Grab a last-minute stocking filler for your mountain biking family member or take a Boxing Day break. MBUK’s January 2020 issue features excellent advice on how to ride off-piste trails and train for a new year without hitting the gym.
Plus, £500 hardtails get tested, the riding venues of Cathkin Braes and Rhayader receive a visit from the team, MBUK meets Manon Carpenter and the team gets wild in Norway with Olly Wilkins and Ben Deakin.
After the podiums
Welsh pinner and former world champion Manon Carpenter hung up her racing shoes at the end of 2017. Since then she’s revived her love of riding, which relieves the stresses of daily life, rather than piles them on.
More up, more down, more mountain biking
There’s a new breed of bike beginning to shine, but is it an aggressive cross-country bike or a short travel trail bike?
Our American riding colleagues brand it ‘down-country’, but MBUK thinks ‘rad XC’ sums them up well. Three of these new breeds of bike from Trek, Specialized and NS Bikes are put to the test to see just how rad they are.
Half-grand heroes
£500 has long been considered the entry-level price for a ‘proper’ mountain bike. However, can these bikes cut it on the trails?
Four bikes from Voodoo, Marin, Saracen and Vitus are put to the test to see if they have what it takes to give you a decent ride, and where you should spend your cash if you’re looking for your first mountain bike.
How to venture off-piste
Trail centres are great places for riding, but there’s a whole load of fun and challenge to be had outside the waymarked routes.
These require a refined set of skills and MTB guide Aneela McKenna explains what’s needed to take your riding outside the trail centre.
Cathkin Braes, Glasgow
This country park on the edge of Glasgow hosted the Commonwealth Games and is now home to various short trail loops and descents. Plus, it features one of the world’s best pump tracks.
Read about it in the mag to find out what the MBUK team thought to this city-side mountain bike venue.
Products galore
This month, MBUK gives first-ride reviews on the Cotic Flaremax Gold, Marin Rift Zone Carbon 2 and Specialized Turbo Kenevo Expert, and group tests clipless pedals in XC and platform style, as well as six of the best affordable GPS units.
All this in addition to eight pages of dedicated product reviews.
Free gift
To start the decade with a bang, MBUK brings you a free 28-page gear guide on the team’s ‘most wanted’ products in 2020. Find out which kit is rated highest in the MBUK office.
