Review for Ae Forest Mountain Bike Trails

Tibbort:

The red graded trail here seems as though it is going through a sort of transition phase- there is some great well-established singletrack but the new stuff, although of excellent construction and design, sort of feels a bit out of place right now. Perhaps once trees grow up around them and they become roughened around the edges from bike traffic a more natural effect might be achieved. Some of the track by the wind farm is partly made from crushed brick which gives a city cycle lane feel, until you come up against some massive dirt jumps on the most exposed part of the hill. A warning of possible side winds needs to be heeded here to prevent an accident. I never rode this trail before the diversion was put in place so cannot comment on what has been lost from the ride. All in all it is a great technical track: four main climbs are matched with four great descents, all of varying character. It would be a decent measure of biking skill for a rider to get round without dabbing down. For those who say there is too much fireroad climbing, this is not the case- of course if you are unfit or not used to biking, these will take up a chunk of your ride and feel like a real drag. My other half (female) got round the route as it is now in under an hour and 3/4 so there are no excuses lads! The blue trail would be a great introduction to riding- once the first long climb has been done. A brilliant new section of track has been constructed with large wide berms, and can also be enjoyed by those who are comfortable riding at great speed. The track joins the green for a pleasant ride up the valley floor before turning down dale on wide easy singletrack winding through trees back to the end. I'd go as far as to say this is possibly the most family friendly centre i've been to, thanks to the nature of the easy graded trails and the fact it isn't uncomfortably busy like some of the other Stanes, which might put off the less confident rider.

A lot of money has gone into creating new trail There's everything you could need- grades of trails, cafe, shop, showers, bike wash Not busy at weekend Well-draining (xc loops)- despite wettest January in years not much mud Great for families