Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2025 i Mountain Biking UK

This month, pro coach Chris Kilmurray brings us some great tips for becoming a better rider – and I reckon there’s something there for everyone. A deficit of natural talent may prevent most of us from scaling quite the same heights as trials legend Chris Akrigg (tackling the craggy peaks of Arran on p28) or freerider Vinny T (sending a humungous drop on p44), but there are still little changes we can all make in order to ride safer, stronger and – should we so wish – faster. Of course, a decent bike helps – and the good news is that today’s full-suspension rigs are better than ever, even at the relatively affordable sub-£2,500 price point (p66). In fact, our tester Mick reckons there “isn’t a significant speed gap or…

Given Jackson Goldstone’s domination of the opening rounds of this year’s Downhill World Cup series, with four consecutive wins, the World Championships seemed almost like a foregone conclusion for the 21-year-old Canadian. But of course, you can never rule out an upset in the biggest one-day race in mountain biking. As it turned out, the Rider of the Year contender did indeed post the fastest time on the steep Swiss slopes of Champéry – both in qualification and in the finals – ending the run of bad luck that saw him miss the 2023 and 2024 events due to injury. Setting a fierce pace, Jackson took some wild lines and was fastest through all but the second split, kicking Germany’s Henri Kiefer out of the hot seat and relegating Rónán…

GOAT FELL'S TIGHTLY PACKED CONTOUR LINES GIVE A NOD TO WHAT MIGHT LIE IN WAIT FOR ANYONE VENTURING BEYOND THE DEER-FENCED FOREST "That wasn’t all that enjoyable really,” mutters Chris Akrigg, peering back up a cascade of 200 vertical metres of boulders towards the barren, rocky summit beyond. That hilltop was Chris’s starting gate for reaping gravity’s rewards, earned through a punishing ascent. For three hours, he’s clawed his way up an unforgiving mountain and this was meant to be payback. For a moment, I think he’s being sarcastic – often hard to tell from his dry, calm, almost stoic Yorkshireman delivery. Then I realise he’s not. Riding from that peak, Chris has edged his way down a seemingly impossible line. He’s picked his way with pinpoint-accurate wheel placements through…

There’s little argument that modern trail bikes are better than ever, but can a model costing less than £2,500 really handle everything from speeding along efficiently on cross-country terrain to ripping down steep and rough descents or enduro tracks? By ‘trail bikes’, we’re talking full-suspension machines with roughly 120 to 140mm of travel, confidence-inspiring angles and enough cushioning to absorb biggish hits and features without losing the plot. Over the past decade or so, affordable bikes like our trio here have come on in leaps and bounds, and incremental improvements to geometry, suspension and kit mean that, even at the budget end of the market, plenty of brands offer sorted, do-it-all performance. That’s great news for riders, even if it makes my job testing the bikes harder – it didn’t…

EXPERT WORKSHOP ADVICE CLIPLESS CLUES How do I fit Shimano SPD cleats properly, step by step, like a pro bike fit? Tom from Jakarta, via email Cleat position is so personal that it’s hard to recommend a specific location for your cleats. We’re not professional fitters either, so can’t give you that level of advice, but from personal experience and conversations over the years with specialists, we can give you a few tips. First, it’s worth noting that two-bolt mountain bike SPD cleats have more float built in than Shimano’s three-bolt SPD-SL road cleats, so they’re more forgiving to set up, and finding the optimum position for them is less crucial. For cross-country riding and gentler trails, we’d recommend starting with the cleat under the ball of your foot to…

Winning the Downhill World Cup overall title is a quite a feat, and only a handful of Britons have managed it, including Steve Peat, Tracy Moseley, Danny Hart, and Rachel and Gee Atherton. One who doesn’t always get the credit he deserves is Matt Walker, who cinched it during the 2020 season. Disrupted by the pandemic, the racing was reduced to four rounds at two locations. But former Junior world champion Matt was in the right place at the right time to go down in the history books. Speaking on the MBUK Podcast, Matt recalls the lead-up to that momentous year. “In 2019, I was a teammate of Danny [Hart],” he explains. “Danny was at the top of the sport, he’d won Worlds a few years prior and [being close…

