NEW BIKES YT, SCOTT & HAIBIKE

FEBRUARY 2023 l mbr.co.uk

2 02 3’S
- R I D E T R A I L S
MUS T
All of the lates t ridin g h o t spots
t are
5 natural trails ttha NE W
unnaturally fas
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Four of the hottehst
lightweig
e-bikes on test

-pump
5 ways to beat arm mechanic
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Best to uly unique
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4 artisan bike

E T T E R
W IN T E R S K IL L S

T HE W
TH E B E T T E R ! s t s teep descents
m we t rut s and bla
How t o sla
 Joe Barnes gets
loose in the
Highlands. Pic:
Andy McCandlish
Contents
ISSUE 285 FEBRUARY 2023

Joe Barnes takes us

round his Fort William
stomping ground, p44

FEATURES BIKES & GEAR BIKES IN THIS ISSUE

ON THE COVER ON THE COVER

44 TRAILBLAZER: JOE BARNES 28 FIRST RIDES Actofive Cycles P-Train 165 19

Spicy local Highlands trails, with Joe Barnes. The First rides on the new Scott Lumen lightweight Auckland Cycleworks Marra 19
original Dude gives us the low-down on keeping life e-bike, Haibike Allmtn CF 12 full-fat e-bike, and the Forestal Cyon Neon 29 88
fun alongside racing, parenting, and film-making YT Jeffsy Primus 24 kids' bike
Giant Reign E+ 1 66
52 REVOLUTION BIKE PARK 64 LONGTERMERS Haibike Allmtn CF 12 32
Revs closes its trails permanently this month; we Sean talks brakes aboard his Sonder Signal Pivot Firebird Pro 69
head up for one last memorial lap. Or is it? From hardtail, plus updates on the Specialized Kenevo Pivot Shuttle SL 29 Team XTR 92
the ashes of larch disease, a new Revs hopes to rise SL lightweight eeb, Giant Reign E+ 1 e-bike, Privateer 141 Öhlins 69
Privateer 141 Öhlins coil-sprung bike, and the Pivot Prova Gearbox Ti Hardtail 19
Firebird Pro enduro machine Scott Lumen eRide 900 SL 28
Sonder Signal ST GX 64
70 PRODUCT Specialized S-Works Turbo
On test this month: the Altura Kielder Unisex
Levo SL 96
Trail Glove, Look Trail Roc Fusion pedals, Mavic
Specialized Turbo Kenevo
CrossMax XL wheelset, Race Face Atlas pedal,
SL Comp 68
Rapha Trail Liner, POC Spine VPD Vest, Alpinestars
Stayer OMG 18
Paragon Plus Protection vest, and Altura Ridge
Thermal Waterproof trousers Trek Fuel EXe 9.9 XX1 AXS 100
YT Jeffsy Primus 24 36
76 TESTED: TOOL KITS
Doing your own spanner work is satisfying
(mostly) and money saving - we’ve got the best
mtb-specific hardware on test to help you find the
right tool for the job
ON THE COVER

84 BIKETEST: LIGHTWEIGHT E-BIKES

We head to North Wales for
a farewell ride at Revs, p52
Lightweight e-bikes promise the perfect balance
between weight, power and range. On test this
month is the Forestal Cyon Neon 29, Pivot Shuttle Trek Fuel EXe 9.9: svelte
SL 29 Team XTR, Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo and speedy e-bike, p100
SL, and Trek Fuel EXe 9.9 XX1 AXS

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 7

 Scotland's hard to beat for
an epic riding treat, p24

EDITOR’S LETTER

Dial in extra poise

and control when the
Your ride starts here
ground falls away, p58 The new year lies ahead like an
undiscovered trail gem
REGULARS
I
n the spirit of ‘New Year, New You', what are
your riding resolutions for 2023? Hitting some
10 BIG PICTURES new trail hotspots, perhaps? If so, we’ve got
some suggestions for you on page 14. Maybe
ON THE COVER
a riding trip abroad is on the agenda, or
14 THE BUZZ: 2023'S participation in a big event? It could be that you
MUST-RIDE TRAILS want to combine the two and enter something like
Rother Valley, near Sheffield; BikePark Enduro2 in Davos, one of the EWS races, or even a
Wales; Forest of Dean; Laggan Wolftrax, milestone event like the BC Bike Race or Cape Epic?
and Dyfi Bike Park all have new trails to Do you have a new bike in your sights? Maybe it’s
tempt you in 2023 finally time to join the ‘darkside’ and get your first
e-bike, or maybe there’s an upgrade you’ve been
Strengthen your
forearms for pain-
42 MAILBOX hankering after for a while now?
free descending, p26 We select the best of your comments by
Not that you need to have anything on your ‘to
email and social media, from the sublime
do list’ for the new year – I’m particularly bad at
to the ridiculous

HOW TO 106 COLUMN: MATT WRAGG

making, and following resolutions. But there are
things that I want to do in 2023, even if they’re a bit
more mundane. The first is some kind of regular
Being forced to do his own mountain
ON THE COVER stretching or yoga before my body completely
bike maintenance helped Matt Wragg
26 BUZZ: ELIMINATE achieve inner peace, on and off seizes up. I’m sure I'm not the only one out there
ARM-PUMP FOREVER two wheels who knows, deep down, that they should be doing
Fit4Racing's Jonny Thompson as much to maintain and prevent damage to their
demonstrates strength-building drills to body as their bike.
free us from the downhiller's scourge After failing miserably to journey further afield
ON THE COVER
and visit some of the UK’s best places to ride, I’d
love to make amends for that in the next 12 months.
58 SKILLS: CONFIDENCE ON There’s no excuse not to visit Wales more, as it’s just
STEEP TERRAIN down the road, but with the World Championships
How to stay in control on steep stuff taking place in Scotland in August, I really want
with great body position, good range Five UK trails that seem to get back north of the border. So that’s me, what
of movement, and balance, with help made for finding flow, p24
about you? I’d love to know your
from Dirt School
plans for 2023. Hit me up,
mbr@futurnet.com.
New trails to get excited
about in 2023, p14

Editor, mbr

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8 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

BIG PICTURE

10 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

Big picture
I’d been having a pretty rough
week mentally. Without going
into too much detail, but too
much work and not enough play
makes James a dull boy. Ping…
“Anyone riding in the Lakes this
weekend, possible dawn raid on
Friday”. After a lot of umming and
ahhing, we made up our minds
and went for it. As it turns out,
this little proposition from fellow
photographer Tristan Tinn was just
what I needed to perk me right up.
Thanks mate, I needed that.
James Vincent

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 11

BIG PICTURE

12 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

Big picture
In Postcard from San Francisco,
we see Danny MacAskill blowing
minds with unbelievably smooth
and well-executed street trials.
The one or two falls in the edit
seem to be there just to make
Danny seem human. As it turns
out, Danny is human, and this edit
didn’t come together as easily as
it may appear. Watch the Back of
the Postcard series for a behind
the scenes glimpse.
Dave Mackison /
Red Bull Content Pool

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 13

 S TA RT YO U R R I D E H E R E

Edited by Jamie Darlow

GEAR RIDES FA S T & F I T I N S P I R AT I O N G E T S TA RT E D

2 0 2 3 ’ S M U S T-
RIDE TRAILS
A flurry of new singletrack and trail upgrades are on the
horizon; here are the ones to put on your planner

FOD’s trail network

has been treated to a
major makeover

1 FOREST OF DEAN
The Forest of Dean boasts one of the best blue-graded
trails anywhere in the UK, in the shape of the Verderers.
That’s official, too – it came fourth in our Trail of the Year
awards back in 2020 behind some seriously fierce competition.
The famously smooth and flowy singletrack was too popular
for its own good though, and by the end of 2020 it was looking
as rough as a badger’s behind. It was a welcome relief when
it was revamped in 2021 then, alongside the Launchpad and
Countdown trails, all with the help of funding for the Forestry
and donations from the Dean Trail Volunteers.
Now there’s something completely new to try though, the
red-graded Adit – six miles of hand-built heaven sculpted by
the Dean Trail Volunteers (they’re busy beavers).
“It’s been a labour of love, sweat and tears that has taken a
long time to plan, working around sensitive areas and building
new links and sections to join up the old XC Enduro Trail,
originally scratched in by RDFCC (Royal Dean Forest Cycling
Club),” explains Alan Grist, of the Dean Trail Volunteers.
Adit is an extension to the Freeminer’s trail then; you can
ride it as a big loop or just cherry-pick the new bits if you want.
The new red-graded Adit
opens up a rich seam of
And the name Adit? DTV says it’s a type of mine entrance/
flowing XC riding drainage tunnel that hacks sideways into the hill rather than
straight down.

14 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

RIDING THE ADIT
Ben Smith, mbr’s artist in residence
“The Forest of Dean is jam-packed
with great enduro and downhill
tracks, but the Adit is very much an
XC loop. That’s no bad thing, and it
doesn’t mean I want to slip into Lycra
and race laps of it. It’s just great for
days when you want to have a proper
pedal. You’ll get plenty of that here,
that’s for sure, because there are
some longer pedally sections linking
up the fun bits… but there are plenty
of those fun bits too.
“It’s easy enough to cut down
the fire roads to get to the start of
the new trail, missing out the old
Freeminer’s Trail should you so wish,
and you’re straight into twisting
berms that set the tone nicely. The
trail romps round the forest in a
succession of singletrack sections,
Freeminer’s trail:
now with added Adit
fire roads and parts of the existing
Verderers Trail before the run back to
the trail centre begins.
“The Adit uses many years-old
sections of singletrack, and the tight
rabbit warren run above Hopewell
Colliery will be familiar to many.
From there the ribbon unwinds for a
few hundred metres before plunging
downhill on the TNT section, taking
in switchback after switchback, and
before you know it you’re back at the
Pedalabikeaway stuffing in tea and
cake you’ve genuinely earned.”
2 B I K E PA R K WA L E S
BikePark Wales always has something cooking, and the
newest little uplifted treat to look out for is called Boomslang,
a black-graded tech trail. It’s already on the trail map but as
yet not finished because bird-nesting season interrupted the
build. Rest assured though, it’s set to open early this year. BPW
tells us it’ll be a natural-feeling and techie affair, without the
big machine works of trails like Vanta or Insufficient Funds, and
there will be some steep sections in there. Not quite so new
is Pandora’s Rocks, opened last July. It’s a mix of flow at the
top, armoured rocky sections in the woods, and little gaps and
doubles here and there.
FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 15
 I N T RODUC T ION
3 R O T H E R VA L L E Y
Steve Peat started his career at Rother
Valley, near Sheffield. He joined local club
Beighton All Terrain Squad and signed up for
the XC race as a junior novice. And of course
he went and won it, on a track that careered
straight down the rocky fire road – terrifying
on a fully rigid bike from 1990, but probably
extremely dull now. You’ll be pleased to hear
then that, when you ride at Rother Valley
today, the old descent is now a climb, and the
new stuff going down is worlds away better.
There’s a brand new trail to ride for starters,
which is opening as you read this. Called
End Game, it’s been designed and built by
Shieffield’s own Bike Track, responsible for a
Rother Valley Riders
crowdfunded a Bike Track
rebuild of Diggers Downhill
16 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
host of brilliant pump tracks and skills loops.
So it’ll be no surprise to find it’s packed full of
flowing features that can be ridden by riders of
all abilities.
“This project was focused on creating a
mountain bike facility in the park that could
be ridden by beginners too,” explains Nick
Howarth, the Rother Valley Riders (RVR)
chairman. “End game is the last section on
a longer trail called Drift Woods; it’s 550m
of stunning flow trail, with 43 rollers, berms,
tabletops and has a huge grin-factor.”
Top to bottom that means the combined
trail is now 1km long, and all told there is
now 5km of purpose-built singletrack to ride.
Impressively, these trails have all been created
over the past 11 years and all (except the
latest) have been community-dug, funded and
maintained. It’s a proper grassroots success
story about one of Britain’s biggest mountain
bike clubs that grew from a bunch of mates
posting on Facebook.
Success can bring problems though, and
Rother was certainly a victim of its own great
trails as lockdown brought an overbearing
number of riders to the area. “The trails really
started to suffer,” Nick says. “It was clear we
needed professionally built trails to withstand
the traffic. Matt Johnson, the club secretary,
set out to try and find funding. Many months
later we agreed a joint venture between the
club and Rotherham Council to fund the first
professional rebuild of one of our most popular
trails, Diggers Downhill.”
The new trail has been built with £55,000
from Well Rotherham, a body funded
by Public Health England with a remit to
support projects that improve the health
and well-being of local communities. That
kind of money doesn’t go far when sculpting
purpose-built, all-weather singletrack though,
so RVR added to the new trail. “We went
down the crowdfunding route while Bike
Track was on site, and in a few weeks we got
£2,500, and subsequently shifted about 80
tons of material,” Matt Johnson says. “So it’s
weatherproofed and you can ride it all year and
not get covered in crap.”
4 L AG G A N W O L F T R A X
Laggan Wolftrax is a fearsome
beast. The black trail works your body,
your bike and your nerves, with hair-raising
rocky sections, slabs and roots to contend
with. Too slow and you won’t make it up
the short, punchy rises; too fast and… well,
enough said there. Sure, there’s flow here,
but you really have to work for it.
Laggan is not a place for new riders
then, not until the new blue-graded
trail opens this summer, that is. Laggan
Forest Trust, which manages the land,
now has £100,000 of the £250,000 it
needs to build a new blue trail that is
currently nameless (Wolfpup, maybe?
Answers on a postcard). The latest news
is that the build will start this March
and should open in July, according to
Developing Mountain Biking in
Scotland (DMBins).
The mandate is to give riders a
taste of the red and blue trails,
including flowy sections and rock slabs,
presumably toned down. This bodes well
for more experienced riders too then,
who can expect a trail worthy of their
abilities. The loop will be split into three
sections and there will be a central trail
viewpoint that’ll branch out onto the
other trails too.

5 DY F I B I K E
PA R K
Dan Atherton’s bike park has a
new trail too this year, and for once
it doesn’t feature 40ft tables and
step-downs big enough to hide
houses in. Lovely Dyfi is a red-
graded track, built to be mellow
and flowy, and bonkers-fast if
you want it to be (there we go,
knew Dan couldn’t resist making
it spicy somehow) . We won’t say
too much more about this as yet,
except that it’s supposedly Dan’s
favourite trail to ride right now,
and that our plan is to head up to
North Wales and check out the line
ourselves. Watch this space.

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 17

 GEAR

QU I R K S OF A RT
Copper plating and verdigris fades, idler wheels on the lower linkages, frames CNC’d
from solid alloy billets… we track down the weird and wonderful bikes of 2023

S TAY E R O M G
You have to go some to truly stand out
now, but we reckon this Stayer OMG has
managed it. Built around a TIG-welded
Columbus Zona steel rigid frame, the
OMG was subjected to copper plating
and a patination process that saw it
produce a verdigris fade. The upshot
is a bike that is copper at the rear
end creeping into the familiar green
turquoise of verdigris over the front. The
head badge and name are shot-blasted
out of the verdigris. Stunning.
The man behind the concept is Lewis
Toghill of Empress Works who was
inspired by nickel-plated BMX frames
and the ever-changing finish and the
weathering of modern building materials.
Toghill experimented painstakingly for
over two months with various chemicals
before achieving a patina he was happy
with. “It begins to show some of the
multiple material states that the plated
finish can exist in,” Lewis says.
A 29in-wheeled singlespeeder, the
OMG frame features a custom yoke
designed by Hulsroy and machined
by Bear Frame Supplies with Paragon
Machine Works dropouts. The fork is a
Slayer Stiff As. Short-reach bullmoose
Verdigris finish showcases
OMG’s copper-bottomed
flare for design
bars, and lightweight Pauls Components
brake levers, keep the weight down,
while the calipers – currently Magura
discs – will be Yokozuna rim brakes on
the stock bike. Polished Middleburn
cranks drive a 1x1 Wolf Tooth sprocket.
There’s copper wire retaining the brake
cables in their guides, and a peen-
hammered stem cap.
There is no price on this bike because
it is not for sale. It was one of three
OMG frames East London-based Stayer
raffled off to help raise funds for the
Ultra Distance Scholarship, an initiative
to make long-distance riding and racing
more inclusive and diverse.

18 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

 AU C K L A N D C YC L E WO R K S M A R R A
If you want to see the nuts and bolts,
and inner workings of a bike, look no
further than the Marra, from the mind
of Auckland Cycleworks’s Gary Ewing.
Gary says he didn’t want to
produce another four-bar linkage
or single-pivot bike, so the Marra
– that’s mate in County Durham
speak – harks back to the golden era
of mtb. No single pivots or four-bar
links then: “No disrespect to them
but it had to be something unique.”
The eureka moment came when
Gary discovered that by putting the
AC T O F I V E C YC L E S idler wheel on the lower linkage, as
the axle path goes backwards, the
idler moves down, which straightens
out the chain so “you can get as
radical a rear axle path as you like.”
“Because of the position of the
virtual pivot, if I shorten the swingarm
by 10mm I can shorten the travel by
about the same amount,” says Gary.
The front end of the Marra
is a doctored Marin EL Roy. His
prototype has a 64° head angle
and 519mm reach. Tubes on the
production bike will be carbon
and bonded into lugs. The bottom
bracket is on the lower linkage.

P -T R A I N 1 6 5
Designed in Dresden, Germany by Simon Metzner, the P-Train
frame is CNC-machined from two billets of 7075-T6 aluminium.
It’s then anodised and the two pieces bonded together. The
result is an indiscernible seam and a finish that defies you not
to stroke it. Any fat on the similarly made swingarm has been
reduced until the stays look sculpted like bones; shoulder
blades perhaps.
Metzner designed the bike for enduro or park use, so
nominally it gets 165mm travel. Different shock and link
combinations are available that can increase that figure to
175mm or reduce it to 155mm or 145mm.
The P-Train sports an idler pulley wheel to manage chain
growth and pedal kickback from its high-pivot layout. The
idler can be run in two positions to optimise pedalling (low) or
descending (high).
An optional extra on the latest P-Train model is called ‘Brake
Torque Support’ or BTS, which is a floating brake arm below
the stay developed to counteract suspension stiffening when
braking. The bike will be available in three sizes S1 to S3, mullet
or 29er, coil or air, and costs around €5,000.

P R OVA G E A R B O X T I H A R D TA I L
Show us a mountain biker that doesn’t like
3D-printed titanium
a titanium hardtail and we’ll show them this
housing holds a 12-speed
super-pimp personal hardcore green anodised Pinion gearbox
frame belonging to Prova Cycles owner
Mark Hester.
The bike incorporates some fancy 3D printed
bits into the design, chiefly the bridge holding
the 12-speed Pinion gearbox housing. The piece
connects the chainstays, down tube and seat
tube and internally looks like a honeycomb.
Funnels, or tunnels, run through the piece to
allow for the cable installation, and crucially,
conventional-length chainstays.
“I’ve built quite a few gearbox bikes now,
this is a shuttling bike with its long wheelbase
and geometry,” Mark told us. The wheelbase on
Mark’s size Medium + bike is 1,270mm and he
says at ride height it has a 65° head angle and 76°
seat tube angle at his own saddle height. according to Mark means he can increase the
The bike bears a slight resemblance to Prova’s wheelbase of the bike without slackening
Ripido Ti Party Hardtail but with a bigger the head tube angle. It is welded to a 31.8mm
celebration going on downstairs. Prova’s graceful titanium bar to look most trick indeed. The twin
3D printed sliding dropouts and the highly bolt seat clamp also got the additive treatment.
polished inverted Hero suspension fork from Prova likes to do things from scratch. Even
German manufacturer Intend would catch any the tubesets and shaping are all done in-house.
eye across the dancefloor. OK, car park then. Tubing selection is unique to every customer,
The printed stem piece is 25mm, which making it a true tailor-made experience.

