Innehållsförteckning för April 2021 från Mountain Biking UK

Right now, I’m building. I like writing this column from the digger, but it’s been a crazy time for getting stuff done – essential maintenance after the storms in mid January as well as some awesome new tracks. It’s the key advantage of these times. While this whole situation has been a huge nightmare for new businesses like ours, it’s also a huge opportunity to get stuck in and do some groundwork! The storms were insane. We get some pretty mad rainfall in Wales, but this was just so short and sharp. The sheer volume of water hitting meant that anywhere the drainage wasn’t 100 per cent dialled got washed clean away – long straights on the tracks and whole fireroads just gone. We’ve got a full crew on the…

STAR LETTER EASY ACCESS Thanks for a great mag! I have two points to make in my letter. Firstly, because I work shifts in the week, I tend to do a lot of solo riding. Reading your article on the subject in last month’s mag got me thinking. The tips about taking your phone with you are very true. However, to add my own personal experience, I now always carry mine in my front jacket pocket. It does add to the risk of damaging your mobile, but I crashed a couple of years back and popped my shoulder out. My phone was in my bag. As you can imagine, the only thing I wanted to do as I lay in a crumpled heap was ring someone to get me. Frustratingly,…

Frame Hydroformed 7005 aluminium alloy, 170mm (6.7in) travel Fork Fox 38 Float Factory, 170mm (6.7in) travel Shock Fox Van Performance Drivetrain Bosch Performance Line CX motor with 625Wh PowerTube battery, Shimano Deore XT gearing with SLX cassette and Samox EC40 cranks (1x12) Wheelset Race Face AR30 Offset rims on Novatec hubs, Schwalbe Magic Mary Super Trail ADDIX Soft (f) and Super Gravity ADDIX Soft (r) 29x2.6in tyres Brakes Shimano Deore XT M8120, 203mm rotors Bar/stem Race Face Chester 35, 780mm/ Focus CIS, 50mm Seatpost/saddle Fox Transfer RL Factory/Proxim W350 Weight 25.95kg (57lb), medium size without pedals…

We were attempting to summit Helvellyn, which is the third-highest point in England, at 950m, and also the tallest legally ridable peak, thanks to the bridleway to the top. It’s a route that’s not to be sniffed at even in good conditions. That we were doing this in the middle of winter meant we had to be even more cautious and ready to adapt our plans in order to stay safe should the conditions worsen. We all had extra clothes and gloves, packed in drybags – there’s no point taking spare layers only to find them soaked through. I also brought a storm shelter, so that should things go wrong, we’d be able to take cover from the elements. Even a simple mechanical can escalate into something more serious if…

Hitting that jump you’re scared of This is something that doesn’t happen too often for me these days, but for sure it did plenty of times on my way through the ranks. First of all, it’s about deciding whether you want to commit to the jump or not, because if you’re in the middle somewhere, this is where it can go wrong. You’re either in or out. From there, it’s always sensible to check the jump out properly first, including the run-in, because that’s where the speed is going to come from and where you’re going to set body position, etc. It’s important to figure that out and get comfortable. I find it really helpful to watch another rider or a mate hit the jump before I do it for…

Where is it? Madeira island is an autonomous region of Portugal, off the northwest coast of Africa. When to visit The island has a Mediterranean climate so its trails are prime for riding all year round. Even in winter, temperatures still average 16°C. Conditions can vary dramatically between the north and south coasts, though. How to get there Various airlines offer connections to Funchal Airport (FNC), with return flights from the UK starting from under £100. From there, you can get a shuttle, taxi or bus to your accommodation of choice. Where to ride There are great trails all over Madeira. If you don’t fancy finding your own way around like Thorfinn, we can recommend booking a holiday/ guiding with Freeride Madeira (https:// freeridemadeira.com) or Bikulture (www. bikulture.com), who have…

