Issue 49

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Singletrack Mountain Bike Magazine
May 2009

In this Issue:
Dirtbagging
I was a Chalet Bum
Chipps’ One Ton Weekend
Terra Australis
Mountain Bike First Aid

Cover Picture: Blue Skies over Livigno. By Marco Toniolo.
Contents Picture: Dylan Trembley using trees as take off pads on Vancouver Island. By Marcus Riga.
Spineline: Squat is the new bob

Editorial

Chipps adds up the real cost of riding mountain bikes.

Dirtbagging

Dave Anderson describes the difference between being a dirtbag and a cheapskate.

I Was A Chalet Bum

Jon Woodhouse recounts his misadventures of ditching his proper job and becoming a bike guide in Switzerland.

Column: Roly Lambert

Roly tries his luck being a bike messenger in London. He’s not been to London before.

Blame The Dog

The madness of marketing. Mike Ferrentino’s regular letter from America.

Gallery

Pretty pictures.

Monkey Bikes

A quartet of entry level £500 bikes tested from Cube, Diamondback, Kona and Specialized.

  • Cube Attention
  • Diamondback Response
  • Kona Fire Mountain Deluxe
  • Specialized Hardrock Pro Disc

Chipps’ One Ton Weekend

For this issue’s “best way to spend £100″ Chipps buys a £89 bike and attempts to complete a 50 miler.

Column: Phil Diprose

Some people never learn do they?

Through The Grinder

Seven pages of shiny stuff that ain’t so shiny no more.

  • Giro Xen Gloves
  • Surly Mr Whirly Crankset
  • Hydrapak Big Sur
  • 661 Mullet Helmet
  • Shimano XT 29er Wheels
  • Specialized Demo Shorts
  • Knog N.E.R.D. 9
  • Bionicon Softshell Jacket
  • Sombrio Oso Ladies Gloves
  • Bontrager Rhythm Shorts
  • Abus Urban Helmet
  • NC-17 Gloves S-Pro
  • Park Tool Mini Chain Brute
  • Giant Anthem X1

Scenes

The first of a new series where we look at the different regular riding scenes around the country.

Competition

Win a Lynskey Ridgeline LT

Trailside Bingo

Cut out and keep the cards and use them on your next ride!

Budget Makeover

Benjo has a couple of weeks’ beer money to see if he could upgrade our stock Santa Cruz Chameleon trail bike and make it more suitable for different riding styles: XC Race, Playbike, Filth Riding, 69er and ladies bike.

Terra Australis

Matt Hart gets slow cooked Down Under.

Montenegro-A-Go-Go

Daniel Klawczynski and Dominika Skonieczna uncover this Balkan beauty.

Long Term Test Bikes

Benji’s Genesis Alpitude and Diamondback Bandito, Chipps’ Trek Fuel and Orange Blood, Matt’s Cotic BFe, Sim’s NS Bikes Society.

  • Trek Fuel EX 9.8 OCLV
  • Orange Blood
  • Genesis Alpitude
  • Diamondback Bandito
  • Cotic BFe
  • NS Bikes Society

Subscribe To Singletrack

Here’s how and more importantly why.

Mountain Bike First Aid

Newly qualified bike guide Ed Oxley gives us the lowdown about the First Aid basics we all should know.

Column: Anth Robinson

Anth discovers that he never quite stops mastering his fears.

Column: Matt Letch

The mountain bike community needs to be recharged.

Route Guide: Dartmoor

Over 100km of trails. Dartmoor is closer than you think, and better than you can possibly imagine.

  • Medium: 31km (19.26 miles), 2-3 hours
  • Medium+: 35km (21.75 miles), 3-4 hours
  • Hard: 44km (27.34 miles), 4-5

Outro

And would you like bacon with that?