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 19

 GEAR
HOT STUFF
WHAT WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT THIS MONTH
MOST
WA N T E D
Y T I N D U S T R I E S 7 2 0 W H B AT T E RY £ 8 9 9
The pace of e-bikes is relentless. I don’t just
mean how rapidly they tear up climbs, I mean
how prolific new models are launched, how
often motor and software updates occur… and
how quickly old ones become obsolete. For YT
Decoy owners though, it must be reassuring
to know that their bike is still by-and-large
unchanged more than three years after its
launch. Sure, the Shimano motor has been up-
dated from E8000 to EP8, but the geometry,
suspension and sizing is in stasis, and it’s been
our E-bike of the Year winner since day one.
Let’s be honest though, the 540Wh battery
was starting to look underpowered. 625Wh
and 630Wh is now the jumping-off point
for Bosch and Shimano respectively, and
anything from 750Wh to 900Wh now comes
20 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
as standard on plenty of bikes. How long could
the German direct-sales brand perform the YT’s new battery makes
commercial equivalent of a track stand, while its Decoy e-bike an even
more distracting option
the rest stomped on the pedals?
YT’s new 720Wh puts the Decoy right back
in the mix, and best of all it’s retro-fittable with
every existing Decoy, bar the size Small, which
for safety reasons can’t fit it. So that’s the
Decoy MK1 from 2019-2020 (size M-XXL), and
the Decoy MK2 from 2021 (sizes M-XXL).
The 540Wh battery always seemed to pack
more of a punch than the numbers suggested,
bringing its real-world range closer to that of
a 600Wh battery, perhaps due to the software
discharging it. We’re hoping it’ll be the same
with the 720Wh power pack too.
yt-industries.com
 GRID REFERENCE
The latest Specialized Trail Jersey uses Power Grid fabric from Polartec
that promises great insulation with minimal weight and bulk, and won’t
get squished down to reduce its thermal efficiency. Kangaroo pocket,
rear side zip for SWAT access, six sizes. £65, specialized.com

G ODS’ OW N COM F Y
100% uses something called Smartshock Rotational Protective System
for its slip-plane protection on the Altis helmet, along with EPS for regular
impacts. Adjustable visor, 14 vents, antimicrobial liner, extended rear
coverage, five colours. £89.99, silverfish-uk.com

The new battery’s range

could be even more
than its rating promises

STREET LEVEL
Austrian madman Fabio Wibmer has a new shoe out, the Crankbrothers
Stamp Street. It’s got the same MC2 rubber compound and Match lug
pattern outsole as the Stamp Lace version designed to work with the
Stamp Pedal, but the styling is more relaxed. £124.99, extrauk.co.uk

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 21

 GEAR
U R BA N E F OX
Fox’s updated Defend 3L jacket has a high 10k waterproof and
breathability rating, taped seams, waterproof zips, DWR coating,
abrasion-resistant Cordura patches, and comes in men’s and women’s
versions. Red, yellow, black and green options. £249.99, foxracing.co.uk
M I X YO U R D R I N K S
Skratch Labs Sport vegan recovery drink mix is derived from pea and rice
protein, contains a 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein, and is free from artificial
sweeteners or flavourings. There’s also a super high-carb drink that
dishes out 440kcal per serving. £36.95, £41.95, silverfish-uk.com
RANGE MASTER
The 160Wh range extender (RE) battery fits both the Specialized Kenevo
SL and Levo SL, and slots into the Zee water bottle cage. Other brands
might have more sophisticated lightweight e-bikes now, but Spesh is still
the only one where the RE is actually available. £340, specialized.com
22 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
G A R AG E B I K E
Garmin’s latest turbo trainer, the Tacx NEO Bike Plus, is billed as the
most realistic road riding experience you can have from your garage –
simulated gradients, downhill drive with descent simulation, virtual gear
changes, inbuilt screen and twin cooling fans. £3,499.99, garmin.com
D RY L I N I N G
The Scott Trail Storm Waterproof pants come in men’s and women’s
versions, score 10k for both waterproofing and breathability, use a
three-layer construction and get a PFC-free DWR coating to finish.
Two colours, five sizes. £135.99, scott-sports.com
BEAR NECESSITIES
Marin’s Bear Hug Gear Mount uses an alloy base to attach to mounting
points on your bike, and a Velcro strap with silicone grippers to hold a
tube secure. The strap’s 325mm long, and there are some cool pine tree
graphics snazzing it all up. £15, marinbikes-shop.com
EXPOSURE DIABLO MK13 £220
The Diablo has been our favourite helmet
light for years now, with great power, low
weight and the best mount on the market. The
latest update sees it gain an extra 50 lumens
over the old Mk12, and keep its clever Tap
Technology, a nifty function that lets you tap
the side of the light or your helmet to switch
between modes. It’s incredibly useful in the
dark, and beats fiddling around for the dinky
little button on the back.
The Diablo Mk13 uses a 6063 alloy, PVD
coated body, pumps out 1,900 lumens, and
inside sits a 3,500 mAh battery. The latter
takes four hours to charge, and delivers a run
time of between one and 18 hours, depending
on the mode you’re using. It’s also waterproof
with an IP rating of 65, it’ll mount to your
bars or helmet with the supplied fittings,
With a 1,900 lumen output Durable PVD-coated
and there’s even a fuel gauge light to tell you the new Diablo should light body is machined to
when the charge dips below 10%. up the darkest of trails help manage heat
exposure-use.com

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 23

 RIDES

S U P E R F L OW
Flow trails are the best, when done right they’ll have you riding on what feels like
autopilot, with everything happening automatically as the trail guides you along

L O N G M Y N D, S H R O P S H I R E
3 3 . 3 k m ( 2 0. 7 m i l e s )
Nowhere in England has as many flowing trails as Shropshire. The woods and hills
are full of them and not all of them were designed with mountain bikes in mind. The
Long Mynd is the perfect example of this and feels like it’s provided the inspiration
for many of the newer trails in the county. The humpback hill that is the Mynd has the
perfect gradient; steep enough to build speed easily, without being a plummet that’s
over in a minute or two. It’s the way it meters out that height and the way the trail
winds its way down the hollows that create that feeling of flow. Want more? Head
on over to the purpose-built trails in nearby Eastridge Woods.
GPS download bit.ly/longMynd

B L A N C H L A N D,
NO RT H P E N N I N E S
2 7. 6 k m ( 1 7. 2 m i l e s )
The North Pennines are full of surprises.
Often overlooked, sometimes
misunderstood, these hulking hills have
some incredible riding just waiting to
be explored for those who are willing to
look for them. On the heather-covered
moors outside Blanchland is some of
our favourite northern flow. This route
is relatively tech-free so makes a great
introduction to the joys of flow and,
as it’s effectively split into two loops,
it can be cut short. Or doubled up
and repeated, giving you flow for days.
Or even just a few hours.
GPS download bit.ly/BlanchlandRide
ROT H I E M U RC H US,
CAIRNGORMS
2 8 . 9 k m ( 1 7. 9 m i l e s )
Scotland isn’t all big-mountain rides
and trail centres, it’s got its fair share of
natural flow, too. A particular highlight
is the descent from the Rothiemurchus
Lodge in the Cairngorms. This route
takes a rather circuitous way up to the
tail end of the infamous Lairig Ghru
descent. It may seem slightly drawn out,
but it’s a beautiful way to gain height.
From the point where wheels turn
downhill, all the way back to Inverdruie,
it’s a rollercoaster ride through the
trees. Whoops, hollering and face-wide
grins guaranteed.
GPS download bit.ly/RothiemurchusRide

H I G H B R O W N K N O L L , W E S T YO R K S H I R E
1 7. 5 k m ( 1 0. 9 m i l e s )
Sometimes the old ways are the best ways.
The Limers Gate on the moors above Hebden
Bridge in West Yorkshire is an old trade route,
along which men and horses would plod with
their cargo. Nowadays, with new-fangled
turnpikes taking the traffic, it’s a fast and
flowing bridleway across the South Pennines.
Although once a packhorse route, this is one of
the few bridleways in the area that isn’t made
up of stone slabs so it’s best enjoyed when
dry or frozen. The final descent back down to
Hardcastle Crags may not strictly be flowing,
but it is a whole lot of fun.
GPS download bit.ly/HighBrownKnoll

24 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

D O E T H I E VA L L E Y, M I D WA L E S
23.8km (14 .8 miles)
The term classic is often misused, but the trail that runs the length of the
Doethie Valley easily earns its classic status. How can a trail that’s so remote
achieve such a lofty title? Ride it and you’ll find out. The singletrack trail that
follows the Afon Doethie is pure flowing joy. It’s not a brakes-off-and-go kind
of descent, requiring some pedalling input along the way, but it never feels
arduous and rewards whatever effort you put in. From top to bottom it’s a
piece of singletrack perfection that easily earns it that classic crown.
GPS download bit.ly/DoethieRide

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 25

 FA S T & F I T
E L I M I N AT E
A R M-PU M P
W
hether it is clips versus flats or
analogue versus e-bike, there
seems to be a lot of division in
mountain biking. And while most
of it is clearly manufactured, one thing we can
all agree on is that arm-pump is a pain.
But what exactly is arm-pump? If the doctors
who perform carpal tunnel release surgery are
to be believed, it’s caused by constricted
blood flow in your forearm which leads to a
build-up of metabolites in the surrounding
muscles with an associated loss in grip strength.
T H E C OAC H
Jonny Thompson is head coach for Fit4Racing,
an online fitness programme for mtb riders.
Once a forensic scientist, Jonny has devoted
the last 10 years to coaching athletes, from
Paralympians to world number one
enduro racers. His main focus
with the Fit4Racing team is
developing and delivering
fitness programmes to pro
and amateur riders. Training
the likes of Adam Brayton,
Jonny also sends digital
programmes to riders all
over the world, many of
whom ride professionally.
26 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
And while we’re not promoting surgery to deal
with arm-pump here, the mechanism appears
to be sound as it is not that dissimilar to getting
a crazy muscle pump from a high-rep set of
exercises performed in the gym. That said,
carpal tunnel release surgery doesn’t always
eliminate arm-pump.
Less invasive approaches to tackle arm-
pump include: wrist stretches, hydration
strategies, supplementation and massage,
all with very little evidence to back up their
efficacy. So what do most riders do when
they get arm-pump? We simply pull over to
the side of the trail and shake it out before
continuing our ride.
Now if you’re racing, that’s not a good
strategy for dealing with arm-pump, even if
it is better than crashing in the next corner
because you simply can’t hold on, or don’t
have the strength to pull the brakes hard
enough. And even if you’re not up against
the clock, who wants to stop halfway down an
amazing trail and interrupt the flow of the ride
and the dynamics of the group, just to shake
their arms out?
So what to do instead? Now you may have
heard some trainers and pro riders say you
should not do any grip or forearm strength
training, as having more muscle on your arms
Banishing braking
induced pain is as
easy as boosting grip
strength; here’s how
actually makes arm-pump worse. Well, that’s
just complete nonsense and here’s why.
If you have a very high level of grip strength,
the effort required to hold on to the handlebar
and control the bike will be a much lower
percentage of your maximum grip strength,
and as such it will be less fatiguing. Less fatigue
means less arm-pump, plain and simple. So
while time spent on the road bike or indoor
trainer is great for overall fitness, it will do
nothing for conditioning your hands or forearm
muscles for the demands of mountain biking.
Much in the same way that swimming won’t
strengthen your feet for running.
Less obvious, is that you also need good
core and leg strength, so you can support
more of your body weight on the bigger,
stronger musculature of your legs and less on
your arms and hands. So any exercises that
tax your grip strength at the same time as
challenging your core and legs are great for
combating arm-pump.
Also we tend to get the worst arm-pump
on the toughest parts of a trail, where we are
concentrating intently, tightening up and often
forgetting to breathe.
So by taking a targeted approach to training,
we can hit all three issues at once with our five
favourite exercises for eliminating arm-pump.

FA R M E R’ S C A R R I E S
If you want to really challenge your
grip strength, then you need farmer’s
carries in your workouts. You can use
heavy dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags
with handles or dedicated farmer
carry yokes. Simply pick a weight that
you can walk with for 30-45 seconds
before your grip gives out, rest for 15
seconds, then repeat three times.
DEADHANGS
Pull-ups are a great exercise, but if you
can only do three strict pull-ups, it’s not
really taxing your grip strength. It’s why
I prefer the deadhang. Take an overhand
grip on a bar or rings and simply hold on
until your grip gives way. For an added
core stimulus raise your knees up, or if
your core is strong, hang with your legs
at 90 degrees to your torso and perform
a hanging L sit. When your grip gives out,
drop down, rest for three breaths, then
grab on again, but this time with your
fingers, not a fully closed grip. When you
can’t hold on any more, rest for a minute,
or do a core exercise, then repeat the
process three times.

R E N E GA DE ROWS
Renegade rows look cool, but they
also mirror the push/pull demands that
mountain biking places on grip strength.
Grab two dumbbells and get in the push-
up position, core tight, back flat. Do a
push up, then in the top position, pull
one of the dumbbells up to your chest
while trying to prevent your torso from
twisting, then lower the dumbbell to the
floor. That’s one rep. Now do another
push up, then raise the dumbbell in the
opposite hand. Repeat for 8-12 reps, for
three sets, really focusing on squeezing
the dumbbells. If you can’t do 8-12 strict
push-ups, drop to your knees for the push
up portion then get back on your toes for
the pulls.

TOW E L T W I STS
This one couldn’t be easier to perform. Grab a
bath towel, roll it up then twist your hands in
opposite directions, just like you would if you
were trying to wring water out of it. Twist it in
one direction until you feel a lot of resistance,
hold for a couple of seconds, then reverse the
direction of the twisting motion. Perform for
time, until you feel a burn in your forearms.

B O T T O M - U P H A L F- K N E E L I N G K B P R E S S
This version of the half-kneeling KB press version will help develop wrist and grip strength.
To perform the exercise (left), drop into a lunge position with one knee on the floor, then hold
a kettlebell (bottom up) out in front of you with your elbow at 90°. Press the kettlebell up to
lock out and hold it there for three seconds. Return under control to the starting position and
hold for another three seconds. Perform lighter weight bottom-up presses for 12-15 reps each
side, then grab a heavier kettlebell (right) in the normal rack position and press for 6-8 reps
per side. Rest for two minutes between each and repeat for three sets.

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 27

NEW BIKES

SWINGING A LEG OVER WHAT’S HOT THIS MONTH

28 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

SCOTT LUMEN ERIDE 900 SL
£ 14,699 • 2 9in • scott-sports.com
NEED TO The lumen promises high wattage and low
KNOW weight but will it burn bright on the trails?
T
● New ultra- here’s a new e-bike in town.
lightweight XC It defines a whole new category,
e-bike from boasts a benchmark super-low
Scott, just 15.6kg
weight, and is designed to
in size Small
● Lumen is based tempt e-bike naysayers with the
on the Spark XC race promise of extra power and a ‘natural’
bike, with the same ride feel. I’m talking about the Scott
suspension design Lumen, a bike that’s all this and more.
● Powered by the But I could just as easily be reading my
TQ motor, with
50Nm torque and
old review of the Specialized Turbo Levo
whisper-quiet ride SL, launched in 2020 with the exact
● Four carbon- same fanfare.
fibre models in the I was there, man. I saw it all, rode the
range, including a SL at the launch down in South Africa
Contessa 900 for
and came away buzzing with the dream
‘just’ £6,499
● Travel bumped of using a motor that would power you
up to 130mm up the climbs and get out of the way
from the 120mm- for the descents. Three years later, I’m
travel Spark, back again for the next epoch, this time
and with a 130mm-
in Tuscany (sucks to be me) aboard an
travel fork
even lighter but more powerful e-bike
that really (really!) could be ‘The One’
this time around. And while it’s certainly
true that Specialized did define a
new market with the SL, just as Scott
probably will with the Lumen, it’s equally
true that both brands made some
mistakes at launch.
The Lumen is Scott’s e-bike version
of a Spark, which as we know is a
thoroughbred XC race bike with down-
country ideas. The Lumen is already
pretty much in a class of its own then
– no other brands except BMC have
attempted to make a no-compromises
XC e-bike with the new TQ motor
inside. And I do mean no compromises:
the Lumen uses the same flex-stay
suspension design as the Spark, linkage,
Slender down tube houses
cutting-edge TQ motor
and compact 360Wh battery
one-piece bar and stem, internal cable
routing, and head angle adjustment. Put
the Spark and the Lumen side by side
and you’ve got double vision, just like
the Trek Fuel EXe mirrors the new EX.
It’s the internal shock from the Spark
that is the rabbit in the hat here, letting
the bikes appear so visually similar.
Scott has eeked out the travel by
another 10mm by moving the shock
higher in the frame to make room for
a motor, which means it now matches
the fork.
You won’t be surprised to hear the
wheel size remains 29in only, and the
bike is only available as a full carbon
frame, with four options to choose from.
The top-of-the-range 900 SL here costs
£14,699 (OMG! – Ed), the 900 is £9,299
and the 910 will set you back £6,499.
There’s also a women’s Contessa 900 for
the same entry-level price.
Powering all of the bikes is the latest
TQ-HPR50 motor you probably all heard
about on the Fuel EXe. It produces 50Nm
of torque, 300W of peak power, at a
weight of just 1,850g. That balance of low
weight and relatively high power is as
yet unbeatable in the low-weight motor
hierarchy and that helps contribute to
a headline figure on the size Small in
top spec of 15.6kg (the XL I rode was
a heftier 16.3kg). That would be pretty
decent for a trail bike without a motor, let
alone an e-bike with a 360Wh battery.
The small battery means Scott can get
away with an equally diminutive down
tube, and in fact the Lumen uses just 17%
more frame volume than the Spark.
FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 29
NEW BIKES

The Lumen’s XC features are

holding back its considerable
The Swiss
trail bike potential
brand has rather
surpassed itself
Putting the shock inside the frame
has a number of advantages to leaving
it outside in the breeze, most obviously
it won’t get wet, muddy or scratched
up in a crash. Scott also says it helps
make the frame stiffer because there’s
more supporting frame material around
the mounting points and BB area, and
the force transfer from the shock goes
directly to that reinforced section. The
centre of gravity is lower too, although
how much effect moving a few hundred
grams is debatable, and the sturdy
bottom section of the frame means the
upper areas can be engineered to be
lighter for better weight balance.
If it’s hard for mud to get to the shock,
it’s just as hard for you too. The air can is
accessible via a little hatch, and is buried
even deeper into the frame than on the
Spark. Scott has fabricated a supersized
valve cap to make things easier, and

