So you thought you could ride – and then you watched this.

Meh. Utah desert. That’s a different sort of skill and scale to what you ride. Sedona rocks? Yeah, very clever and all that, but at least you can feel your fingers while you’re riding, it’s warm there. PNW? So much woodwork, and loam. Your local trail’s woodwork barely extends to a signpost. Those riders in the videos might be better than you, but what they’re doing is just different. Like finches on the Galapagos Islands – they’re adapted for there, you’re adapted for here. Here, in the ruts and slither and algae covered rock, you’re OK. Maybe you’d even go so far as to say ‘quite good’?

Think again.

This video by Craig ‘Cregskin‘ Evans turns a trail that’s barely…no, it’s just not there. And he makes it looks like it is, and that it’s smooth and flowy and grippy, instead of a jumbly heap of slippery green rocks with a dusty of frost and ice for added spice.

Sigh. It’s like Chris Akrigg without any hopping about. Just impossible flow. Enjoy.

Loamers are easy – Soft, grippy, forgiving. Craig Evans is hard, talented and relentless, which is how he’s able to make some of Yorkshire’s greasiest, squarest rocks look like a flow trail. Pull up a chair and a pint of ale for four minutes of savagely poetic riding on places tires have never been before. Craig Evans rides a Santa Cruz Bronson with SRAM brakes and drivetrain, Rockshox suspension and Maxxis tires in this video. The Bronson is our 150mm-travel, mixed wheel core all-rounder for riders who value fun and fast. The combination of 29-inch front wheel provides confidence for rolling over obstacles, traction under load and the 27.5-inch rear wheel makes quick direction changes easier. This amount of travel also means it’ll take the big hits but retains the kind of sprightliness of a really playful bike. If in doubt, take a Bronson out.

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Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.