Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2022 i Mountain Biking UK

Essential wilderness gear for overnight MTB adventures 1 Sleeping mat Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XTherm Compact, lightweight and designed to insulate your body from the cold ground, keeping you warm and comfy all night. £199.99 www.thermarest.com 2 Sleeping bag Rab Neutrino 400 A super-light but cosy-as down-filled bag that'll see you right down to -7°C. It squishes down remarkably small, too. £360 https://rab.equipment 3 Hot drink Bean to Berm coffee beans Amazing coffee made by mountain bikers, with three blends – Trail, Enduro and Park, and whole-bean or ground options for each. £6.75 (250g) https://beantoberm.co.uk 4 Camping tarpaulin Rab SilTarp Plus Solo A compact, simple tarp that’s perfect as a spontaneous rain shield or for bivvy camping (see how we used ours on p53). £100 https://rab.equipment 5 Midge protection Smidge Midge-proof Headnet…

MEET THE TESTERS ROBIN WEAVER TECH EDITOR IN CHIEF With three decades of MTB experience, Rob can identify the kit that works TOM MARVIN SENIOR TECH EDITOR XC/trail/enduro rider and tech wizard Tom gives his gear a proper hammering ALEX EVANS BIKE RADAR TECH EDITOR Many years of breaking bikes means Al can give reliable buying advice WILL POOLE WORKSHOP MANAGER A dab hand at building and tuning bikes, Will knows what’ll do the job RUSSELL BURTON PHOTOGRAPHER/TESTER Big days outdoors mean that snapper Russ needs equipment that lasts JAMES COSTLEY-WHITE EDITOR JCW has 30 years of riding under his belt and an eye for the key details WHY OUR TESTS ARE THE BEST! Our technical-editor-in-chief, Rob Weaver, gets new products in as soon as they’re available and coordinates all…

TECH Q&A XC BEAST Should I be running inserts in my XC bike’s tyres? What would the advantages and disadvantages be? Nick B, via email Tubeless inserts have become hugely popular in enduro and downhill, but are less common in cross-country racing. However, numerous XC options are available, and even some built for road and gravel bikes. For XC riding and racing, two factors are key when it comes to wheels and tyres – reducing weight and rolling resistance, and preventing punctures. Unfortunately, these are contradictory, as lighter tyres with thinner sidewalls and less aggressive tread patterns are more easily damaged. If you’re worried about flats, you could pick a slightly thickercarcassed tyre than you’re running at the moment. This will add weight and consequently may affect ride quality,…

Mountain biking is addictive. Not only because it’s so much fun, but also because you never stop progressing. There’s nothing quite like that feeling when you finally master a technique you’ve struggled with for months, pluck up the courage to launch off that scary drop or manage to ride that tricky trail ‘clean’ for the first time. Some of this comes naturally, with time in the saddle, but to really progress, there are specific skills that you’ll need to learn. And perhaps, some bad habits to unlearn... That’s where this guide comes in. We’re not dealing with the absolute basics here (for that, grab a copy of the Get Into Mountain Biking supplement we gave away with MBUK 407). Instead, we’ve got tips to help you step up to the…

STEFFI MARTH RACER TURNED ADVENTURER World Champs 4X medallist and former DH World Cup regular Steffi reckons Graubünden in Switzerland is the place to go for natural flow (not to mention amazing pastries!) – p18 THORFINN BARTON INTREPID EXPLORER This young Scot has set off on the journey of a lifetime on his trusty Pipedream steel hardtail, and we’re going to be following him every step of the way. First, though, he had to get to London – p21 RACHAEL WIGHT SKILLS COACH & COFFEE PRO Always up for a challenge, our former staff writer threw herself into the deep end of bikepacking on the 513km Pennine Rally. She shares her advice for other bike-camping beginners – p22 ‘HAZE OUTDOORS’ BUSHCRAFT GURU YouTuber Paul Hayes is an expert in foraging,…

What’s O-Kerr-ing? Some great World Cup results for DH racers from this part of the world in recent weeks, as Bernard Kerr got a best-ever second-place in Snowshoe, USA, and made the podium in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, too. Also, Ireland’s Rónán Dunne bagged his first podium in Snowshoe, while Scotland’s Phoebe Gale won the Junior women’s race in MSA and Jordan Williams got second in the men’s. Great job, guys! British riders did well at the Commonwealth Games, too, with Evie Richards taking gold in the XC for England and Isla Short finishing fourth for Scotland. In the men’s race, Cam Orr was fourth for Northern Ireland and Joe Blackmore rounded out the top five for England. Well done UK! Chainless for Chainsaw! Canada’s Finn Iles won his first Elite World…