30 mbr FEBRUARY 2023


there’s a shock valve extender so you
can actually get your shock pump
threaded on. Checking your sag is set
right isn’t as easy as just ogling an
O-ring, instead there’s a sticker on the
seat tube with percentage increments,
and a line on the rocker link pivot. To see
how much travel you’ve used there’s a
cut-out on the non-driveside of the seat
tube that gives you access to the body
end of the shock hardware, and doubles
as a window to view the O-ring. It would
be great if SRAM added ShockWiz on a
future build to make this easier though;
after all, when you’re spending nearly
£15,000 on a bike, what’s £300 more?
Bringing the shock inside the down
tube also makes space for two water
bottles, which is great news because
TQ has also developed a 160Wh range
extender to prolong your riding time.
It weighs 1,070g on our scales, and you
can charge it at the same time as you
do the main internal battery without a
splitter cable, something you can’t on
any other range extender we’ve tried.
Inside are high-power cells rather than
the high-capacity cells inside the down
tube battery, and that means you can
access the last 10% of power there
without it going into limp mode.
You’ll be busier than
a one-armed wallpaper
hanger with this lot!
The Lumen’s display Schwalbe XC tyres are
lights up the top tube fragile and lack grip
HOW IT RIDES approach to the front of the bike. SPECIFICATION
The TQ motor is hard to see, nestled And then there’s TwinLoc. Having Frame HMX carbon,
low and inconspicuously behind the the ability to lock out both your fork 130/90mm travel
Shock Fox Nude 5T
cranks. It’s usually impossible to hear and shock when you’re racing XC
Factory Evol Trunnion
too, unless you’re really cranking it hard. is undeniably useful, just ask Nino with Scott TwinLoc,
Finally, it’s also almost imperceptible to Schurter. But on an e-bike I’m really three-position remote
feel either. Honestly, it’s like it isn’t really not interested as the motor helps me Fork Fox 34 Float
there. I don’t mean that as negative when I’m climbing, and I actually found Factory, 130mm travel
Motor TQ 50Nm
criticism – riding the Lumen feels more it easier to get up the technical climbs
Battery TQ 360Wh
akin to being aboard a good trail bike, so with TwinLoc in open mode. If Scott had non-removable,
sophisticated is the extra assistance, the made the Lumen’s suspension much 160Wh range extender
low weight of the bike and the drag-free more active and plusher then I could Display TQ HPR
motor when north of 25kph. see the point – you could use it to stiffen Integrated with
controller
I switched off the motor for a couple up the bike and take some of the load
Wheels Syncros
of long descents and didn’t miss it, off the motor on climbs, or even firm up Silverton SL2-30 CL
the 15kg weight of the bike lending it the suspension for trail centre descents. carbon wheelset,
great stability without tipping it into But the Lumen isn’t the plushest bike in Schwalbe Wicked Will
sluggishness. It’s quick to accelerate EVO Super Race Addix
the world, and it doesn’t bob too much
Speed Soft/Speed
and the frame feels more solid and when you’re pedalling it anyway. Grip 29x2.4in tyres
robust than you could ever get from an Let’s be honest, no one is going to Drivetrain FSA Carbon
XC bike like the Spark. The suspension be doing any XC racing on this bike, 34t, 175mm chainset,
hasn’t changed that much from the whatever Scott might say. The Swiss SRAM XX1 AXS r-mech
and shifter, SRAM
Spark, Scott has added a little more brand has rather surpassed itself with Eagle XG-1299
progression to account for the extra the competence of the Lumen as a 10-52t cassette
weight, but the Lumen’s kinematics hard-charging trail bike, and when you Brakes Shimano XTR
remain pretty linear, letting you tap into look at it in that light the components M9120 four-piston,
180/180mm
all of the 130mm travel available. are overwhelmed. Perhaps Scott will
Components Syncros
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows from make improvements to that in time, Fraser iC SL DC
the Lumen, though. The thinnest casing as Specialized did with the Levo SL. I Carbon 760/70mm
Super Race (formerly LiteSkin) Schwalbe really hope so, because the Lumen is too one-piece bar/stem,
Fox Transfer Factory
Wicked Will tyres do not belong on an bright to be dimmed like this.
170mm post, Syncros
e-bike, despite Scott’s insistence that Jamie Darlow Tofino Regular 1.0
XC bikes need fast-rolling tyres. With air carbon rail saddle
in they lack both bite and support, and Sizes S, M, L, XL
tend to roll over in the corners unless 1ST IMPRESSION Weight 16.3kg (35.9lb)
pumped to silly psi levels. I had two flats
GEOMETRY
in quick succession on my first ride out,
and by the end of the day the parts bin at
✓ HIGHS
Rides like a regular bike with (HIGH SETTING)
Size ridden XL
the launch in Massa Marittima, Tuscany, or without the TQ motor switched on,
Rider height 6ft 1in
was overflowing with tyre carcasses and thanks to drag-free drive unit, low (185cm)
dripping in sealant. weight and near-silent performance. Head angle 65.5°
Tyres are not the only sacrifice Scott Great-riding trail bike, stable and fun. Effective SA 77.5°
has made to chase the lowest weight BB height 338mm
possible. The Fox 34 up front is a good
fork, but it belongs on an XC bike, not
✗ LOWS
Held back by lightweight
Chainstay 450mm
Front centre 820mm
the hard-charging e-bike the Lumen has components, specifically the tyres. Wheelbase 1,270mm
Top tube 645mm
become. Together with the tyres, it’s just The TwinLoc fork and shock damping
Reach 501mm
not solid enough and gives a disjointed control is unnecessary.
FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 31
NEW BIKES

HAIBIKE ALLMTN CF 12
£ 5 , 9 9 9 • 2 9 / 2 7. 5 i n • h a i b i k e . c o m

NEED TO German e-bike specialists’ do-it-all bike looks

KNOW like a bruiser but is it a knockout on the trails?

H
aibike has been producing
● Full-carbon
e-bike with 160mm
e-bikes longer than most.
travel front and rear And by only producing e-bikes
● Yamaha PW-X2 it’s not tied to building electric
motor with 600Wh versions of existing analogue
removable battery models in order to make sense to
● RockShox Zeb
consumers. It can also concentrate
Charger R fork
and Super Deluxe its resources on developing assisted
Select shock and models, rather than being pulled in two
full Shimano XT directions. Which should give the brand
groupset are a unique advantage over traditional
no-nonsense
manufacturers. That’s the theory, but
performers
● Mullet-sized does this work in reality?
DT Swiss wheels While it might not have any regular
shod with quality analogue bikes in its range, what
Maxxis Assegai/ Haibike does have is a bewildering
Minion DHR II tyres choice of electric bikes – from trekking
bikes to hardtails and a myriad of
“e-Fullys”, ranging from the lightweight
Lyke with its Fazua motor, through to
the AllTrail and AllMtn ranges. At the
burliest end of the spectrum are the
big-hit Nduro models, some of which
come equipped with triple-clamp forks
for a true ‘self uplift’ experience.
Somewhere in the middle of this
expansive offering can be found this,
the AllMtn CF 12, a full-carbon enduro
bike sporting 160mm travel front and
rear, a mullet wheel set-up with meaty
2.5in/2.8in Maxxis tyres, a rock-solid
RockShox Zeb fork up front and a
workhorse Shimano XT groupset.
It’s all powered by a Yamaha PW-X2
motor, punching out 80Nm torque,
wired to a 600Wh removable battery.
For the money, I think this represents
pretty good value, and it sits in a
sector of Haibike’s range where choice
is aplenty – for example, the same
amount could also get you the AllMtn10,
which foregoes the carbon frame
but gains the more powerful PW-X3
motor (with 5Nm more torque) and
750Wh battery, alongside top-drawer
components like Mavic Deemax wheels
and Fox Factory suspension. Which,
considering most carbon frames only
save around 500g, would probably be
the smart choice if you’re looking to
maximise on-trail performance.
But back to the CF 12, and the deep-
gloss Ferrari-red paint makes this a
striking-looking bike. The distinctive
humpy top tube is aesthetically divisive
and does nothing for standover
clearance, but the clean, swooping,
sculpted lines and neat details – like the
gridded vent holes in the head tube – are
appealing. It’s chunky as hell and every
tube looks ready to take a beating, so
much so that one friend noted that it’s
about the only bike that makes a Zeb
fork look anorexic.
That big down tube houses the
Every tube
looks ready to
take a beating

Yamaha PW-X2 motor loves

to torque but you’ll struggle
to get a word in...

32 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 33
NEW BIKES

Cables are routed through Battery flap uses pop

vents in an aggressively stud fastening that could
burly head tube prove a liability

Shimano XT brakes
with 203mm rotors
scrub off speed in a trice

34 mbr FEBRUARY 2023


Yamaha In-Tube battery (removable via
the supplied key – don’t lose it!), hidden
behind a removable plastic flap that
snaps into place. This panel needs to be
removed for charging, even if you leave
the battery in the bike, as the charge
port is hidden behind it. With only a pop
stud to hold it in place, I’d be concerned
that frequent removal could wear the
connection and make it liable to fall off.
In fact, during his longterm test of the
AllMtn 6 back in 2021, tester PB had to
bodge his in place with a strap.
Rated at 600Wh, the battery is
about as low-capacity as is acceptable
in these days of 750-900Wh units, but
with plenty of assistance-adjustability
offered via the clunky Side-Switch
control unit, it’s easy to eke out the
range on longer rides.
The RockShox Zeb Charger R fork
up front is reliably stiff, plush and
adjustable, and unusually features a
travel-adjuster knob that lowers the fork
by 30mm, the idea being that the lower
front end helps on steep climbs and
reduces the amount that the front end
wanders. This is paired with a RockShox
Super Deluxe Select shock at the back.
Haibike AllMtn CF 12:
a tank-like build delivers a
surprisingly sprightly ride
It’s a fun bike with pop to keep it fun on tighter trails. A
shame then that the tall(ish) seat tube
SPECIFICATION
Frame Haibike,
a strong motor
and short 150mm dropper post make it XDURO AM i600,
Carbon, 160mm travel
harder to get the saddle out of the way
Shock RockShox,
for full confidence on steeper trails.
and a decent spec
Super Deluxe Select
The Yamaha motor feels pretty Fork RockShox,
capable, powering through to the speed Zeb Charger R, Air,
limiter with decent grunt, even at the 160mm travel
top end. It’s not the quietest motor – Motor Yamaha
PW-X2, 80Nm
This no-nonsense specification accelerating through the gears had me
Battery Yamaha
continues with the Shimano XT groupset, playing out motocross fantasies inside In-Tube, 600Wh
complete with four-piston brakes and my head – and there is a little bit of a Display Yamaha Side
sizable 203mm rotors front and rear – rattle from the motor when coasting. The Switch, 1.7in screen
perfect for getting this 23.5kg behemoth Side-Switch control unit is clear and easy Wheels DT Swiss
slowed down. DT Swiss wheels are to use, but its position above the bar H1900 wheelset,
Maxxis Assegai/
another quality choice, as are the Maxxis makes it vulnerable to crash damage. Minion DHR II
tyres that they’re shod with. The 2.5in Aside from the motor, it’s a pretty 29x2.5/27.5x2.8in
Assegai front/2.8in Minion DHR II rear quiet bike; the cables don’t rattle and EXO+ tyres
is a tried-and-tested combo that offers the chainstay protector is effective. Drivetrain Race Face
tonnes of grip, and both come with Those big tyres are super grippy and Aeffect carbon cranks,
Haibike 38t chainring,
decent reinforced EXO+ casings. the EXO+ casings were tough enough Shimano Deore XT
Haibike has also added an Acros for the Forest of Dean, where I tested it. M8100 r-mech and
BlockLock headset to limit the steering But given how hard you can charge on shifter, Shimano SLX
M7100 10-51t cassette
and avoid the bars striking that top tube this bike, the extra security of a Double
Brakes Shimano Deore
in the event of a crash. Aside from the Down casing on the rear would make XT M8120 four-piston,
minimal ProLogo saddle, the rest of the sense. It’s not like you’d really notice the 203/203mm
finishing kit comes from Haibike’s own extra weight. Components Haibike
catalogue, and includes a 50mm stem, The CF 12 isn’t without it’s quirks – TheBar +++ Gravity
780mm bar, Haibike
780mm alloy handlebar and meager the grips are rock-hard, the bar is a bit
TheStem 2 50mm
150mm dropper post. of an odd shape and it’s complicated to stem, Haibike 150mm
fit a bottle cage with Haibike’s in-house Dropper Post, Prologo
HOW IT RIDES ‘Modular Rail System’ – but despite all Proxim W400 saddle
The small(ish) capacity battery isn’t the that it’s a fun bike with a strong motor Sizes S, M, L, XL
only part of this bike that looks a little and a decent spec that can more than Weight 23.5kg (51.8lb)
dated; with a 64.3° head angle (slacker hold its own against e-bikes from
than the 65° claimed) and stubby traditional brands.
GEOMETRY
Size ridden L
458mm reach on this size Large bike, Ben Smith
Rider height 5ft 9in
the geometry isn’t what you would call
Head angle 64.3°
progressive. It does, however, make the
Seat angle 74.7°
bike slightly more agile and responsive 1ST IMPRESSION
Effective SA
than it might otherwise be, and with all 77°@730mm
that weight, any help is welcome.
This isn’t to say that it lacks stability
✓ HIGHS
Full-carbon frame, powerful
BB height 338mm
Chainstay 460mm
though; the 1,265mm wheelbase motor and solid spec. Lively suspension Front centre 805mm
and that weight see to that. But, feel. Decent value for money. Wheelbase 1,265mm
considering this is a mullet bike, Top tube 620mm
the 460mm chainstays feel out of
place and temper the ability to throw it
✗ LOWS
Sizing and geometry are a little
Seat tube 475mm
Reach 458mm
around. With 160mm suspension travel old-school. Standard grips are too hard.
at both ends, it’s pretty balanced, feels Tyres could be heavier-duty. 150mm-
plush and effective, but still retains some travel is pretty short for a dropper post.
FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 35
NEW BIKES

YT JEFFSY PRIMUS 24
£ 1,899 • 24in • yt-industries.com

NEED TO YT’s Jeffsy Primus 24 is made for kids but

KNOW there’s nothing childish about its design

T
hose who think the youth of The relatively small 42t top cog on
● Available in 24in
and 26in-wheel today have it too easy look the SRAM 11-speed cassette is another
versions, though away now, because this Jeffsy indicator of the Jeffsy Primus’s gravity-
not switchable from Primus is a kids’ bike at least focused ambitions, even if the stumpy
one to the other as cool – if not cooler – than 155mm SRAM SX cranks will help little
● Attention to
anything you could be buying yourself. legs and are a cut above the usual no-
detail extends
to narrow grips, And if your son or daughter looks like name kids’ bikes components.
custom shock tunes, they could get serious about their riding, Quality finishing kit from SDG
tubeless prep and this will give them an incredible leg-up, completes the spec, the dinky saddle,
more besides unlocking burly terrain and big hits 650mm bars and super-skinny grips all
● Proper tyres for even the youngest of shredder. optimised for the size of rider the bike
open up serious
terrain for
Be careful what you unleash... is intended for. Which, disappointingly,
junior riders If you started out mountain biking is all too rare on many kids’ bikes.
● Super-active on a rusty Falcon Sierra or wobbly old Even the reach-adjustable SRAM
suspension that Raleigh Activator, prepare for a shock at Guide brake levers feel appropriately
actually works, even how far kids’ bikes have come. And how small-hand friendly and, as always
for smaller kids
quickly a quality bike like this awesome with YT, the thoughtful touches extend
● Virtual Four
Link design carried looking YT Jeffsy Primo can unleash the to properly sealed bearings, noise
straight over proper ripper in your nipper. At a price. reducing chainstay protection and
from adult-sized Like anything, you get what you pay plastic frame guards to ward off rock
Jeffsy range for, and at first glance you know there strikes and other common damage. If
● No corners cut
have been no corners cut shrinking anything, the bike feels lighter than YT’s
on the spec, top-
quality finishing kit down YT’s popular all-rounder for a claimed 28lb (12.7kg) and, even with
from front to back younger generation of riders. And the pedals, it’s going to come in well under
deeper you dig into the spec, the more 30lb. That’s a pound and a half lighter
impressive it becomes, the attention to than the considerably more expensive
detail underlining a zero-compromise Commençal Clash 24 that’s also likely to
approach that makes the price actually be high on your shortlist.
look relatively reasonable.
It starts with the foundations of
a sleek-looking and well-finished The Jeffsy was
hydroformed aluminium frame based
around YT’s Virtual Four Link design, clearly working
beautifully
driving a Manitou McLeod shock with
130mm of rear-wheel travel and a four-
stage compression switch to configure
it to the terrain you’re riding. This is
paired with a burly-looking, 130mm-
travel Manitou Machete JUNIT fork YT have put together the
whose Expert Air springing promises ultimate junior shredder
a kid-optimised response that’s often
lacking in the basic units found on most
24in bikes.
Quality SunRinglé Düroc wheels
are another welcome sight and save a
chunk of valuable rotating and unsprung
weight compared with the hefty hoops
standard on the Marin 24in Rift Zone Jr
we had on test at the same time. True,
the Minion DHF/DHR tyre combo is
probably overkill for all but bike park
riding, but points to YT’s intentions;
the fact that they turned up already
tubeless and with Peaty’s valves is
another satisfying detail.

36 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 37
NEW BIKES

Four-bar linkage delivers

Spec for the 26in version is pretty
130mm of effective travel much the same, though the sizing and
geometry is optimised for the bigger
wheels and it gets a RockShox Deluxe
Select+ rear shock with 140mm of travel
instead. The price also increases by
€100 in the process.

HOW IT RIDES
The admirable, zero-compromise focus
on creating the best 24in-wheeled kids’
bike possible has clear advantages in
unlocking the little shredder within, but
it comes at a price advantages, but it
comes at a price – albeit one that has
been slashed by over £400 recently.
On the plus side, it was obvious
seven-year-old test rider Florence
gained huge confidence from the way
the YT fitted her, the low-slung frame
meaning plenty of standover. Any
conclusions on our part about how the
Jeffsy Primus actually rides obviously
have to come from observation rather
than first-hand experience, but it’s clear
YT has absolutely nailed the sizing – the
24in version is recommended for riders
between 135cm and 150cm tall while the
26in accommodates those from 145cm to
160cm. A 65.5° head angle in the lower of
the two geometry settings and long front

38 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

 Florence and the
machine danced in
lockstep over the trails

SPECIFICATION
Frame Hydroformed
aluminium Virtual Four
Link, 130mm travel
Shock Manitou
McLeod (190x40mm)
Fork Manitou Machete
Junit, 130mm travel
(44mm offset)
Wheels SunRinglé
Düroc 110x15mm
front/148x12mm
rear, Maxxis
Minion DHF/DHR II,
24x2.4/2.3in tyres
Drivetrain SRAM
SX X1 DUB crank 30t,
130mm-travel Manitou SRAM cassette’s 11-42t 155mm, SRAM NX
Machete JUNIT fork is range is biased towards
11-speed shifter
tuned for a child’s weight the downhills
and r-mech, SRAM
11-42t cassette
Brakes SRAM Guide
R Custom two-piston,
centre gives a great weight balance, and we’ll put it down to bad luck. woods. Some lighter, faster-rolling tyres 160/160mm
the way Florence naturally positioned And the limitations? They certainly and a wide-range cassette would help Components SDG
herself in the middle of the bike gave her don’t come from the bike itself, the spec broaden its horizons. But it’s clear what Jr stem, 40mm,
SDG Slater bar
confidence through the corners. or the way it rides. But by pinning the this bike is built to do. 650mm, SDG Jr
Also impressive was just how Jeffsy Primus so precisely to a narrow And it does it very, very well. seatpost 31.6mm,
active the suspension was, even under size range of riders, there’s not a lot Compared with the hardtail Florence SDG Fly Jr saddle
Florence’s lowly 27kg. The Manitou of growing room in it. It’s a blessing usually rides, the rate of progression the Weight 12.7kg (28lb)
shock and fork have both clearly been and a curse, given kids’ bikes that do Jeffsy Primus 24 unleashed was frankly Sizes 24in, 26in wheel
tuned for riders of her size, as evidenced permit upgrading from, say, 24in to astonishing, and vindication of the
by the obvious ‘flutter’ in the linkage 26in wheels look attractive for parents, return on investment a good kids’ bike GEOMETRY
over bumps big and small. Even a hunt but can mean compromises in terms of can yield. The sizing might not last your Size ridden 24in
(low/high settings)
online couldn’t dig up proper set-up geometry and fit. ripper very long. But on a bike like this
Rider height 127cm
instructions for the fork, but with a bit of No such issues for the Jeffsy Primus, even a short space of time could release
Head angle 65.5°/66°
trial and error we managed to balance but that could potentially mean a short the potential to take their riding to the
Effective SA 76.2°/77°
the air chambers, the negative spring lifespan – we’d be surprised if you got next level, and beyond. BB height
helping reduce the stiction light riders more than one season out of a rider of Dan Trent/Florence Trent 316mm/324mm
often struggle to overcome. Judging by Florence’s age. Of course, looked after Chainstay 395mm
the O-ring, she was clearly getting all properly, kids’ bikes hold their value Front centre 650mm
the travel, the suppleness of both fork well and, assuming there’s no waiting 1ST IMPRESSION Wheelbase 1,045mm
and shock seeing her down top-to- sibling to take it on, there’s a thriving Seat tube 315mm
bottom Les Gets descents, and steeps
in the local woods alike.
community of keen parents eager to buy
secondhand. That means equity to carry
✓ HIGHS
Looks fantastic. Kid-optimised
Top tube 495mm
Reach 370mm
Judging by the combination of speed, through into sizing up, but it’s another attention to detail. Suspension that
airtime and the ease with which Florence cost and faff to consider. actually works. They’ll love shredding
threw the YT into the berms, the Jeffsy The only other criticism you could the downhills…
was clearly working beautifully for her, level at the Primus is that its gravity
the only mechanical issue we suffered
coming when a spring in the rear mech
focus could limit it to those with easy
access to lift-assisted terrain at home
✗ LOWS
…but the climbs will be a drag on
came adrift and required an improvised or abroad, which is obviously a much those fat Minions. Not cheap. Limited
trail-side strip-down to fix. This was a more expensive way of mountain biking gearing range. Might not last a growing
one-off on our initial shake-down ride so than just razzing around the local kid very long.

