Hi

Thinking about going on Sunday, just wondering if it's worth the trip. I have heard that there are dh tracks and jumps, is this correct?

Also would I want to take 4x bike or full sus?

Thanks

have heard that there are dh tracks and jumps, is this correct?

If there are, then someone has been busy!

When I was a student in Oxford from 99-04 there was bugger all riding really. Shotover was enough to keep you interested for all of about 30 minutes or so…

How far would you be travelling from?

I lived in Oxford for 4 years so rode there a lot. It really is a very small hill (in terms of elevation) so when people talk about DH tracks they're being a bit loose with the term. That said there is an incredible density of trails so plenty to keep you busy. Either bike would be fine. Careful on the weekend – there tends to be loads of walkers.

mboy – I was there 2002-06… Did you ride with the OUCC mountain bikers (Oli and John) while you were there?

Cheers, would be coming from Reading so won't take long, just want to try a new place.

Agree with Edd Shotover is worth a visit from Reading, has a fun loop, but minimal jumps and more freeride (light) than downhill. Also great views to the right over that beauty Didcot power station.

Shotover is really not worth any kind of drive to. There is 1 bridlepath that you can officially ride and it's only a 20 minute loop. Anyone who says there is any 'downhill' there must have pretty low expectations – there is 1 vaguely downhill section and it's really not much cop. There is a very small jump area, but again it's very small.
Shotover is used extensivley by walkers and if you're riding the footpaths then you're risking dangerous collisions. I was up there with my 4 year old a couple of months ago and nearly got wiped out by a dick on a full sus.
It's certainly not worth coming from reading – I live 5 minutes away from Shotover and only ride there if I can't be bothered to drive to the chilterns.

A group of us ride on Shotover regularly as part of our weekly night rides. For that it's pretty good–a lot of single track (more than some people on this thread seem to realize) crammed into a very small space which means that you're constantly going up and down. Apart from the three main bridleways and the old road across the top it's all completely cheeky and can be hard to find if you don't have local knowledge. There isn't anything that you might call DH though–one run with berms and drops, another with a couple of large log jumps but apart from that it's the kind of tight twisty singletrack that even I can deal with.

It might be worth a drive from Reading just for a change. To be honest, though, I don't tend to ride there during the day on a weekend because it gets too busy with walkers and dogs.

mboy – I was there 2002-06… Did you ride with the OUCC mountain bikers (Oli and John) while you were there?

I was at Oxford Brookes mate, never met any of the OUCC guys sadly. Even bigger shame was that there was no cycling club at Brookes, so any rides I did was only ever me and one or 2 other mates! Ho hum…

Shotover is only worth a visit if you can cycle there within 10 minutes. Otherwsie, don't bother!

Much closer to you Rusty, there's a wealth of bridlepaths and trails down by Didcot… I've been on a pretty good ride down there actually, though can't remember any of the trails. Again, at several points you get a lovely view of the Power Station 😉

My best memory of Shotover though was one evening, about 2am, my mate was driving a Minibus, we were on our way from Wheatley to Headington, he decided it would be a good idea to take a shortcut over Shotover… Hahaha. Offroad Minibus anyone! We made it though…

Not worth the drive, especially at the weekend.

I don't remember there being much 'DH' there – either I never found it to you have low expectations of the drops and jumps you can find. Probably the former.

Too many walkers at the weekend. Unless you're going pretty gentle or and on the brakes a lot you will have a collision on one of the waymarked trails. I used to squeeze an hour out of shotover, avoiding the waymarked walking trails as much as possible.

he decided it would be a good idea to take a shortcut over Shotover… Hahaha

😯 good work there..

BTW, there was an 'Ed' on my course, same year, different college who was in to his biking , I wonder…

I live 10 mins away from Shotover too but only go up there late in the evening in summer or after dark in winter. It's a popular place for walkers with children and dogs so not worth it in daylight in my opinion. The two bridleways are not much cop if you want to stick to the proper rights of way and the cheeky stuff is best saved for night rides. You'd be much better off hitting the Chilterns that you'd pass through to get to Shotover. A similar distance from Reading is Badbury clumps (sp?) over near Faringdon. I've never been but I understand there's an agreement with the FC over there and some DH trails have been constructed?

Thanks all. I am going to go to chicksands. 😀