Aston Hill

ThePriory1978

Is Aston Hill any good? How serious/pro is it?
To give an idea of my experience level, for those familiar with the south-east. I'm used to Surry Hills and Swinley Forest and I ride all the trails without issue. The only exception being jump gulley which if i catch too much air i bail 50% if the time.

Also, it looks tiny. Only about an hours entertainment. Is this the case?

Thanks

Anonymous

Very good.

I'm no expert on the place having only been once, but it was serious enough to leave me with knackered ribs for a good few months from numerous offs

It's a downhill venue in the main. Small area but for DH it's a lot of trails. Sharp, twisty switchbacks, roots, drops, lots of gnarl.

There are different routes to take of varying intensity, which I'd say vary between red and black level. There's also a 4X course which has jumpy bits but you could do it slower and roll it.

Though with all of them, careful at first and check the lines you take. Don't go flying off without knowing what's ahead. Best to go with someone though.

All the DH stuff require a full face helmet. I think it's mandatory anyway, but I'd say you'd be nuts to not have one. Various pads are certainly recommended and most the regulars will be wearing the full armour. After what I've been through I'd definitely have the lot, especially a spine protector.

All that said, there's an XC route round also which is quite reasonable and you don't need all the kit for that, though it's probably not worth going there just for that.

Check out London Calling thread or that FB group as some are talking about Aston for this or next weekend I think.

P.S. It's a private place and you'll need to buy a ticket in advance. See http://www.rideastonhill.co.uk/. There are some videos on there also, plus many on other sites showing the routes.

singletrack mind

Hiya, I've gota say that AH is bloody good for a days riding - I've been riding there for over a decade now and am still entertained when I get over there.

The DH trails vary from DH3 which is smooth and a bit jumpy (mostly tabletops) to the Black Run which is pretty steep, off-camber and rooty.. The XC course is 5.5 miles, has some great singletrack and nicely flowing lines, the climbs are short and sharp on the whole. The 4X track has been cleared recently and is running v well and there is a small set of bombholes too.

I ride there on a 120mm XC bike normally with an XC lid and knee pads. If you plan on hitting it fast take armour as the roots and chalk can be pretty unkind if you do come off.

If you book a day pass online you also save a quid.

Hope you have a good ride!

J@mesC

Don't travel for the XC loop! First half is ok, then the second half is all climbing on singletrack and descent on fireroad! The second half would be great ridden the otherway round but as it is it's just a horrible steep slog!!

singletrack mind

Hi againThePriory1978,

Not sure which section J@amesC is referring to - maybe there was a section closed for repairs when he visited last?

I was leading an XC ride there 3 weeks ago and rode the XC loop 4 times without coming accross any fireroad descents. The only fire road section is a climb where they have the finish line for the 4 DH runs by the golf course.

Have a look at http://www.rideastonhill.co.uk/xc/ for a proper route description.

All the best,

SM

cooldad

The XC bit wasn't up to much, and pretty much any bit of Swinley is much better.
There is a red run, which was great fun and spent the rest of the day on it.
Did the black run by mistake - thought it was a bit of the XC route. Interesting.
BUT some of our group loved the DH bits, which is what it's really all about. Short gnarly runs.
There is a warden in the car park, so you can buy a ticket on the day no problem.
Well worth a trip, but for my style of riding (pussy) I'll stick to SH.

ThePriory1978

May try and gather a band of loons for some shinanigans next weekend then.

deadkenny wrote:

All the DH stuff require a full face helmet. I think it's mandatory anyway, but I'd say you'd be nuts to not have one..

Is full face mandatory for the downhill runs or just regular helmets?

cooldad

No you can wear any helmet.

tony620

It was ok but all over abit soon you go down for 10 mins then climb for 25... i done it 5 - 6 times then went home was a laugh for a while. The XC route is good on the red run the second part is terrible.

Anonymous

Sure I saw a sign somewhere about full face required, though not sure which run.

Seems the website doesn't say it's mandatory. Wearing a helmet of any sort is though.

Personally I'd say for a DH run it's essential. I thought so when I went there before giving myself a head injury, but now for me it's an absolute must for Aston.

Anyway, this is what they say...

"The downhills at Aston Hill are generally a lot steeper and more challenging than other riding around the Chilterns. Wearing an open-face helmet for riding the cross-country route is fine, but if you’re purely riding the downhill runs then a full-face helmet is recommended. If you own armour we also advise that you use it – Aston Hill is on the Chiltern escarpment which contains a lot of sharp flint! We’ve seen several injuries that could have been prevented by simple knee and elbow pads."

Personally I'd add spine protector also, but that's just because of my recent experience.

popstar

Unless you hit jumps at full speed, camelback will protect your spine allright.

Anonymous

Didn't protect my back at Swinley

But guess I was going at full speed or something. Having no memory I've no idea if I blasted over something fast or just tripped up walking!

The Camelbak HAWG NV does have a good solid back to it though. I was thinking it would possibly protect the back. Sadly it didn't. But then what I did could have been more a compression fracture. These spine protectors look like they mainly protect against an impact. Okay those are nasty as you could knock a vertebrae out of place and you're looking at potentially bad nerve damage then (what they were worried about initially with me).


Anyway, my experience at Aston really should lead to some kind of chest protection as all I did there was a load of Superman stunts, flying over the bars and landing on my chest. Was fun at the time, but hell did it hurt later

cooldad

With all the protection you think you need, maybe get a suit of armour and a horse.
Sir DK rides again.

Anonymous

I reckon one of those big balloons like in The Prisoner. Sit inside and roll down the hill bouncing around. Then it would eat people on the way also.

cooldad

The Kiwis are one step ahead.
http://www.zorb.com/

ThePriory1978

DK should invent and patent the first mtb airbags. Give it a cord attachment to the handlebars kinda like jetski's have engine cut offs. Would be great. There won't be a next time (obviously) but if you fall off again you can bounce down the hill. Double the falling fun.

J@mesC

singletrack mind wrote:

Not sure which section J@amesC is referring to - maybe there was a section closed for repairs when he visited last?

Have a look at the following: http://www.rideastonhill.co.uk/Literatu ... inside.pdf

XC route is fun enough to start, little loop out on the right of the map, back to where you started then off down the red downhill. It then takes you out wide left (on the map) before swinging back to join up on the fire road at the bottom where the majority of the DH runs finish. You then take pretty much fireroad all the way to the bottom of the hill, along the edge of the golf course (top right on the map), throwing height away all the time, before a shitty horrible climb up lovely singletrack back to the start. The climb is grim but would be so much fun as a down!

Basically, if you;re looking for XC then there are a million better places to go than Aston. If you're looking for DH then it's prob the best in south of England...