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 39

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★ S TA R L E T T E R ★
WINS
Think everyone has missed the point. This is the range topper but they a Madison Zenith
start at £6,500, as most decent carbon e-FS do. A Porsche Boxster will waterproof
jacket
do what a 911 GT3 will too, but it won’t do it as well. It’s one of the first
proper “hybrid” mtbs in my opinion. Most e-bikes are just EVs whereas WORTH
£119.99
these lighter, lower-powered units are more like hybrid cars, it’s human
powered but with an electric boost. It’s not an all day, every day e-bike.
Jamie Lynn
MOUNTAIN MAN Hark! The high
Hey mbr, what are you doing to me mountains are
(and my wallet)? First it’s James a calling...

Vincent riding Grand Sassiere a couple

of issues ago, and then you feature Mick
Kirkman’s story about the Trans Savoie
enduro – both great features about
riding in the Alps with amazing photos
that have both whet my appetite to get
back out to the mountains. I haven’t
been since the year before Covid-19
struck and now I’m itching to get back
out there to ride some proper mountains
again. But where should I go?
Thanks for the inspiration (and the
drain on my struggling bank account!)
Simon Harrington

KESTE-VAN LIFE
For some reason I’ve got annoyed on
behalf of Guy Kesteven, whose name is
spelled incorrectly on your site (even on
his own page) as ‘Kestevan’.
Just thought I’d say. Otherwise,
carry on :)
Olly Horne
Ed - Thanks for the heads up Olly,
we’ve apologised to Guybrush and as
penance we’re going to spell
mrb wrong for the next issue.
The Malverns was a great success this Time to rekindle an
year, 6,500 mtb fans going wild each erstwhile partnership?
day in the glorious Bank Holiday heat
wave, take me back! Just wanted to
reach out to you regarding getting
mbr along to the event, like the good
old days, minus the slippy bridge!
Give me a shout and let’s discuss.
Yours in sport.
Si Paton

MALVERNS RETURN Ed – what do you think, readers? Are we

Good morning, I hope you and the team missing out on something good? Had
are all well and living the dream! we better come along next year?

NEXT MONTH

TESTED

£1, 500 XC
HARDTAILS
Four on test from Cube, Giant, Scott & Trek

MARCH ISSUE ON SALE WEDNESDAY 1 FEBRUARY

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 43
F E AT U R E

T R A IL
BLAZERS

JOE
BARNES
From world-class enduro rider to the Dudes of
Hazzard collective, Joe Barnes’s life would make an
enthralling movie, providing he gets to edit it
Words & photos: Andy McCandlish

The team camper van is like

a second home to Barnes and
his band of mtb brothers

44 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 45
F E AT U R E

here are certain characters in the world of

mountain biking that just seem to define a
geographical area. To me, Fort William will
always be a place where the riding is tough,
the trails are gnarly and the mountains are
high, but the riders don’t take themselves
seriously. They are grassroots lads and lasses
that always seem to have smiles on their faces
and mattocks in their hands, or a bike under
their backsides. They ride for the sheer joy
of throwing a bike down a trail, and if they
happen to win a race along the way, then
great. But that fun-first attitude hasn’t stopped
the area producing some of the best riders in
the world.
Joe Barnes has been at the heart of this
movement and flying the flag for Fort

A B OU T T HI S S E R IE S
One of the most exciting things about
mountain biking is that it’s always
changing. From the bikes we ride, to how
and where we ride them, things never
stand still for long. And here at mbr
we’re convinced things are getting better.
The Trailblazers series is our look at the

THEY RIDE FOR

people, places and events that are behind
these changes; helping to define and
improve riding in the UK right now. From

THE SHEER JOY OF

behind-the-scenes volunteers out digging
trails in their spare time; people lobbying
for more access to trails; those working to

THROWING A BIKE
get more people from all backgrounds out
riding; grassroots race organisers making
events happen, through to the riders who
are changing how and what mountain
bikers ride; we want to tell the stories and
give recognition to the people who are
changing mountain biking and making
DOWN A TRAIL
riding better for all of us.

46 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 47
F E AT U R E

Another frame bears the

hallmark of Barnes’s
irreverant punk sensibility

Fort William’s fun-loving

ethos shaped the attitude
of the ‘Top Chief’ Dude

William since he was a nipper, beginning his

racing career at the tender age of 14 astride

WHAT SHONE
an Orange Patriot supplied by the local bike
shop. Several years of Orange-sponsored
downhill and mass-start racing followed with

THROUGH WAS
very respectable results up to World Cup level,
years that saw his shabby-chic Transit van –
nicknamed The Landship – following the race

THE FUN, FREEDOM

circuit around Europe with a group of good
friends in tow.
Joe was never a straight downhiller though

– hacking through those janky mountains
around the Mamores and Ben Nevis produced
a bulletproof trail riding background that
meant the EWS, when it appeared in 2013,
was practically tailor-made for his abilities.
At this point everything went up a gear
– Canyon stepped in and signed him for
its Factory Racing Enduro squad and he
continued to compete for the brand for the
next six years, with EWS results topping
out at third place overall on a few occasions.
A huge success by anybody’s standards.
MAKING MOVIES
But while you can take the lad out of Fort
William, you can’t take Fort William out
the lad, and even while he was taking each
and every race seriously, giving it his all, he
continued to stay true to those fun-loving
roots. When he got the contract with Canyon,
he managed to extend a side deal to cover some
of his local riding mates so they could join
him on the journey. When he was allowed a
mechanic, he employed a local friend to come
with him. And throughout these adventures
across the world, he always had a video
camera nearby.
His filming career started as a bit of fun, a
movie self-shot around the local area when he
was at high school that showcased some of the
AND CAMARADERIE
amazing scenery of Fort William while
his friends variously leapt and cycled off
it. While the action was clearly crazy, what
shone through was the fun, freedom and
camaraderie that they all felt while making the
most of Scotland’s great outdoors.
“After shooting all these stunts with my
friend Richard Finlayson, we got help editing
from Richard’s dad’s friend Gordy. He was one
of the founders of Grand Theft Auto, and an
editing genius.” Joe smiles, “We just sat there
watching, learning everything off him. It was
a good apprenticeship!”
Gordy also came up with a name for the
group of lads that has stuck till this day – the
Dudes of Hazzard. The lads may have come
and gone, the faces changing, but Joe has
always been the ‘Top Chief’ of the brand, as
his Instagram handle suggests.
“That was my first dabble in film making,
but I didn’t come back to it until about three
years later when I shot the Dudes of Hazzard
Episode One. Stu Thomson was in it, Ben
Cathro, all sorts of people.”
In this, the lads ski, powerwalk, backflip
off cliffs into rivers and ride the local trails
to a background of cheesy pop tunes. Sheer
joy just radiates out the screen from start
to finish, and it has set a template for all the
Dudes films that follow. Riders scurry down
unlikely rutted singletrack, coming off to
the great celebration of the others. Nobody
is precious about trying to look perfect,
so even though their riding skills are
stratospheric, they all come across as regular
guys who just love being out on the trail.
It’s a great ethos to champion.
These films were a constant background
presence as Joe raced his way around the
world, with classic episodes such as The
Dudeumentary – Road trip in the Landship.
Instead of documenting a professional racer
in his predictably cosseted team set-up, this
was a bunch of lads in a homemade camper

48 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

dossing their way around the Continent for After making a splash on the
two months, camping wild and eating beans racing scene, Barnes hit
out the back door of their van, having the time paydirt as a film maker
of their lives as they navigated from race to
race. The mood changed at the events as each
of them – Liam Moynihan, Fergus Lamb and
Joe – all pulled their helmets on and gave it
full beans on each start line, only to live it up
at a lakeside fire later that day. If you want
inspiration for your riding, there are few
better videos to watch.

POSITIVE MESSAGE
“My films have always had a few morals I like
to stick to – friendships are important, not
taking yourself too seriously, and I always
make them kid-friendly, so adults don’t have
to worry about them watching. That is my
formula I guess.”
While his racing started the ball rolling for
sponsorship and recognition, it is the video
work that is pulling strongly these days.

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 49

F E AT U R E
From cutting footage to cutting
foliage, Barnes will always
find a way to make his mark
In the pink: Hazzard
Racing’s clothing
line is thriving
“I enjoyed being on the [Canyon] factory
team, but I felt like there was a missed
opportunity for what I wanted to do on the
branding side of things. I had the Dudes of
Hazzard where I could channel all my ideas
and creativity while riding for them, but I
wanted to do more of that. Even down to
deciding my own race calendar and jersey
designs or bike paintwork.”
So he decided to go out on his own in 2019,
securing a deal with Orange and Endura.
“I didn’t know anyone at Endura at the
time, so I think I just mailed the ‘info@ email
address and luckily somone asked me to come
in and see them! They have been brilliant, and
it worked out well because they custom-print
jerseys and I think it is so important to do your
own designs. Give them a bit of personality.”
MEDIA TRAILBLAZER
Chatting to Joe on his remote trails, built on
the lower slopes of the Ben Nevis range, it
occurs to me he has helped pioneer a new
brand of professional rider. One that doesn’t
have to race to get the attention of big brands.
“When I started, you had to race to be a
professional rider,” he agrees, “but now you
can be a videographer or social media person
and be a pro that way. I am sort of halfway
between the two, racing and producing
content. A lot of kids now can cut straight
to the source, they enjoy riding and making
videos, but can cut out the competition. The
Dudes of Hazzard era pioneered a lo-fi style of
content being acceptable and easily produced
by anyone, as opposed to using a production
50 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
Good ol’ boy Barnes just
can’t resist styling it up
for the camera
company. But it has gone way past that now.”
Deciding his own race calendar has worked
out well since his son Bo appeared on the
scene in March 2019 too. A combination of
Covid wrecking the 2020 EWS calendar and
his new addition to the family, led him to slow
down on the foreign racing and concentrate on
the UK scene and his content creation.
This year Hope is the headline bike sponsor,
with Endura continuing to be among many
other companies contributing to the Hazzard
Racing team.
“I am a pretty unique set-up but they are
happy with a balance between racing and
filming. They are very flexible; I could make
With so many strings to
a half-hour film that could take four months, his bow, Barnes isn’t one
or I could make four shorter ones in that time, to get stuck in a rut
it is OK. They give me that option without
looking over my shoulder.”
They also seem to have the confidence to long-time Dude, Ferg, gravel biking the length
just let Joe do his thing, without ever being of the Outer Hebrides off the coast of Scotland.
too heavy on their products. The films never “The gravel ride up the Hebrides was
dwell on any particular bike or product, something I really wanted to do, to prove to
they aren’t in any way polished gear-punting myself I could make a film about something
advertisements. Instead they sell a lifestyle other than thrashing ruts that would still be
and the products just ride on his coattails. interesting. We are really happy with it.”
It works well, and who wouldn’t want to be It is another signature Barnes classic, with
associated with that? rough-and-ready self-shot material coming
“The style has just evolved naturally, but at together with some well-selected tunes to
the end of the day it is still just documenting make an atmosphere-rich story you just have
my life. Now it isn’t racing the World Series, to watch from start to finish. Two lads, two
but doing more at home.” bikes and a whole lot of freedom to adventure
His latest films feature Bo learning to pedal, – predictably on a ‘camp by the roadside in a
or some extreme riding hung around a night £20 tent and eating porridge in bus shelters’
time story read to the wee lad who is already vibe. I confess I don’t have a lot of patience for
now star of the show. Another follows Joe and big-brand product launches or ‘story telling’

videos, but I am glued to the screen on this
one, reliving my own past trips that all went
the same way.
“I do all the editing and just love it,” Joe
continues, “I like how you can have a hundred
video clips but there is an infinite way to
make them into a film. There is no right or
wrong way. But I do think that by doing it
loads it will always come out the same way –
that is a reflection of me. It is an excellent art
form, editing.”
So where from here?
“I want to do more with the designing
of things. I already sell my own jerseys but
I’m not very good at running a shop, so I get
batches in and sell out, then get more in and
sell out again. So I am going to do it through
Endura, let them run the shop front.”
He seems excited about this possible
transition from bike-racing personality to
graphic designer.
NEW HORIZONS
“The jerseys don’t need to be tied to me, the
designs should stand by themselves, and that
way I suddenly become a graphic designer
rather than someone who rides bikes. It is
good doing both now though, I am enjoying
the balance.”
After the photo session we plod back
through a chilly Fort William twilight. Rolling
along, Joe casually mentions how he had got
fed up placing top 10 in the Enduro World
Series, never better than third, so it was time
JOE ’S T IPS F OR
R IDING R U T S
n Let the bike do its thing. If you try to
use strength to fight against the bike’s
movements then it will make things
worse. It’s all about subtle small
reactions and letting the bike move
about beneath you.
n Use your rear brake to balance.
Because you can’t countersteer to adjust
your lean angle in a rut or rutted corner
like in a berm, the easiest way to balance
is to adjust your speed.
n Generally, in all turns, the faster you go,
the more leaned over you need to be, and
this remains a constant, so if your speed
and lean angle don’t match, then use your
brake to balance these two factors. Too
fast and not leant enough? Then brake
to fall more into the turn. Leant over and
going slowly? Then get off the brake to
straighten up! This is the easiest way to
consistently ride ruts and rutted turns.
n Using too much front brake will
cause the front tyre to dig into the
side of the rut and pull you over. It is
normally terrible advice to use less front
brake, but in a rut new rules apply. Use
proportionally more rear brake in ruts.
to move on to new things. He had reached a
ceiling he just couldn’t seem to break through,
no matter what he threw at it. Looking at the
pale blue sky above I had a moment to myself,
thinking on how it would feel placing top 10
in world-class enduro races. It took me to a
happy, but wildly unlikely multiverse where
I would have been pretty damn pleased with
myself. It wasn’t a case that Joe gave up, he
simply felt a bit burned out with it and decided
his energy would be better spent elsewhere.
I never got the impression Joe seeks
race-winning recognition, but just races and
rides because it is what he does, who he is.
He is Joe Barnes, and the Scottish riding scene
would be an immeasurably poorer
place without him.
FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 51
F E AT U R E

Larch disease has

levelled North Wales’s
Revolution Bike Park
but the seeds of an exciting
rebirth are already being sown
Words & photos: Sim Mainey

52 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

rails are always a product of their
surroundings. A good trail builder will take
into account geography, geology, flora and
fauna to build a trail that complements the
location, taking on elements of its character
and becoming something that could only exist
in that place.
Trail centres and bike parks can be accused
of being samey, the result of being built in often
similar surroundings, but even with a similar
canvas there are always differences in terrain,
features and feel, and it’s these variations that a
creative trail builder can use to help define the
trail and the place.
Revolution Bike Park in North Wales has
become one of the UK’s best-loved riding
spots. Its creative, beautifully executed trails
entertain everyone from uplift newbies to
freeride pros – as proven by its winning mbr
Trail of the Year in 2018. So while this block

An orange pine needle

carpet is Revs’s
signature look

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 53

F E AT U R E

Tim’s devastation has

given way to anticipation

of forest above Llangynog might look similar

to others in the area, it has become something
special. Now, one of the things that marks it
out as different, is forcing the park to close.
Larch trees themselves aren’t particularly
special, but at Revolution they form a part
of the park’s identity, adding colour to an
otherwise monochrome treescape. In autumn,
some of the trails in the park look like they
have been covered in an orange carpet thanks
to the larch needles that have dropped. They
have become part of the park’s aesthetic. But
larch disease, or Phytophthora ramorum,
to give it its full name, has been spreading
through the UK’s forests for nearly 20 years,
and it’s now found its way to Revs.
When Revolution’s owners Tim and James
Foster took to social media to say that the park
would be closing due to larch disease, there

“WE’VE MANAGED IT AND

was an outpouring of shock and disbelief from
the mountain biking community. There were
also a lot of questions. What was this disease,
where had this come from, what could be
done, was this the end for Revs and could this KEPT IT AT BAY FOR AS
LONG AS WE CAN BUT
happen at other riding destinations?

REVOLUTION IS BORN
It’s midweek on a cold, dank, dark day with a
yellow weather warning in effect and the car
park at Revolution is packed. You’d think it was
the height of summer, it’s so busy. The mood
in the Land Rovers as they chug their way up
the hill is generally positive, despite this being
the last time many will ride here, at least for
the foreseeable future. But then Revolution
has always been a place of optimism, ambition
and vision (literally, there’s a trail called Vision
Line). The trails tell that story to all who ride
here, but for Tim and James the trails are the
product of more than a decade of combining that
optimism, ambition and vision with straight-up
hard work and financial investment.
Revolution Bike Park marked its 10th
anniversary in 2022. Brothers Tim and
James moved from Cornwall, along with their
families, to Llangynog with the sole intention
of building a bike park. They had no previous
experience of building or running one, but it
was what they wanted to do. “It’s like one of
those silly ideas you have down the pub,
then sober up and don’t do anything with.
But we weren’t in the pub and I guess we
never sobered up,” says Tim.
The land on which the bike park (and
forest) sits is owned by Tim and James, rather
IT’S CAUGHT UP WITH US”
than leased. This was a deliberate decision.
The idea of investing so much, financially
and emotionally, into someone else’s land just
wouldn’t have worked, and owning it has given
them much greater control over how the bike
park has developed and the forest is managed.
Despite being new to managing a forest,
larch disease was something the pair were well
aware of when they opened the park. “It was
something that was always a concern, it’s why
we have a clean bike policy, as one of the ways
it can come in is the mud.” Tim is keen to stress
they are convinced that the disease’s arrival in
the park isn’t due to riders though. With cases
reported in a neighbouring valley the year
before, it’s far more likely that it’s made its way
over on the wind. “We’ve managed it and kept
it at bay for as long as we can, but it’s caught up
with us.”
Phytophthora ramorum is as agile as
it is devastating. A fungus-like disease, it
kills trees within a short period of time and
can travel through mist, air currents and
watercourses as well as being spread by
people and animals. It doesn’t just affect larch
trees either, and can cause damage or death
in up to 150 plant species. There is no cure for
it, and due to how infectious and damaging
it is, any sign of it has to be dealt with swiftly
and completely. This involves the wholesale
destruction of forests, known as sanitation
felling. There have been outbreaks around
the country and, consequently, the disease is
changing the landscape of some of the places
we ride.
Larch is deciduous, dropping its needles in
autumn and coming into leaf in spring. It’s only
when the trees are in leaf that it’s possible to
visually detect which have the disease. These
stand out as having grey or brown needles, or
none at all. Natural Resources Wales carries
out aerial surveys in May, passing over larch

54 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

 Revs’s trail-building
legacy is set to flow
into future designs

forests across the country looking for the

disease, and if anything is spotted it is followed
up with a land survey.

A CUTTING BLOW
Tim had been in contact with NRW about
what things might look like if the disease did
make its way to the park. “We’d been closely
monitoring the forest and we thought it was
healthy. There were no dead patches, it was
really vibrant, so we were optimistic.”
“It was a couple of months after the aerial
survey and we hadn’t heard anything, so we
were leaning towards thinking everything
was OK.” With things looking good, a new
shop was ordered for the park. A week later
an email arrived from NRW saying that it
was going to do a land survey. This wasn’t
overly worrying, like any forest there are dead
trees in amongst the healthy ones, and it was
thought the survey team were probably just

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 55

F E AT U R E
KEEP IT CLEAN
Revolution isn’t the only riding
destination in Wales that’s been
affected by larch disease. Work is due
to start felling in Afan Forest Park,
with some closures and diversions in
place on the trails. No one wants to
see their riding spot closed down due
Only blanket felling
can halt larch disease’s
to an outbreak of larch disease, ash
merciless rampage dieback or any other kind of infection,
so what can riders do to help stop
the spread of these diseases to the
Vision Line’s airborne
forests we ride in?
thrills are here to stay Dave Liddy of Natural Resources
Wales said: “Cleaning your bike is
good for the bike, but it’s also good
for the forest, too.
“Our mountain bike trails are
immensely popular and we want to
encourage people to keep coming
to our woodlands. Our message is a
simple one: ‘Enjoy yourselves, but
please leave the forest in the forest’.”
The best time to clean tyres
or shoes is before you leave the
woodland, but you should make sure
your kit is clean before you head off
for your next visit to the countryside.
You don’t need special equipment,
just a stiff brush like a washing up
brush and a little water. The same
goes for your car. If you come back
to it after a ride and it’s covered in
leaves, wipe these off before leaving
the car park. These little steps don’t
take long to do but they might just
help save your favourite riding spot.

