The latest issue of MBR is out now, packed full of inspiring ideas and routes to help you find new places to get out and ride. Here’s what you’ll find inside.
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ON THE COVER
Rhys Sutton hits a purple patch on one of his creations. Photographer: Andy Lloyd.
TRAILBLAZERS: STU AND BRENDA PRICE
The genius of the Dales Bike Centre and its founders Stu and Brenda Price was in making existing trails easy for riders. Not boring, or dumbed down, but easy to find, easy to park at, easy to access, easy to repair your bike or easy to grab a cake afterwards. We head out for a ride with Stu to find out where the inspiration came from, how the DBC differs from your run of the mill trail centre, and what’s next for the team.
CLASS OF 2021
Katy Winton, Reece Wilson, Lewis Buchanan… why does the Tweed Valley in Scotland produce more than its fair share of great riders? Sure, there are corking trails up there, but what else is going on? The answer lies not on the trails but in the classroom, where Dirt School runs its Borders Academy of Sporting Excellence college course with the goal of turning out top class riders. We sharpen our pencils and go back to school.
FIRST RIDES
The Specialized Kenevo SL is a bike from the future, light and subtle enough to (nearly) pass for a regular bike, but with a featherweight motor thrown in for good measure. We find out if it’s like riding an Enduro with a little extra help, or a sorry excuse for a low-powered e-bike. Plus our first impressions on the Zeb-like RockShox Domain, X01-like
SRAM GX AXS and e-bike-like Whyte E-150 RS.
LONGTERMERS
Posh doesn’t begin to do Ben “lucky” Smith’s new longtermer justice: the Kona Process 134 Supreme boasts SRAM AXS X01 drivetrain and dropper, Ultimate level suspension, carbon frame, Zipp Moto wheels… and a pricetag of £10k. Time to find out whether luxury living is as rewarding as it sounds. Plus updates on Sean White’s Nukeproof Scout 290 Pro Benji’s Giant Trance X 29, Ben Day’s Vitus Escarpe CRS and PB’s HaiBike AllMtn e-bike.
PRODUCT
The Cane Creek Kitsuma coil shock offers traction and performance above and beyond most other shocks – but is it worth the £600 pricetag? Plus reviews on the Wahoo Elemnt Rival sports watch, Crank Brothers Mallet E Boa shoe, Madison Zena and Scott Trail Vertic womens shorts, Sungod Velans glasses and more.
TESTED: TYRES
Tyres used to be an easy choice for mountain bikers, you picked the Maxxis High Roller and had done with it. Now though there are many, many more genuinely excellent contenders for the prize of Best Tyre, from traditional brands like Specialized and of course Maxxis, to new entrants like Vee Tire and Goodyear. We’ve got 10 on test.
BIKE TEST: £10K E-BIKES
It’s not unusual to see regular bikes and increasingly e-bikes breaking the £10k ceiling. But what does that amount of money get you and is it worth having? The new Specialized Levo Pro rewards you with a 700Wh battery, geometry adjustment, integrated display and some of the best handling out there. While Merida’s new eOne-Sixty 10K has a Factory level Fox 38 fork and X2 shock, and a sublime suspension feel. Which is the best bike?
BUZZ: FIT AND FAST – DON’T CHASE NUMBERS
If you’re training around your riding it’s really easy to get caught up in the numbers – how many intervals you can smash out, how heavy you can squat, how many pull-ups you can tick off. It’s the wrong path to follow though, spend too much time training and you’ll knacker yourself out for riding. Fit4Racing’s Jonny Thompson shows us how to regain structure in our training and focus on the reason we train: to ride.
SKILLS: GOAL SETTING
Now we’re all hopefully back in the swing of things it’s time to set some goals so you can progress your riding, take on new challenges and fully enjoy the sport. Andy Barlow from Dirt School has the full gamut of techniques to welcome you back.
BUZZ – ROTHER VALLEY
The Rother Valley near Sheffield has a new trail packed with berms and flowing singletrack, and big plans to expand and create a whole network of trails in the local area. We meet up with Steve Peat to discover how he started his race career right here.
MAILBOX
The best of your comments from social media, from the sublime to the ridiculous.
MY BEST TRAIL
Kiwi Veronique Sandler moved to the UK seven years ago, she loves riding her bike, dogs and digging jumps. But you’ll probably know her best from the VISION movie, shot on her very own Vision Line at Revolution Bike Park.
BIKES IN THIS ISSUE
Giant Trance X 29 2
Haibike Allmtn 6
Kona Process 134 Supreme
Merida eOne-Sixty 10K
Nukeproof Scout 290 Pro
Pole Stamina Remastered
Scott Future Pro Ransom 600
Specialized Kenevo SL 32 Specialized Turbo Levo Pro 102 Vitus Escarpe 29 CRS 79 Whyte E-150 RS
YT Capra Mk III