Let's offroad / mountain bike / mtb / ride dirt

I saw that on the Facebook group but assumed it was just rumours, has it been confirmed?

Looks like it - Trail Team Swinley seem to think it is so.

Sandy Cutting Closure

The Crown Estate has announced they will close the Sandy Cutting (also known amongst the mountain bikers as the Jump Gully) with immediate effect.

Although popular, Sandy Cutting has been the site of many accidents over its lifetime - too many. During the latest inspection by The Crown Estate, it was finally decided to close it.

Having looked at the accident rates for the last 12 months with The Crown Estate, Sandy Cutting accounts for over 40% of all reported incidents in the forest. This is not sustainable or defendable for The Crown Estate, and TrailTeam Swinley supports this decision.

We understand that there are many mountain bikers who will be very upset by this decision and we would like to remind them that at the end of the day, The Crown Estate have a responsibility to all users of their land and it would be irresponsible to keep a feature known to be a high cause of incidents open.

The Crown Estate have asked anyone who wants to discuss this with them to call 01753 860 222

Should pop down there and crash hard for old times sake

:'( RIP, pretty iconic spot.

Swinley in general has become a crash magnet since the new trails. But I dunno if that's down to numbers increasing, or whether crashes per capita has increased.

the Jump Gully in Swinley has been 'closed' with immediate effect.

This?! Hardly seems like 'Redbull' type gnar :-/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVBHl9Z4SZs

And I never even got to do the big one :(

Couldn't they have just put a warning there? The jumps didn't seem particularly dangerous to me, just the nature of jumps really...

crown estate Y u so tame.

Middle aged men with egos bigger than their skills... you can still crash on a small jump. There's some insane jumps near Swinley if you know where to look, but the Gully is easily accessible for everyone and looks tame. There's probably an ambulance there at least once a week over summer.

As the trail team have said, Crown Estate are responsible for the land and it's easy to see why they've scrapped the Gully given the number of accidents centered around it.

Yeah...there are warning signs. It was an 'official' feature so it came with all the disclaimers.

Problem is, there's no provision to stop what the locals call 'Barracuda Bobs' from turning up, crashing hard and being airlifted out.

I can see why they need to close it.

I'd imagine that with no designated jump section in the forest geurilla jumps will begin to appear and they'll be far more dangerous and harder to manage.

This is basically the reason ski resorts have terrain parks, doubt this will last long.

I'd imagine that with no designated jump section in the forest geurilla jumps will begin to appear and they'll be far more dangerous and harder to manage.

There are some, just up the hill, on what I think was called the Camel Trail.

I wonder if the CE has now backed itself in to a corner. They originally officialised everything to make it safer and more controlled, but now with more and more people turning up it seems like the incident rate is still uncomfortably high. There's no natural terrain - i.e. a thumping great hill - that wards off Barracuda Bob, so I wonder if those that would be breaking themselves on the Jump Gully will simply break themselves elsewhere instead.

Middle aged men with egos bigger than their skills

YOU RANG?

I'd imagine that 2 things will happen.

1. They'll break themselves elsewhere

2. Make dangerous modifications to existing trail that will break other people...

Is it red 21 that has some decent sized jumps in it? I steer clear of the last one as it always throws you into a corner with MASSIVE braking bumps.

Is it red 21 that has some decent sized jumps in it? I steer clear of the last one as it always throws you into a corner with MASSIVE braking bumps.

Yes, to red 23. Tragically, that's where a chap got himself killed.

You should see the Bbumps in the alps. Much fun on hardtail.

Fuck I want one of these.

A guy died on red 23 as well as red 25?
Jeez

Unfortunately I've never been to the Alps during summer :( tend to save my holiday money for winterlels.

Only death I'm aware of at Swinley since the new trails was on Red 25.

Flog the Stanton, and pull the trigger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TsRJCUmYMM

I'd really love one of these cotic rocket 29ers, anyone know if it'll be released or has it been replaced by the 27.5?

1 Attachment

Why? I can't see any reason to build a full-sus frame out of steel.

Rear end is alu I think.

Spotted one at Swinley - looked the business.

Yep I'm probably mixing them up.

So do I!

Well, they haven't fucked around. Well and truly gone.

Urgh.... that looks a bit grim :-(

Well that looks like NO FUN to cycle on. I'm aware of the problems they face when people hurt themselves, but I feel like a warning sign should do it. Some things are dangerous, some are fun, some are both and people should be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not to have a go.

Libertarian cyclists unite.