Steps in the trail call for a

step down in pace

“The outpouring of love and support

we had from riders after putting out that
video was overwhelming.” Two months’
worth of uplift spaces were booked out in
just 12 hours. Merch sales also increased.
“There’s a sense that people are buying
merch to directly support us. It’s not
necessary, but it’s appreciated. I’ve always
said that the mountain bike community is
one of the best communities out there.
It’s a sport that attracts good people.”

being diligent and checking things out. A few
months later they’d not heard anything and
were “working on the no news is good news
premise, as if there was something untoward
they wouldn’t waste any time in telling us.”
Regardless, they chased up the lab reports.
It was while signing riders on to the uplift
that an email with the results dropped into
Tim’s inbox. The news was not good. The
park was issued with a Statutory Plant Health
Notice – Movement (SPHNm), a legal order
to destroy the forest by the end of March.
“At that moment I didn’t really understand
what we were going to do.”
In the aerial survey, only four trees had
been identified as being infected, but with
the disease being so contagious, by spring,
the likelihood was that it would have spread
much further.
With the forest needing to be completely
felled, there was no way the bike park could
continue, and a week after receiving the
email, Tim and James put out a video on
YouTube explaining the situation they had
found themselves in. Honest and emotional,
it laid out how things looked for the future
of the park – which was bleak. But it wasn’t
all bad.
FRESH START
A couple of weeks later another video
was put out, and although the basic facts
hadn’t changed, there were glimmers of
that optimism, ambition and vision coming
through again. Having taken stock of the
situation, a rough idea of a way forward
was outlined.
The first step is to comply with the SPHNm
and fell the forest. The timber can then be
sold to help finance replanting and rebuilding
the park. Obviously this is not as simple
as it sounds as, despite prices for materials
going up, the price being paid for timber has
crashed. Waiting and timing the felling so

56 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

that they can get the most for the timber is
crucial to further success. But, there are a lot
of unknowns, and with the exact timing of the
felling being up in the air, so is everything else
that follows.
Despite all the unknowns, Tim and James
have some exciting ideas for how Revolution
2.0 will look. For a start it will be quite
different visually. In its current guise, the
forest is, effectively, a duo-culture: larch
and conifer. As Tim points out, this was
originally a commercial forest – a crop – of
the kind most trail centres and bike parks
are built in. This might be convenient and
profitable if you make your money selling
timber, but it isn’t healthy or natural. “When
we first took it on, nothing lived up there.
There was no green, just brown from the
needles. You couldn’t enter the forest. To
find the top of the hill to build the start box,
we had to crawl under the branches on our
hands and knees.”
Trails have provided corridors for life to
flourish, but the forest is still suffocating. The
felling provides the opportunity to start from
scratch, and by replanting with native species
of trees, the new forest will be a more diverse,
healthy natural environment that will be
better able to adapt to future threats, like
disease. It will also be planted with the trails
in mind, the two being designed together for
mutual benefit. “I don’t think there’s been a
bike park in the world that has been able to
design the forest around the bike park.”
FUTURE-FOCUSED
Mountain biking, then, will help create a
different landscape to what currently exists.
“We don’t need to worry about a pay-out from
the trees in 40 years because the forest makes
money from biking, and we want to create the
forest around that concept.”
Although many trails will be damaged
or destroyed by the work, two of the park’s
signature trails will be saved – 50:01 and
Vision Line. Both of these are defining
moments in both the park’s and UK
mountain biking’s history, and represent
a large financial investment by the park.
Saving these trails will also help link the
future park to the past.
Over the 10 years of the park’s life, James
and the dig team have honed their skills
and learnt a few more tricks along the way
about how to design and build a trail. The
opportunity to start from scratch on trails
such as the Freeride line – by far the park’s
most popular track – means they can now
funnel all that knowledge and ability into
creating something even better for the
future. “We want to build a track that can
truly stand toe-to-toe with tracks like A-Line
in Whistler, that’s our dream.” It’s not just
about improving the trails either, “Our
new strapline is, ‘we’re not going to reopen
with portaloos,” jokes Tim. When Revs
reopens, forest, trails and facilities will all
be improved. In other words, a bad situation
has the potential for a lot of positive and
exciting change.
When riders return to Revolution things
are going to be very different. The larch
trees and that orange carpet may well be
gone, but in their place will be something a
lot more sustainable, and a character that’s
unmistakably Revs. When that might be
is hard to say, but we’ll be watching the
Revolution Bike Park YouTube channel
and checking Twitter to follow the
progress: youtube.com/@revolutionbp
Twitter: #revs4evs
FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 57
TECHNIQUE

CONFIDENCE ON
STEEP TERR AIN
Descending on wintery trails needn’t be a hair-raising experience; learning to keep a
neutral body position and link up grip points is the key to downhill mastery
Words: Andy Barlow Photos: Andy McCandlish

58 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

R
iding on steep and
technical trails can be
pretty treacherous at this
THE COACH
time of year. The trails
are dark, the surfaces ANDY BARLOW
are wet and slippery, and Before joining Dirt School
the grip can seem like it’s Andy liked to win things – races
nonexistent. How do some riders keep like the Scottish XC Champs and
making it look so easy despite the the Scottish Downhill Champs.
conditions? And where are they finding Since 2009, though, he’s coached
all of their control? some of the world’s best riders
This month we’re going to take a with Dirt School and helped
closer look at how to stay composed bring on the BASE MTB course
and confident on the steepest of trails. at Borders College
We’ll cover some useful skills that will in the Tweed Valley.
change the way that you think about But what Andy
technical or poor-weather riding, and really likes to do is
we’ll give you a solid gameplan to stick communicate those
to this winter. pro techniques to
everyday riders.

R ANGE OF
MOTION
It’s so counter-intuitive, but every
time you feel yourself start to get
intimidated by the lack of grip,
we want you to focus on lowering
your body towards the bike. This
additional bend in your arms
and legs will give you so much
more room to move, and will
make all the difference between
you sliding out of control, and
allowing the bike to move around
underneath you without it taking
you off balance.
S TA BL E BODY
POSITION
Modern bikes provide incredible
stability on the trail. In order to get the
most out of them you need to make a
particular body shape. Think of your
head, shoulders and whole upper body
being attached to the handlebars and
front end of your bike. Your head over
the stem, back parallel with your top
tube, and elbows wide. When you turn
the bars your whole body should follow.
While it’s OK to move with the contours
of the trail, this strong stance should
be locked into the stability of the front
of your bike. The more you retain this
shape, the easier a trail will feel.

Andy is using his upper body

to balance in a place where Keep your upper body
steering isn’t an option. centred and use your knees

✗
Doing it this way will feel off to counterbalance, and you’ll

✓
balance and limit his control feel like you are in control

KNEE BAL ANCE

If your upper body is attached to the front of your bike, and you’re focusing on
keeping that stance firm and connected, then you’re going to have to think about
an alternative way to handle all the minor imbalances that the trail throws at you.
This is where your knees come into play. The best way to do this is to bend your
knees to lower yourself, but use your glutes to separate your knees slightly. Priming
your knees to be more open by activating your glutes will mean that as soon as any
movement is needed to retain balance or let the bike move, your knee will be ready
to respond. This is the same as you already do with your shoulders and arms when
you lean on the handlebars. If there is already tension there, the right muscles will be
ready to react.

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 59

TECHNIQUE
THE MY TH:
KEEP YOUR
WEIGHT
BACK
When it comes to riding steep
trails, one of the worst pieces of
advice out there is to keep your
weight back. It makes you ride
defensively and puts all your
weight over the back of your bike,
meaning that your front wheel
will understeer, and it limits your
range of motion so much that the
slightest drop will be enough to
plunge your weight forward into
an uncontrollable rotation over
the handlebars. If you want advice
on what to do with your weight
on steep trails, then keep your
weight completely neutral! You
can achieve this by getting lower
and creating enough room in
your arms and legs to completely
separate you from all of that
movement on the trail. Even
though your bike will continue
to buck around underneath you,
your body weight should remain
neutral and composed.
60 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
1 2
ROLLING DROPS
One of the best ways of weight back. Be aware of this As your front wheel
2
perfecting your steep trail
technique is to focus on what you
the next time you ride though
and you can practise the correct
hits the ground it should
feel like you had loads of room
do on rolling drops as part of a
regular, much easier ride. Ideally
technique as you go.
1 Focus on moving closer to
to fill the gap as it opened
up, and that your head and
you should be taking your normal
riding position and lowering
your bike on the approach,
with your elbows and knees bent.
bodyweight haven’t moved at
all. You should feel completely
yourself towards the bike as This will open up so much more neutral and ready to let your
you get closer to the drop. This room to move that when your rear wheel drop and your legs
is often counterintuitive as you front wheel suddenly drops, you’ll do the same and fill the gap as it
might be tempted to move your have loads of room to fill the gap. opens up.
C AT CH YOUR MIS TA K E S
We can see why the “keep your weight back”
advice exists. Clearly there’s a moment when
your front wheel has hit the ground where
your arms will feel straight and your bum is
off the back of the bike. The trick is to not
make that same locked-out shape on the
approach! The control on an obstacle like this
comes from creating the room to move on the
way in. If you are off the back on the approach
you won’t have anywhere to move to when
the trail drops away. Get low on approach
though, and you’ll have plenty of room to
make this shape when it’s needed. This is also
true of steep trails. Keep constantly resetting
to a low, ready position with your head close
to your stem and your elbows bent, and you’ll
have the room to repeatedly neutralise your
body weight.
TECHNIQUE

Staying off the

brakes on the
difficult stuff
is all very well,
but you can only
do this if you do
all your braking
somewhere else

BR AKING ZONES
A great way of improving how much control and stability you
have on steeper, technical or more natural trails is to be aware BAL ANCING
of where you are braking. Every time you pull the brakes on,
two major things happen. First, a lot of the grip available from T H E AVA I L A B L E
your tyres will now be used up in the process of slowing you
down. Basically this means your tyres will slip over things like TR ACTION
roots, rocks, or loose ground a lot more easily. Fairly obvious.
The second one is maybe less so, because every time you pull
the brakes your arms have to tense in order to support all of
W I T H G R AV I T Y
It’s a lot easier to add speed to a steep section than take it
your body weight from lunging forward. You essentially go away. All you have to do in order to go faster is stop using
rigid. Do this on slippery terrain while you’re experiencing less your brakes and you’ll accelerate. It’s a lot more difficult
grip and all of a sudden your bike is taking you off-line and to take that momentum away once it’s been generated.
more importantly, off-balance. This is where the problem lies. If you’re not braking on
the rough, slippery or choppy sections of a trail, then

FLUIDIT Y you have to do all of your braking somewhere else. This

In order to be able to rely on more grip at the tyre, and more
flexibility with your arms, try braking before you get to
something you don’t like the look of and deliberately staying
low with your body, and off the brakes, as you roll over it. Your
bike will still move, but nowhere near as much as it would if
you were braking. Your low position should be able to keep
your body weight neutral, and your lack of braking will mean
that you can rely on all that fluidity as something you can trust
when the trail looks unpredictable.
is easy enough if the trail isn’t steep, or if you have good
grip to work with, but it becomes a lot harder when the
trail conditions are poor or you’re on something steeper.
You’re going to have to master your braking to a point
where the instant you feel either of your wheels locking or
sliding, you release them and let them settle down again.
As soon as you feel that you’re on safer ground, you need
to get back on the levers and make use of the available
grip before all that instability starts again.

1
ACCEL ER AT ING T HROUGH
GRIP POINTS
Balancing that grip on the brakes with how much you are accelerating is a
whole learning curve, but one thing that will make it feel good is looking for
the next available grip point. These are typically pockets or cambers in the
trail where you can trust the grip. To make the most of them you should have
a low body on the way in, be off the brakes, and drive your weight into the
trail with your legs. Doing this will ensure that you can make that change of
direction as cleanly and as efficiently as possible. Link a few of these grip
points together, and you’ll soon start trusting the process. Remember that
it’s easier to get back up to speed by driving against the grip point properly,
but you can only do that by deliberately slowing up on the way in.

Andy was braking

all the way into this
section, but as soon
as he saw he could
trust the grip he’s off
the brakes and driving
his weight against the
trail with strong legs

62 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

 BONUS
SKILL! THE ENDO
A great way of learning how far you can push your braking on
steep terrain, is to learn how to endo. Understanding where that
Fi is keeping her
tipping point is, and working out how to control it when it goes too far, will give
weight close to the
bike and braking you loads of confidence to trust this technique while you are using it in context.
where it’s safe

1
Pick a place on the trail with predictable grip and bend your knees. Start to pull
your front brake on and as you do so stand up on the pedals and move your upper
body weight forwards. This will load the front wheel and give it more grip as you
pull the brake more.

TRUST BEING OFF 2

THE BR AKES Continue to pull the front brake lever more, forcing the front wheel to dig in
Once you realise that braking is necessary on steep trails, heavy and the rear wheel up and into an endo. Pay attention to how much grip you
but that it’s best done in order to either set up the fluidity, have on the front wheel and how far you are taking the tip over the bars. It will go
or to maximise grip points, then you can really start to up slowly to start with and get faster the closer you get to the tipping point.
lean into it.
Once you turn down into something like this, brake
1 all the way leading into the turn so that you can limit
that acceleration. This will be a balance between how
much grip you have, and how much speed you can get
away with carrying into the rest of the corner. As you turn,
really focus on staying low so you have loads of leg room
to push with, and let your knees and hips follow the front
end of the bike.
Stay off the brakes and drive your weight against the
2 corner by keeping your upper body connected with
the bars, and straighten your legs. This push against the
corner should generate more grip but you can always come
off that push if the grip starts to fade.

NEXT TIME YOU RIDE 3

The next time you are standing at the top facing a slippery or
technical trail, think before you drop in about what skills you
want to focus on. As soon as your front end starts slipping
you’ll want to keep your weight back, so be ready to catch this
and put your plan into action. With a little purposeful practice
you’ll continue to progress through winter.
As soon as you feel like you are going over the bars, or that you’ve had enough,
release the front brake and the rear wheel will immediately start to fall. This
sudden release of the lever should give you confidence that you can make an
endo stop safely and quickly whenever you want, and perhaps give you more
confidence that you can take it further next time.

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 63

LONG
TERMERS
Countless hours on
the trails make this
the ultimate test of
performance as
well as reliability

SEAN’S SONDER SIGNAL ST GX

£2,899 • 29in • alpkit.com

MONTH 9: Sean discovers that the real beauty of a longterm test bike is
that it gives you the opportunity to dig down into the component choices

N
ot long after the arrival of the
Signal ST, I was joined for a ride
by Neil Sutton, Sonder’s bike
THE RIDER designer and product manager.
SEAN WHITE We hit my local trails at the
Position Freelance Forest of Dean and chatted about the
writer/tester
brand’s history, the design and testing
Mostly rides Forest
of Dean, Mid Wales process and also my initial thoughts
Height 6ft 2in on the bike. Naturally I had plenty of
Weight 87kg questions to run through – mostly
covering small design details – and the
THE BIKE Signal’s brakes were up there on the list.
n Handmade 4130 The stock SRAM G2 R four-piston
steel frame with size- brakes, although unremarkable visually,
specific chainstays are fit for purpose on a 130mm hardtail
and up-to-date No complaints about
trail geometry
and have a lever profile that hits the spot the lever profile of
n Cane Creek Helm for me too. I did have initial concerns the Signal’s brakes
air fork upgrade though – not so much with the older
comes with 130mm international standard (IS) caliper
travel – the sweet
mounts on the frame, which seem to be hardtail – which ran a 203/180mm calipers, this stock brake package
spot for a 29er
trail hardtail? a common sight on steel hardtail frames, combo teamed up with a solid set of should be up to the job for most trail
n Full SRAM GX but more with the rotor sizes that Shimano SLX brakes. In an age of frame- riding here in the UK. So I left that
Eagle drivetrain Sonder has chosen. size-specific components, whether spare 180mm rotor and adapter in the
with a super-wide I weigh around 90kg when kitted-out that’s handlebar widths or dropper post workshop and cracked on, thinking I’d
10-52t cassette
for a ride, so when I first spotted the stroke, I really felt that this size XL Signal only make the switch if necessary.
n Hope Fortus
wheelset, an upgrade 160mm rear rotor I immediately should be kitted out with larger And you know what? Those SRAM
over Sonder’s house- thought I would be swapping and more purposeful rotors. G2 brakes have been faultless. Sure,
brand hoops and a it out to match the 180mm I picked up on this detail I’ve been mostly riding trail centres
solid choice for 12
up front. This assumption WHY IT’S HERE with Neil on our ride, and forest singletrack, but even with
months of heavy use
was reinforced after a It blends classic questioning the reasoning the standard organic pads I’ve had
year on my previous steel tubing behind the spec and he plenty of power on tap, excellent
longtermer – a burly with modern felt that on a hardtail, modulation and I’ve still not cooked a
Nukeproof Scout 290 especially with four-piston rotor. I stand corrected.
geometry

64 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

 IN THE
SHED

2 9/
27.5in
Giant Reign E+ 1 £6,299

2 9in
Pivot Firebird Pro £8,200

2 9in
Privateer 141 Öhlins £4,499

SPECIFICATION
Rotor size on the rear is
Frame 4130 cro-mo
160mm which Sonder 2 9in
Fork Cane Creek
reckons is fine for UK
Helm Air, Sonder Signal ST GX £2,899
130mm travel
Wheels Hope Pro 4
hubs, Hope Fortus
rims, Schwalbe Hans
Dampf Addix Soft
29x2.35in tyres
Drivetrain SRAM GX
Eagle 32t 170mm
chainset, GX r-mech
and 12-speed shifter,
10-52t cassette 2 9in
Brakes SRAM
Specialized Kenevo SL Comp £7,400
G2 R four-piston,
180/160mm
Components Sonder
Aspect 780mm bar
(31.8mm), Sonder
Piskie 35mm stem,
X-Fusion Manic
150mm post, Sonder
Abode saddle
Sizes S, M, L, XL
Weight 14.5kg
(31.97lb)

GEOMETRY
Size tested XL
Head angle 64°
Seat angle 70.5°
Effective SA 74.5°
(@760mm)
BB height 315mm
Chainstay 435mm
Front centre 805mm
Wheelbase 1,240mm
Down tube 755mm
Seat tube 485mm
Top tube 670mm
Reach 483mm

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 65

LONGTERMERS

PB’S GIANT REIGN E+ 1

£ 6 , 2 9 9 • 2 9 / 2 7. 5 i n • g i a n t - b i c y c l e s . c o m

MONTH 13: Unlucky for some, but 13 months in and PB has SPECIFICATION
Frame ALUXX SL Alu,
finally got to grips with the Giant’s handling and geometry 160mm travel
Shock Fox Float

