Please give me an up to date honest review of a few Pta bike parks

[pedal menace]

Hi All - I have not been to a bike park in quite a while. Over the last couple of months we have seen a tremendous amount of rain in the Pretoria area so was wondering in what condition some of our bike parks are. I am going to pick a few trails and list criteria I think is important to me and ask that you rate out of 10, but please feel welcome to add anything.

Please do not rate if you also have not been to these parks in months - asking for a more recent experience.  

Northern Farm (point out of 10)

• Safety:
• Track/Trail conditions (on longer routes): 
• Dry/Muddy (0 = very dry, 10 = quite a few muddy sections):

RedBarn (point out of 10)

• Safety:
• Track/Trail conditions (on longer routes):  
• Dry/Muddy (0 = very dry, 10 = quite a few muddy sections):

Wolwespruit (point out of 10)

• Safety:
• Track/Trail conditions (on longer routes): 
• Dry/Muddy (0 = very dry, 10 = quite a few muddy sections):

Hennops (point out of 10)

• Safety:
• Track/Trail conditions (on longer routes): 
• Dry/Muddy (0 = very dry, 10 = quite a few muddy sections):

Buffelsdrift (point out of 10)

• Safety:
• Track/Trail conditions (on longer routes): 
• Dry/Muddy (0 = very dry, 10 = quite a few muddy sections):

Edited March 23, 2022 by pedal menace

[Steady Spin]

Can give you an honest review of Red Barn. There every weekend. 

It is a big party trail. Think of it as a big BMX track. Can get quite muddy in places but ongoing trail maintenance ensure that routes are diverted around the mud. 

Trails are well maintained and the trail team is very responsive to issues recorded on the trails. 

Currently very dry with one or two spots with mud. 

Absolute blast but not for everyone. 

[Rolf Hansen]

I visit Red Barn and Wolwespruit frequently.

Both very safe. Both trails in great condition.

Neither really have any mud at the moment but that can change in a day.

[pedal menace]

Tx for the feedback so far - very curious about any recent rides at Northern Farms - I recall having a nice 60Km+ trail there but since I haven't been there in a very long time I am hoping some recent opinions can be shared. 

[thebob]

Hennops is a great option. There was very little mud last time I was there and the trails are always well maintained and marked. Just have a look at their Facebook page for parking arrangements since the bridge was washed away.

[Chadvdw67]

15 minutes ago, pedal menace said:

Tx for the feedback so far - very curious about any recent rides at Northern Farms - I recall having a nice 60Km+ trail there but since I haven't been there in a very long time I am hoping some recent opinions can be shared. 

I did the Jackal Dash thing there like 2 or so weeks back, it was pretty dry, there were muddy patches, but nothing really bad, I actually want to go there again soon, the trails are quite fun

[Rowl]

54 minutes ago, pedal menace said:

Tx for the feedback so far - very curious about any recent rides at Northern Farms - I recall having a nice 60Km+ trail there but since I haven't been there in a very long time I am hoping some recent opinions can be shared. 

Was at NF about 2/3 weeks ago on the 50/54km route.

 

Trails are mostly in good condition, can do with some maintenance on the longer/less used loops/routes where the route deviates from the shorter routes. But for me this was due to constant rain which makes it difficult to get to. Muddy in some sections but again to be expected after all the rain (4/5 out of 10).

 

Safety wasn't an issue for me, was there on a busy Saturday morning.

Edited March 24, 2022 by Roul
Grammar

[pedal menace]

Awesome - seems NF is a good option for this Saturday! 

[pedal menace]

20 minutes ago, thebob said:

Hennops is a great option. There was very little mud last time I was there and the trails are always well maintained and marked. Just have a look at their Facebook page for parking arrangements since the bridge was washed away.

Tx! - I think their longest route is about 33km right? 

 

[thebob]

15 minutes ago, pedal menace said:

Tx! - I think their longest route is about 33km right? 

 

With the recent additions to the trail, you can get more like 40km

[madmarc]

Can only comment on Red Barn & NF

 

Red barn = Safety 8/10 (never had an issue but you never know) Trails = 9/10 but dont get over confident, or you be using some medical aid after all its a very loooong BMX track. Can get wet and muddy after it rains but all rideable in my experience 

 

NF = Safety 9/10 (also never had an issue but there have been some incidents a few years back - visible security along the trails) Trails 10/10 - Mix of everything and well designed, most technical sections loop off and back onto main trails so its easy to cut them out if you not into tech riding. Can also get muddy after rains but mostly rideable

I like NF best - because there's nothing like the smell of fresh cowsh$t early in the morning

[Steady Spin]

@pedal menace happy to take your round Red Barn. Distance from 20km to 40km. @Rolf Hansen would be cool to ride with you too. 

[pedal menace]

1 hour ago, Steady Spin said:

@pedal menace happy to take your round Red Barn. Distance from 20km to 40km. @Rolf Hansen would be cool to ride with you too. 

Wow - super nice of you!! There are really still some awesome people in the world! Me and my son doing Sani2C together so I was thinking we need some more Oemph (aka distance). Thinking of doing the 54 or 68km ride at NF this Saturday. Go BIG or go home right? 

[SundayCycler]

I ride Big Red Barn and Northern Farms often.

Big Red Barn is safe. If you're riding on the weekend, there tends to be quite a few people on the trails so you're never really all by yourself. Never had any issues riding there.
Trails are great, with continuous maintenance. It does get muddy after some rain and the mud can stay for a bit after but there is usually diverted paths that you can use to mostly skip the mud.

NF is also very safe especially on weekends when there are many others on the trails. The longer routes tend to not have as much people on the trails but of all the times I've ridden there I never felt unsafe (well other than coming across a harmless snake or slightly aggressive-looking monitor lizard :P).
The longer trails are in good condition but as manicured as Big Red Barn. When it rains it can get muddy but you're on a farm so expect to get dirty. There is an optional section next to the river that gets completely flooded during rain, so the trail in that section tends to get washed out and 4 weeks ago I had to hike a bike over a fallen tree in that section. All in all good trails that can get muddy but most of it is rideable when muddy.

[Steady Spin]

49 minutes ago, pedal menace said:

Wow - super nice of you!! There are really still some awesome people in the world! Me and my son doing Sani2C together so I was thinking we need some more Oemph (aka distance). Thinking of doing the 54 or 68km ride at NF this Saturday. Go BIG or go home right? 

NF will be good training but if you want some hill training I would definitely recommend the 50km technical trail at Buffelsdrift. You can also work your way up to their 80km for proper Sani training. 

[pedal menace]

30 minutes ago, Steady Spin said:

NF will be good training but if you want some hill training I would definitely recommend the 50km technical trail at Buffelsdrift. You can also work your way up to their 80km for proper Sani training. 

Tx! Did a Nissan race at Buffelsdrift many years ago - haven't been back since. Still have the scars to show! 🤣