Issue 55

Singletrack Mountain Bike Magazine
February 2010

In this Issue:
Finding New Nowheres
Sleeping with Ghosts
Alfine vs Rolhoff
Training for 100km Events
Eastern Peak District Routes

Cover Picture: Nick Quinn on Soul Brother Trail, Bow Valley, Alberta. Photo by John Gibson.
Contents Picture: Coed y Brenin. Photo by Chipps.
Spineline: …his eyes were meaty and deformed

Editorial

Chipps uncovers the secret to summer fitness. It’s called ‘winter bike riding’.

Finding New Nowheres

Riding technical singletrack loaded with camping gear is finally possible, so reckons Aaron Teasdale.

Sleeping with Ghosts

Dave, Sim and Oli ride an overnight adventure into the slate quarries of Wales.

Interview: Tracy Moseley

Now on the Trek global team, this perennial downhiller talks to Benji about her rise through the ranks and ‘proper’ training.

Column – Geoff Johnson

How many bikes is too many? Most of them, reckons Geoff.

Bike Test – Cyclescheme Bikes

Three disparate bikes that come under the magic £1000 ride-to-work scheme from Boardman, Genesis and KHS.

Boardman – Team FS
Genesis – Day One Cyclocross
KHS – Tucson

Column – Prioritise This!

Benji praises those ‘far but nearby’ trails that we ignore in favour of more famous trails further afield.

Through the Grinder

Ten pages of real products tested in the real world.

Straitline – Ultra Direct Mount Stem
Shimano – MT91 Boots
POC – Index Flow Gloves
Osprey – Raptor 10 Pack
Vanguard – Elite MTS Skull Cap
Vanguard – Micro Trans Hood
XDK – Slug
RAC – Mediwrap Blanket
Magura – Thor
Maxxis – Wet Scream 2.5 Super Tacky
Camelbak – Don
Montane – Velocity DT 2.0 Jacket
Mavic – Crossmax SX
Montane – Atomic DT Pants
Fox – Antifreeze Glove
Giant – Trance X Advanced SL 0

Dan Milner Photo Gallery

Chamonix-based Dan pics his favourite ever photos in this stunning gallery.

2010 Lighting roundup.

Everything’s gone LED – here’s a look at some of the latest, neatest lights for 2010.

Light & Motion – Seca 900 Ultra
Exposure – Diablo
Lumicycle – LED System 4 Xelite
Niterider – Pro 600 LED
Nukeproof Lights – Reactor ECO
Exposure – Spark

Column: Steve Makin

Steve uses the ‘time slowing down’ moment before flipping over the bars to examine the anatomy of a crash.

SRAM Photo Competition

Always dreamed of a shot at the ‘Staff Photographer’ role? We’ve teamed up with SRAM where you can win just that gig for a weekend.

Subscribe to Singletrack

A world of benefits awaits you.

Grouptest – Baggy 3/4s

Chipps rounds up a dozen below-knee shorts for men and women.

Mens
Gore – Fusion 3/4
Dakine – Chorus
Fox – Attack Pant 3/4
Endura – Singletrack 3/4
Ground Effect – Helter Skelters
Chrome – Shins
Ladies
Loeka – Capri Length DH & Freeride Shorts
Sombrio – La Nina
Altura – Summit Baggy 3/4

Long Termers

It’s a fresh new season and the Singletrack team has been building up a new collection of bikes that you’ll be able to follow online.

Ibis Mojo SL
Kinesis Decade Virsa
Commencal Factory Super 4
Cannondale Rush Hi Mod Carbon
Nicolai Helius AC
Santa Cruz Blur LT
Ibis Tranny

Alfine vs Rohloff

A Thorn Sterling and a Charge Duster 8 are the test beds for this ‘Which hub-gear do I need’ shootout.

What is Singletrack Premier?

Thinks of it as the DVD Bonus Features extra disc for the magazine. All the behind the scenes and extra bits that didn’t make the mag.

Blame the Dog

Mike Ferrentino vents his spleen over facial hair stereotyping. Or at least we think that’s what he said.

Training for your first 100km event

Fitness basics with Matt Hart. Just in time to prepare for the summer!

Route Guide: Eastern Peaks

A lesser overrun bit of the Peak District, and a glimpse into where all new Cotic bike prototypes get tested by Cy.

Easy 15km (9.32 miles), 2 hours
Medium 32km (19.88 miles), 3-4 hours
Hard 42.6km (26.47 miles), 4-6 hours

Outro

Silly pictures. Silly people.