Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2016 i Mountain Biking UK

“Whether you’re stuck in a rut with your riding or want to make the most of the summer, get out there and try something new” This month’s mag is all about trying different things and exploring new places – and we’ve been getting stuck in ourselves. Al and Ed headed off to France to bang bars with hundreds of other riders on a glacier at the infamous Megavalanche, while Matt took on a very different sort of challenge as he attempted to ride 550 miles across Scotland unsupported. Meanwhile, Sam Flanagan and the Trippin crew were in warmer climes, on a Red Stripe fuelled mission to check out Jamaica’s nascent MTB scene. Whether you feel like you’re stuck in a bit of a rut with your riding or just want…

Does your riding pack bounce around so much when you’re hammering rough trails that it feels like you’ve got a primate swinging from your shoulders? Swedish brand USWE reckon they’ve got the solution, in the form of their ‘No More Dancing Monkey’ system. This four-point suspension harness is designed to keep their packs secure and stop them banging you in the back of the head while you throw your bike around. Each strap is adjustable and connects to a single central buckle, which allows you to dial in the fit and provides a good range of motion. There’s more to these packs than monkey magic, though. The Airborne 9 shown here has 9l of storage, with mesh dividers to keep your trail essentials organised, plus a 2.5l bladder, a ventilated…

WINNING A GOLD medal at the UCI World Championships is the pinnacle of achievement for the planet’s best downhill riders. This annual, standalone event cumulates in a frantic four minutes and requires seriously precise, skilful and ballsy riding. As a result, only a select few have earned the right to wear the coveted rainbow stripes on their jersey. This year’s event takes place in Val di Sole, Italy, on 11 September and you can watch all the action live on Red Bull TV. So, who’s going to win? Turn the page to see who the MBUK team will be betting on… THIS MONTH Alternative hydration solutions, 300ft bunnyhops and Hannah Barnes – plus win a Mondraker Crafty XR+!…

OLD SCHOOL 26IN 1 Only a few trail bikes still use this size, but the good old ‘26er’ ain’t dead. It’s still got its place for dirt jumping, slopestyle, slalom racing and skateparks, where the small wheels help you throw the bike around easily and pump tight transitions. If you’re all about style over speed, then 26in might be for you. 650B (AKA 27.5IN) 2 The closest thing we have to a current MTB ‘standard’, 650b o ers a balance between the sharper handling of a 26in wheel and the greater rolling speed of a 29er. If you’re new to the sport and unsure which wheel size to go for, then 650b is a safe bet, plus there’s loads of choice in terms of frames, tyres and forks. 29IN &…

ROB WEAVER With two decades of riding experience, Rob knows what works and what doesn’t GUY KESTEVEN Our Kes’s relentless test schedule quickly exposes kit that doesn’t measure up ALEX EVANS Al’s back in the UK after seven years in the Alps and has a rep for wrecking bikes MATT ORTON Our in-house weirdy beardy likes long, hard rides and kit that challenges convention JAMES COSTLEY WHITE JCW casts the same critical eye over the latest kit as he does the articles in the mag SEB STOTT No slouch on the race track, Seb’s passion for engineering helps him pick products apart…

Fitting RockShox’s 100mm- travel Bluto suspension fork has completely changed the feel of the Fatboy, to the point where it’s almost like a new bike. The air-sprung fork has added a lot of weight – at 1,792g it’s about 700g heavier than the leaf-sprung Lauf Carbonara it replaces and 1,155g heftier than the stock Specialized rigid fork – but it feels right at home on singletrack and at trail centres. If you want to nail some trails on your fatbike it’s a worthy compromise, in my opinion. I’m a big fan of all things oval. Rugby is better than football and it has to be an egg on my gammon, not a pineapple ring. So I was keen to see how an oval chainring would benefit my 1x10 SRAM drivetrain.…

