Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2024 i Mountain Biking UK

OUT FRONT Send a pic of your bike to mbuk@ourmedia.co.ukor post it on Instagram with the hashtag #odirides. If we pick your photo for this column, you’ll win a set of ODI grips, courtesy of Freewheel.co.uk. Pick from the Vans, Elite Pro and Reflex models, in the colour of your choice.…

VALENTINA HÖLL ALL-CONQUERING AUSTRIAN We catch up with the 2023 downhill world champion and World Cup series winner to find out about her new team and bike, and what we can expect next – p15 NICK CLARK BIKERADAR DIGITAL WRITER A new face on the MBUK test team, young Nick has a propensity for in-your-face riding pants and trail building. This issue, he tries out Mondraker’s new Dune – p28 TOM ISTED BADASS BACKFLIPPER ‘Ice-T’ shows us around his compound and favourite trails, and gives us the lowdown on 120ft backflips, £300 frames and sending huge jumps – p32 SIOBHAN SLADE MTB-LOVING SUB-EDITOR It’s about time we gave a shout-out to Shim, who’s helped us out for years, including working on special projects such as this issue’s Trail Directory –…

Vans shoes are back on the MTB scene, thanks to a team-up with YT Industries. The brands have paired up on a new collab model, the Vans x YT 114. Based on the 114 BMX shoe, this features a ‘WaffleCup’ outsole, with tall sidewalls that wrap around the upper for extra support, plus a classic vulcanised waffle tread underneath. Other tech includes a ‘PopCush’ insole – with more cushioning on the heel and less under the ball of the foot for good pedal feel – and ‘DURACAP’ reinforcement in key areas. The shoes are available in red-and-white and black-and-red as well as the white-and-red of our pair. Equally cool are the new Vans x YT La Costa sliders! Look out for Erik Fedko and his teammates rocking this footwear at…

ENERGY POWDERS OTE ENERGY DRINK £25/1.2kg bag (£1.14 per serving) OTE Energy is a good-performing drink for use during moderate exercise. It’s easy on the stomach, with a 2:1 blend of maltodextrin and fructose – 40g per 500ml serving – to provide the necessary carbohydrates, plus added electrolytes. The brand offer a genuinely neutral-tasting option, on top of the orange, lemon-and-lime and blackcurrant flavours, which are lightly sweet without becoming cloying on the palette. We can stick with a flavoured OTE drink for a day-long ride and not get bored of it, if taken with food. It’s relatively pricey per serving, though, and lacks Informed Sport certification to prove it’s free of banned substances, although OTE say it’s produced in a factory that tests for these. www.otesports.co.uk PRECISION FUEL DRINK…

JAMES COSTLEY-WHITE EDITOR Neither, just jam with a sliver of butter. The scone’s got to have raisins, though, and be pronounced to rhyme with ‘gone’, not ‘cone’! ROBIN WEAVER TECH EDITOR IN CHIEF Cream then jam. Always. How could you live with yourself otherwise? JULIA BROUSSIER CREATIVE DESIGN LEAD It’s not my battle – I’m French. By the way, it’s called a chocolatine, not a pain au chocolat! CHRIS BARNARD PRODUCTION EDITOR I prefer the Devon way – thick clotted cream as the bedrock and the looser jam on top. That’s engineering! RACHEL BENNET STAFF WRITER No cream for me, sometimes not even jam! Toasted with butter, with raisins for added zing.…

Write to: MBUK Send it! Eagle House, Bristol, BS1 4ST Email: mbuk@ourmedia.co.uk Visit: www.mbuk.com IN ASSOCIATION WITH 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 MIND OVER MATTER Summer is finally upon us (maybe?!) and it was great to get out for a post-work ride for a couple of hours the other week without lights on my bike. Mountain biking can have such a positive impact on relieving stress and improving mental health, whether riding solo or with others. It’s great…

Rach headed over to Brechfa Forest in Wales this month – not only to revisit the long-established Raven XC route, but also to check out Hafod Trails, a new venue for gravity-assisted fun. With an uplift service and six runs graded green to black, it’s one to check out – look out for a full Trail Crew report next issue! As we went to press, things were shaping up nicely for Crankworx Cairns, with tweaks being made to the slopestyle course and whip-off line after the Australian site was hit by a cyclone. By the time you read this, the ‘Party in Paradise’ will be over. Let’s hope some of the Brits travelling out – set to include Tom Isted, Martha Gill, Jake Atkinson, Mark Ducat, Billy Spurway, Craig Proudfoot…

