assessment.
    • Assessment: 1-day event, a BC tutor will run through the criteria provided by British Cycling. The development plans are designed to ensure the candidates are ready for their assessment. The key to this is that candidates can present themselves then they believe they are ready.

 

  • Level 3: The top-level award and can only be reached if you have either completed the Level 2 award or hold an older MTB leadership award still recognised by BC e.g. MBLA. The award is split into the same three sections as the level 2 award, however the course is more intense and equips you with the tools to  lead sessions in wild and remote areas.

WyeMTB run all the above courses and dates for 2020 are live in our website. We run the course across South Wales and Cannock Chase. If you would like more information please drop us an email: Hello@WyeMTB.co.uk or call Windy on 07887998795 for more details.