A quick local thrashing reminded me just how much fun the Habit is. Aside from not being able to find a mudguard that fits the Lefty, I’m really into the single-sided fork, and after upping the pressure slightly for the faster, drier trails it’s handling everything I can throw its way. Sadly the same can’t be said for the XLoc Full Sprint remote that controls the RockShox Monarch DebonAir rear shock. After a short honeymoon period it’s now refusing to lock the shock out – not a huge problem, but it renders the remote pointless. www.cannondale.com…

From pros to weekend warriors, these days we’re all filming our riding antics to post online. But cutting down hours of footage into an ‘all killer, no filler’ video takes time and patience. If only you could ride, film and edit a clip all within two hours… This was the challenge we set the MBUK crew to show off the capabilities of the TomTom Bandit action cam. We gave one camera to Joe from BikeRadar, who’s a filming and editing pro, and another to MBUK Staff Writer Ed, who’s got plenty of riding experience but has barely touched a camera. Who was going to come out with the best edit? No contest, you might say. Well, not necessarily... Shakey and the Bandit The flagship function of the TomTom Bandit is…

There’s a lot to think about when choosing your next set of wheels, which starts with the blindingly obvious and ends up in the realm of mystical spoke tension zen. More than anything else, your wheels need to fit your bike, which means the hubs needs to suit the axle standard that your fork and frame use, or at least be adapted to fit. So factor in the price of new end caps and check that they’re actually available. Do the same for XD freehubs too (required for some SRAM cassettes). Be aware that not all Boost wheels have the wider spoke stance that provides additional stiffness (some just some add adapters to a conventional hub), and don’t go for wider rims if you’re already tight on tyre space. You…

CAKES & BIKES There are several good country pubs along (and just off) this route, plus shops and cafes in Wallingford. But you won’t find many better, and certainly none as bike-friendly, as the Rides on Air cafe (www.ridesonair.com). It offers superb coffee and milkshakes plus delicious cakes and snacks, which you can snaffle while flicking through cycling mags or chatting ‘bike’ with the friendly staff. The community-run shop and tea rooms in the picturesque village of Ewelme is a popular stop-off for cyclists too (www.ewelme villagestore.co.uk).…

1 Remove the pedal from the bike and give it a good clean. Holding the pedal body in one hand, use Shimano’s PD40 tool (or a stout pair of pliers) to unscrew the axle, turning the collar in the opposite direction to the ‘tighten’ arrow. 2 Insert a 6mm Allen key into the end of the axle. Use a 7mm spanner to remove the first nut from the other end (anticlockwise). Repeat on the second nut, with a 10mm spanner. Remove the axle’s bearing housing, using a dish to catch the loose ball bearings. 3 Remove all the bearings carefully and clean them with degreaser and a rag. Remove the bearing race, threaded barrel and rubber seal from the axle, noting their order and orientation. Clean all the parts of…

01 Drift A consistent loose surface can be perfect for getting your drift on. Lean the bike right over to the point where the tyres break traction, go light and let them slide. Stay off the brakes, look up and stay loose. 02 Pressure control If you want to increase the amount of grip you’ve got in a loose corner, compressing your bike into the ground by pushing through the pedals and making it heavier will provide extra traction. 03 Balance Keeping your core mass in balance over the bottom bracket makes it easier to correct a slip or control a drift. Try not to hang back off your handlebar because this will put your weight too far back.…

SUBTRACTION An often overlooked approach to improve your performance is what you can remove from, rather than add to, your riding and training regime. To improve your muscular endurance by subtraction, try doing a 45-minute ‘fasted’ ride (ie before breakfast) in the mornings instead of your normal training. HILL REPS A classic training session to improve your pedalling-speci ic muscular endurance. Pick a hill with a moderate gradient that takes you 20 to 30 seconds to climb. From a standing start, attack the hill. Punch your way over the top, spin to recover for one minute, roll back down, rest for three minutes, then repeat for one or two sets of three to ive repetitions. You can gauge your fatigue and progress by how easily/quickly you crest the top of…

