Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2025 i Mountain Biking UK

The bike industry had a pretty positive start to 2025, after several years reeling from lockdown-induced supply-chain issues and overstocking, plus post-Brexit UK price rises. But then US president Donald Trump announced huge tariffs targeting the heart of manufacturing. As we went to press, China (where 60% of bikes are made) was facing a tariff of 145%, Taiwan (home to Giant, Merida and factories used by Specialized, Trek, Scott and more) 32% and Vietnam (source of carbon fibre frames for Evil, Ibis and Intense) 46%. This will inevitably have a knock-on effect on UK prices, at a time when the ‘cost of entry’ to mountain biking is already sky high. Thankfully, it’s not all doom and gloom. While top-end bikes, like the Santa Cruz and Yeti tested on p58, can…

GIANT PRE RCARBON £599 The ultimate in balance bike bling – and eco-friendly too Giant’s Pre rCarbon [sic] is a lightweight balance bike made using a novel form of recycled carbon fibre. While carbon recycling is nothing new, the recovered fibres will typically end up shorter and weaker, or chopped into bits. Here, Giant claim to have successfully built a bike – albeit a tot-sized one – with few to no compromises versus manufacturing using virgin carbon fibre, and with a 50% reduction in emissions to boot. The rubber and plastics used on the bike are also recycled. This includes the tyres, which are made using Seawatex – a nylon sourced from marine plastic waste. Despite this eco-friendly construction, the Pre rCarbon weighs just 2.5kg – significantly less than a…

I don’t think I’m compatible with Strava. I’ve tried it and I didn’t like it. As much as I’ve denied it over the years, I’m a competitive person. I’m not sure I want to be, but I am. I started racing when I was 11, and even tried my hand at World Cup downhill in my 20s (and failed, I should note), so to say I’m keen on the stopwatch is something of an understatement. That means that when I flirted briefly with bagging KOMs, I had less fun on my bike. Now, I’m well aware Strava is more than just a leaderboard and offers all sorts of benefits aside from seeing how you stack up against others, but I found that element hard to look past. Every ride I…

Unless you follow the high-octane world of hard enduro motocross racing, you may not have heard of Manuel Lettenbichler. But this German superstar of motor-powered, two-wheeled off-road antics is also ridiculously handy on a mountain bike. So much so that he was offered a spot on Germany’s downhill team for the 2021 MTB World Championships and is a fully paid-up member of the YT Mob, adding to an enviable list of sponsors that also includes Red Bull and KTM. What is it that Mani has learned from racing motorbikes that’s helped him transition so easily to MTBing? To find out, I headed to the Surrey Hills, where I found myself munching on one of Peaslake Village Stores’ legendary cheese straws as we set up a pair of YT’s new Decoy…

£69.99 www.freewheel.co.uk Unchanged since they were released more than 20 years ago, the M540s remain the best-value option in Shimano’s pedal line-up. Meaningfully improved features justify the small extra cost over the budget M520s, while only a minor weight penalty, less fancy bearings and slightly dull looks distinguish them from the pricier Deore XT M8100 (£114.99) and XTR M9100 (£139.99) pedals, leaving no reason to upgrade. Our extensive testing has shown that – like all Shimano pedals – they’ll survive years of abuse without mechanical attention. Excellent repairability and wide availability of spares further cement their position as the near-indestructible pedals most of us should use. I expect archaeologists will find a pair of these sitting next to a Nokia 3310 and the cockroaches after a nuclear war. The option…

EXPERT WORKSHOP ADVICE TIPS FOR SETTING UP STIFF TUBELESS TYRES There’s got to be an easy way to change tubeless tyres! Or at least easier than the way I’m doing it. Can you explain how to change stiff tubeless tyres? Patrick, via email Tubeless tyres are great for many reasons, but certain tyre-rim combinations can make them difficult to fit and remove. Arguably, the most important piece of advice is to use a quality pair of long, plastic-coated tyre levers, such as the Lezyne Power Lever XLs. These tend to be much stronger and more robust than traditional levers, which is important when it comes to the forces involved in changing tubeless tyres. The plastic or plastic-coated element is vital to ensure that you don’t scratch or damage your rims,…

The Avinox e-MTB motor from drone makers DJI is the best we’ve used. Not just because of its mind-blowing torque (105Nm) and power figures (upped to 1,000w in Turbo mode with the latest firmware update), but because of its refined, natural, easy-to-control feel. It debuted on the company’s own Amflow PL, which we tested in MBUK 444 and awarded four-and-a-half stars, saying the motor was excellent but the bike had room for improvement. Now, two established MTB brands – UNNO and Forbidden – have unveiled Avinoxpowered machines, as have Spanish manufacturers Megamo, fledgling New Zealand-based brand Velduro and Chinese mobility company Teewing The striking-looking new UNNO Mith is claimed to weigh just 21.2kg – impressive for a full-power bike with an 800Wh battery and 160mm of rear-wheel travel. There’s also…

By the early ’00s, baggy kit was de rigueur in downhill racing, as riders sought to distance themselves from the staid cross-country scene, following the lead set by the likes of US snowboard star turned bike racer Shaun ‘Napalm’ Palmer. So, when the UK-based Mojo Orange team turned up at the 2008 Fort William World Cup in Scotland wearing PVC-coated Lycra skinsuits, it caused an uproar. The move was the brainchild of bike journalist turned Mojo Suspension owner Chris Porter – never a man to shy away from a controversial idea. He’d carried out some testing with skinsuits and been blown away by the results, feeling the aerodynamic advantages were too significant to ignore. “We found ourselves a fireroad at Abercarn [in South Wales], fully enclosed with trees so not…