Starting from Cape Wrath, Thorfinn has embarked on an epic journey on his steel hardtail. His aim: “To follow trails of connectivity to cultures and ecosystems foreign to the Scotsman’s eye, and leave nothing behind me but memories and tyre tracks”. We’ll be with him the whole way. “Over the past three weeks, I’ve ridden from the weather-beaten northern tip of Scotland to London. The first few days, tracing a path through the breathtaking Highlands, were almost destitute of people, and in their place reigned great herds of red deer. On one occasion, a hind gave me company at a mountain bothy, and on another, an entire herd raced alongside me as I descended a mountain pass. My journey southward saw an incline in people and temperature, the latter giving…

The high weight of e-MTBs – and burly enduro bikes with plenty of kit strapped to them – can make it difficult to lift these machines into position to work on them. Thankfully, companies are working on solutions to save our poor backs. Topeak’s PrepStand eUP Pro isn’t just e-bike rated (it can support up to 35kg) and lift-assisted, but gets one up on rivals such as the more shop-orientated Park Tool PRS-33.2 and Unior Electric Repair Stand by being foldable, too. Unlike those other stands, it doesn’t have an electric motor. Instead, the eUP Pro uses a pressurised cartridge to add up to 37lb/17kg of force to the energy you’re using to lift the bike. Operated via a foot pedal, this nitrogen canister should last two years or 30,000…

MONDRAKER FOXY CARBON RR £6,299 Will the Foxy’s new tech blow your MIND? SPEC Frame Carbon fibre, 150mm travel Fork Öhlins RFX36 m.2 Air, 160mm travel Shock Öhlins TTX2 Drivetrain SRAM GX Eagle (1x12) Wheelset DT Swiss EX 1700 wheels, Maxxis Minion DHF 3C MaxxTerra EXO+ 29.5x2.5in WT (f) and Minion DHR II 3C MaxxTerra EXO+ 29x2.4in WT (r) tyres Brakes SRAM G2 RS, 200/180mm rotors Bar/stem OnOff Sulfur carbon, 780mm/OnOff Sulfur 30, 30mm Seatpost/saddle OnOff Pija dropper/ SDG Bel-Air 3.0 Weight 14.30kg (31.5lb), medium size without pedals Mondraker place the Foxy Carbon RR in the enduro/all-mountain category. It dishes out 150mm of rear-wheel travel, paired with a 160mm fork. What makes this bike different is Mondraker’s ‘MIND’ technology – a telemetry system for setting up your bike and collecting…

The sun is rapidly disappearing below the horizon. I look around me – barren moorland in every direction. We continue along the section of sheep-trodden singletrack that we’ve been exploring until we find a shallow gulley, sheltered by a wind-blasted tree that wouldn’t look out of place in Wuthering Heights. My companion sizes up the terrain, dismounts, kicks some sheep poo out of the way and flips his bike over onto its handlebar. “This’ll do it!” he exclaims. We’ve found our home for the night. GREEN MAN The bikepacking scene is in many ways a perfect manifestation of what I love most about mountain biking – that feeling of attrition as you conquer huge terrain bit by bit, of being free and unconstrained. It’s just you, the bike, the big…

MICHELIN WILD XC RACING LINE £61.99 www.silverfish-uk.com SO GOOD… If you’re after pure pace, the lightweight Wild XC is way faster than you’d expect from the tread pattern, plus the blocky, spaced-out knobs clear mud well. The Cross Shield2 fine-weave casing feels incredibly supple and flexible, too. NO GOOD… It’s easily the least comfortable tyre on test, with an undamped, harsh ride, partly due to the big gaps in the tread, which expose the fragile carcass to damage. The very thin casing lacks stability, too, so needs pumping up hard to resist squirming when cornering. Also, Michelin’s single-compound Gum-X rubber seriously lacks grip. VITTORIA SYERRA 4C £54.99 www.freewheel.co.uk SO GOOD… The tread pattern is far spikier than most XC-derived designs and rips into dry earth to deliver tons of traction,…