TRAIL STATS Distance: Bottoms Beck 9.5km, The 8 18km, Hope Line and Leap of Faith 0.5km Climbing: Generally mellow but with some steep, rocky sections Time: Blue 1 1.5hrs, red 2 3hrs Grading: Blue, red with black opt-ins and orange-graded descent lines WHY RIDE HERE? Combines the natural, rocky feel of the Lake District and Dales with trail centre convenience RAD… A range of trails for all abilities Lots of variety, from natural rocky moorland to manmade singletrack The red trail takes in some awesome natural features and views for a real mountain biking experience BAD… The hills aren’t huge, so while the climbs are short, so are the descents Some sections of the red loop are pretty rough and could do with a resurface LOCAL KNOWLEDGE Locals do… Hone…

Richie Rude, one of the USA’s hottest young talents, took the downhill scene by storm in 2013, winning the Junior World Championships in South Africa. Fast-forward three years and he’s spending an increasing amount of time atop podiums, but this time riding enduro. O the back of his 2015 series win, Richie has dominated the podium again so far this year, winning three out of the first five Enduro World Series rounds and beating such legends as Nico Vouilloz, Jérôme Clementz and an increasingly enduro-fit Sam Hill. With long, gruelling stages and epic days in the saddle, top-level enduro racing requires huge skill, fitness and mental strength. Richie seems to have his sh*t in order, and maybe once he’s cleaned up in enduro he’ll turn his hand to downhill again!…

THOMSETT ED I have to go with Danny Hart. His Lenzerheide win shows he’s on form, and if there’s anyone who’ll step it up and put in a wild run on the equally wild Val di Sole track, then it’ll be Danny – I’ll put £20 on him. After her Crankworx domination, I’m going to go with Morgane Charre in the women’s. If it rains, I reckon no one can beat the French flat pedal thunder, so I’ll wager £15. JAMES BLACKWELL My punt is also on Danny Hart. He’s so hungry for it that he might just go and do it – especially if it’s wet. I want to see Rachel Atherton continue her domination, too. So I’ll match Ed’s bet and raise it by a bag of donuts…

1. Morvélo Covert bib shorts Stash your drinks bottle in the handy pocket sewn into the back of these Lycra shorts and it’ll be well protected from mud and spray. You can always add a pair of baggies to preserve your modesty! £90 www.morvelo.com 2. Mavic Crossride Belt Is that a bum bag? Why, yes it is, one with a custom 600ml triangular water bottle and enough pockets to store your trail snacks. If you don’t want a sweaty back or your bike doesn’t have bottle mounts it’s just the ticket. £45 www.mavic.co.uk 3. Alpinestars Paragon armour vest Sporting a bladder pocket on the outside of the backplate, a zip pocket on the back and another pocket on the front, this body armour is a great enduro solution if you…

WINNER! STARLETTER DOWN WITH E BIKES! Regarding your e-MTB feature last issue (332), I think you should take your influence on mountain biking very seriously and consider the harm that could be caused through your endorsement of e-MTBs. They’re one of the greatest threats to the sport, cutting up trails and blurring the lines between bicycles and motorbikes. Some walkers will use any excuse to lobby against mountain biking, and e-MTBs give them a valid argument. I agree these bikes are good for helping people with heath problems to get into biking, but not for the masses. Are we going to inspire a generation of lazy, unfit, unskilled riders, buzzing around on ever more powerful e-MTBs? Let’s hope the day never comes when I see Mint Sauce on an e-MTB……

Joystick Digger £49.99 SO GOOD... Joystick’s eye-catching Digger bar enjoys an enviable reputation for strength among hardcore riders. The 780mm width backs up the precision feel with plenty of leverage, while the 25mm rise is a good compromise for all-round riding. If you’re after more width, Joystick’s 8-BIT bar has a full 800mm span, but it’s less tough, at 300g versus 349g for the Digger. NO GOOD…. Serious stiffness can maul your wrists and forearms on longer and/ or high-impact descents. There are no trim marks or 35mm clamp option. www.hookitproducts.co.uk Merida Pro Riser £29.99 SO GOOD... If you want maximum width for minimum money then Merida have it covered, with 800mm of butted 6061 alloy bar for £30. The thick-walled construction keeps it stiff and accurate for sharp steering,…

