E-Performance / MTB: The Bosch eBike Uphillflow Trail in the MTB Zone Bikepark Geißkopf in the Bavarian Forest was officially opened for the Rock the Hill Festival from June 16th to 18th. For two days, Bosch Uphillflow enthusiast Stefan Schlie guided interested eMountain bikers along the new trail. At the top, everyone waited with the same big grin.
Diddie Schneider, operator of the MTB Zone Bikepark Geißkopf and trail building legend, Claus Fleischer, CEO Bosch eBike Systems and Stefan Schlie, Bosch Uphillflow Enthusiast, developed the concept together over the last few years. An additional offer for eMountain bikers should be created, but at the same time this should be integrated into an existing infrastructure and so Schneider's bike park on the Geißkopf offered itself for this showcase project. "We wanted to bring uphill flow closer to a broad target group and thus mountain biking as an outdoor sport," says Claus Fleischer.
The Uphillflow Trail winds over a main line and numerous variants over 3 km and 280 hm to the mountain station on the Geißkopf, the forest opens up again and again for wide panoramic views and there is also a lot to discover off the route. The path runs past small streams and a mini waterfall and there are always stoamandls, which Schneider places as his trademark with the excavator at the side of the path. The main line is easy to master for anyone who likes it sporty, the variants offer a suitable playing field, especially for technically experienced drivers. Over roots and rocks, sometimes even in a direct line, it goes up the mountain.
As a convinced gravity pilot who has been developing more and more in the direction of enduro in recent years, it is above all the technical interest that appeals to me about eMountain bikes. So I find myself with Stefan Schlie and Diddie Schneider at the start of the Bosch eBike Uphillflow Trail and I'm already excited after the first curves. Berms in particular ensure a lot of fun uphill. In the first round we move on the blue main line. Everyone should get their money's worth here and the trail actually puts a big grin on my face, even as a technically experienced rider. The combinations of curves, small bridges and also the nature along the way, which I hardly notice otherwise, inspire me.
In a second round we want to ride all the variants, I want to see how technical eMountain biking can be. Together with Stefan I work out the red and black passages, which are really tough. Steep carpets of roots, rocks and direct uphill lines require full concentration. I understand the #uphillflow people talk about at Bosch, it can be experienced here. The additional offer of an uphill trail, which is integrated in a bike park, is also revealed to me here. There is a disentanglement, fewer conflicts and above all more fun for everyone. I didn't count, but there were several dozen riders testing the Uphillflow Trail full-face, and underneath it I spotted grins on everyone's face.
Incidentally, the next Bosch eBike Uphillflow Trail will open in Portes du Soleil this year. I'm excited to see when the next ones will follow.