The longer nights drawing in needn’t mean your bike gets mothballed for the next six months. Instead, embrace the darkness and see it as an opportunity to make tackling familiar routes a fresh and exciting challenge. Trails appear very different at night, when your light beam emphasises every feature, and in winter proper, the crackle of ice under your tyres on a velvety starlit night is a special experience. A good front light makes riding gnarly terrain possible, and at faster speeds, but how much power do you need, and how much should you spend to get it? The number of lumens (the measure of a light’s brightness) your light has, the further down the trail you’ll be able to see, and the more clearly defined obstacles will be. Years…

NATASHA BRADLEY 4X RACER & MTB COACH One of the world’s fastest four-cross racers, Tash won silver medals at the 2018 and 2019 World Champs, and competes in the Senior Men’s category back home. As well as being blisteringly fast and stylish on a bike, she’s the British Cycling-qualified skills coach behind www.mtbdevon.com. EMILY HORRIDGE TRAIL GUIDE & MTB COACH Hailing from the South West, Em progressed through the national downhill ranks to race in the World Cup series for many years. The reigning Masters world champ, she lives in the French Alps, where she runs coaching and guiding company https://emilyhorridgemtb.com. OLLY MORRIS DH RACER & MTB COACH As well as owning www.proridemtb.com and running skills sessions at Gloucestershire’s Forest of Dean, Bristol-based Olly is the ride coach of Brook…

While the Swiss resort of Lenzerheide is famous as a World Cup venue, the surrounding region is less well known for its mountain biking. With the local tourist office boldly dubbing it the ‘Home of Trails’, German DH/4X ace turned adventure rider Steffi Marth decided to pay a visit to find out what the locals mean when they talk about the ‘Graubünden flow’. There are six main riding areas in the region, also known as Grisons. Steffi checked out Val Müstair, on the border with Italy’s South Tyrol. Highlights here include the ‘Speedtrail’ from Valbella and the epicly-long ridgeline descent towards Taufers from the 2,763m summit of Piz Chavalatsch – which Steffi describes as “one of the most spectacular places I’ve ever been”. Not to mention the warm hospitality of…

It was the urge to be a total beginner at something again that led me to the start line of the Rapha Pennine Rally earlier this summer. The thought of riding 513km from Edinburgh to Manchester, self-supported and mostly off-road, was daunting, even with one of my best friends for company. Especially as we joined the 100-strong crew with only one previous practice night’s sleep under the stars to our names! As beginners, we had to grapple with the uncomfortable and the unknown, not to mention our own vulnerabilities. But, just as we’d hoped, as well as really enjoying the challenge, we learned a few things along the way. These could be useful for anyone else thinking of giving bikepacking a go, whether as part of an organised multi-day event…

Write to: MBUK Send it! Eagle House, Bristol, BS1 4ST Email: mbuk@immediate.co.uk Visit: www.mbuk.com STAR LETTER WINS... Lezyne Tool Insert Kit, Tubeless Insert Kit & Super SV23 multi-tool worth £128 THAT’S GOTTA HURT WINS... SixSixOne Recon V2 knee & elbow pads, size M worth £160 SHOT OF THE MONTH WINS... DMR Vault Mag pedals & Brendog DeathGrips worth £141 INSTA-BANGERS WINS... Lezyne Torque Drive, Grip Drive HV mini pump & Micro Floor Drive HV pump worth £134 STAR LETTER HELPING HANDS I’ve been riding for years and now have two committed mountain biker kids. One thing that’s always stood out is how friendly and helpful MTBers usually are. But in the past few years, I’ve come across a growing number who just ignore people who are stopped…

O’NEAL SESSION V.22 SHOES £120 Fresh kicks for clips Shoes have been O’Neal’s biggest MTB success story in recent years. The Sessions are their second-from-top clipless option, revamped for 2022 to offer “plenty of technical features and excellent value”. Underneath you’ll find the brand’s hexagonal-treaded ‘Honey Rubber’ sole, to aid traction when unclipped or off the bike, with a nylon insert for efficient pedalling. Up top, a Lycra ankle gaiter helps keep roost and debris out, while the polyurethane upper has mesh ventilation on the sides to keep your feet cool on the climbs. Reinforcement at the toe and heel adds a bit of weight, but also protection from rock bashes. Keeping things secure are a BOA-style dial-ratchet closure and an upper hook-and-loop strap, which should be easier to use…

