Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2024 i Mountain Biking UK

Write to: MBUK Send it! Eagle House, Bristol, BS1 4STEmail: mbuk@ourmedia.co.ukVisit: www.mbuk.com STAR LETTER WINS... Lezyne CNC Tubeless Drive hand pump & Lezyne Tubeless Pro Plugs repair kit worth £104 THAT’S GOTTA HURT WINS... ABUS MoDrop do-it-all trail helmet worth £90 SHOT OF THE MONTH WINS... DMR V11 pedals, DMR Stage 2 saddle and DMR Deathgrips worth £107 INSTA-BANGERS WINS... Complete Motul bike care range worth £97.50 STAR LETTER NEVER SAY NEVER Five years ago, I had a major operation on my spine, as I was slowly losing the use of my legs. I was told I wouldn’t be able to mountain bike or ride my motorbike again, which left me a bit hacked off. However, once I was on the road to recovery, I found that riding my bike…

OUT FRONT Good news from Orange Bikes – after appointing administrators, the Halifax-based brand have restructured and merged with their frame manufacturers (previously a separate company) to bring the business under one roof, two miles from their current HQ. Hopefully this will secure the future of the classic British brand, known for their folded-aluminium frames and single-pivot suspension. Rob Warner has been recognised. No, not by Thames Valley Police, hot on the trail of local mountain biking miscreants, but by the Marin Museum of Bicycling, which has inducted him into the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame, along with former partner in crime Shaun Palmer. His old mucker Steve Peat was similarly honoured in 2018, followed by the late Jason McRoy, trail centre guru Dafydd Davis and our own Steve Behr…

ESTABLISHED 2010 IN MATLOCK, DERBYSHIRE STANTON BIKES Stanton came aboutwhen avid rider Dan Stanton couldn’t quite find what he was looking for in a bike. He explains: “I was passionate about riding, ever since I was a boy. All I did in any spare time I had was mess about on bikes. It was street trials, dirt jumps and playing around in the woods, and, as I got older, I started going to trail centres. I was a hardtail fan, and there were a few bikes that were OK, but nothing that really enabled what I wanted to do on a bike. So, I set about designing one.” His first creation, the Slackline, hit the mark with our testers – who said it offered “a magical combo of snappy steel…

LUKE’S GIANT REIGN ADVANCED PRO 2 £4,699 Is Giant’s latest long-travel carbon 29er the king of enduro bikes? Giant are a huge but unassuming brand that deliver some brilliant bikes under the radar. I’m hoping their latest enduro bike will be one of these silent assassins. Discreetly breaking cover at the end of 2022, the Reign Advanced snagged two victories in the inaugural Enduro World Cup series, making it one of the most successful enduro bikes of 2023. After a quick glance at the geometry chart, I was set on getting hold of one for 2024. I chose the base-model carbon fibre Reign, which has a frame made from Giant’s ‘Advanced-grade Composite’, complete with internal storage, twin-link Maestro suspension system and three-position geometry adjustment. This lets you choose between ‘high’,…

With the promise of better weather and longer days, spring is a time of hope and anticipation. However, after a dull and dank winter it can be hard to find the motivation to get back on your bike. Thankfully, there are some simple ways to get yourself prepared for the riding season ahead. Follow these tips from the MBUK team to get the most out of this spring and the summer lying beyond... PRE-SEASON WATCH SOME MTB EDITS There’s no better way to get inspired to ride bikes than by seeing others getting rad on theirs. Whether it’s the world’s best freeriders dropping off cliffs at Red Bull Rampage, Gee Atherton’s latest hair-raising line or Lael Wilcox’s (see p16) long-distance adventures that get you excited, watching some of the amazing…

DAN ATHERTON TRAIL BOSS & BIKE TESTER Not just handy on a bike, our cover star has played a key role in the development of the new Atherton bikes and Dyfi Bike Park – p8 & p34 HELENE FRUHWIRTH VIENNESE WHIRLWIND The racer/coach and her photographer friend Alex Chapignac take us on a tour of the top riding spots around the Austrian capital – p14 LAEL WILCOX BUILT TO ENDURE Hailing from Alaska and specialising in ultra-distance events, Lael is one tough cookie. We find out what keeps her going – p23 FINLAY ANDERSON SNAPPER & TURN-SLAPPER Tweed Valley-based Fin shot the MBUK 412 cover and is as handy behind a handlebar as he is a lens, so has been testing bikes for us – p62…

Fuel This ultra-endurance legendhas logged some serious bikepacking miles, helping to develop the 1,673-mile Baja Divide route in Mexico and winning the 2,700-mile Tour Divide race through the Rocky Mountains five times, after being the first woman to finish the event in 2015. The Alaska native tells us why she quit alcohol and how she used to plan rides around organic farms... “I start theday with a big glass of water. Espresso comes next. If I’m at home, I try to do yoga every morning. Then, I eat salad for breakfast, with eggs and grains – rice, quinoa or buckwheat. Growing up in Alaska, there was little in the way of local food – delicious salmon and halibut, but no fruit and a very short season for growing vegetables. So,…