A
X2 Performance
fter nailing the Elite EVOL
handling on the Giant Fork Fox 38 Float
Reign E+ 1 last month Performance Elite,
THE RIDER Grip2, 170mm travel
with the help of a Motor Yamaha
PAUL BURWELL steering damper, I’ve SyncDrive Pro
Position Freelance been running the bike in the Battery Panasonic
writer/tester EnergyPak 625Wh
slacker geometry setting for
Mostly rides Display Ride
Surrey and Sussex the first time in ages – which is
Control Go
Height 5ft 10in how it comes from the factory.
Remote Ride Control
Weight 85kg Changing the geometry Ergo 3 remote
is as easy as 1, 2, 3. Simply Wheels Giant e-TR1,
THE BIKE loosen the bolts in the Maxxis Minion
n Big-hitting enduro lozenge-shaped aluminium DHF/High Roller II
e-bike with a full 29x2.6/27.5x
inserts between the seatstays 2.5in tyres
aluminium frame,
170mm-travel
and upper rocker link, then Drivetrain Praxis
fork and 160mm flip them around. Switching Wave TM chainset
rear travel back to the low setting 36t, 165mm, Shimano
n Yamaha SyncDrive
Undo the bolts and XT r-mech and
dropped the bottom bracket flip the lozenge inserts 12-speed shifter
Pro motor delivers
height by around 5mm and to change the geometry Brakes Shimano Deore
85Nm of torque,
and is powered by a slackened the head angle by XT, 203/203mm
625Wh battery pack half a degree. Components Contact
n New RideControl Now, the reason I went steeper in the first place that’s going to really slow it down is when I pull the Trail 800mm bar,
Ergo 3 remote and Giant Contact SL
was because I wanted more weight on the front brakes. So with the steering damper reducing flop, 50mm stem, Giant
integrated LED
top tube display for some extra grip. The higher setting also makes and providing more cornering stability, the slack Contact Switch
n Mullet design – the bike slightly more manoeuvrable. Obviously, setting now feels better all round. 170mm post, Giant
29in front wheel/ now that it’s in the slack setting again it can cause a And while a low, slack bike isn’t the cure-all Romero Trail saddle
2.6in tyre with a Sizes S, M, L, XL
bit of steering flop on the climbs and the lower BB people make it out to be, with a geometry adjust
27.5in rear wheel Weight 25.5kg
does increase the risk of pedal strikes. Personally, feature like on the Giant Reign E+ 1, you can at (56.22lb)
and 2.5in tyre
I find the latter the lesser of the two evils, but least try things out and then switch back, in just a
I know riders have sold perfectly good bikes couple of minutes if you don’t like it. And, it’s not GEOMETRY
Size tested L
because they’d catch a pedal now and again. lost on me that I have been faffing about with the
Head angle 63°
Clipping pedals is annoying, but with the Giant set-up on the Giant Reign E+ 1 more than any of my
Seat angle 78.7°
Reign E+ 1 I’ll just stop pedalling on a climb previous longtermers, but sometimes it just BB height 335mm
if I have to negotiate a root carpet or takes time to get it right: 13 months to be Chainstay 455mm
rock garden and let the overrun in the precise. And I’m glad I have been this Front centre 835mm
motor carry me through. If the section WHY IT’S HERE pernickety, otherwise I would have Wheelbase 1,290mm
is particularly long and pointed Race-ready e-bike written it off too soon. When I first got Down tube 765mm
downhill I try to carry as much speed with alternative the Giant Reign E+ 1 I couldn’t get on Seat tube 450mm
as possible, and don’t forget, this is a with it 100%, but now I don’t want to Top tube 622mm
motor & battery Reach 475mm
160mm travel e-bike, so the only thing send it back.
technology

66 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

 A DV E R T O R I A L

L IGH T S ,C A M E R A , AC T ION!
Greyp’s G6.5 e-MTB is a Tour de Force of integrated tech and award-winning design

Picture this – you’ve signed up for a huge

enduro race for 2023. You’re nowhere close
to prepared and the closest hill to you has an
average gradient of 13% to get all the way to
the top. You normally get four or five runs
in when you ride here, and you know that
you need to practise getting more full runs
on longer trails. Between off-days and odd
working hours, training feels impossible.
Well, not anymore! Greyp G6.5 e-MTB makes
every climb feel mega-easy, bringing together
cutting-edge technology and capable design.
With a 400W motor, you’ll be able shred
those techy downhills for longer, with way less
huffing and puffing up the hill. In fact, on off-
road terrain and where it’s legal, you can even
take it up to 45kph with that powerful engine.
The full carbon frame with a 150mm-travel e-MTB more than just an adventure machine.
fork and a mullet set-up will tame the steepest The Greyp G6.5 makes every off-road ride an
of descents with ease. enjoyable experience.
The world’s first fully connected e-bike In the ever-changing world of e-bike
experience brings you some pretty unique technology advancements, Greyp are
features including integrated front and back establishing themselves as industry leaders.
HD cameras with fitted lights, an integrated In 2019, they won the Eurobike Gold Award
e-SIM, smart customisable dashboard with for the best e-MTB of the year. Currently,
sat nav, live tracking and route-planning Ride St Albans is the only distributor and
capabilities as well as the ability to analyse main dealer for Greyp in the UK. Their
terrain-based range. Along with all of that, knowledgeable team is always happy to
a 700Wh battery means that you can say answer any questions about specific user
goodbye to all the excuses that are stopping cases. If you want to see the Greyp e-MTB
you from riding at your fullest extent, whether range for yourself, book a demo ride on one
it is a training ride for your big enduro race or of the bikes and go out on a ride with one of
a weekend-long adventure. its Greyp ambassadors or a member of staff.
The unique frame geometry combined with n You can contact Ride St Albans on:
the fully connected technology makes this 01727 614778.

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 67

LONGTERMERS

JAMIE’S SPECIALIZED
TURBO KENEVO SL COMP
£ 7, 4 0 0 • 2 9 i n • s p e c i a l i z e d . c o m

MONTH 15: JD fits a quality Öhlins TTX 22 M.2 coil shock SPECIFICATION
Frame FACT 11m full
to the Kenevo SL only to discover the pain of the process carbon, 170mm travel
Shock Fox Float X

I
Performance
’ve wanted to improve the me that crucial 1mm extra space when I fit Fork Fox Float
performance of the Kenevo’s 36 Rhythm, GRIP
WHY IT’S HERE the original shock again. damper, 170mm travel
suspension for a while now. Yes And fit it again I’ll have to, because
THE RIDER it’s supportive and supple enough Diet e-bikes, the spring is too firm for me. Bloody Motor Specialized SL 1.1
JAMIE DARLOW the best or Battery Specialized
off the top, but that buttery feel hell, I remember this from the days SL1 320Wh
Position Front doesn’t continue throughout the entire worst of both when coil shocks were in favour last Display Specialized
section editor
stroke. I tried out the posher S-Works worlds? time, you’re always wondering if you’ve MasterMind TCU
Mostly Rides
Surrey Hills version of the bike a few months back, got it right, adding a bit more preload, or Wheels Specialized
with its Fox Float X2 Factory shock and it felt splurging on a new twist of steel. Tap in your 110/148mm hubs,
Height 6ft 1in Specialized hookless
Weight 82kg much better, so when the chance came to fit a new bike and rider weight to the Öhlins website and it’ll alloy 30mm rims,
Öhlins TTX 22 M.2 coil shock I nearly rounded off recommend the right product for you – a 502lb Butcher Grid Trail
THE BIKE my allen keys in the rush to fit it. Well, all I can say is, spring was duly selected and dispatched, but it Gripton T9/T7, 29x2.3in
n Lightweight e-bike, be careful what you wish for. only gives me around 15% sag. I need to try a lighter Drivetrain Praxis
splitting the weight forged M30 chainset,
difference between
For starters, fitting a shock to the Kenevo is 457lb spring to really feel the difference. You know
SRAM GX Eagle
the full-power Kenevo not easy. And by not easy, I mean it’s the spanner what though? Even with an overly stiff back end, it r-mech and shifter
and regular Enduro version of getting a root canal. Without pain relief. already feels better to me. Brakes SRAM
n Less than half the Getting the shock out is Code R, 220/200mm
power of a full-fat Components
easy enough, but putting
e-bike, with 240W and Specialized 6061
35Nm of torque, and a anything back in there is
alloy 800mm bar,
small 320Wh battery extremely difficult because Specialized Trail
(with optional 160Wh the tolerances on the lower 50mm stem, X-Fusion
range extender) Manic 150mm dropper
pivot are so tight. To fit the
n Entry-level Turbo seatpost, Specialized
Kenevo SL gets TTX 22 M.2 I had to angle the Bridge Comp saddle
Fox Performance cups apart that it sits into, Sizes S2, S3, S4, S5
suspension, Fox physically lever the link apart, Weight 19.4kg (42.8lb)
Rhythm fork and and line up the end of the
SRAM GX drivetrain,
shock all at the same time. GEOMETRY
but retains the full (LOW SETTING)
carbon frame You need the standard five
Size tested S4
n Progressive hands for this. Our bike shop
Rider height 6ft 1in
geometry and sizing friend Toby at Ace Bicycles in
makes the Kenevo Head angle 62.7°
SL a full-blown
Guildford cheerfully told us Seat angle 67.2°
enduro bike about a customer who’d filed Effective SA 75.6°
the end of his shock down to BB height 337mm
a taper just to get it in there. Chainstay 450mm
More helpfully, he reckons the Front centre 841mm
bearings the pivot rotates on Wheelbase 1,291mm
Yellow and gold
aren’t pressed in quite as far Down tube 757mm
means one thing:
as they can be, so taking the Top tube 635mm
scuffs and swearing!
bike to your LBS could gain Reach 485mm

68 mbr FEBRUARY 2023


BEN’S PRIVATEER
141 Ö HLINS JAMES’S PIVOT
FIREBIRD PRO
£ 4 ,4 9 9 • 2 9 i n • p r iv at e e r b i ke s .c o m
THE RIDER
BEN SMITH
Position Art editor
Mostly rides
Forest of Dean
Height 5ft 9in
Weight 76kg
THE BIKE
n Progressive
trail bike from UK
direct-sales brand
with 141mm travel,
coupled with
150mm-travel fork
n Special-edition
features Öhlins RXF36
M.2 Air fork and
TTX2M coil-sprung
shock, and tougher
wheels and tyres
n Long, low and slack
sizing and geometry
with proportional
chainstay lengths
n Shimano SLX/
XT drivetrain and
Magura MT5 brakes
offer no-nonsense
performance without
sky-high pricing
Magura single-finger
levers are beautifully
crafted and great to use
Granite Stash multi-tool
kit fits neatly into
the steerer tube
MONTH 8: Öhlins tops it, £8,200 • 2 9in • saddleback.co.uk
but the other components
on the 141 are first rate too MONTH 4: In full-on winter,
James finds only one small
L
ast month, I tagged along on our visit to
Exmoor for an uplifted tour of some of its flaw in the Firebird’s build
A
best trails courtesy of Exmoor Adventures
(read Jamie’s story in the January issue). fter the user-
The riding was brilliant and really varied – induced creaking
THE RIDER
the tracks were a mix of steep, fast and rocky, and JAMES BRACEY
experienced last WHY IT’S HERE
steep, slow and greasy. Position month, there’s not It’s a red-hot
As such, it was not an ideal time to have both Freelance writer been so much as race bike
sets of brake pads completely wear out at exactly Mostly rides a chirp from the big bird
the same time mid-ride. Frustratingly, I only had South Wales since I tightened the rear axle
Height 6ft 1in
one set of spares in my pack so I had to nurse the properly. I’ve been moaning and
Weight 75kg
worn-out rear pads for much of the day. groaning more than normal though, as the winter
Which got me thinking about the Magura slop has hit the trails in earnest, making it hard to
THE BIKE
MT5 brakes, and ultimately how much I’ve been finish a ride without getting busy with the hose
n 29er enduro race
impressed with them. Privateer has specced the bike with 165mm rear and brush. I even wash the bike too.
brakes with the optional one-finger levers which travel married to a This more regular cleaning schedule has made
feel great. The four-piston calipers have plenty 170mm fork me thankful for Pivot’s ease of access frame
of power too, especially with the 203/180mm n Four frame sizes, shaping, with minimal nooks and crannies for mud
all with proportional
rotors fitted to the 141. Modulation is also superb, chainstay lengths
to hide. Another really neat touch is the drain port
which is perfect, as the bike is more than capable n Flip-chip and an situated in the bird bath the rear shock sits in,
of putting me in situations where I need to scrub angleset-friendly 1.5in which minimises water collection. In fact, the only
speed off fast or modulate my speed without the head tube offer lots negative I can find with the build kit is the fabric
wheels instantly locking up. of adjustability sections of the WTB saddle, which tend to soak
n Ready-to-race Pro
So as much as the fancy Öhlins suspension grabs up water like a sponge. And now that the fabric
spec with Fox Factory
the headlines in this bike’s suspension, DT Swiss has torn, I’ll probably swap-out the saddle for
specification, every other wheels and Maxxis something a little more winter friendly.
element has clearly been EXO+ Assegai tyres As all good enduro bikes should have on-board
WHY IT’S HERE
carefully considered, tools, I’ve therefore added Granite Design’s
It’s the trail bike
and the Magura brakes new Stash tool. It’s super neat and despite
have proved to be an equivalent of a having to smash out the star nut, I’ve now got a
inspired choice. muscle car, albeit comprehensive selection of tools ready to go. So
without the V8 keeping a eye on the rear axle couldn’t be easier.
engine
Drain port in shock’s
bird bath is just one of the
winter-friendly features
FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 69
NEW PRODUCTS
MAVIC CROSSMAX XL WHEELSET
£500
SPECIFICATION Weight: 964g front, 1,109g rear • HG, XD or MicroSpline freehub, six-bolt or CentreLock • Contact: mavic.com
M
avic offers three tiers in its
mountain bike trail wheel
range and the CrossMax
XL is the budget model.
Like its siblings, it’s built
around a 30mm asymmetric Maxtal
alloy rim, which is SUP welded and
machined; the difference is it doesn’t
get Mavic’s ISM inter-spoke milling
process, so is slightly heavier than more
expensive models.
This double-wall rim does feature
Mavic’s innovative Fore technology,
which involves drilling just the outside
wall and threading in an oversized alloy
insert into which is laced a conventional
spoke. Eliminating the hole in the rim
bed means you can run tubeless tyres
(or regular tubes for that matter)
without needing rim tape. It also makes
the rim stronger, allowing Mavic to run
fewer spokes (24 front and rear in this
case) and cut weight from the rotating
mass where it matters the most. On
the scales the CrossMax XL wheelset is
about 150g more than claimed, but it’s
still fairly light in its class – it undercuts
the similarly-priced Spank OOzy 395+
wheelset I tested earlier this year by
nearly 200g.
The rim gets Mavic’s Black Shield
treatment, which is designed to protect
the rim against impacts and scratches.
It’s a sort of double hit of anodising and
paint, and on the E-Deemax wheels we
tested previously, it was pretty hard
wearing, but on these Crossmax XL
wheels I’ve noticed a few little nicks
and areas where the treatment has
worn ever so slightly.
YOUR
TESTERS
PAUL BURWELL
Boiler died. Stayed alive by
wrapping himself in the turkey’s
tinfoil. Escaped outside to
warm up, and test Mavic’s
latest wheels.
70 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
Mavic previously used a conventional
pawl system in its freehubs, but the
CrossMax XL features the new Drive
360 freewheel technology. This has a
spring-loaded double ratchet, which is
a little like the system used by DT Swiss,
but it only has 15° of engagement.
Infinity hub allows
The freehub produces a nice purr, but spoke replacement with
there is quite a bit of lag before it picks cassette body in situ
up. So why bother? The ratchet ring
mechanism is just more durable than
using individual pawls, and that makes
a big difference on an e-bike, or when
you’re putting a lot of torque through
the drivetrain.
You can buy the CrossMax XL with
either a Shimano HG, Shimano Micro
Spline or SRAM XD-compatible driver
Spokes and alloy
body – they all cost the same. Both inserts do away with
29in and 27.5in diameters are offered, holes in the rim bed
and you can also mix and match sizes if
you have a mullet bike.
At the heart of this wheelset is me slamming the rim a few times.
Mavic’s new Infinity hub. This uses They’re not quite as lively as previous
sealed cartridge bearings with Mavic wheels I’ve tested, but as an
labyrinth sealing and slotted flanges, entry-level option they’re excellent
which on the rear means you can hook value. With no messy tape, setting
a replacement spoke without having up a tubeless tyre is a doddle.
to remove the cassette body. Spare If you’ve bought an entry-level
spokes are included in the box and the trail bike in the last year or so and
great thing about this design is they’re are looking to upgrade the factory
all the same length. My only issue with hoops, you won’t go far wrong
bladed spokes is they can twist out with the CrossMax XL. You
of alignment during truing – normally may not notice a massive
you’d hold the spoke, but a few of the improvement in ride
spokes on the test wheels still seemed feel or hub pick-up, but
to wander off-line. they’ll be easier to
I tweaked the rear once when it first set up, and bring
arrived, but overall these test wheels increased reliability.
have remained relatively true despite Paul Burwell
MICK KIRKMAN DANNY MILNER ALAN MULDOON
Found by testing armoured A marked man, Danny’s hands Scrouge McDoon refused to
vests that they also serve well as went blue testing gloves in cold come to the mbr Christmas
thermal base layers. Even better weather. Literally – the dye party and ride, apparently he’d
when you can double up with a came out and left him looking rather sun himself in Italy than
head-to-head test. like a failed bankrobber. slip around in the freezing mud.
mbr
ratings
explained 1-4 Something’s wrong. It’s rare, but sometimes
a product will have a design flaw or some 5-6 OK — one or two
faults but it has 7 Good —
worth 8 Very
good 9 Excellent
— a slight 10 Simply
the best
The scores other weakness that means we can’t
recommend it. Steer clear.
potential. considering. — for the
money,
mod or two
and it might
— we couldn’t
fault it.
on the doors we’d buy it. be perfect.

