Issue 78 Has Arrived!

Rejoice, for the final issue of 2012 has landed on the doorstep! With a cyclocross supplement out back celebrating the joys of mud, skinny wheels and Scottish ice cream, plus the usual mix of sunshine, adventure, mountains, bikes and muddy shoes up front, we’re ready to party like it’s 2013. Bring. It. On.

Digital versions in PDF, Desktop (Flash), ePub and Kindle versions are now available to subscribers in our Mag Archive.

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Cover: “Clichés are clichés for a reason, the Aletch Glacier proved that for me. Seeing its colossal bulk loom out of the clouds really did take my breath away. Dave, Joris and Cussy had been here before and it showed. From the pizzeria the night before up until the moment we stepped out of the cable car you could feel excitement building, right up until the moment we finally hit the ridge and the view revealed itself. A proper glacier set amongst some proper mountains, a world heritage site and quite a good place to be riding a mountain bike. For Jasper, who spent the week in hospital instead of on the trails with us.”
Picture by David Martin.

Issue 78: Contents.

9 / Editorial: Time At The Bars.
Chipps faces up to the cold hard facts of his riding life.

10 / UK Adventure: Mountainbikepacking.
Benji’s found himself a brand new niche to play in.

22 / Jewel Of The Isle: The Bicknoller Inn.
We could only ask one person to write this: Tim Flooks, lover of cider and riding bikes gurt fast, like.

24 / Column: The Seven Deadly Sins.
Steve Worland dons his cassock for Bible studies.

26 / Stat Of The Art: The C-Word.
The denizens of singletrackworld.com tell us what they’re up to over the forthcoming non-specific midwinter festivities formerly known as Christmas.

28 / Column: Pedal Power.
Flats, clipless or something in between? Dom Perry flirts with the other side.

30 / Trail Politics: Trust Matters.
What has the National Trust ever done for us? Quite a lot actually. Steve Toze gets stuck in.

40 / Subscribe to Singletrack and/or fill your stockings!
Get your own sub, your gift subs and some Singletrack-Sock Guy merino socks for your nan here!

42 / International Travel: Another Side Of Switzerland.
David Martin and friends hitch a lift on the Alpine Postbus uplift on their way to shred the gnar.

54 / The Big Feature: Vicious Cycle.
Nobody wants to talk about it, but we think we should. Tom Hill takes a personal look at how cycling can help those with depression.

66 / Classic Rides: The Cairngorms, Or Thereabouts.
Big mountains, great coffee. What more can you ask for? Oh yes, sunshine and Tunnocks.

80 / Bike Test: All We Want For Christmas.
Chipps thinks he has been good enough this year to get not one but three dream bikes in his stocking. Empire, Intense and Santa Cruz oblige.

90 / Through The Grinder.
Winter is here! Bring on the cosy gloves, the shoes and the handlebar-mounted power of a thousand suns.

102 / Grinder Bike: Kinesis FF29.
Jenn got rather too attached to the new Kinesis 29er. We’ve finally managed to prise it out of her grasp long enough to take a photo of it.

104 / Grouptest: Winter Jackets.
17 softshells and waterproof jackets ridden and written about for your pleasure.

116 / Premier Listings.
Proud owner of a Singletrack Premier Card? This is what it gets you. Not got a Premier Card yet? Find out how to get one!

122 / We Just Work Here.
Who does what, how to get in touch, what helped this issue on its way and who we’d like to thank.

125 / Singletrack Does Cyclocross.
They’ve got the wrong tyres and the wrong bars, but we love them anyway…

126 / Column: What’s Wrong With Baggy Shorts Anyway?
You probably know about The Rules. Jenn’s sure they were made to be broken though.

128 / UK Adventure: Boyz On The Hoodz.
Sanny and pal travel the Fife Coast Path on ‘cross bikes in search of fine ice cream.

134 / Column: New Build.
Tom’s got a new bike to play with but it’s got to be just right.

136 / Cyclocross Race Head: The Three Peaks.
If you weren’t there, you either missed out or had a lucky escape. Read this anyway and then have a crack next year.

140 / Interview: Helen Wyman.
How does it feel to be knocking the international ‘cross scene into a cocked hat? We talk to the new European cyclocross champ.

142 / Grinder Bikes: Cyclocross Threesome.
Felt, Focus and Genesis serve up three variations on the theme.

144 / Through The ‘Cross Grinder: Tyres, tyres and more tyres, plus a few other bits besides.

Want to get hold of a copy? Of course you do.

Subscribers and Premier Dealers should be hearing the print magazines landing on their doormats very shortly. A new print sub now will start with issue 79. Digital subscriptionsget you all the good stuff from the printed edition, plus enhanced digital-only content including extra galleries of the great photography and videos, and instant access to everything Singletrack has ever done via the Mag Archive, accessible on every platform.

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