I’ve known Tom Isted for 10-plus years, and he’s never been afraid to try anything. He may be known as ‘Ice-T’ these days, but before that many knew him as ‘Sketchy Tom’, due to his apparent inability to see any danger in trying something others wouldn’t! Maybe he simply wanted to be that person who did it first. If there’s a session going down, whether that’s slopestyle or big jumps, you can be sure Tom won’t be shy about dropping in first or sending something big. He thrives in high-pressure situations, being happy to go first or try the line when others think it’s too windy, and equally eager to get stuck in when people begin to trade heavy tricks. Tom grew up in Liskeard, and like many Kernow (Cornish)…

RACH’S ORBEA OIZ M-TEAM XTR £8,399 The ups and downs of the race circuit have defined our staff writer’s riding this month It’s been a packed few weeks for the Oiz and me. We’ve tackled challenging mountain routes in the Lake District, sessioned BikePark Wales for an MBUK video and experienced some ups and downs between the tape (check out my race reports at www.mbuk.com). One standout experience was taking part in the Pan Celtic Gravel Rally in North Wales. On the flipside, a low point was retiring from a regional XC round in Basingstoke due to the peanut-butter mud killing all enjoyment – a decision I don’t regret, because racing bikes should be fun! This past month has been a testament to how incredibly versatile this bike is. It…

In the rough-and-tumble world of mountain biking, taking a spill is a question of when, rather than if, so it’s a good idea to take basic precautions to protect yourself from injury. Wearing pads on the areas where your body is most likely to contact the ground – knees and elbows – is highly recommended. Even if you’re just protecting against scratches and bruises, it can save you from prolonged periods off the bike or annoying aches and pains down the line. Like with most bits of riding kit, knee pad fit and feel can be subjective, because everyone’s legs are different shapes and sizes. While brands do their best to make pads fit a wide range of people, it’s unlikely that everyone will have the same experience with them.…

TECH Q&A MAKE-A-SQUISH FOUNDATION I’ve noticed a ‘squelching’ noise when my RockShox Super Deluxe Select shock compresses. Rear suspension is new to me – should I be at all concerned? Sam Whittle, via email It sounds like there’s cavitation inside the damping circuit of your shock. This means that air bubbles have formed inside the damping oil. As your shock compresses and the shaft hits the bubbles, you’ll hear this unusual sound. This has likely happened due to deterioration of the seals. It’s a common issue and is a sign that your shock needs some TLC. RockShox recommend that you service your suspension after 200 hours of riding, which sounds like a lot, but clocks up quicker than you’d think. Seals will also deteriorate over time, whether the bike is…

TICKS TINY MITES, BUT MIGHTY-DANGEROUS TICK-BORNE LYME disease has become a big issue in recent years, with the number of infections increasing. If not caught early, the effects can be severe, including nerve and heart damage, and, in extreme cases, death. Other symptoms include pain and swelling in the joints, memory problems and difficulty concentrating, and chronic pain or fatigue. It’s a particular issue for mountain bikers because we often brush through the long grass, thick undergrowth and tree foliage where the tiny, spider-like creatures live, making it easy for them to climb aboard. They’re found throughout the UK and in other parts of Europe and North America. SPOT THE SIGNS Only a small proportion of ticks carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, and you’re unlikely to become infected…

LAGGAN WOLFTRAX Situated in the scenic far west of the Cairngorms National Park, Laggan’s riding is rough and rugged. There’s more than 20 miles of well-built trails here, with an out-in-the-wilds feel and plenty of rock features. It’s a top spot for beginners and intermediates, with green, blue and red-graded loops. Over the road are more natural steep, rooty and rocky tracks, which cater for advanced riders, as does the black route at the trail centre. Laggan just hosted the first round of this year’s Tweedlove Enduro Series, so you know the trails are great! Add its facilities and stunning location, and it’s one of our top UK riding spots. TOP TRAILS • Wolf Cub Green 3.5/4.5km Ideal for novices, with a shallow climb and then a fantastic singletrack descent.…