I’ve been down in London for a year now, living in a rented flat in Greenwich, so haven’t been doing any mountainbiking except the occasional outing in the Pentlands when I’ve been back up in Scotland. So far in London I’ve been doing a lot of running and the occasional road bike ride but no MTB stuff as there is nothing nearby.

We’re now in the process of buying a place down here and looks like that’s going to be in Woodford Green which means I’ll have Epping Forest nearby. So what’s the mountain biking like in Epping forest and nearby and what sort of bike is best – hardtail maybe? I won’t have a lot of storage down here so will probably have to make due with just one mountain bike here and leave the rest in my London place.

Epping is very muddy in winter and very fast when baked dry in summer. If you ride it through the seasons = it’s what single speed (and probably rigid) suits very well.

Pretty flat mostly but there are some nice hidden singletrack sections to look for. As said very muddy in winter and hard-packed in summer.