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 71

ALPINESTARS PARAGON POC SPINE VPD VEST
PLUS PROTECTION VEST
£100
SPECIFICATION Weight: 460g • Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL • Colours: black/grey • Contact: zyrofisher.co.uk
Alpinestars’s Paragon Plus vest
is £30 cheaper than POC’s VPD,
but the basic design is almost
identical, whereby a layered
back protector threads inside
a rear pocket on a micro-mesh
sleeveless vest. Alpinestars’s back
panel looks roughly the same
thickness as the VPD too, but the
weight difference between the
pair of over 200g is down to the
density of the padding, rather
than just POC’s vest having a
removable extra waist belt.
The stretchy Paragon has a
nice, snug fit and this vest has
extra cargo capacity, with three
separate pockets to carry gear
when riding, as well as the option
to stuff a hydration bladder
piggybacked in the sleeve where
the removable back protection
panel lives. The pockets on the
flank are padded and help stop
items from digging-in in the event
of a crash.
There’s a fabric loop to route
a water hose over the shoulder if
you do use a bladder, but it only
threads over on the left-hand side.
Alpinestars’s vest is
well cut, with a close
fit and no awkward zip
placement or sharp
edges, but the material
has a slightly shiny
and hard feel, and
didn’t feel quite as soft
against skin as POC’s
cushy fabric.
The back panel itself
is Level 1 (bicycle)
certified and also
shares a very similar
design philosophy
to the POC, with a
three-layer sandwich
where each inner layer
is a little narrower,
so the thickest part of
the padding follows
the spine down
the middle.
However, when
taking out the
back panel for
washing, it’s not
VERDICT
POC’s vest is well priced for the quality on
offer, and cooling and comfort next to skin
are excellent. In back-to-back use, I slightly
preferred the VPD to the Paragon vest, as
the back panel seemed to stay closer to my
body when riding, whereas the bottom of
72 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
Alpinestars's vest shines
brightest for value but
lacks POC's premium feel
clear which way it goes back in –
maybe it doesn’t matter? It’s also
very easy to accidentally bend
the tip of the padding over when
stuffing it back in the vest.
Alpinestars’s great-value vest
is very comfortable, but the spine
protector isn’t quite as secure
and planted as that of some rivals.
It can also ride up a bit at the
back – this happened on
a sub-zero day, which
let freezing air blow
across the small of
my back.
TO HEAD
TEST
WINNER!
Alpinestars back plate can occasionally get
pushed up or sideways by the waistband of
riding trousers.
The Spine VPD isn’t perfect though, and
I’ve used vests that have more storage and
a more flexible (or pre-shaped and curved)
£130
SPECIFICATION Weight: 690g (large) • Sizes: S, M, L in Regular or Slim fit • Colours: blue, black •
Contact: pocsports.com
Top-end Swedish brand POC has a
varied line-up of protection vests
and jackets stretching up to almost
£300 for some of its AIR range.
This Spine VPD sleeveless vest is
much more affordable at £130,
but still maintains the brand’s
reputation for well-made products
built with quality materials.
On top of three sizes (think
torso lengths), POC’s vest also
comes in two different widths:
slim and regular.
The POC uses quality fabric
There’s also an optional waist but would benefit from a
strap that fastens to the outside more spine-hugging back pad
of the vest via a Velcro panel.
This helps draw in and stabilise
the back panel, as it isn’t quite also a super-soft foam-backed
as curved to the arch of the back mesh fabric where the panel
as some rivals, but because it’s contacts the body. There are
not permanently attached to the no supplementary pads at the
jacket it can be a bit difficult to coccyx area or flanks, like with
manage and store when not worn. some rivals.
POC’s rear protection panel The vest’s main fabric is a
covers the spine and the ribs over micro-mesh with very fine holes
a broad area, both vertically and that effectively shifts moisture
horizontally. The triple-layer off the skin to evaporate fast. This
backplate has varying material is reasonably stretchy for
thicknesses and good freedom of movement and
HEAD densities to absorb
different kinds of
it holds the vest pretty steady as
well, providing you get the right
impacts, and there’s size/width. Because the back
panel covers a big area,
and also seems to be
stiffer vertically than it
is horizontally, a lot of
twisting about on very
dynamic trails can see
it get pushed upwards
and sideways a little,
and I found the VPD
rode up the back easier
than some more pre-
shaped or flexible D30
protectors I’ve used.
Using the waist band
helps prevent it from
peeling off the small of
the back in this regard,
but pulling it in at the
bottom can also see
the back panel stick
out a little higher
up and be
visible through
a jersey or coat
at the shoulder
blades and
rear ribs.
rear back padding that traces the contours
of the spine/body better when riding. The
Alpinestars Paragon here is £30 cheaper
though, and offers very similar performance.
Which is why it takes a narrow victory.
Mick Kirkman
ALTURA RIDGE THERMAL WATERPROOF TROUSERS
£125
SPECIFICATION Weight: 350g • Sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL • Colour: black • Contact: zyrofisher.co.uk
It’s that time of year when the keenest riders
keep on getting out regardless, but the rest of us
need some extra motivation to tackle freezing
cold and soaking wet conditions. Altura’s latest
Ridge thermal waterproof trouser aims to keep
you cosy with a Polartec thermal liner sewn
inside a fully waterproof riding trouser.
The technical layer (made from Polartec
Powergrid) is essentially a pair of stitched-in
fleecy shorts that reach down to just above
the knee. Outside this, a waterproof softshell
material with fully taped internal seams and
two hip pockets (with waterproof zips) keeps
out rain and splashes, and there are also two
longer thigh vent zips to manage heat and
cooling/ventilation.
The Ridge’s cut is baggier than a lot of
modern ‘drainpipe’ riding trousers, although it
does taper in enough at the (elasticated) ankle
cuff to keep well out of the way of the drivetrain
and chain. I’m a 34in waist with big thighs and
found plenty of room in the size Large, both at
the waist and around the buttocks where riding
pants can sometimes be a bit tight. That said, a
slightly slimmer-cut leg would look better.
The Ridge is kept up by a pretty simple
elasticated pull-on waistband design that uses a
thread-through lace to cinch it tighter if needed.
This basic set-up doesn’t have a fly zipper
either, so you’ll need to unlace and pull down
the waistband for trailside comfort breaks.
LOOK TRAIL ROC FUSION PEDALS
£ 3 8 .9 9
SPECIFICATION Weight: 375g pair • Colours: red, blue, black, lime, purple • Contact: lookcycle.com
French brand Look already has a solid
reputation for high-quality clipless pedals
and entered the flat pedal market a couple of
years ago with a two-model range. Recently
it has expanded its offering to include two
new options: the Trail Fusion and Trail Roc +.
The cheaper and lighter of the pair is this
inexpensive Trail Roc Fusion that follows
the familiar path of a cro-mo axle with a
composite (reinforced plastic) platform and
spread-out metal traction pins. With only
seven studs per side there are less than most
flat pedals, but the pins do sensibly thread
in from underneath, so you can get them out
to replace if they get damaged or bent in a
crash. The plastic is well finished and seems
better quality than some similar products too.
Unfortunately, that’s about the limit of
positive attributes, as, like the other pedal
in Look’s range, the convex body shape is
something I hoped I’d seen the back of after
decades riding and rating flat pedals of all
shapes and sizes. Seeing as just about every
flat pedal review for years has complained
about pedals where the centre portions
covering the axle are raised above the edges,
it’s crazy that Look is trying to compete
in such a crowded marketplace with two
different models using exactly that design.
So, does this Polartec fleece liner actually
make a big difference in terms of insulation
compared to a regular riding trouser? You bet it
does; this is a seriously warm bit of kit, and any
suspicions about the fleece not extending all
the way down the calf proved unfounded. My
legs simply didn’t get cold below the knee.
The extra warmth is really welcome on the
most frigid days, and seems to translate to
keeping you warmer all over too. Even with
the thigh vents open it can get seriously toasty
inside, though. So if you’re really working hard
and the temperatures aren’t well below 10°C,
they become the very definition of sweat pants.
In terms of waterproof resistance, I found the
Ridge to be very effective against both splashes
and sustained rain and it kept me bone dry
inside, but the dull soft-shell fabric doesn’t quite
bead water or shrug off muddy splashes as
readily as a more traditional waterproof trouser,
such as the 100% Hydromatic or Troy Lee
Designs Resist, and can get heavier than some
fabrics as a result.
Overall, if you’re looking for a waterproof
riding trouser that offers extra
insulation, Altura’s Ridge Thermal is
a really effective solution. It’s warm
and dry, so you can’t argue with
the functionality, and it’s also really
stretchy and easy to move about in.
Mick Kirkman
The issue with this raised-in-the-middle price and construction that are much more
shape is not only that it negatively affects comfortable and secure. And that’s where
grip, as the sole of the foot isn’t cradled, it’s we’d suggest you spend your
also very uncomfortable as feet ‘claw’ over money instead.
the pedal and can ache and tire, especially on Mick Kirkman
long downhills where you’re stood up with all
your weight on the pedal body whilst being
pummelled by bumps for extended periods.
Given that Look says they were designed
in collaboration with freeride star, Thomas
Genon, we’d expect better. Perhaps mostly
riding slopestyle means he doesn’t feel the
need for ultimate grip and extended comfort
on long, rough descents.
Just about the only other redeeming
features of the
Fusion is that it is
very lightweight,
inexpensive and
the broad cutaway
shoulders maximise
ground clearance
and help prevent
clipping the pedals on
obstructions that can
cause nasty crashes.
The problem is, brands
such as Burgtec offer
pedals with a similar
FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 73
NEW PRODUCTS

RACE FACE ATLAS PEDAL

£ 1 5 9.9 9
SPECIFICATION Weight: 237g • Aluminium body, cro-mo axle, nine colours • Contact: silverfish-uk.com

The is a reboot of the Race Face Atlas
flat pedal, and to save you Googling the
old design, it’s bigger, thinner and has a
reconfigured bearing assembly.
Race Face has increased the size of the
6061-series aluminium platform by about
10%. It’s now 110x108mm, which is just a tiny
bit smaller than a DMR Vault, but quite a bit
larger than a Nukeproof Horizon. The company
has also reduced the platform thickness from
14mm to 12mm, which again is pretty similar to
the two pedals above.
Increasing the size of the platform does
increase support, but you do run into issues
with cornering clearance, so to combat that
Race Face has chamfered the edges and pared
away material from the corners.
There are no spanner flats on the axle, but
there’s still plenty of clearance when fitting the
pedal to a crank running a boot. Servicing the
new Atlas is easy too. To access the cartridge
bearing and stabilising IGUS bushing, you
remove a cover using a 30mm wrench.
Pin count remains the same (10 pins per
side) but they’re now straight rather than
angled and also seem a little taller. The amount
of bite is awesome, but out of the box the Atlas
doesn’t feel quite as sure-footed, and that’s
because it lacks any sort of concavity. This
is important because it allows your foot to
naturally rest in the centre of the pedal. You
can always tweak the pin heights, though;
thankfully, spacing washers are included.
After a set-up ride I removed the inside
pin entirely and added two washers to both
outside centre pins, bringing the height down
by 2mm. Doing this doesn’t totally replicate
the feel of a proper concave pedal but it’s the
next best thing.
During testing I managed to put a big scuff
on the side of the pedal and also bent one of
the outside pins. Race Face includes half a
dozen spare pins in the box, so that bent one
was easy to replace.
Like the original, the MkII Atlas is superb
quality, but it has a bigger platform and more
bite. The performance is very good, but what
stops me giving it a higher
rating is the price – you can
literally buy two pairs of
test-winning Nukeproof
Horizon pedals for the
same outlay.
Paul Burwell

RIDE CONCEPTS HELLION ELITE

£ 1 3 9.9 5
SPECIFICATION Weight: 745g (size 43/pair) • Colours: black, clay, oxblood • Sizes: 6-13 including half sizes • Contact: silverfish-uk.com

We’ve tested the Ride Concepts Hellion Elite
shoe previously and awarded it full marks, but
how does this updated version stack up? The
main changes are a shift to recycled materials
for the upper, along with more ventilation holes
and a £10 price hike.
The reason recent Ride Concepts flat
pedal shoes have scored so highly hinges on
the brand nailing its DST 4.0 Max Grip sole
compound. Super-soft and grippy, this has
excellent friction to really lock shoes onto
pedal pins, and sufficient damping to stop feet
bouncing off when the going gets rough. This
season, all RC flat pedal shoes have adopted
this sticky rubber formula too, rather than it just
being an option as before.
The Elite version tested here also
bolts on extra features like harden-
on-impact D30 zones in the footbed
to help absorb harsh landings and
pummelling hits across rough terrain.
There’s also an anti-bacterial lining to
help keep foot stench at bay.
The Hellion is Ride Concept’s softer shoe,
but I regard it as a mid-flex, mid-thickness
model that’s closest to Five Ten’s Freerider
in terms of feel and connection to the pedal.
Two things differentiate it though; wear life and
durability are way better here than the Five Ten
– you can really ride the Hellion into the ground
before they start to fall to pieces, whereas the
Freerider Pros start to come unstitched or the
sole becomes unglued much quicker.
The second difference is that the Ride
Concept’s upper is not quite as stiff and
supportive, so doesn’t quite lock the foot and
ankle in place to resist twisting as much as the
(also slightly better damped) Freerider Pro. This
difference was only marginal previously but is
more clear-cut on this new version.
I’ve now tested two separate pairs of the
recycled, more perforated, Hellion Elites, with
the first pair feeling much floppier than the
previous generation, plus the interior also felt
roomier and the whole shoe a bit ‘baggier’ and
more flexy. Curious as to whether this was a
production one-off, I tried a second pair that
were slightly stiffer and sturdier, but I still think
the Hellions have taken a turn towards more
softness and flex. This is both in the upper and
what feels like the EVA shank (midsole), despite
the brand telling me the latter hasn’t changed.
Some riders will prefer this updated feel as
it translates to more feedback from the bike
through the pedals (the Hellions feel closer to an
original Five Ten Freerider than thicker Freerider
Pro). Another bonus is the latest version also
runs a bit cooler on the hottest days.
Overall, the key attribute of grip from
Ride Concepts’s sole is still as good as
you need for aggressive riding in all
weathers and these are still well-
sorted and comfy flat pedal shoes.
It’s commendable to use partially
recycled materials where possible,
but I preferred the stiffness of
the older shoe. I’d also advise
going down half a size as the
more supple upper feels a bit
roomier inside, particularly
in the toe box area.
Mick Kirkman

74 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

 RAPHA TRAIL LINER
£90
SPECIFICATION Weight: 161g • Sizes: XS-XXL • Contact: rapha.cc

Bizarrely, some riders I know

wear regular underwear when
they go riding. Some even go
commando. I have a XC racing
background, so I wear a padded
short because I like to be able to
sit down after a ride. I also know the
value of getting a quality liner, so I was
keen to try Rapha’s offering.
At first glance there doesn’t look
like a lot going on – the liner is built
using a nylon and elastane mix,
features a performance series
chamois pad and gets grippers
on the legs and elastic waist.
However, the material has a
compressive effect, and also
features an antibacterial and
sweat-wicking treatment. You also
get mesh panelling at the sides to boost air
flow. The leg gripper is really subtle too, it’s just enough to hold the short
in place without leaving a red mark. The waistband is thin at the front but
deep at the back, which stops the short slipping down. The pad is maybe
a little thick, but it has a plush feel and also breathes really well – I never
felt sticky in this liner, even after a full day of hard pedalling.
The downside is the £90 price tag, but I reckon this is
probably the best liner I’ve tested, and some things
are worth paying extra for. If you’re currently rocking
a liner you got free with a pair of baggies (or worse),
you should treat yourself. A precious part of your
anatomy will definitely thank you.
Paul Burwell

ALTURA KIELDER UNISEX TRAIL GLOVES

£25
SPECIFICATION Weight: 32g • Sizes: XS-XXL • Colours: dark green, black, grey, blue, dark grey, khaki • Contact: zyrofisher.co.uk

Altura’s ultra-thin Kielder gloves weigh in at between the thumb and index finger. This leads time I wore them. My hands were literally
a scant 32g. Most of that minimalism is down to distracting and uncomfortable bunching while blue after using them, even once they’d been
to an airy polyester/elastane-mix back panel riding, as well as a tendency to slide and rotate through the wash. I’m guessing that this will
and slender synthetic suede palm. There really around the grip when pulling on the bars. I also get better with age,
isn’t a lot going on with these gloves in terms found the seams inside the fingers were quite but I don’t plan on
of features, and I’m all for that. What little there pronounced and could be felt when tensing. finding out, as I
is includes a padded pull tab on the inside cuff The final nail in the coffin for the Kielder have plenty of
– the back is cuff-less – and a couple of silicone glove was that the ink stained my hands every much better
strips on the index gloves in
and middle finger for my drawer
extra grip on brakes that cost
and shifters. a similar
The Kielder is also amount
said to be touchscreen and don’t
compatible, but I leave my hands
couldn’t get them to looking like I’ve
work with my Iphone. just robbed a bank.
That back panel is Frustratingly, they
super-stretchy, which also include Altura’s
makes them very easy now discontinued
to take on and off. One 80 G2 glove.
There is some pre- Danny Milner
curving to the glove to
make it fit better when
holding the grips, but
there’s an excess of
material at the palm
and it’s very baggy in
that area, particularly