ATHERTON AM.130.1 £7,800A boundary-pushing bike worthy of the Atherton name The Atherton AM.130 is a real conversation starter on the trails. Not only is the frame unusual – handcrafted in Wales from carbon fibre and titanium, using a far-from-common construction method – but so is the six-bar suspension linkage out back. And then there’s the name on the down tube, which will be forever associated with pushing the limits of gravity riding. How does all this translate to a short-travel trail bike, though? Can the AM.130 live up to its looks? THE FRAME Atherton Bikes use an additive manufacturing process (3D printing, essentially) to produce titanium lugs, into which carbon fibre tubes are bonded. The beauty of these lugs is that they can be made in almost any shape, so…

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 wizard Tom gives his gear a proper hammering LUKE MARSHALL TECH WRITER Downhiller Luke is always looking for what saves time between the tape JAMES COSTLEY-WHITE EDITOR Riding since ’92, JCW knows the score and has an eye for the key details WILL POOLE WORKSHOP MANAGER When not prepping bikes in our workshop, Will’s out putting the miles in 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 the testing through our team of tech experts, who have unrivalled knowledge and experience. Every test starts with a detailed product…

TECH Q&A MISSING LINK Last week my chain broke while riding. Luckily, my friend had a quick-link to help me out. I’ve replaced the chain and reimbursed my friend, but can I reuse the quick-link? I’m thinking of keeping it as a spare for future rides. Dave, via email We’re glad to hear you had the support of some well-prepared friends and didn’t have to resort to the ‘walk of shame’ or some trailside wizardry to make it back home! Reusing quick-links is a brand- and type-dependent scenario. For example, SRAM’s eight and nine-speed PowerLinks are reusable, while their 10, 11 and 12-speed PowerLocks are not (because, the brand say, the ridge connecting the two plates can be compromised during the unlocking process). As a general guideline, reusing quick-links isn’t…

JAMES COSTLEY-WHITE EDITOR More riding trousers for tall folk, a greater choice of alloy bikes with good parts, and some less spoddy-looking winter boots ROBIN WEAVER TECH EDITOR IN CHIEF I’d love to see smaller bike brands like GeoMetron, RAAW, Privateer (see p24), Bird and Rå thrive in 2024 JULIA BROUSSIER CREATIVE DESIGN LEAD Clothing that reliably sizes up the same across every single brand, rather than every piece differing CHRIS BARNARD PRODUCTION EDITOR A leash to connect my front axle to my bike, so I never drive to the trails without it again. Could be useful for pedals, too... RACHEL BENNET STAFF WRITER I second JCW’s call for longer trousers! Although I’m not sure I’ll have much chance to wear them this year, with all the XC racing I…

OUT FRONTGear Changes Kids’ balance bikes invariably end up being carried almost as much as they are ridden, so this smart foldable design from UK-based start-up Be Fun makes a lot of sense. Collapsing the frame requires no tools, and it’s then easy to store in your car boot or home, or indeed, to lug around once your kid gets tired/distracted, in the provided carry sack. Cleverly, it’s designed to be left upside-down when folded, to keep muddy wheels off clean surfaces. An adjustable seatpost and handlebar height mean it can grow with your child, and its 3kg weight should make it a breeze for little rippers to manoeuvre. Be Fun say the frame is constructed from a robust blend of plastic and aluminium composites, to guarantee a hardwearing and…

MTB categories have been multiplying as rapidly as a colony of wild rabbits, and that inevitably means that the differences between them are blurring. Deciding whether to buy a downhill bike or a trail bike is easy, because there’s such a clear difference in suspension travel and geometry. However, once enduro bikes, ‘park’ bikes and downcountry bikes are thrown into the mix, that choice becomes a lot harder. Even more so when terms like ‘all-mountain’ and ‘long-travel trail’ are bandied about, too. Are there simply too many types of mountain bike these days? Three of our tech gurus chime in with their takes… ROBIN WEAVERTECH EDITOR IN CHIEF I get it. Pigeonholing things can make life simpler. Create categories and slot each bike into the most applicable one. It’s neat…

EVOC GEAR BACKPACK 90 £109.99 www.zyrofisher.co.uk SO GOOD EVOC’s pack has a top-loading main compartment with a removable (Velcro) partition. The bottom half is reached via the side and is ideal for shoes or muddy kit. There are front and side pockets, which are good for smaller items. Padded straps and a waist belt make it easy to carry, and we like the water-resistant liner. It’s light, and packs flat. NO GOOD Because the lining is black, it can be difficult to spot smaller items. Piling kit into the top of the bag makes accessing some gear a bit harder. Additional carry straps would be useful, especially for when you’re travelling with a smaller backpack, too. VAUDE ROTUMA 90 TROLLEY £230 www.vaude.com SO GOOD This wheelie bag has two huge…

Grips initially seemlike one of the most basic components on your bike – usually consisting of nothing more than an inner plastic tube covered in rubber and featuring either a single or dual clamp – but they’re actually an important contact point that can seriously impact performance. How they feel is determined by their size and profile, grip pattern, clamp design, the compound of the rubber and the quality of the materials used. Getting the formula right improves grip and hand security on the handlebar, leading to better control and less fatigue on the trail. Grips are quite personal items, with rider preferences differing, depending on their hand size and the feel they’re after through the bar, among other factors. Smaller-diameter grips will often feature less cushioning, resulting in more…