Issue 121

Description

The trails have finally returned to their usual state. Mudguards are essential once more, waterproofs no longer a ‘just in case’ item. If we’re lucky enough to finish work early we might get out to catch the last of the evening light before hoping we’ve got enough charge in our lights to make it home.

Nettles sting their vicious last and fungi sprout up in the woods as leaves start to turn and fall. Yes, autumn is here. But this is no bad thing – a bit of slither adds fun, a bit of frost kills those nettles off, and a bit less sun means a bit less sweat. If that’s no enough to persuade you to keep the wheels rolling, we’ve got another great issue of Singletrack Magazine to make sure you remember to charge those lights and head for the hills.

Within Issue 121-

UK Adventure: The Lakes Are Dry

Sanny takes advantage of the long dry summer to check out a Lake District route reputed to be so wet and horrible that only a fool would try it.

Classic Ride: Clwydian Hills

Tom Hutton takes us on a tour of this lesser known riding spot in an effort to persuade us there’s more to Wales that trail centres and Snowdon.

Race Head: Valencian Stage Racing

Jason Miles dons his best Lycra and jumps on one of the worst bikes he’s ever ridden to take part in a local Spanish stage race. Spoiler: he doesn’t win, but by getting to hear the tale, you do.

Interview: Simon Gallup – There Is No Cure

Best known as the bassist from The Cure, Simon Gallup is a fan and collector of Orange Bikes. Chipps goes to check out what’s in his shed…quite a lot as it turns out.

Big Feature: Build It And They Will Come

Antony de Heveningham takes a look at ‘pirate trails’ and asks whether they’re breathing life into the trail network, or threatening their very existence.

Tech Focus: MIPS – Twisting My Melon

Our resident neuroscientist Dr Barney Marsh checks out the technology behind MIPS helmets, and the injury risks driving their development.

Bike Test: XXC

We test out three short travel full suspension bikes from Intense, Saracen and Yeti to see how this new crop of slack(ish) but swift bikes compares to their steeper XC brethren.

Interview: The Not So Nutty Professor

Sanny chats to Ben from Kinetics, a bike shop for the enthusiastic fettler. As much museum as it is shop, there are many treasures to be found – and if you can’t find it, there’s a fair chance Ben will be able to make it.

UK Adventure: Mystic Mountain Biking

Barney takes a good hard look at whether the legend of ley lines might hold spectacular secrets of sumptuous singletrack.

International Adventure: Crested Butte 40 Years On

Godfather of mountain biking, Charlie Kelly, takes us on a pilgrimage to one of the original mountain bike adventures. It seems the good old days are still here.

Additional information

Weight	0.5 kg