SARAH’S VITUS SOMMET 27 CRX £3,599.99 Sarah’s feeling spoiled with her Sommet I’ve been into bikes for long enough now to know that the Sommet CRX’s spec sheet offers exceptional value for money. With its carbon fibre mainframe and high-end kit, I feel spoiled to be able to ride this bike for the year. Now that I’ve spent a bit of time in the saddle, I’m happy to report that most of the components work well for me. While I like the modulation of SRAM brakes, I had Shimano XT four-pots on last year’s bike and, once I’d got used to their on/off feel, appreciated their huge power, so I was delighted to see that the Vitus has the same stoppers. Unlike last year, I haven’t had any problems…

When shopping for shorts, let the ‘two Fs’ – fit and fabric – be your guiding principles. If your shorts don’t fit you properly, it doesn’t matter how much (or how little) you pay or how many fancy features they have, they’ll never be worth the outlay. And because everyone is shaped differently, the only way to truly tell if they’ll fit is to try them on. Fabric is important because it provides protection and comfort, so choose according to your type of riding. If gravity bombing is your thing, go for more abrasion-resistant material that’ll cope with crashes; if you’re into XC epics, then lightweight comfort and stretchy freedom of movement will serve you better. The waistband is the foundation of any shorts’ construction. It should be higher at…

Route summary A wonderful mix of flowing trails over rolling countryside, from hedge-lined singletrack, through weaving woodland trails, to ancient, scenic hilltop tracks. Start/finish Garnier Road car park, Winchester (postcode: SO23 9PA, grid ref: SU 484/280) 1 Ride out the back of the car park on Itchen Way. After 750m turn left on the Pilgrim’s Trail bridleway, keeping right at the fork, around St Catherine’s Hill. Cross the M3 bridge and turn right. Descend to a track crossing and head right, next to a golf course. Drop to a road and go left, alongside it, to Twyford. Take the second left (Bourne Ln) and follow it right, to a T-junction. 2 Go left on the road for 600m, then right by the waterworks, on the Monarch’s Way, to a road…

Route summary: This is a big ride out into the stunning Yorkshire Dales, although it can easily be made shorter if needs be. It features a bit of everything, including some superb technical trails and stunning views. Start/finish: Dales Bike Centre (postcode DL11 6AW, grid ref SE 046/988) 1 Turn left out of the centre, go around the left-hand bend and then turn right, signed ‘High Fremington’. Head left at the T-junction, uphill, on what becomes a rough track through a gate. Follow this to the houses at Hurst and turn left. Continue through a gate to the top. Keep ahead/left to and through a gate/wall. Ride downhill through a quarry. 2 Go right at the bottom by Storthwaite Hall, to Langthwaite. Head left over the bridge and left on…

CAROLINE ALEXANDER Caroline was undoubtedly the first female star of British mountain biking. Her professional XC career spanned 1993-2002, during which she won multiple National Championship titles, was second in the World Cup overall twice (1994 and 2001) and won the St Wendel, Germany World Cup in 1997. She represented Great Britain twice at the Olympics (1996 and 2000) and placed fifth for Scotland at the 2002 Commonwealth games. While there’s been a drought for British success in women’s XC (but not DH!) since Caroline retired in 2004, we’re now seeing a new generation of British female stars take up the mantle. HELEN MORTIMER Helen was one of the first British women to make it onto the international downhill circuit, winning a bronze medal (15-18) at the 1993 World Champs…

The highs & lows of life on the mag We’re stoked that the latest ABC circulation figures show our readership grew by nearly six per cent last year. Big thanks to everyone who bought or subscribed to the mag! Jo Burt came up with a great way to beat the lockdown blues, adding a new Mint Sauce picture to a tiny sketchbook every day. Now he’s raffled the whole lot off, raising an amazing £8,286 for Cancer Research UK. Top work! You can follow his work on Instagram (@mint_sauce_in_mbuk). Been having a clearout? Send your old cycling kit to Sharewear. They need donations of activewear to help people living in poverty get out and exercise, with all the mental health benefits that entails. Thanks to BAM bamboo clothing for the…

