Afan mountain bike Demo Day report

Dan Joyce styles it up on the Trek Session 88 (Matthew Cole/BikeRadar)

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The third mountain bike event in the Bike Demo Day series stopped at Glyncorrwg in the Afan Forest Park on Sunday, and although it tried its best, the weather wasn’t enough to stop hundreds of demo riders enjoying the bikes and trails on offer.

Over 120 bikes were available to try from 13 bike companies including Trek, Lapierre, Raleigh, Corratec, Yeti, Santa Cruz and Corsair. 

The excellent Dropoff café did a fine job of keeping us all fuelled throughout the day with their big breakfasts and hungry-rider-sized meals. The car park’s financial manager did a good job of keeping us amused too.

Among the visitors were staff from the Live2Ride bike shop in Frome, Somerset – (from left) Pete Austin, Ed Findlay, Geraint Davies, Christian Johnson, Richard Evans and Brett Cooke. They said: “The demo day is fantastic. It’s amazing to see so much kit, and there are no queues. We’re like kids in a sweet shop!”

Matthew Falzarano, 14, came all the way from Hampshire. He said: “We got here in just under three hours. I’ve just tried out a Diamondback XTS and I’ve got four more bikes booked. I’m going to Cwmcarn soon and the bike I’ve got isn’t quite up to it. The Diamondback tracks really well and it’s really plush.”

Matthew Falzarano was demoing non-stop all day. Here he is with Diamondback's XTS

Alex Matthews, 32, from Chelmsford, said: “It’s the first Demo Day I’ve been to. I’ve just taken a Corsair Konig round the track and it was good, but I’ve got my eye on the Lapierre Zesty and Spicy.”

Alex Matthews enjoyed his first demo day experience. Here he is after testing the Corsair Konig

Andy Smith, 37, from near High Wickham, took a Yeti 575 out for a spin. He said: “It’s my first foray into full-suss. It was a bit tiring going up but much better going down. I’m looking to buy a new bike – something I can take to France and hammer down the hills but also ride up again without killing myself.”

Pronghorn’s CEO Kenneth Dalsgard had travelled over from Denmark for the Demo Day with team cross-country rider Klaus Nilsen. When we spoke to them it was raining, but they went out for a ride later in the day and were amazed by the quality of the trails at Afan. 

(From left) Head of Pronghorn UK Jeremy Crook, Pronghorn’s CEO Kenneth Dalsgard, Future Cycling Editor-in-Chief John Stevenson and Pronghorn team cross-country rider Klaus Nilsen

Jeremy Crook, head of Pronghorn in the UK, said: “I’m sure we’ve sold at least one bike as a result of today so it’s been really good. When people can ride the bikes and understand what they’re about, it makes a big difference.”

Dan Joyce, 15, from Bristol, donned his full-face helmet and downhill kit to try out Trek’s new Session 88 rig. He said: “This bike was the main reason I came. It was really good. It’s got a bit of a low bottom bracket though, which made me crash! I normally ride a Marin Quake. I’ve got a Santa Cruz Chameleon and Yeti DJ booked for later today. I’ve been to one of these demo days before – the one that was here a couple of years ago – and it’s been really good, so I’d come again.”

Dan Joyce styling it up on the Trek Session 88

The next mountain bike Demo Day is at Dalby Forest in Yorkshire. For more information and to book your test ride now, go to the Bike Demo Days website. If you've got any questions, just head over to our dedicated Demo Days forum page and we'll do our best to answer.

Demo Day Dates

• 22 March: Dalby Forest, Yorkshire
• 5 April: Glentress, Scotland
• 19 April: Grizedale, Cumbria

What you need to bring

A utility bill and photographic identification (these can be provided by a parent or guardian for younger riders). If you have your own helmet and/or pedals and would like to bring them, that’s no problem. Otherwise, these will be provided.

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