For new riders, a big obstacle is knowing where you can begin your mountain biking journey and for experienced riders, your local can eventually get stale. But fret not because today we're launching our brand new Trail Centres Guide to help you pick the best centre for your next, or your first outing.

• Trail Essentials - Kit to take on a mountain bike ride from the bare minimum to safety essentials​​
• Buyer's guide to mountain bikes - get the best MTB for you
• The best ways to find new mountain bike trails

We've teamed up with Decathlon to scour the UK for some of the best trail centres around to give you an idea of what you'll come up against when visiting a trail centre for the first time.

We've got guides for seven trail centres located in Wales, the South West, and the Midlands, along with an in-depth description of what each centre has to offer and what kind of riding to expect from the trails. Plus, we’ve got the best addresses to bung into your satnav to make sure you don't get lost on the way.

Within these guides, we tell you how long each trail is, the official trail grading colour and therefore how hard it might be, and discuss the range of amenities that are on offer so you can prepare yourself as much, or as little as you want before you go. We even tell you where's best to stay if you're looking to pull an overnighter nearby.

All of these trails have been ridden on aboard Rockrider's AM 100 HT, to prove that you don't need an expensive, all-singing-all-dancing bike to get the most out of any trail centre.

So, if you're pondering on where to ride next, or where's best to make your start in the world of mountain biking, be sure to check out our trail guides that you'll find under the new 'Trail Centres' heading at the top of every page on off-road.cc.

• Click here to see our Trail Guides
• www.decathlon.co.uk

You might also like:

• Nine cheapskate alternatives to proper cycling products​
• The best mountain bikes for under £1,000 - the best budget buys ridden and rated
• Is it worth converting your mountain bike to tubeless?