At least there was a happy ending to Tom Evans’ nasty wound… “I was riding my local trails near Shrewsbury, Shropshire, and finally plucked up the courage to hit a small drop that had been playing on my mind for a while,” he explains. “It’s only about 3ft, but the run-in is only two bike lengths and steep. I landed it but overshot the following berm and went over the bars down a steep bank, luckily missing multiple trees. While tumbling down the bank, I must have impaled myself on the outer ring of my triple crankset. As you can see, it also ran down the length of my arm. Seven stitches and a lot of painkillers later, it looked a lot better. I changed to a singlespeed set-up and…

ALPINA ROOTAGE EVO HELMET £129.95 Drop-down lid for those about to drop in German brand Alpina may not be the first you think of when looking for a new helmet, but their 2021 line-up is deserving of your attention. With deep rear coverage and dropped sides that extend down over your ears, the ROOTAGE EVO is one of the more stylish open-faces of this type that we’ve come across. It features both EPP and EPS foams for protection, with the liner in-moulded into the shell. While the helmet lacks any form of rotational impact protection, the price reflects this, and Alpina claim that it’ll work with a neck brace. There are five large vents under the fixed peak to allow for plenty of cooling. It comes in just two sizes,…

In spite of its altitude, this route is pretty simple and easy to follow. Starting from Glenridding, head up the road to the YHA youth hostel and from there follow the bridleway up towards Keppel Cove. In normal conditions it’s ridable all the way to the fork, at which point the steepness ramps up and only a very few riders will make it to the ridge. Here, you have the choice to turn left and head to the summit of Helvellyn, or turn right and go straight on to Raise and Sticks Pass. If you decide to head to the summit, once there, simply turn around and retrace your tracks to get back to Raise. From the top of Raise, the path to Sticks Pass is a little vague to…

HOW WE TEST THE KIT It starts with a detailed product check in the workshop. Next we hit the trails… hard! We test in real riding conditions, incorporating feedback from multiple testers, and don’t stop until we have the complete picture. WHY OUR TESTS ARE THE BEST! Our test team is made up of some 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 reviewers. DMR V11 nylon flat…

ULTRASONIC SEAMS Also known as welded seams, this process fuses seams together rather than stitching them. It reduces weight and bulk, helps maintain stretch from one panel to another and removes the potential of chafing from stitched seams. RISE The length from the front of the waist to the crotch seam. Too high a rise and there’ll be excess fabric at the front of the shorts, which will potentially catch on the nose of your saddle. GROWN - ON WAIST Rather than a separate waistband, a grown-on waist has no band, instead the fabric is cut and shaped to the body of the shorts. This removes bulk and increases comfort as there’s no band to dig into your stomach. DROPPED KNEE A construction method with the leg cut higher behind…

TUBELESS TROUBLES Q I’m sure it’s been covered many times before, but I’m still struggling with seating my tubeless tyres. I just can’t get them to seal and make that popping sound. Give me some tips please! Tom, York A We feel your pain, Tom! Here are a few things that can make life a little bit easier. Start with the basics – is the rim tape wide enough, and properly sealed? Is the valve seated correctly in the rim bed? If you can hear or feel air coming out of the spoke or valve holes, these should be your first ports of call. A good tip is to leave an inflated inner tube in the tyre overnight to help seal the rim tape. Using one of those pressurised air…

With the country still locked down (at the time of writing), we’re playing it safe and staying local with a ride from Winchester, on the edge of the South Downs National Park. The route starts by the excellent Handlebar Cafe, but the car park is busy at the best of times so we decide to meet at the oddly-named Cheesefoot Head viewpoint instead. The small car park here is right beside a large natural amphitheatre (also known as Matterley Bowl), where American troops were based in WWII. Back then, it hosted boxing matches to entertain the soldiers, but nowadays it’s used for filming and festivals, and even cycling events such as Battle in the Bowl. Obviously, everything is cancelled right now, so I’m surprised to find a food van here…

