Mountain Biking UK has got all the latest news, kit and exclusive info on the newest and best bikes. The MBUK Wrecking Crew testing team are out there right now, riding new bikes and products to destruction, to give you expert reviews you can count on to be brutally honest. We live to ride - and that's what makes MBUK Britain’s best-selling bike magazine.
EDITOR’S LETTER
the cycle show
WILD IN WHISTLER
ENDURANCE HAS A NEW NAME
VICTORY IN VAL DI SOLE
EVERYTHING’S NEW APART FROM THE NAME
OUT OF OFFICE
CRANK IT UP! • Four things we took away from Crankworx Whistler, the year’s biggest MTB festival
VERONIQUE SANDLER • Vero’s stoked on the amazing response to her film ‘Vision’
WHERE LEGENDS RULE • Mont-St-Anne has crowned DH’s most worthy world champions
EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT • If the worst happens, these might just mean the difference between life and death
BRAGE VESTAVIK
BARNOLDSWICK’S BEST ARE BACK! • UK master builders Hope have released their HB.130 trail bike – here are five reasons to be excited…
ENDURO BY NAME… • Specialized’s newly redesigned up-and-downer aims for greater speeds
MBUK’S MONTH • The highs & lows of life on the mag
SEND IT! • YOUR MAIL, PHOTOS, IDEAS AND RANTS
& WIN ALL OF THIS!
WINNER! THAT’S GOTTA HURT
NEXT MONTH’S GIFT 2019 E-BIKE GUIDE • How they work, which to buy & tips to get the most from them
Mountain Biking UK
SANTA CRUZ V10 CC 29 X01 • £8,199 Newly big-wheeled downhill speed king
SPEC
DEVINCI DJANGO CARBON 29 GX LTD (2020) • £3,522 Have some tweaks unchained Devinci’s Django?
SPEC
NS BIKES DEFINE 1501 • £5,500Enduro bike of DH-bike-like proportions
SPEC
First LOOK MBUK
LOG OUT DROP IN • After Torridon was voted the UK’s best route in our Britain’s Best Wild Rides guide, we felt compelled to seek out our own adventure on Scotland’s wild west coast
WHERE ARE WE?
MTB GUIDING
ADVENTURE UNPACKED • VENTURING INTO THE UNKNOWN IS EASIER THAN YOU MIGHT THINK, SAYS INTREPID PHOTOGRAPHER DAN MILNER
FROM LITTLE HELL TO HEAVEN’S RIDGE • Following ancient Inca paths and cowboy trails, Thomas Vanderham and Scotty Laughland hunt for trail gold in darkest Ecuador
THE RIDERS
THE LOWDOWN: A DESTINATION APART
WRECKED & Rated MBUK
OUR RATINGS • We base our scores on value for money and performance
MEET THE MBUK TEST TEAM
LIGHTWEIGHT GLOVES • Thin gloves for maximum grip feel without cooking your hands
ED’S MARIN ALPINE TRAIL 7 £2,200 • Hopefully this won’t be Ed’s last long-term report…
JCW’S CANNONDALE HABIT CARBON 1 £5,999 • It’s not been JCW’s month, with a dodgy knee and lost pivot part
LUKE’S SCOTT RANSOM 720 £3,599 • Riding sparkly new bikes has made Luke realise the Scott needs some TLC
JIMMER’S GT FORCE CARBON EXPERT £3,199.99 • The Force is strong with Jimmer, at long last
RUSSELL’S SPECIALIZED TURBO LEVO EXPERT FSR £7,250 • A bar-mounted route app has Russell heading for the horizon
ROB’S NUKEPROOF SCOUT 275 COMP £1,699.99
CHRIS’S VITUS ESCARPE 29 VRX £2,999.99
ROB’S WHYTE G-170C RS 29ER £3,750
SUB-£700 TRAIL RIPPERS • Seven hundred quid gets you a fair bit of bike these days, but where’s the best place to buy and which of these four is best?
THE TESTER
THE LINE-UP
JARGON
MARIN SAN QUENTIN 1 • £650 Radical shape boosts performance despite budget kit
JARGON
VOODOO BIZANGO • £650 Big wheels and good kit add up to all-day...