FEATURES:
TRAILBLAZERS: BIKEPARK WALES - Delivering consistently brilliant trails since 2013, with the mod cons we love (decent food, bike wash and most importantly a dedicated uplift) BikePark Wales was always going to be a massive hit.,, with hindsight. But a decide back it didn’t quite look like that, the idea of paying to ride trails seemed like a gamble. We talk ter - -' trail builder-in-chief Rowan Sorrell abput what changed and what’s neitt for the landmark venue
THE CAIRNGORMS - What makes someone throw in their nine-to-five job, head off to the wilderness and create an off-grid retreat for mountain bikers? Former endurance racer Phil Hodgkiss did just that, we head to the eco-retreat in the Cairngorms to unwind, take a break from the world and ask him
FIRST RIDES - The iconic Santa Cruz Nomad gets a facelift with better sizing and geometry, Canyon launches a new bike called the Stoic, it's billed as a do-it-all hardtail. Ribble has a new hardtall too. made from heat-treated chromoly steel, plus the latest Whyte is the T-160 with, well, 150mm travel and Evil's latest version of The Wreckoning
LONGTERMERS - introducing the latest edition to the longtermer fleet, meet Haibtke's Allmtn, thee-bike from Germany with a ridiculously powerful motor. Meanwhile JD takes the Cannondale Habit on some slippery South Downs XC loops, Ben Day revels in his new Vitus Escarpe’s good looks and impressive value, and Benji slices 2° off his Giant Trance X’s head angle for the steepest trails
PRODUCT - Clipless shoe head-to-head: we pit the new Crankbrothers Stamp Lace against Specialized’s 2FO Roost shoe, test the Scott Trail Storm WP pant and much more
TESTED: CRANKS - The best cranks combine light weight with stiffness, delivering all your power where it counts without penalising you with extra weight - let our grouptest sort the best from the rest. On test: Cane Creek eeWings, E’thirteen XCX Race, Hope EVO, Race Face Next R, ShimanoSLX, Shimano XT, SRAM GX Eagle alloy, and SRAM XO1 Carbon
BIKE TEST: DOWN-COUNTRY BIKES - The hottest bikes of 2021 are down-country machines: short of travel but big on fun thanks to trail-friendly geometry, they hope to deliver an exhilarating ride feel without the bulk On test is the new Specialized Epic Evo, a longer travel version of the brand's full on XC race bike. And the Merida Ninety-Six, a nother pumped up XC bike with a carbon frame and ambitions greater than its compact 100mm of travel
BUZZ: SIDEWAYS STRENGTH - Most strength training moves are about moving front to back (squats, deadlifts etc), but when you're actually pn the bike you go every which way. For maximum strength and resilience train your body for these multi-directional stresses - Fit4 Racing's Jonny Thompson shows us how
SKILLS: RIDE SMARTER - Hitting a trail and reacting to its twists and turns is fun, useful on new ground too, but it's not the smartest way to ride, says Dirt School’s Andy Barlow. Much better to think ahead, plan your way down the trail and reap the rewards of faster and safer riding
REGULARS:
BIG PICTURES
BUZZ: MARCHING ORDERS - Mountain biking is in full retreat on military land in Farnborough, following a byways review next month that could : ban us from singletrack trails. One local : riders' group is fighting back though. hoping to challenge access limitations : and keep the trails open
MAILBOX - The best of your comments from i social media, from the sublime to the ridiculous
TOE MV BEST TRAIL - GT rider and YouTube sensation Wyn Masters tells us about his favourite trail back home in New Zealand
BIKES IN THIS ISSUE:
Cannondale Habit
Carbon 3
Canyon Stoic 4
Evil WreckoningGX Giant Trance X 29 2 Haibike Allmtn 6 Instinctiv M9
Merida Ninety-Six 8000
Ribble HT725 Pro Build Santa Cruz Nomad CC X01 Reserve
Specialized Epic Evo Expert
Vitus Escarpe 29 CRS Whyte T-160 RS
ON THE COVER - Pete Archer on Stake Pass in the snowy Lakes.
Mitigating the effects of head injuries
Crashing is part of mountain biking, right? So given the (Sophie’s) choice, would you rather snap a collarbone or suffer a bit of a knock to the head? Most of us would take a broken helmet over a broken bone, wouldn't we? Yet concussions are potentially very serious, even life-changing injuries that can easily be swept under the rug if not treated seriously. Iknow this all too well - I've had at least two serious concussions while mountain biking and while the last big one was 20 years ago. it involved vomiting, memory loss and hospitalisation. As a result - and I’m not sure whether this is a cumulative effect, or solely down to one impact - I regularly find it difficult to find words when talking. I'm sure there are many, many of you out there who have had head injuries and brushed them off as minor, and even carried on riding. We’re a resilient bunch, and we like to get up and back in the saddle when we're knocked down, when it can be the worst thing to do. More research is being done into concussions in mountain biking, and the EWS is one of the organisations leading this charge. With better understanding we should be able to read the signs and recognise the symptoms better, which helps prevent further damage and improve recovery. Laura Bailey has been finding out more about the EWS study this month, and you can read about it on page 28.