Route summary This route offers an easy off-road ride around the shores of Trawsfynydd Lake, with simple navigation, good trails and lovely views Start/finish The car park by the old power station (postcode: LL41 4DT, grid ref SH 681/389) 1 Turn left out of the car park and then right towards the cafe, but immediately right again on the Llwybr Llyn/Traws/Lake Path trail with cycle sign. Follow this signed path along the edge of the lake, to a gate and junction at a road by the power station. Keep straight ahead here. 2 Go left at the boundary fence, along the road. Keep ahead at the end of the fence, beside the lake. Fork left to stay beside the water. Cross the dam and go through a gate on the…

THREE’S THE MAGIC NUMBER What happened when Matt Jones tried to boost his bag of world-first tricks? Matt Jones threw down the gauntlet when he announced that he wanted to land three world-first tricks. It’s no mean feat to conceive and conquer even one, when you consider the ridiculously high level that pro freestyle riding has reached. Matt’s ideas were inspired by previous world-first tricks that he’d pulled in competitions, and his Frames of Mind edit for Red Bull. His goal was to land a 720 no-hander to barspin, a running gainer, and a backflip to hitching post to frontflip. For real. While these tricks had been in Matt’s imagination for some time, they hadn’t come to fruition because he didn’t have the right jumps and facilities to pull them…

1 Hiplok ANKR ground/wall anchor A big lock is no good if you haven’t got a strong anchor point to attach it to. This one boasts a neat design and Sold Secure Gold rating, and is removable should you move house. £69.99 www.zyrofisher.co.uk 2 PJB Garage Defender + padlock With its shackleless padlock, this Sold Secure Bronze-rated device makes your garage more secure by making it much harder for burglars to open a tilt-action door. £69.99 www.pjbsecurity.co.uk 3 Datatag UV Pro Tag your bike and components with visible and UV-visible tags, then register them on a database. Not only is Datatag a good deterrent to thieves, but it also makes recovery and identification of ownership easier for the police. £29.99 www.datatag.shop 4 Tiiwee A1 alarm system This simple alarm will…

THE SLACK GEOMETRY EGGED US ON TO THROW THE BIKE INTO EVERY TURN, WHERE IT WOULD HOLD ITS ARC WITHOUT SLIPPING AND SPIT US OUT PERFECTLY CANYON STOIC 4 £1,805.98 shipped Another hardcore hardtail enters the fray Us Brits may regard ourselves as the kings of the hardcore hardtail, but this progressively-shaped alloy machine from direct-sale giants Canyon shows the Germans know a thing or two about making fast bikes without rear suspension, too. The frame At the heart of any aggressive hardtail is a tough frame and, bucking the ‘steel is real’ trend of smaller bike makers, Canyon have built the Stoic from the same 6061-T6 aluminium used on their full-sus bikes. They tout their creation as ‘the best enduro hardtail’ and a go-to bike for everything from techy…

There are some riders who are just racers through and through. The instant you meet Matt Walker, you can tell he’s one of those. Not just lightning-fast on a bike, but attacking everything in his path with pinpoint precision and deadly execution. He possesses a Greg Minnaar-like sixth sense for judging exactly where the edge is and staying the tiniest fraction on the right side of it, rarely putting a wheel wrong and never getting out of shape, but always charging at full tilt. Add in a level of focused dedication that’s rare to see in a rider of his age, and perhaps we shouldn’t have been so surprised to see the third-year Elite punch out consistent podiums at every race of the short but intense 2020 downhill season and…

