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mbrmagazine,
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Farnborough
Business Park,
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[email protected]TEST THE BEST
BIKE PARK BURY
ST EDMUNDS
I’ve been riding mtb and progressing
fairlywellforayearortwo.Overthat
time my motivation to ride has definitely
movedonfromjustanalternative
to road riding over the winter. Like
most older riders my family and work
commitments — and the onset of
shortdays—severelycutdownmy
opportunitiestorideandItendto
focusnowadaysonwildersingletrack
and downhill, and jumping where I can
find it.
It’saclichethatEastAngliaisflat;
therearepartsofNorfolk,Suffolkand
Essexthatarehilly,buttheyareso
limited, or so inaccessible to riders,
thatascenecan’tdevelop.Thefew
local spots that are known are often in
danger of being wrecked by ramblers
deliberately, or the forestry commission
when they fell trees. So my challenge
is this. Please, someone, build a decentTime Inc. (UK) Ltd, Pinehurst 2,
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Park,Farnborough,HantsGU14 7BF
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EDITORIAL
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Bike test editorAlan Muldoon
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AUDITED SALES JAN-DEC 2016 (PRINT AND DIGITAL)
Don’t worry, this isn’t an email asking for bike
buying advice (I’m sure you probably get loads).
Rather, I’m wondering if you can provide some
advice on testing a bike.
ThisyearIwillbegettinganewbikewitha
decentbudgetof£2-3kandI’msettingupsome
fortestrides.Theproblemis,I’veonlyeverridden
short-ishtravel26inwheelbikes(bothmyHTand
FS) and I’m almost starting from scratch having
notriddenanythingdifferentforfouryears.I’m
hopingtotestbikeswith27.5inand29erwheels
withtravelfrom130-150mmtocoverallbases.
MyonlyconcernisthatthemomentIsetfoot
on something like the Bird Aeris (test ride next
month),it’sgoingtofeelsodifferentfrom
whatI’musedtoImayfindithardtobe
objective,andjustgowiththefirst
thing I try.
Can you provide any pointers
to bear in mind so I can work out
myselfexactlywhatI’mafterand
be more critical?
Jamie StogdenEd—Bestrong,Jamie,andholdoff
buying something until you’ve tried as
many as possible — at least three. We’ve got two
morembrdemo days coming up this spring too,
whereyoucantestloadsofbikesonthesame
day, go to po.st/mbrDemo for more info.Ourgeneral advice though is,
don’ttryandbeabiketesterand
workoutwhichonehasthebest
damping or the ultimate anti-squat,
it gets really confusing. Instead focus on
whichbikeyouenjoymostandwhichmakesyou
feelthemostconfident.We’vealsogotsome
practicaltipsatpo.st/Demotohelp you make
the most of the demo days.YOUR LETTERSWINS
aMadisonZenith
waterproof jacket
WORTH
£99.99A multitude of mtbs
await your scrutinyEastAnglians
have done
enough amblingbike park or trail centre in East Anglia!
By that I mean Norfolk or Suffolk.
Thetford pales in comparison to any
othertrailcentreinthecountry,but
it’sallwe’vegot.SpotslikeDanbury
Commonarebrilliant,butit’safour-
hourround trip if you live on the
east coast.