APRIL FOOL ALERT!

Plans have just been revealed for a new bike park specifically for electric bikes near Peaslake in the Surrey Hills.

Sales of electric bikes have been through the roof of bike shops for the past few months and so it comes as no surprise to hear about plans for what amounts to an e-bikes-only trail centre.

We’ve had e-bike specific disc brakes, e-bike specific tyres and e-bike specific drivetrains, so ‘e-trails’ appear to be the next thing now.

No non-electric bikes allowed

That’s right, non-electric bikes will not be allowed on the trails. The stated reason for this is that non-electric bikes get in the way of e-bikes on climbs and linking fireroad sections. No doubt the appeal of being around like-minded e-bike owners, away from the brickbats of catcalls of non-electric riders will also be a factor.

The whole complex will be devoted to the specific needs of e-bikers.

There will be several charging posts dotted around the trail network to plug in your bike for quick top-up. There will also be a powered mobile bike-lift in the car park to help people get their e-bikes on and off car roof racks.

What will the trails be like?

Unlike regular bike parks and trail centres, the e-trails themselves will feature extremely steep and loose climbs. Ideal for showing off the abilities of electric bikes to scramble up pretty much anything. There will also be a minimum of jumps at Surrey e-Bikepark, the designers say this is due to fears of the bikes going off course.

The trails will also be two-way-traffic dual carriageway-like in design. Due to the fact that e-bike rides are generally three to four times as long in distance as non-electric-assisted rides the two-way trail design has been implemented to fit in an acceptably large total mileage of trail within the relatively small confines of the e-Bikepark’s electric-fenced border.

No more Barry Knows Best?

It is expected that some trails currently being used by regular mountain bikers will be co-opted into the new e-Bikepark and will no longer be able to be ridden by non-electric bikes. This news will no doubt provoke a strong reaction from the local MTB community.

The exact location of the e-Bikepark is under consultation at the moment but we can state that it’s intended to be very close to Pitch Hill, with the trail centre hub located at the current Walking Bottom carpark.