Having been on the Vitus for a couple of months, I feel I’ve got the set-up dialled. Trail bikes are so capable now that it’s tempting to rag them on some pretty naughty terrain, and I’ve been mistreating the Vitus as best I can. It’s coped admirably – except for the lightweight WTB KOM wheels, which have had more than their fair share of dings and loose spokes. With a tougher wheelset this bike would be unstoppable. I also want to upsize the 125mm drop RockShox Reverb to a 170mm version to suit my lanky legs. www.vitusbikes.com…

THE TESTER BOB WEAVER MBUK’s Tech Ed in Chief has raced all over the UK and Europe, throwing himself down a di erent track every week for well over a decade. His experience of riding a wide variety of terrain on a multitude of di erent bikes and components means he knows a thing or two about what will and won’t handle downhill demands. Though he hung his race shoes up some time ago, he still loves to put downhill bikes through their paces whenever he can. OUR RATINGS We base our scores on value for money and performance EXCEPTIONAL A genuine class leader VERY GOOD One of the best you can buy GOOD It’ll do the job and do it well BELOW AVERAGE Flawed in some way POOR Simply…

TESTER SAYS... “WHEELS NEEDN’T COST A FORTUNE, AND BUILD QUALITY ALWAYS BEATS FANCY FEATURES ON THE TRAIL” JRA Traildog STi25 £263.50 Weight 2,040g (970g+1,070g) Lag 6.6° Width 24mm/30mm Just Riding Along (JRA) are a small but fanatical, Sheffield-based team of wheel-builders who’ll craft your perfect set from a huge custom menu, if you can wait a few weeks. Their equally exacting ‘ready to go’ range of pre-built wheels also offers superb, cost-effective performance for relentlessly hard riders. WTB’s deservedly popular low-profile, eyeletted, easy-sealing STi25 rims give a durable, stable base for tyres up to 2.4in, and they tend to stay inflated and keep on trucking even when dented. The hubs are from Bitex, who you may not have heard of, but they’re used under different names by lots…

ViewRanger is an app that lets outdoor enthusiasts discover, plan, navigate and share their adventures on smartphones, on tablets and online. With offline mapping (including Ordnance Survey maps), turn-by-turn navigation and bike computer functions like ride time, ride distance and current, average and maximum speed, it’ll turn your phone into a fully fledged GPS unit. You can also use it to plan or download routes, access guidebook-style information, broadcast your location and track your friends. It has a social platform too, where you can store and share your adventures. ViewRanger is used by more than 400 official bodies, including search-and-rescue teams in the UK and overseas. The ViewRanger app is available to download for Apple, Android, Blackberry 10, Kindle Fire and Symbian devices.…

1 Rim tape For a tubeless set-up to work, air must be prevented from escaping through the spoke holes in the rim. Some wheels have sealed rims but most manufacturers use tape to make them airtight. New wheels often come pre-taped. If not, you’ll need to do it yourself. Specially designed rim tape from brands such as Stan’s NoTubes is best, but Gorilla Tape works well too. Wrap it tightly and neatly around the rim bed. 2 Valve To get air into the tyre, you’ll need to fit a tubeless valve. This is inserted into the valve hole in the rim from the tyre side and then tightened with a threaded collar on the hub side to create an airtight seal. Note that you may need to poke the valve…

PRO - FILE BRYN ATKINSON JOB Norco team rider CREDENTIALS One of the first crop of Australian downhillers to make waves on the World Cup circuit, Bryn’s ridden on teams alongside Sam Hill and Nathan Rennie, and has chalked up a string of top 10 results. He lives in the USA with his partner, racer Jill Kintner. Staying low over jumps is a great way to save time and be efficient in the air. It’s also a good test of skill and strength to be able to control the bike off the lip of a jump in a different way. This isn’t something I’d recommend for your first time over a jump, because to execute it well you have to be carrying much more speed than is needed just to…

