Mountain
biking has something for everyone - from easy woodland rides
to the exhilaration of a downhill course. It's a great way
to keep fit and, at the 7stanes, to enjoy some of Scotland's
fine forest scenery at the same time. If you're new to the
sport, we've provided some information below to help you get
started.
What equipment do I need?
The three essential items in any novice mountain biker’s kit
are a helmet, gloves and a bike.
What if I don't own a helmet or bike?
Equipment hire is available at onsite at Glentress, Mabie,
Ae and Kirroughtree, with seasonal bike hire available at
Glentrool. There are also bike hire shops throughout the 7stanes
area. See the individual 'stanes' pages for more details.
If you already have a helmet, or want to buy one, make sure
it is approved for mountain biking.
Do I need a special bike?
We recommend your bike has some form of suspension if you
want to ride the 7stanes trails.
For the green-, blue- and red-graded trails, suspension forks
– ‘front suspension’ – should be sufficient. These bikes are
often referred to as 'hardtails'. As you progress, and want
to try riding the black-graded routes, then a ‘dual suspension’
or 'full sus' bike – with a suspension system at the rear
as well as the front – will make the most difficult trails
seem a little bit smoother, and easier to ride.
What does the trail grading colour code mean?
At the 7stanes centres, the colour-coding system for singletrack
trails – from the relatively level and smooth green trails
to the highly technical black trails – provides a great framework
for progression. Start with green and, once you are comfortable,
move up to blue; then progress to red, and eventually you
might be ready to tackle the black-graded trails.
The
bike parks - graded orange - contain
challenging jumps and features. There are different grades
of feature within the bike parks, and many features can be
rolled over, but technical skills are important.
Forest roads are usually ungraded. They can
vary widely in gradient and evenness of surface.
The trail grades page has full details of what the different
trail grades are.
You can get a flavour of the types of trails by looking at
some of the 7stanes videos.