THIS MONTH’S NEW BIKES YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT Cannondale’s new Moterra looks like an iterative refinement rather than a full ‘rip up the rule book’ do-over. However, dig a little deeper and the changes are more than skin deep. There’s a new carbon fibre frame, said to be 996g lighter than the previous generation. Geometry, shock tunes and carbon layups are all size-specific so the on-trail feel should remain the same for all riders. Plus, the pivot hardware has been redesigned to make both the bike and the shock easier to work on. The motor has been upgraded too, to Bosch’s latest Gen 5 Performance Line CX. In July, this is expected to get a firmware update that’ll boost max torque and peak power (currently 85Nm and 600w) to…

Getting fitter or splashing out on the latest superbike are both pretty much guaranteed to improve your riding fun, but few of us have the time or money. Thankfully, there are some things you can spend your hard-earned on that’ll allow you to ride faster, further and in greater comfort. without breaking the bank. In fact, some will even save you money, by helping to preserve expensive parts so you don’t have to replace them so often. Here are eight of the best changes you can make to your mountain bike... 01 DROPPER SEATPOST More flow for not too much dough A dropper post – which enables you to lower your saddle height using a lever on the handlebar – can make a huge difference to how you ride your…

£350 www.upgradebikes.co.uk At first glance, what sets the Talon apart from other bike racks is SeaSucker’s use of suction cups instead of the regular clips and straps. But once you get past that – which can take a while, psychologically – its USP is really just how compact it is. The Florida-made rack arrives in a box measuring just 390x330x 85mm, which contains everything you need to carry one bike on your vehicle, except for the appropriate fork-axle adapter. These ‘HUSKE Plugs’ are available separately, costing £25 to £45, but will also fit in said box once purchased. Our kit weighed 2.44kg (including box) with one set of plugs. This diminutive size and low weight makes it easy to store, and also means you could easily take it with you…

John Abbott Valentine – better known to MBUK readers as John Stevenson – has died from cancer. The outspoken Yorkshireman played a pivotal role in the early years of MBUK, joining the fledgling magazine as technical editor in 1989, after several years working in bike shops and making his name on the UK MTB scene as a racer, team manager and event promoter. In his own words, he “got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish”. Tym Manley called his bluff and gave him a job. COMMENDABLE INTEGRITY Although not trained as one, John had a journalist’s instincts and attention to detail, and wasn’t afraid to espouse controversial views or call out brands or individuals for their mistakes. Old friend Rory Hitchens, a…

With negotiations ongoing, pressure from financial markets and the sense that Donald Trump can change his mind on the flip of a dime, it's hard to tell what the effects of the US president’s “reciprocal” trade tariffs will be. But they’re likely to have big consequences for the bike industry. On April 2, Trump imposed huge taxes on imports from China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand and other nations, as part of the White House’s ‘Liberation Day’. Writing for the trade publication BikeBiz, Dominic Langan, CEO of Madison, UK distributors for Shimano, Park Tool and more, described these countries as the “beating heart of the global cycling supply chain”. “For an industry still navigating oversupply, squeezed margins and consumer price sensitivity, this couldn’t have come at a worse time,” Langan wrote, saying…

£2,500 https://saddleback.co.uk ENVE’s gravity-focused carbon fibre wheels defy their brutish looks to deliver a calm-feeling ride. The American company claim to have improved compliance (engineered flex) by over 70%, compared to their previous M730 and M930 designs, and sure enough, the ultra-wide inner and outer rim widths and deep profile don’t translate to the harsh and buzzy trail feel you might expect from a carbon wheelset of this type. At 2,010g a pair, they’re on the portlier side, even for wheels designed to withstand the rough and tumble of enduro, downhill and e-MTB riding, but they do carry the top-tier ASTM 5 rating for their weight, meaning they’re super-sturdy. However, at a whopping £2,500, they’re a tough sell, even with a five-year guarantee, compared to competition such as DT Swiss’s…

The demands on a modern-day trail bike are astounding, with very little room for compromise. They really need to do it all and do it well to be in with a chance of impressing riders. While no one expects the same level of efficiency as on a thoroughbred cross-country (XC) bike or the descending prowess of a full-on downhill (DH) rig, riders still have high expectations when it comes to these true all-rounders. Will it be comfortable to pedal all day, up and over hills or mountains? Is it stable and surefooted enough to take on steep, technical decents? And is it robust enough to be thrown about in the bike park? These are all justifiable questions that riders looking to buy a trail bike should be asking. Creating a…

EXPERT WORKSHOP ADVICE A groupset, often shortened to ‘group’, is a collection of parts that makes up a bicycle’s brakes and drivetrain, all from the same manufacturer and targeted at a specific price bracket. On road bikes, it’s common to see a complete groupset – for example, full Shimano Ultegra Di2 or SRAM Force AXS. However, on mountain bikes, manufacturers often mix and match parts from various groups – and in some cases different brands – to suit the bike’s intended use and meet a specific price point. In this series, we’ll be explaining the brand hierarchies and how the groups differ. First off though, an introduction to the component parts… CASSETTE The cassette is the cluster of sprockets attached to the rear wheel hub. For mountain bikes, they can…