Mountain Bike Rider

Published by Time Inc. (UK) Ltd mbr is the UK's leading magazine for trail riding, mountain bike enthusiasts. Published since 1997, mbr aims to inspire readers to just get out and ride! with every issue, by providing the very best expert advice about where, what and how to ride. Every edition delivers the ultimate mix of inspirational riding features, with extensive bike and product reviews, along with superb advice and reader involvement - plus free pull-out route guides.

Wales never fails! • Absence, and new trails, make the heart grow fonder

Big picture

BLACK AND BLUE • ...and red. A handful of new trails, a visitor centre, and a Red Bull line come to BikePark Wales

IDLE FANCIES • High-pivot bikes have finally hit the mainstream, with two new trail models from Norco and Cannondale

HOT STUFF • WHAT WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS MONTH

RAPHA PERFORMANCE TRAILWEAR £285

STAYCATION RIDES • Planning on doing some riding on holiday? How about making the ride the holiday? We’ve got five long-distance classics – pick one and ride it all, or dip in and out

CONFIDENCE TRICKS • I went to a skills coach and this is what I learnt...

‘TOKYO OLYMPICS: I’M GOING TO WIN’ • The multi-talented Tom Pidcock tells us about his ambitions for a gold medal, growing up riding BMX, and why Red Bull Rampage is on his bucket list

BATTERY LIFE SAVER • How to prolong the lifespan of your e-bike battery

4 E-BIKE QUESTIONS YOU WERE AFRAID TO ASK

First rides • SWINGING A LEG OVER WHAT’S HOT THIS MONTH

NEED TO KNOW

1ST IMPRESSION

SPECIFICATION

GEOMETRY

NS BIKES DEFINE AL 170 1 • With big travel and mullet wheels, the enduroready Define is easy to pigeonhole... or is it?

NEED TO KNOW

SPECIFICATION

GEOMETRY

LIV EMBOLDEN 1 • A sub-£2k full-susser is a cheering prospect; especially one with the Embolden’s spec sheet

NEED TO KNOW

SPECIFICATION

GEOMETRY

Mailbox

GIANT LEAP FOR MTB

Mountain Bike Rider

DAVE EVANS BIKE CORRIS • Thanks to Dave Evans’s tireless advocacy, Wales’s rich network of trails is in rude health and the future looks even brighter

ABOUT THIS SERIES

VISIT DYFI

KEEPING THE BEER FLOWING • Biere du Compté is the toast of anyone who’s ridden Transvesubienne and when a freak storm destroyed its Alpine brewery, urgent help was needed...

E-BIKE SKILLS 101 • How to wield your e-bike like a precision tool instead of a blunt instrument

PB’S HAIBIKE ALLMTN 6 • MONTH 7: PB tunes into a spot of R&B, or maybe that should be brake R&D...

SPECIFICATION

BEN’S VITUS ESCARPE 29 CRS • MONTH 8: Ben goes weak at the knees as he hits steeper terrain on the Vitus

SEAN’S NUKEPROOF SCOUT 290 PRO • MONTH 4: The Scout sews its climbing badge onto its sleeve

BENJI’S GIANT TRANCE X 29 2 • MONTH 9: Was Benji’s Trance a rapturous ride or a bad trip?

GEOMETRY

SPECIFICATION

BEN’S KONA PROCESS 134 SUPREME • MONTH 3: Ben discovers that less really is more on the 134

Tested

YOUR TESTERS

mbr ratings explained The scores on the doors

VERDICT

Shoes • Whether you run clip-in or flat pedals, a decent pair of mtb shoes is a must; we put six of each through their paces

How we test

Know your shoes

HIGH-PIVOT HYPE • They gulp up big hits like a basking shark, but which of these high-pivot rigs will most satiate our hunger for singletrack smash-fests?

CONTROL TYRES

IDLER DESIGNS: PROS AND CONS

Ourtestwinner’s stablemates

Same geometry, but different

MY BEST TRAIL • Mtb’s movers and shakers...