2019-05-01_Mountain_Bike_Rider

(Ben W) #1

8 mbrM AY 2 019


EDITOR’SLETTER


Trail Bike of the

Year 2019

I


f you’rethinkingofbuyinga newfull-
suspensionbikethisyear,you’vecometo
therightplace.Thismonthwerevealthe
resultsofourTrailBikeoftheYear2019,
andthisyearchoosing the two winners
washarderthan
everbefore.Our
testencompasses
bothpopular
wheelssizes—
27.5inand29in
—anda price
rangethatspans
from£2,200to
£3,400.There
arethedirect-
to-consumer
brandsthatcan
onlybeordered
onlineandshippedtoyourdooralongside
traditionalmarquesyoucanwalkintoa shop
andrideawayon.Andwhiletheyshowjust
howbroadlythehumbletrailbikecanbe
interpreted,allofthem,withoutexception,can
beriddenincrediblyhardandnoneofthem
failedtoputmassivesmilesonourfaces.It’s
noexaggerationtosaythatthisyear’scrop
werethetightesttocallsincewestartedour
annualTBOTYtest,whichis greatnewsforyou,
theconsumer.That’senoughofthepre-amble
though—headtop54togetstuckin, and don’t
forgettowatchourvideosonthe
winningbikesatyoutube.c
user/mbrmagazine.

NowavailableontheiPad,
Kindle&allAndroiddevices
mbr.co.uk/digital-edition

HOW TO


mbr.co.uk facebook.com/MBRmagazine twitter.com/mbrmagazine youtube.com/user/MBRmagazine strava.com/clubs/mountain-bike-rider-

Looknofurtherif you’rein
the market for a new machine

ONTHECOVER


24 BUZZFITANDFAST


If you’rehelpinga friendtogetinto
ridingyou’llwanttoteachthemhowto
ridetheirbikeproperly—AndyBarlow
fromDirtSchoolshowsushowtoget
theskillstoteachby.Pluskeepyour
mindandbodysupple with yoga for
mountainbikers


ONTHECOVER

88 SKILLS:FINDYOURFLOW
Makingtechnicalsectionslookeasy
andkeepingyourspeedrounda series
ofcornersandobstaclesis allabout
findingyourflow,saysAndyfromDirt
School—heshowsnewbieriderLaura
Baileyhowto get confi dent and let the
b i k e fl o w


REGULARS


10 BIGPICTURES


16 BUZZ


NewbikesfromEvilandForbidden,new
gearfromBikeStow,Louri,TFTunedand
more,plusinspirationonwheretoride,
whattowear,howtoget started and
improvingyourskills

50 MAILBOX
It’stimetotakeoutthetrash,saysone
reader,whocalls for an end to littering
onourtrails

118 THREE-BIKEGARAGE
Longtimembrbiketester,bikecrusher,
photoguru,marketingdilettanteand
all-roundnicenorthernerMickKirkman
revealshisultimatethree-bikegarage,
starring the Cannondale Prophet

Honeyourflowand
the rest will follow, p

Evilexpandsits
empire, p

Spring’shere!It’shightimeto
make for the mountains, p

SUBSCRIBETO


TODAY


ANDPAY


JUST£23.99!


Turn to page 42 for details

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30%!


CONTENTS


Editor,mbr

TrailBikeoftheYear:
the ultimate mtb shootout
Free download pdf