GOING DEEP VAN LIF The origin of the ‘van life’ scene is disputed, but it’s been suggested that it harks back to the surfers of 1960s California. Beach bums favoured vehicles such as vans or station wagons (estate cars, to us Brits) that offered a self-contained, mobile living quarters, giving them the ability to pitch up almost anywhere with all the gear they needed. Fast-forward to 2022 and many outdoorsy types have taken the concept to new heights of luxury and versatility. Some of us are lucky enough to have MTB trails we can ride to from our house, but for most, a regular part of our hobby is loading bikes and gear into the car, van, bus or train and making the pilgrimage to a riding spot out of…

WRECKED & RATED LONGTERM TOM’S REVEL RANGER £3,699 (frame only) Senior tech ed Tom has been on some wild adventures with the Ranger I’ve just spent 12 weeks on sabbatical, so I haven’t written about the Ranger since April. Six of those weeks were spent riding my gravel bike through Europe, and another three on a longer-travel machine out in the Alps. However, I haven’t completely neglected the Revel. For the middle three weeks, it was this bike that joined me on a few trips around the UK. When I built up the Ranger, I bolted on a load of lightweight kit, including a Fox 34 StepCast fork, carbon fibre hoops from SILT and Hope’s racey XCR brakes. However, I wasn’t intending to race it. That changed this summer. Heading…

CHOPPER FIELDER LAPIERRE/BLUEGRASS/ MET/MUC-OFF Grant ‘Chopper’ Fielder is a legend of the UK dirt jump and slopestyle scene. After competing for many years at a world-class level, he’s graduated to being a sought-after judge for the same contests. You’ll also see him in a host of Muc-Off video productions. ELLIOTT HEAP NUKEPROOF/SRAM/ APPLIED NUTRITION After competing as a Junior on the DH World Cup circuit, Elliott switched his focus to enduro in 2017 and won the EWS U21 title a year later. As well as racing for Nukeproof/ SRAM, Elliott teaches bike skills through www.ride mtbcoaching.co.uk. TOM ISTED DHARCO/ABUS/CARDER TECH Hailing from Cornwall, Tom earned his stripes as a freestyle BMX rider before switching to MTB slopestyle. He finished 12th in the 2021 Crankworx FMBA Slopestyle World Championship series and…

Drop-offs are a common trail feature but they can cause many riders to freeze up at the thought of getting it wrong and going over the bars. With the right technique, you’ll be able to master them with control and confidence, opening up a whole new level of fun. BPW’s Justin Pagington explains how... 01 APPROACH As you approach the drop, make sure you’re in a ‘ready’ (aka ‘attack’) position on the bike – head up, chest open, wrists and heels dropped. This gives you a good, strong platform to perform the technique from. Spot your landing so that you have something to aim for. 02 THE LIP As the front wheel nears the edge of the drop, shift your weight rearwards so the wheel doesn’t plummet off the lip.…

To improve your riding, first you need to look at what’s going wrong. This means identifying and addressing not just the symptoms, but the underlying causes. Here are six of the most common faults (symptoms) seen out on the trails by coach-to-the-stars Olly Morris and some ideas for how you can start to improve them. 01DRAGGING THE BRAKES IN CORNERS Most riders are aware that they shouldn’t brake through corners, because it’s terrible for grip and control. However, it’s bloody hard to avoid doing it. I’m sure we all have this fault, but is it as simple as just telling ourselves to stop doing it? No. The thing to look at here is how you’re setting up for the turn. Are you braking early enough and are you riding on…

You’ve got the basics sorted (p10 and p16), now it’s time to take your jumping to the next level by adding some tricks. Matt Jones and Grant ‘Chopper’ Fielder show you how... BAR TWEAK When you’re trail riding, you can often use speed to clear jumps, but if you want to add some tricks, you need to be able to ‘pop’ off them. This will maximise your airtime over even the smallest jumps, allowing you to style it up. Start by practising bunnyhops. Get used to the feeling of pulling up with the front and having your back wheel follow the same path. Next, find a small jump to learn on. Don’t let the bike do all the work, as you would when riding a jump on the trails, but…