FACTS
| Project | Construction of the rOXy Balboa Single-Trail |
| Client | Bikepark Ochsenkopf 1024 |
| Location | Ochsenkopf, Warmensteinach, Germany |
| Period | Mid-June to the end of August 2026 |
| Project management | Luca Schneider |
| Photos | Luca Schneider |
rOXy Balboa | Trail Facts
- Start: 990 m above sea level, Finish: 820 m above sea level
- 170 meters of elevation gain
- Average gradient 101T/3T, max 100T/3T – over a maximum of 10 meters – significantly steeper and more challenging than the other trails in the bike park.
- medium width just under one meter
- Curve radii 4-5 meters
- Classification/Grade: red – black – for advanced learners
The rOXy Balboa trail has been the favorite trail of bikers since the opening of the Ochsenkopf bike park at the end of August 2026!
The mix of rocks, jumps, and speed is simply exhilarating. It's a trail whose character changes so subtly, bringing a smile to everyone's face with its variety. The local granite stones have been laid down to create a smooth, rideable "Roman carpet" surface. Those who want to go fast need to know the line, but will be rewarded with side hits that only experts can pull off. Towards the bottom, the trail becomes faster, smoother, and more winding, with fast corners instead of 180° switchbacks.
It's incredibly fun, not just for professionals.
Nine-time German Enduro Champion Raphaela Richter says: „"Even on my first run down to check out the trail, I knew there were challenges here that would require several laps. But I had fun from the very first meter."“
Quotes from the scene:
- «"The trail is a lot of fun, even if you don't go incredibly fast."»
- «"I think it's the best trail."»
THANK YOU, that makes us incredibly proud.
Even trail building was fun from meter one.
Knowing that the upper half would be a challenge, we started construction from the lower Fürstenbrunnen fountain. We quickly realized that the planned trail design would work perfectly: utilizing natural elements, especially the stones, and integrating them into the trail. „Make it playful and techy but stay safe“ That was the motto, and so we managed to strike a balance between "easy-rollable stone features" and "B-lines where the rocks serve as kickers".
Here, the gentle slope of the hill was a huge advantage, as we could move freely within the planned corridor and weren't restricted by excessively steep embankments. We were able to wind our way through the trees and thus ideally integrate the trail into the forest. The challenge came in the upper section of the trail, where the hill is steeper and offers only rocks instead of dirt. The first 100 meters of trail could still be built with a tracked excavator, then two large walking excavators were used.
570 meters of trail were created almost entirely from granite – assembled like a natural puzzle. A task we had to master for the first time. With a weight of up to 3 tons per cubic meter, the excavator's grapples were pushed to their limits, and filling the remaining gaps was also a Herculean effort for the trail shapers.
A Herculean effort that paid off.
Even the first test rides showed how much fun the trail is. The granite offers excellent grip, and rocks of varying sizes have been integrated as rock slabs. It's a trail character you wouldn't necessarily expect in a forest.
Between the excavator section and the Fürstenbrunnen fountain, the terrain changes, becoming flatter and less rocky. This is where the magic of the trail's character shifts. The trail becomes more fluid and faster, the surface more dirt, and the rocky sections are used more as features than as part of the trail surface. For the biker, it's a seamless transition between elements; for us, it's one of the biggest challenges, one that was rewarded with praise and fun.
Our ALLEGRA conclusion
Rocky Balboa is the The famous main character of the eponymous boxing film series, played by Sylvester Stallone. rOXy balboa is, in our opinion, a very fitting name for the challenging singletrack trail in Bikepark 1024 at Ochsenkopf.
Legendary, you have to see it – the film AND the trail!!!
HELLO LUCA
This trail specialist has it all! Luca has the intuition, know-how, and sensitivity. For the stakeholders, the local trail crew, the dirt, the trail layout, and everything else that goes into managing trail projects.
He's regularly behind the camera and, among other things, took the pictures for the rOXy balboa trail. Oh yeah, and he's pretty good in front of the camera too, and on a bike, of course – see the follow-cam video. The bike park at Ochsenkopf also owes its trail names to his creative mind: OXygen, rOXanne, rOXy balboa, and so on.
If you're already at the bike park anyway…
…we highly recommend, built by ALLEGRA:
Flowtrail 2 – rOXanne
A simple yet playful flow trail. Rhythmic elements and a spruce forest define the trail's character, with a small visual highlight – the "wool sacks" – typical rock formations of the Ochsenkopf.
Uphill trail OXygen
A consistent uphill climb for bikes with and without motors leads to the flOXi and flOXtrot routes. Smaller side quests also provide variety on the uphill section.
