Issue 98

Looks like a good one to me – have only read about 1/3 of it so far but it’s certainly grabbed my attention more than some more recent issues which smell lovely but for whatever reason I’ve only skim read.

One niggle though – the ‘plus-size’ wheel article was good I thought. Exactly the sort of thing that I reckon the mag should cover eg trends/etc that are harder for individual riders to really get a feel for without industry connections to lend them a load of bikes. BUT you showed three (650b?)+ bikes in the pics (a Singular and…) but then reviewed three completely different 650b race bikes. It just seemed rather disconnected and I’d much rather have read a review on the bikes relevant to the article.

Hmm. I thought it bit iffy as an issue, but I was grumpy anyway when I got home on Monday. I’ll restart it tonight when I get home.

Nemesis – are you sure you don’t have pages stuck together there? 😯

There is an article on ‘plus size’ bikes, with lots of pictures of beards, then there is a grouptest of 650b XC bikes, sans barbe. You see? Different articles!

Personally, I felt worried when I saw the contents. Lots of stupid stuff about ‘plus size’ this, and ‘e-bike’ that. Lots of beards. Backpacking in Sweden, girlie bike holiday in Madeira. At first glance nothing there to interest me, but it was all interesting in its own way.

I’ve got a bit of a man-crush on Tom (mostly with his ability to string coherent sentences together, better than most), so loved his article about Skye (although technically, Glen Sligachan does not separate the Red from Black Cuillin, as Bla Bheinn (Blaven) is to the east of the glen. (sorry)

Most confusing bit was when the Euro burds talked about how they skimped on packing for their trip to Madeira thus “…experienced globetrotter Lisa determined that we would share one tube of toothpaste, one bottle of shower gel and one of body lotion, a huge can of anti-wrinkle cream and one tube of mascara….” WTF 😯 I swear I’ve read that bit a few times over, and it just simply must be an error of Google Translate or something.

[love in] aw, the man crush is reciprocated Gav, despite you pointing out my deliberate mistake r.e. Bla Bheinn (a very underrated mountain in my opinion – maybe because it is on t’other side of the Glen from the ridge). [/love in]

Loved the article Tom!

Blah Bheinn is about the only Cuillin I haven’t climbed yet, so need to pop over sometime this year and do it.

Was also keen to know if any of the tracks around Lock Coruisk are rideable? Can you make a loop out of it, as an extension to the ‘out and back’ of Glen Sligachan?

GavinB – Member
Nemesis – are you sure you don’t have pages stuck together there?

There is an article on ‘plus size’ bikes, with lots of pictures of beards, then there is a grouptest of 650b XC bikes, sans barbe. You see? Different articles!

Err… 😳

I get that they’re different articles but it seemed that having talked about the concept of plus bikes, that a review of some would have fitted in well/better

I enjoyed the article about the Lych Way on Dartmoor. Been meaning to walk that for some time…maybe I should ride it instead.

That would include the “Bad Step”. Let me know when you’re doing that – I’d pay money to see you ride it. 😉

Fair enough – it’s a part of the Cuillins I’ve not explored, although a quick check on Strava shows that someone did pretty much what I was thinking last month. Looks necky carrying a bike on the scramble bit though. Mmm, probably one to check out later this year.

https://www.strava.com/activities/297128998#6988265304

Thanks for the feedback folks – we really appreciate it.

nemesis – Fret not, reviews of the plus-size bikes will follow online over the next few weeks. They didn’t go into the mag for several reasons – not least that two of them only arrived the week before print deadline, and we’d rather get them ridden properly before writing you a review!

Gavin – Stop hitting on my husband. Ta 🙂

Thanks Jenn – I figured (particularly given Sam commenting that he’d just sent the bike over to you) but it’d have been good to note that – As I said, I thought it was a great article as it conveys experience that I at least am interested in but haven’t yet had a chance to try (b+ wheels on the way!) so I was hoping that the observations were going to be followed up by some specifics rather than general observations.

Glad you came along though, I was starting to feel like a gooseberry…

But nobody has mentioned the smell? 😯

SNIFFFFFFFF Ahhhhhhh! 😉

which smell lovely

😉

bigblackshed – Member
But nobody has mentioned the smell?

SNIFFFFFFFF Ahhhhhhh!

Now that you mention it Tom does smell nice.

Gav – I’ve got some ideas for interesting/fun extensions. I’ll drop you a mail 🙂

Cheers Tom, that would be ace.

Jenn – don’t worry, he’s all yours!

I’m going to spend the summer looking for the border between Germany and Italy I’ve been reading about.. 😀

Love the photography, the paper and the smell. All adds up to a great experience when coupled with the writing style.

A few little grumbles, though. I may well be a nay-sayer, but I’m not interested in the new technology-fad with plus bikes. I don’t get fat bikes, which is maybe the problem, but I like my suspension controlled and bike as light as possible. Please leave the fan-boi marketing of latest must-haves to MBR and concentrate on the riding, the experience and the pleasure it brings. This is what sets your mag apart.

Very interested in the likes of the Sweden article but can you do a how to bikepack type article. I’m smitten but it feels like a big gamble and it would be good to know what to take, what turns out to be unnecessary paranoia and how to fit it all on a bike/bivvy etc. You have huge experience, please help stopping me have to learn the hard way.

Every time I read an issue though I am very jealous and put an extra lottery ticket on so I might be able to ride some of the trails you report. Great work all!

dufusdip – Thank you! We did a pretty comprehensive article in issue 89[/url] on bikepacking kit. That should help you. Really though half the fun is in making those mistakes – in the UK if you pick a mild night the only harm that’s going to befall you is a less than stellar night’s sleep, if your sleeping solution turns out to ‘need work’… We don’t have much in the way of life-threatening predators 🙂

Thank you, Jenn – I’ll dig out that issue from the Archive while I wait for my Alpkit gear to arrive!

The archive is handy with the subscription access, but it further underlines that the paper version is streets ahead of the digital copy.