Getting your cockpit set up correctly is important for both comfort and control. To an extent, it’ll be determined by your frame’s geometry, particularly the reach (the horizontal distance from the centre of the bottom bracket to the centre of the top of the head tube) and stack (the vertical distance from the centre of the BB to the top of the head tube). You can modify your riding position in various ways. Adding or removing spacers above or below your stem will change the handlebar height. Rolling the bar backwards or forwards in the stem will affect how it feels, as will fitting a bar with a different width, rise and/or sweep. Handlebar width In my opinion, a bar slightly wider than your shoulders gives the best mix of…

GET THERE Gisburn Forest Hub is in the east of the Forest of Bowland, 40 minutes from the M65 and 50 minutes from the Preston bypass/ M6. It’s accessed on forest roads, signposted from the B6478. The postcode BB7 4TS will take you there. FACILITIES The Forest Den cafe and bike shop is newly opened with locally sourced food and, most importantly, a good selection of cakes. The shop has spares, hire bikes and demo bikes from Pace and Santa Cruz. NEARBY BIKE SHOPS Dales Bike Centre, Swaledale www.dalesbikecentre.co.uk (Also a great base for natural cross-country rides around the Yorkshire Dales.) CONTACT www.gisburnforest  hub.com WHAT ELSE IS NEARBY? Super 6 Gisburn is part of the Super 6, England’s answer to the 7stanes. The closest centres are Whinlatter and Grizedale…

What would a top trail builder create if they were freed from the rules and regulations applying to public projects? Rowan Sorrell (also a director at BikePark Wales, not to mention a pretty damn talented rider) invited us to his own backyard to find out. Rowan and his Back on Track crew have spent the past two years sculpting all sorts of trails in the fields and woodland behind his house in South Wales, from singletrack and technical descents to big-bike jump lines. He says it’s a great place to try out new ideas for public trails and build things he could never get away with in the bike park! The yard has a total of about 30 jumps now, including big step-downs and 40ft doubles. Between jobs, he and…

It takes a certain type of rider to send it o a 30m (98ft) jump, and Joel Anderson, who hails from Triscombe in Somerset, is one of them. We caught up with him after his return from LOOSEFEST, the bonkers jump jam organised by Belgium’s Nico Vink as part of the infamous FEST freeride series, to find out how it feels to hit gaps this big. “Being a rookie at an event like LOOSEFEST is scary” says Joel, pictured. “You meet all these faces that you know from the videos and then have to send it over some pretty large mounds of mud! “Nico and Kristof [Vink’s partner at Ride Creations] are true artists when it comes to building jumps. When you roll down into the first 24m double, the…

This year’s biggest life change was the day I arrived home from Sea Otter and got the keys to my little log cabin in the woods. But as soon as I was moved in, it was time for the next stint of travel. I was really happy to add a couple of multi-day XC races to the calendar – the four-day ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ in Sri Lanka was one. The night we arrived I got agonising tooth pain and spent the whole race drugged up on painkillers and antibiotics, just to try and get through it. The days were long and hot, with big climbs through beautiful tea plantations, jungles and remote mountain villages. I felt fit and on good form. My S-Works Era was perfect, with no mechanicals,…

TREK REMEDY 9.9 RACE SHOP LIMITED £5,700 Need a do-it-all bike? This might be the Remedy… Sitting between the Fuel EX and Slash in Trek’s line-up, the Remedy is their trail/enduro rig, and it’s had a major overhaul for 2017. Travel has gone up 10mm to 150mm, the geometry is now bang up to date and with five sizes there should be one to fit everyone. The Race Shop 9.9 is the pinnacle of the range and, thanks to a carbon frame and SRAM X0 kit, it’s impressively light for a bike with this much travel (12.8kg/28.2lb for a medium). The gloss paint job is sweet too. www.trekbikes.com SPECIALIZED DEMO KIT £VariesColourful style from the Big S We’ve seen Specialized’s Troy Brosnan sporting this kit on the World Cup scene…