ENDURA MT500 WATERPROOF JACKET From £249.99 www.endurasport.com The latest MT500 is lighter, cleaner-looking and better-fitting than before, with refined features that work. Endura’s ExoShell30 DR fabric doesn’t feel as bulky as the previous version, with a smoother, less crinkly texture and a tailored cut that’s flattering without compromising movement. There’s enough room to layer up underneath, and the long sleeves with hook-and-loop cuffs seal neatly over gloves even in a stretched-out riding position. Fit-wise, it hit the mark for both me and Alex, one of our male testers. The women’s version has no hood stowage and sightly different pockets, but otherwise the essentials are the same. Weather protection is solid, but not class-leading. In prolonged rain, there was water seepage along the taped seams, with some wetting-out on the sleeves,…

So, you want to buy an e-bike, but you’re wondering if you can save some money by buying used. Well, the good news is that the number of second-hand electric bikes available for sale is increasing all the time. The bad news is that buying a used e-bike has all the pitfalls of buying a regular second-hand bike, with the added complications of an electric motor, battery and control system. MAKE SURE IT ISN’T STOLEN One of the risks of buying any second-hand bike is that it could be stolen. To avoid this, ask to see a receipt or other proof of purchase. You can also check the serial number using Bike Register’s free online BikeChecker service. If it’s an honest sale, there shouldn’t be any issue with asking questions…

I’m sitting staring at a screen, sweating and trying to hide the fact that my hands are shaking. A voice comes through the headphones and begins the countdown. The next thing I know, we’re on air, live on TNT Sports and I have to speak. But what should I say?! I never thought I’d be in this position, commentating on the downhill race at the MTB World Championships. I’m terrified, and the event is in Champéry, famed for producing some of the most iconic downhill race runs of all time, which only adds to the pressure. If I could go back and tell my 16-year-old self this would happen, it’d blow my little, much (much) younger mind. But here I am, with the lead commentator, Ric McLaughlin, looking at me,…

RISE AND (PROGRAMMABLE) FALL Latest Orbea Rise SL e-bike has an integrated, ‘smart’ dropper post On previous Orbea Rise e-bikes, the Shimano motor was custom tuned to give a more natural ride feel and eke out more battery life. Now, this ‘Rider Synergy’ (RS) concept has been expanded to encompass a new dropper post and handlebar display. The big news here is the seatpost – Orbea’s own, wired electronic MC10-RS ‘smart’ dropper. This runs off the main e-bike battery so doesn’t need its own power source, saving weight. The Basque brand claim the 240mm-drop version is the lightest post of its length, mechanical or electronic, at 646g, while the 180mm variant is said to be a competitive weight for cross-country use (564g, claimed). It’s also programmable, which could be useful…

VINCENT TUPIN’S LATEST VIDEO, WHERE THE STYLISH FRENCH FREERIDER SENT THE BIGGEST DROP RECORDED IN MOUNTAIN BIKING HISTORY, CERTAINLY RAISED AN EYEBROW OR TWO. Measuring a whopping 31.3 metres out and 25 metres down, the cliffside huck in Switzerland’s Valais region redefined what’s possible on a bike, even if – spoiler alert – Vinny T didn’t stick the landing. Watching the edit is a heart-in-mouth experience, regardless of whether you know the guy. But as a friend, I was left asking the question,“Is it worth it, mate?”. Clearly, the answer to that question is nuanced. As an outsider looking on from the safe side of my screen, the prospect of jumping off a full-on cliff is far from appealing. But Vinny is lucid, intelligent and, above all, calculated. Yes, his…

EXPERT WORKSHOP ADVICE 1 The first step is to set your saddle height. Your seat needs to be high enough so you can get maximum power down, but without straining to reach the pedals. As a general rule, you should have a slight bend in your knee when your forward foot is at the bottom of the crank stroke. To check this, lean your bike or body against something supportive and back-pedal. 2 Once you have your seat at the optimum height with your current seatpost, measure the distance from the centre of the saddle rails to the top of the seatpost clamp, at the top of the seat tube. This is the ‘ride height’, or ‘maximum stack height’ of the post. If you buy a dropper post with too tall…