ROB WEAVER With With two tw decades s of o riding experience e e , , Rob R knows ws what works w and what doesn sn’’t t TOM MARVIN Riding anything up to five days a week means Tom has plenty of time to hammer test kit RUSSELL BURTON Long days outdoors mean photographer Russ needs kit that won’t let him down LUKE MARSHALL Keen racer Luke is quick to identify what helps or is a hindrance between the tape ALEX EVANS Many years of breaking bikes mean that Alex can give reliable buying advice…

HIGH-BACKED WAIST When a pair of shorts is laid flat, the rear of the waist should be clearly visible above the front to ensure it’ll sit high enough to keep your backside covered while you’re riding. PERFORATIONS Placed strategically through the shorts, these little holes in the material aid airflow and are especially useful in summer, when you want to maintain coverage but not overheat. ELASTIC ADJUSTMENT Shorts that have stretchy fabric incorporated into the waist adjustment enable you to get a good balance between comfort and fit that isn’t restrictive across the stomach. LONG ZIP PULL Often overlooked but essential if you always ride with full-finger gloves or for days when the chill has reached your fingers. POCKETS Shorts come with all types and sizes of pocket, or none,…

T10 Torx key DOT 5.1 brake fluid 8mm spanner 4mm Allen key Disc brake cleaner Rags & receptacles Gloves Flat-bladed screwdriver or brake pad spreader Bleed kit, including clear plastic tubing, fluid pot, rubber seal, stopper and top cap 1 Put gloves on. Using the Allen key, position the brake lever so that the top of the reservoir is horizontal. Wind the bite point and lever reach adjusters out and, using the T10 Torx key, remove the top cap and rubber diaphragm from the reservoir. 2 Fit the bleed kit’s rubber seal, top cap and fluid pot. With the stopper in, fill the pot with DOT 5.1 fluid. If you don’t have the kit, it’s OK, but you’ll need to keep a keen eye on the fluid level in the…

The Handlebar Cafe at the start of the ride is excellent – great service, delicious food, reasonable prices and just a good place to be. It’s set up with cyclists in mind, with bike tools and a pump available. With a wide choice of cakes, healthy snacks, locally-sourced sausage rolls, pies and pastries, vegetarian and vegan options, breakfasts – from porridge and yoghurt with granola to bacon rolls – and Jude’s ice cream for warmer times, it covers all bases. www.handlebar.cafe www.bespokebiking.com If you choose to start at Cheesefoot Head car park instead, the Handlebar Cafe is a little off the main route, but The Little Kitchen Bean & Bar (formerly Bean Below cafe) in Twyford is slightly less of a detour and also offers a brilliant opportunity for refreshment.…

Route summary: A lovely ride out to a quiet and remote coastline with some fun technical trails, on an often-overlooked route. Start/finish: Roadside parking on the B8083 (postcode IV49 9AB, grid ref NG 636/228) 1 Go over the road and through a single gate, off-road on a gravel path. Follow this right and then keep ahead/left for nearly 3km, passing through a gate and bearing left, uphill on a wider track. 2 Continue on this easy-to-follow track, over the top of the hill and then down to the coast, passing the ruins of Boreraig. The trail is grassy and faint, but just keep ahead. 3 By the coastline, turn right, riding parallel to it, picking your way around and over the wet sections. The trail becomes clearer as you go,…

RED ROUTE - DALBY FOREST There’s a reason why Dalby is North Yorkshire’s busiest riding spot. With over 70km of trails, graded green to black, there’s something for everyone. The terrain may not be the most technically challenging, but if you ride the full 34.4km red route you certainly won’t feel short-changed. DOLEN MACHNO & DOLEN ERYRL - PENMACHNO This tucked-away Welsh gem is often overlooked en route to Coed y Brenin, but we’d highly recommend stopping by. With no facilities, just parking, you’ll discover 30km of snaking, rocky singletrack with stunning views. Be warned, the two trails are often wet, more like streams! AE LINE - AE FOREST Famous for its DH races, Ae Forest near Dumfries is one of the 7stanes trail centres. Taking you on a big…