Back in the early Noughties, you could barely go into a local woods without stumbling across a dirt jump competition. Three mates, Grant ‘Chopper’ Fielder, Olly Wilkins and Chris Smith, were among the best riders on the scene, and regularly made the podium. This trio of scruffy kids progressed from hanging with their mates in the woods and ripping the ramp parks to winning international dirt jump competitions. Fast-forward to the present and they’ve each found a way to carry on earning their living from mountain biking – who’d have thought it? The trio have also evolved their riding styles, from pure dirt jumpers on small-wheeled hardtails to hammering trails on full-sussers. They still ride together regularly, and continue to push each other to ride faster, further, harder and better.…

HOW WE TEST THE KIT Starts with a detailed product check in the workshop. We strip and rebuild, checking for any problems. Next we hit the trails… hard! We test in real riding conditions for the complete picture. And finally we re-test with another tester. WHY OUR TESTS ARE THE BEST! Our test team is made up of the most respected bike and kit testers in the world. We have unrivalled knowledge and experience, and spend a vast amount of time making sure we get it right. We tell you the truth and aren’t influenced by PR or advertisers. ABOUT OUR TEST TEAM Our Technical Editor in Chief, Rob Weaver, gets new products in as soon as they’re available and coordinates all the testing through our vastly experienced band of…

Sometimes the less you have to say about something, the better it is. This is true for my Giant Anthem. I’ve been giving it an absolute seeing-to since the beginning of the year and I’ve now clocked up over 800km in the saddle (when you factor in a nine-to-five job, two other bikes and an unhealthy enjoyment of road riding, that’s quite a bit!). After some initial changes, like fitting a shorter stem and, more recently, a comfier Fabric saddle, plus some teething issues with the Shimano XT drivetrain in the wet, it’s been plain sailing. Now I’ve got more acquainted with the bike I can tell you a few things about it in more detail. On the descents you’ve got to get your weight back more than you would…

A big box of upgrades arrived this month. Hope Pro 4 hubs laced to their Tech Enduro rim have allowed me to go tubeless, and the Suntour fork has come off in favour of a slightly longer-travel RockShox Revelation, which has pushed the head angle from 67.5 to 66 degrees. I’m just waiting for my SRAM NX 11-speed groupset so I can finally stop pretending that 1x10 is all I need! This bike was meant to be a winter mudfest machine, but now the trails are dry I can’t wait to see how fast it can be. www.windwave.co.uk…

FINAL VERDICT All four bikes were reassuringly good. GT are a brand steeped in racing history, so the Fury’s intentions were clear from the outset. While its stability and penchant for flat-out speed count for a lot, the stiff frame and less playful nature mean it lacks some of the fun factor of the other bikes here. For a little less cash, the Saracen Myst is a solid contender. We were impressed by its near silent running, decent proportions and solid spec, but the high BB means it doesn’t feel as planted through the turns as the other bikes. Also, it’s limited to only two frame sizes. If you plan on really giving it a hammering, fitting a Charger damper in the Boxxer RC would really unleash its potential. While…

FORK TALK Q I was thinking of getting a Canyon Strive or YT Capra but decided to hold out and save some more money. I’ve now got a Mondraker Dune Carbon frame with a Fox Float X2 EVOL rear shock and am building a bike from that. I want a fork with 170mm of travel. Would the RockShox Lyrik RCT3 be a good match or would it be better to get the Fox 36 Float FIT, with adjustable high and low-speed compression? Ifeanyi Offiah, via email A Wow, what a dilemma to have! As you’ve already pointed out, the 36 offers more adjustment than the Lyrik RCT3, which, along with rebound damping adjustment, only has low-speed compression adjustment – though it does have an additional three-position dial (open/pedal/lock) that lets…

PRO FILE JOE RAFFERTY JOB Mountain bike coach CREDENTIALS Elite level racer Joe heads up his own coaching business, Pro Ride, and has been passing on his expertise to riders for over 10 years as a full-time skills coach. 01 PRE-EMPT Scan the ground as you approach the corner. Look for areas with the best grip, and adjust your line so you can do most of your turning on these grippier sections. If it’s all loose, get ready to slip before you regain any grip. 02 COMMIT When the ground is loose it’s important to choose your line and commit to it because any quick changes in direction or sudden braking will likely cause your front wheel to wash out. Try to do all of your braking before you start…