Ae 7stanes Trails

The Trails at Ae Forest

Ae Forest has a bigger variety of trails than anywhere else in the 7stanes with something for everyone. Green and blue routes are ideal if you are a family with young kids or you want to have an easier ride on well maintained trails. If you need a cross country challenge then the Red Route at Ae Forest will give you a real test. Ae is used by several Enduro race organisers for their toughest events.

You will need to have your head ready for the Red route, don't expect super smooth nicey nice trails, Ae will test your skills and endurance, it's not for the weak! It's also great fun to ride! If Freeride and Downhill riding are you're thing then the Shredder and the National Downhill Course at Ae will give you a thrill on courses ridden regularly by the world's top downhill riders.

To view a map of the Ae 7stanes trails Click Here.
To view the trail conditions/weather at Ae 7stanes Click Here.

Green Route:

This is the perfect introduction to mountain biking with a scenic 9km route that meanders through the old forest with its huge trees and along the banks of the river Ae. A lot of the route is singletrack and in the main it's flat (there's only one hill), so it's ideal for young children or if you just want an easy ride.

Blue Route:

At the moment the blue follows the main forest trails to high point before a steeper downhill section takes you down to join the green route. You then ride the singletrack next to the river back to the visitor centre. The 13km trail is due to have a brand new section of singletrack finished by Easter 2011 which will enhance the whole experience for those looking for something a bit more challenging than the green but without the technical difficulties found on the red route. A perfect intermediate ride.

Red Route:

Ae red route is legendary amongst bikers. Rough, tough & challenging with lots of features, berms, tabletops and jumps, this will test your skills, work your muscles and leave those willing to attack the trails with a smile. Recent maintenance at the end of 2010 has smoothed out many of the rougher parts making the route flow a lot more than it ever has. Ae never has been and never will be for the weak, don't expect an easy ride, this is where endurance race organisers come to test their events. You will have to pedal here, there's plenty opportunities to get some air, a long section of northshore will test your nerves and if you like to gather speed there's lots of fast downhill sections to crank it out on. New features have been added around the route and more maintenance is planned for 2011 which will see the Ae red route take its place amongst the best of trails available to ride anywhere.

The Shredder:

This is a freeride style trail which can be summed up in one word ... awesome! It starts next to the Downhill course and is fast, steep, smooth and lots of fun to ride. The road gap makes for an interesting feature (if you haven't walked the course or aren't prone to getting a bit of airtime - watch out!). It makes for a great warm up for the downhill or when you just want to have some fun. You can combine it with the final section of the Omega man to give yourself an amazing long freeride descent with as much air as you can shake a big air stick at. Rated orange and although it's not quite a downhill course, you will need to have the skill and experience to handle the drops, jumps and infamous road gap!

Ae Downhill:

The downhill is what put Ae on the map. The national downhill course is full on and last year a whole load of new features were built into it to freshen it up and keep it interesting! The British Downhill National Championships were held at Ae in 2010 and amongst the riders were past and present world champs Gee Atherton & Steve Peat. When you include ten times world champ Nico Vouilloz as another rider who graced Ae this year, you really are following in the tracks of the best when you ride Ae. The course itself is fast, furious and full of challenges that test the very best. Steep off camber trails, the rock garden, the 22ft coffin jump and the step down have been joined with a host of new features and additional line choices, it's one challenge after another and you've got to riding hard to take on this classic. The start is fast, technical and off camber. The top section has a huge new tabletop and a stump garden to navigate as well as triples and a log drop down to the fire road. After that you're into the rock garden, after which you'll hit the coffin jump, some fast singletrack, then more steep technical lines, roots, the massive step down and the biggest berms in the UK! Welcome to Ae!