Issue 28

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Singletrack Mountain Bike Magazine May 2006

In this Issue:
Ryan Leech Interview
GPS and Casual Jersey Group Tests
Calderdale Route Guides
Cypriot Cycling

Cover photo: Self Portrait, Verbier. By Rob Hamilton-Smith.
Contents photo: Matt, Calderdale. By Ben Haworth.
Spineline: (It’s from the Latin)

Editorial

Chipps celebrates five years at the helm of the mag.

Cypriot Cycling

Mark and Sim discover spring time sun, great trails and incredible hospitality on this Mediterranean island.

Bothy Virgin

Chipps spends four days in the Cairngorm mountains of Scotland, travelling from hut to hut with a BOB trailer full of survival gear. And wine.

Interview

As a trials bike rider, Ryan Leech is an incredibly smooth and fluid rider. He’s also a really nice guy…

Bike Test

Is the next big thing Floating Pivot Bikes? The Singletrack team test the following:

  • Santa Cruz Blur LT
  • Intense 5.5 EVP
  • Iron Horse MKIII
  • Giant Reign 2

Grinder

The Singletrack selection of real-world product tests.

  • Hope Pro II Singlespeed Hub
  • Gore Alp-X Jacket
  • Specialized BG Trail 120SL Shoe
  • X-Lite Stem Plug
  • Getting to Grips with GPS Book
  • Squeezy Gum
  • Rock’N’Roll Cable Magic Lube
  • Silva ADC Pro
  • Gore Alp-X Shorts
  • Sugoi Blur Bike Vest
  • Race Face Deus Stem
  • Magura HS33 Limited Edition Green
  • Salsa Flip Lock QR Seat Clamp
  • Action Cam 480 Helmet Cam
  • Surefire EL1 Outdoorsman Torch
  • Tony Hawk Helmet Cam
  • Intense Edge EX 2.35 Tyres
  • CrateWorks Bike Box
  • Fi’zi:k Free:k Saddle
  • BLT Super Doppler DX Light
  • SKF BXC 600 Series ISIS Bottom Bracket
  • Pire Sweet Hell DVD
  • OMM Kamleika Smock

Gallery

Four pages of photos from near and far. Images by Rob Sutherland, Ali Chant, Craig Woodhouse, Ben Haworth, Marco Toniolo and Chipps.

Deep Waters

There’s a trail out there with Sam Waters’ name on it, except he’s too scared to go and ride it.

Group Test

GPS Units are tested from the big manufacturers.

  • Garmin Edge 305
  • Garmin eTrex Vista CX
  • Lowrance iFinder Go
  • Magellan eXplorist 600
  • Suunto X9i

Bike Porn aka Bike Bling!

The Kona Stinky 2-4 is a bike loved by young grommets and competitive dads everywhere…

Singletrack CD

A guide to using the spanky CD on the issue’s cover.

Swiss Normandy

It’s not Switzerland, but as Sim discovers, it does have some fine riding – and far better cheese.

Singletrack Retrospective

It’s five years since Singletrack started. In that time our bikes, rides and selves have changed. Or have they?

Hans Rey’s Philippine Photo Essay

Hans’ trip to the beautiful landscape of south-east Asia is recorded in this photo essay by Marco Toniolo. Hans scribes the words that describe the impossible trails and unique culture.

Propaganda

Buy new Singletrack jerseys, hats, mouse mats and stuff. You can also buy other people’s guide books too.

Fish Out of Water

In this framebuilding DIY SOS, Craig and Bill have a go at building their own steel frames under the watchful eye of Dave Yates.

Lessons in Leadership

Even know-it-alls have something to learn on a Trail Cycle Leader course. Ben’s already keen to the rest of the qualifications.

Proper Retro

Derek Purdy’s been writing guidebooks for over 15 years and riding offroad for decades. Has it all changed? And has his taste in purple lycra improved?

Grouptest: Casual Jerseys

If you want a technical jersey, but you don’t want awkward stares in the post-ride pub stop, read on…

  • Adidas Performance ClimaWarm Jersey
  • Altura Altitude
  • Endura Cirrus
  • Hoss Caballero
  • RaceFace Race T-Shirt
  • Salomon RD SS
  • Salomon M Raid LS
  • Sugoi Rotor Relax
  • Sugoi T-Wired
  • Sugoi Mack Daddy
  • Polaris Detox Jersey
  • The North Face Primus T-Shirt

Members’ Club

There are many reasons to subscribe to singletrack, one of which is guaranteed discount at scores of bike shops, cafes and holiday companies.

Route Guide

Calderdale is just north of the M62, yet the trails are empty and the locals are friendly.

  • Easy Route: 11.2km (6.96 miles), 2 hours
  • Medium Route: 28.3km (17.58 miles), 4 hours
  • Hard Route 48.4km (30.07 miles), All Day

How Old is Too Old?

Stories of London bike messengers who’ve spent their lives working and riding on the streets of London.

Column: Static on my frequency

Julian Birch finds his personal ‘play’ button.

Competition

Win over £1200 of Pace goodies.

Web Roundup

The comings and goings of Europe’s biggest mountain bike website.

Twenty Four

Alex Leigh breaks every traffic law and a personal record in his cross-London commute.

Outro

What goes on behind the scenes when we’re not actually writing the mag.