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 75

GROUP TEST
Home tool kits
Being your own mechanic will keep your bike running smoothly while saving you money so
a decent tool kit is a worthy investment; we put five sets through a workshop workout
Words and photos: Mick Kirkman
M
ountain bikes live a
hard life, so regular
maintenance and
occasional repair is a
given. Being properly
equipped to service your bike at home
can save precious time and expense.
Quality tools enable and simplify the
task, and with multiple tutorials and
online help videos at your fingertips,
most tasks can be completed by a keen
amateur with the appropriate kit.
There are obviously limits to the
work you can do yourself and a local
bike shop or professional service centre
will be the right place for specialist
jobs. Sophisticated suspension or
76 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
e-bike components, for example,
demand expensive tools and expert
knowledge to prevent damage to
complex components. But, for the
basics, there’s no reason why a properly
equipped home mechanic can’t tackle
the majority of nuts and bolts on a
modern mountain bike.
While you can build up a tool kit
over time, buying tools as and when
you need them, the other option is
to kick-start your DIY workshop by
purchasing a complete tool kit. Full
kits usually work out cheaper and
also come in a protective case, or wrap,
that keeps everything organised as
well as portable.
USED & ABUSED
How we test
Between us here at mbr we have decades of experience
fixing and maintaining mountain bikes and the
magazine couldn’t function if we didn’t all know how
to keep bikes running smoothly. Some of us are Cytec
workshop-trained or have previously worked in bike
shops, and those that haven’t have had to learn all the
intricacies of mountain bike parts testing and reviewing
bikes and products along the way. For this group test,
we also talked through the tools with a local bike shop
owner and head mechanic whose job entails fixing and
repairing the latest mtbs and e-bikes day in, day out.
JARGON BUSTER
Know your home tool kit
MOBILE-FRIENDLINESS
Overall size and weight of any tool
box is worth considering, especially
if you intend on taking it in the car to
rides. Any weaker materials or lack
of sturdiness in the storage box will
quickly be exposed as it bashes about
with bikes in the back of a muddy van.
STORAGE OPTIONS
Most complete kits either come in a hard plastic
box or case or a tough fabric wrap. The former
might have recesses for each individual tool that
hold items absolutely firm in transport and also
strong clasps that resist damage or accidental
opening. The wrap designs hold tools less
precisely, but can often hang on a workstand for
ease of access and to display all the tools while
you’re spannering.
VALUE
Number of tools and quality of manufacture is
reflected in price, but you can end up paying for
tools you’ll never actually use on a modern mtb,
like cone spanners and crank extractors. The
quality of the storage box will also reflect the
price. We’re surprised no one has come up with a
modular external BB tool that accounts for all the
different sizes and spline designs available.
UP TO DATE?
Modern mountain bikes often use
internal cable routing along with
hidden, or countersunk, bolts
and fixings and 1x drivetrains that
require different tools to older
bicycles and road bikes. Ensure the
tool kit you buy has items like Torx
keys and split-link pliers that are
needed on new mountain bikes.
ANATOMY OF A
TOOL KIT
For a modern mountain bike, a
tool kit ideally needs to include
the following: Allen keys from
2mm to 10mm; Torx keys,
including T10, T25, T30; chain
breaker; cassette tool (ideally
compatible with RockShox forks);
chain whip; BB tool; split-link
pliers; tyre levers; screwdrivers;
spoke key; cable cutters.
n ALLEN KEYS
Absolutely vital, the Allen key, or hex
key, usually comes in either L-shape
form or on a three-way Y tool. The
L-shape with a ball-end is the most
useful, as it lets you access awkward
areas and exert enough torque to
remove stubborn fasteners. 2mm,
2.5mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 8mm
and 10mm are needed.
n TORX KEY
Increasingly present on modern bikes,
the Torx key uses a star-shape interface
that engages with a larger surface area
and is less likely to slip. On a bike, the
most used sizes are T10, T25 and T30.
n CHAIN BREAKER
Used to shorten new chains and remove
bent links, the chain tool drives the
rivet out of the link. The driver pin
should be replaceable, the tool should
hold the chain securely and adjust to
different widths, and there should be a
cradle that lets you remove stiff links.
n CABLE CUTTERS
Use these to cut gear wires and housing
to length. They need to make a clean
cut, without fraying, and have a section
designed to crimp an end cap in place.
n SPLIT-LINK PLIERS
Most chains now fasten using a split
link. This makes installation really easy,
but you’ll need these special pliers to
compress the chain and remove the link
when it’s time for a new one.
n CHAIN WHIP (OR PLIERS)
Use the chain whip to stop the
sprockets rotating backwards on
the freehub body when removing
the cassette.
n VALVE CORE REMOVER
Use this to unscrew the valve core from
Presta valves so that you can pour
tubeless sealant through the valve
and allow better airflow when seating
the tyre.
n CHAIN WEAR INDICATOR
Tells you when your chain has worn out
and needs replacing. Sometimes the
reverse has a pair of hooks that hold the
split ends in place during joining.
n SAW GUIDE
This is a tool needed to saw handlebars
or fork steerers to size with a straight cut.
FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 77
GROUP TEST
DECATHLON 500 BIKE TOOL BOX
£ 4 9.9 9
SPECIFICATION Weight: 1.60kg • Number of tools: 18 • Dimensions: 285x240x55mm • Contact: decathlon.co.uk
Huge French superstore chain Decathlon is
the largest sports retailer in the world, with
five individual cycling brands in its portfolio.
No surprise then, that it has multiple bike tool
kit options ranging from £20 for a compact,
fold-out, 13-piece set, up to £100 for a kit with
33 tools.
This 500 Tool Box is the brand’s best seller
and bang in the middle of the range at £50. It
doesn’t specifically target mountain bikes, also
aiming at maintenance and repairs on city, hybrid
and road bikes, but the 18 tools included will
cover the majority of modern mtb home repairs.
And, depending on how you look at it, this lack
of specialisation can be a bonus or a drawback if
you have different-style bikes in your fleet.
Solidly built box
holds 18 tools
securely in place
78 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
Everything comes tucked up snugly in a very
sturdy box with hard plastic compartments for
each individual tool. Decathlon’s kit might be at
the more affordable end of the spectrum, but
this isn’t reflected in how securely everything
is held in place; it’s all rock solid in transport
and of all the kits with tools held in specific
positions, it’s one of the most stable.
The quality of the tools themselves isn’t
as impressive, unfortunately. The 8mm Allen
key has good length and leverage, but the
black Allen key set doesn’t appear to be the
same quality as others elsewhere, and we also
struggled when working the bead of a modern
heavy-duty tubeless enduro tyre with the thick
plastic tyre levers, as the end isn’t hooked
Useful tools include a
cassette tool, spoke key
and Torx key
enough for the job and they flex a lot under
heavy loads.
There are also some glaring omissions here;
any bike tool kit absolutely needs a quality set
of cable cutters, and we’d also want to see a set
of split-link pliers to break and join the chains
on 1x drivetrains (which, let’s face it, have been
around for about a decade now).
Even though it’s only rated up to 11-speed,
the included chain tool did split a 12-speed
chain fine and is pretty high quality. The
longer cassette tool is good too, as it has
no central prong, so will fit in hubs with
minimal room around bearings and allow you
to remove RockShox top caps and play with the
volume spacers.
VERDICT
This Decathlon 500 is a good-value kit
targeted at recreational cyclists, and the
chain whip, cassette tool and spoke key
work fine. Crank-arm pullers are pretty
much redundant nowadays and it’s also
lacking a pair of cable
cutters, split-link
pliers and a broader
selection of Torx
sizes that are all
modern mountain
bike essentials.
JOBSWORTH BIKE TOOL KIT 48 PIECE
£ 6 9.9 9
SPECIFICATION Weight: 6.20kg • Number of tools: 48 • Dimensions: 440x240x210mm • Contact: planetx.co.uk
Planet X has a reputation for some of the
keenest prices in the cycling industry, so it’s no
surprise this Jobsworth box packs 48 tools for
under £70. That’s almost double the number of
items in Decathlon’s 500 kit, for only £20 more.
The brand describes the kit as “pro-level
workshop quality” and the tools are definitely
high quality on the whole, but there’s a sense
of leaning more towards ‘generic cycling’ than
modern mtb-specific tools.
It’s housed in a really robust heavy box with
clasps that won’t easily get damaged if you sling
it in the back of a car or van. Tool organisation is
sorted too, with a mixture of foam inserts for
the bigger items and plastic and steel trays
above with useful compartments.
Tough, well-organised box
holds tools with foam inserts
as well as trays
The super-solid forged chain tool is
a particular highlight. It works great, is
adjustable for all chain widths and comes with
a replacement chain link pin in the handle. The
(also forged) Allen key set boasts a full spread
of sizes from 10mm down to 1.5mm – not always
the case – and each key gets chamfered edges
for easy insertion. We were pleased to see the
10mm in there as it’s a reasonably common
size for servicing hubs and freehub bodies on
expensive wheels.
Jobsworth’s cable cutters are solid with a
crisp action, while bike cleaning is covered with
a claw/brush to gouge out gunk from jockey
wheels and cassettes, as well as a self-contained
chain cleaner bath.
Wide range of tools for the
money but they aren’t all
relevant to modern mtbs
There are open-end spanners that hark back
to more basic bikes, but the smallest 8mm is
actually really useful for working on modern
hydraulic disc brakes. There’s also a puncture
repair kit – not normally something we’d expect
to see – that might actually prove useful at some
point, even if it’s just nicking the rubber solution
to help bed in a tubeless tyre plug.
Less impressive are the cheap screwdrivers
and single (low quality) T25 Torx key – many
modern mountain bikes use T10/T30/T40
as well these days. Also missing are split-link
pliers; the flimsy tyre levers flex when installing
heavy duty tyre casings; and the shallow
spiked cassette tool won’t fit the top cap on a
RockShox fork.
VERDICT
You can’t argue with the amount of
tools here for the price and the overall
quality is high, with forged and shot-
peened finishes, but some items – like
the Shimano ISIS splined crank puller,
and the array of cone
spanners – will be
redundant on a
modern rig. We’d
rather see disc brake
tools and split-link
pliers in their place.
FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 79
GROUP TEST
LIFELINE PERFORMANCE 39-PIECE TOOL KIT
£ 1 2 9.9 9
SPECIFICATION Weight: 5.33kg • Number of tools: 39 • Dimensions: 190x410x380mm • Contact: hotlines-uk.com
LifeLine is one of CRC/Wiggle’s in-house
brands, and it offers this comprehensive
39-piece tool box as a one-stop home repair
solution. There are some really good tools here,
but also some pieces that won’t see much use
on a modern trail bike. Tools like seven different
cone spanners, a crank-pulling tool (that looks
lacking in leverage) and a chainring bolt tool.
The tools come loose in an old-school tool
box with no specific recesses or compartments
for each individual item, so it quickly becomes
disorganised. It’s deep, though, which means
you can add your own tools later, as well as
lubes, cleaning products or rags. So while not
the tidiest, it can work well if you like to take
your tool kit with you to the trails.
No internal compartments means
tools jumble together in
LifeLine’s deep carry case
80 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
Overall quality is good. There are a lot of tools
included, and most of them are well made and
well finished. We really like the nine different
Allen keys (2, 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10mm) and the
Torx key as they are proper T-bar designs with
ergonomic, cushioned handles.
The chunky chain pin extractor is solid too,
and drives smoothly so you don’t accidentally
push rivets all the way out, but it’s only rated
up to 10-speed chains, which isn’t much use in
this day and age. The old-school fat chain whip
looks like it’s for 10-speed drivetrains too, but
does actually work/fit on a 12-speed cassette.
There’s an included plastic roller bath chain
cleaner, although it’s not exactly an essential
item for mountain biking. By leaving it out
Tools include powerful
cable cutters and a
useful magnetic tray
you could get the £99.99 kit and save yourself
£30. It’s not a tool we use regularly and if you
really need one, CRC sells a LifeLine Pro version
separately for £12.
The external bottom bracket tool handily
has the Shimano star tensioner for Hollowtech
cranks built in, but in common with all the BB
wrenches in this test, you’re basically out of
luck with more exotic outer BB sizes like Hope
or e*thirteen.
Having only one T25 Torx key is fine for
adjusting brake levers and controls, but if you
want to delve into bleeding brakes or have a
modern mountain bike with smaller Torx bolts
knocking around, you’ll need to add additional
sizes too.
VERDICT
With a top-quality set of cable cutters,
and a handy little magnetic metal tray
for bits and bobs you didn’t realise you
needed, this LifeLine box offers a good
range of kit. The glaring omission is a set
of split-link pliers, and
the central cassette
tool spike also means
you can’t unscrew
RockShox air caps,
but overall we
were impressed.
PRO STARTER TOOL KIT
£ 1 3 9.9 9
SPECIFICATION Weight: 1.45kg • Number of tools: 11 • Dimensions: 280x160x50mm • Contact: freewheel.co.uk
This PRO kit from Shimano’s component division
is the most compact tool kit here, with 11 tools
held in a zip/fold-out case. It’s clear from the off
that it’s a more up-to-date product than some,
since included in the line-up are split-link pliers, a
chain tool rated for 12-speed chains and a chain
whip with a chain that looks like it came off a
bike in the last century, not out of a museum.
It’s also clear that the tool quality is higher
than most. The cable cutters slice through gear
inner cables with very little force, and the sturdy
spit-link pliers are solid and come with a recess
on both sides for splitting master links as well as
re-joining them.
The chain tool is also brilliant quality, with
a grippy handle and a smooth thread pitch
Zip-up fold-out case
houses 11 tools
while punching links out. The rivet extractor
pin is replaceable too, although there isn’t a
replacement included here. We’ve used the
PRO plastic tyre levers before, and while they
don’t look anything special, they are super
tough and resistant to damage even on the
most stubborn tyres.
PRO’s Y-shaped Allen keys are also top-
drawer, with really tight-fitting hex ends, but
the triangle shape can present problems
accessing tight spaces – we’d rather the kit
included longer, individual ball-end Allen keys,
which would help when working on things like
stem bolts with cables in close proximity. We
were disappointed in the lack of any Torx keys,
and there is no 8mm Allen key, despite the
Superb-quality chain tool
with non-slip handle
majority of mtb pedals using that size. Instead,
Pro supplies a pedal wrench (like many other
tool brands), which seems crazy, since we’ve not
installed or removed a pair of pedals with one
for about a decade.
The cassette tool is really solid, with a thick
handle that doesn’t dig into your hand, but it’s
not compatible with an air cap on a RockShox
fork due the central locating spike.
Alongside this Starter Tool Kit, PRO also
offers bigger Expert and Advanced kits with
a much more comprehensive line-up; the
Advanced in particular looks like a superb,
one-stop, modern mtb maintenance solution
with disc brake tools, a mallet, individual Allen
keys and needle-nose pliers.
VERDICT
This PRO Starter Tool Kit offers tools of
excellent quality, and that’s particularly
noticeable with both the cutters and
chain tool, but ultimately it doesn’t have
the spread of items you’d need to tackle
every mtb job, and is
pricey to boot. We’d
look at one of PRO’s
bigger boxes to get
the same quality with
more options and
better overall value.
FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 81
GROUP TEST
UNIOR TOOLS PRO HOME KIT
£ 2 74 . 9 9
SPECIFICATION Weight: 4.48kg • Number of tools: 34 • Dimensions: 420x350x140mm • Contact: zyrofisher.co.uk
Slovenian brand Unior manufactures bike tools
in Europe and has built brand awareness through
its support for events, teams and athletes.
This experience of World Cup-level
competition is reflected in its Pro Home Kit tool
selection, that’s more suitable for working on a
high-end mountain bike than some of the more
generic ‘cycling’ offerings.
This means Unior’s tools tackle components
and tasks related to modern machines with disc
brakes, but unsurprisingly these pro-level, shot-
peened tools make this the priciest set on test.
The hard plastic carry box is both dustproof
and waterproof and lays everything out in a
logical fashion when folded open. The brand
claims removing the foam liner pad frees up
extra space, but you’ll struggle with anything
Waterproof hardcase uses
foam inserts to secure tools but
they can work themselves loose
82 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
else sizeable. At least the tool range included
is broad, including top-notch, chrome-plated
Allen keys from 1.5mm right up to 10mm, and
individual Torx keys all the way from T10 to T30.
Further pieces include Unior’s cable cutters
and split-link tool – both are clearly professional
quality. The chain tool is one of three on test
that are rated compatible with narrower
12-speed chains, and it drives the link pin out
super-smoothly, so you can avoid pushing it
all the way through. There’s also a brake rotor
straightener and pad separator that’s useful
and can help save money by truing, rather than
replacing, bent rotors.
Including a chain wear indicator tool hints
at the more professional level of maintenance
intended here, and if you’re going to include
Ball-end Allen keys and
split-link pliers are workshop
quality and made to last
TEST
WINNER!
cone spanners (for Shimano hubs), they might
as well have a more minimal design with inserts
to save space.
Unior’s tyre levers feel solid and twist-free,
but on occasion you might need more than the
pair provided for a really stubborn tubeless
tyre, and while the split-link pliers also feel
solid, they aren’t double-sided, so you can’t
rejoin master links.
If we’re being critical, it would have been
nice to see a pick for removing bearing seals
or opening up cable housings. Likewise, a
Presta valve core remover for tubeless tyre
set-up. Unior should also refine the foam
tool compartments to hold tools more firmly
in transit too, as items did fall out of place
during transit.
VERDICT
The best tool kit here is also the most
expensive. Unior’s Pro Home kit is a
cut above in terms of quality, and with
individual ball-end Allen keys and a
better Torx spread, addresses almost
all our needs. It will
happily work in a shop
or race team setting,
but the foam inserts
don’t keep the
tools stable enough
in transit.
 Conclusion
W
e’ve yet to find a complete
home tool kit that ticks every
single box. Unior’s Pro Home
Kit comes closest though, and
is a very high-quality set with a
pretty comprehensive selection of tools in a
fully waterproof box. Importantly, the tools
really look like they’ll offer good service for
years to come too.
If you’ve already splashed the big cash on
a full-suspension carbon mtb or e-bike, then
something like the Unior kit might be fitting,
but if you’re on a budget, trying to keep an
old hardtail going, or tune up a kid’s bike, you
won’t need more than the cheaper tool boxes
here for the majority of maintenance.
Decathlon and PRO’s kits are too stripped
back, so we’d look at the LifeLine or the
Jobsworth sets as they pack lots of gear in
for the cash. Planet X’s kit doesn’t have as
nice an Allen key set as LifeLine’s cushy
padded T-bars, but the organisation
inside and box itself are way superior
to grow into, and the asking price is
significantly less, making it the
best-value tool kit on test.

TEST
WINNER!

Price Weight Number of tools Dimensions Contact Rating

Decathlon 500 Bike Tool Box £49.99 1.60kg 18 285x240x55mm decathlon.co.uk

Jobsworth Bike Tool Kit 48 piece £69.99 6.20kg 48 440x240x210mm planetx.co.uk

LifeLine Performance 39-piece tool kit £129.99 5.33kg 39 190x410x380mm hotlines-uk.com

PRO Starter Tool Kit £139.99 1.45kg 11 280x160x50mm freewheel.co.uk

Unior Tools Pro Home Kit £274.99 4.48kg 34 420x350x140mm zyrofisher.co.uk

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 83

 TESTED
THIS
MONTH

FORESTAL CYON NEON 29

£ 9,9 9 9

PIVOT SHUTTLE SL 29
TEAM XTR
£12,800

SPECIALIZED S-WORKS
TURBO LEVO SL
£ 9,9 9 9

TREK FUEL EXE 9.9 XX1 AXS

£13,500

LIGHTWEIGHT E-BIKES
A NEW BREED
The latest genre of mtb has increased the fun threshold once again – but which of
these four slimline e-rigs elicits the broadest grin?
Words: Alan Muldoon Photos: Roo Fowler

84 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 85
BIKE TEST

C
harles Darwin first used the terms
lumpers and splitters, as a way
to describe how people naturally
categorise things. The idea being
that it’s good to have a mix of
both – some people to see the
bigger picture (lumpers), others
to subdivide everything into increasingly small
categories (splitters).
Mountain bikers are clearly splitters, as it’s
never been enough to just lump all mountain
bikes together. Since day one we’ve been
subdividing them into different categories:
XC, down-country, trail, enduro and DH, then
further subdivision by wheel size; 29ers, 27.5in
and mullets. So it should come as no surprise
that the simple analog/e-bike split was never
going to suffice.
So now we have a burgeoning lightweight,
mid-power e-bike category. But what exactly
is a lightweight, mid-power e-bike? Both
qualifiers are important here, so we’ll address
them separately, as there are plenty of full-
power e-bikes that are only a couple of kilos
Micro-splitting the
heavier than their lighter, less powerful cousins. fast-emerging mid-
To qualify as lightweight, we believe the power e-mtb category
e-bike needs to be comfortably under 20kg;
ideally in the 18kg range. But why 18kg? It’s
simple maths. If a high-end 29er analogue have the Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo SL at 50Nm and 300W peak power, the Fazua motor
trail bike with a fit-for-purpose specification an impressive 17.65kg. The Pivot Shuttle SL 29 on the Pivot and Bafang-built motor on the
typically weighs 14kg, you add a lightweight Team XTR at 18.47kg, followed closely by the Forestal both pump out 60Nm. Pivot has a peak
motor (2kg) and a 360Wh integrated battery Forestal Cyon Neon at 18.82kg. Trek’s Fuel EXe power of 350W, Forestal 400W. Technically the
(2kg) so the minimum bike weight has to be 9.9 XX1 AXS is the heaviest and tips the scales 35Nm motor on the Specialized makes it a low-
around 18kg. It’s really that straightforward. at 19.11kg. It’s worth pointing out however, that power e-bike, but it has a 320W peak power
So when brands boast 16kg e-bike weights, it is the only bike here with a removable battery, output which is 20W higher than the Trek. So
especially with 2.6kg detuned Shimano EP8 which in itself increases weight. in this instance we’ll switch back to lumping, as
motors, be warned; they are not trail bikes. Do Now let’s take a closer look at the power. they are all low-power when compared to high-
the maths and you see that they are at best The motors on most full-power e-bikes have power e-bikes.
11.5kg down-country bikes with a motor and a minimum 85Nm torque, with peak power Lots of power is great, providing you have
battery attached. And that’s not what you outputs of around 500-600 watts. So by mid- the battery capacity to keep the lights on. And
want, as the lightweight parts needed to hit the power we mean anything from 50 to 60Nm batteries are heavy, so one key way that e-bike
headline weights simply won’t hold up. torque and with peak power capped in the 300- manufacturers save weight is to reduce the size
So from lightest to heaviest in this test, we 400W range. The TQ motor on the Trek delivers and capacity of the battery. Highest to lowest

TESTING TIMES

mbr’s lightweight e-bike power hour challenge

For our power hour challenge, we
put all four bikes in max power
mode, be that boost, Rocket,
level 3 or Nitro. We then rode the
same test loop where the bikes
were fitted with the same tyres,
ridden in the same conditions, by
the same rider. The results were
surprisingly different though.
The loop consisted of one steep
technical climb, two fireroad
climbs and a few tarmac climbs,
depending on the bike. We
recorded time and elevation to
limp mode, then rode until the
lights went out.
Probably the most telling metric
is the number of trails ridden. On
the Pivot we rode seven descents,
almost doubt that of the Forestal.
We also used the estimated calorie
burn as a proxy for effort, where
the calories burned per metre of
elevation gives a good indication
of rider input on each bike. The
Specialized Levo SL required the
most rider input, the Forestal Cyon
the least.

Bike/date Time to limp Dist to limp Elev to limp Total ride Total dist Total elev Number of Est total Calories/
mode mode mode time trails ridden calorie burn metre
elevation
Pivot/3 Dec 1h 34min 26.38km 1,034m 1h 36min 28.43km 1,080m 7 881 0.82
Specialized/4 Dec 1h 21min 21.07km 826m 1h 31min 23.92km 924m 6 921 0.99
Trek/30 Nov 1h 12min 17.09km 680m 1h 21min 20.36km 802m 5 742 0.93
Forestal/1 Dec 45min 13.07km 538m 1h 3sec 17.2km 691m 4 525 0.76

86 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

 Ripping the trails
before crunching
the numbers

THE NUMBERS

E-bike stats at a glance

Weight Battery Torque Peak Power Range
Extender
Forestal Cyon 18.82kg 360Wh 60Nm 400W 250Wh
Pivot Shuttle SL 18.47kg 430Wh 60Nm 350W 200Wh
(450W for 12s)
Specialized Turbo 17.65kg 320Wh 35Nm 320W 160Wh
Levo SL (included)
Trek Fuel EXe 19.11kg 360Wh 50Nm 300W 160wh

in cell count is as follows. The Pivot Shuttle
SL has 430Wh of juice. The Trek Fuel EXe and
Forestal Cyon both have 360Wh batteries, while
the Specialized gets the smallest and lightest
320Wh battery.
RANGE MANAGEMENT
Range isn’t simply the result of battery capacity
though, it’s affected by peak power, the
efficiency of the motor, battery management
software, bike and rider weight, and riding
conditions. On our range test with the same
tyres, rider and trail conditions, the Trek had
a much better range than the Forestal, even
though both have the same battery capacity.
Specialized breezed past both even though it
had the smallest battery, and the Pivot Shuttle
SL was the real Duracell bunny of the group.
But e-bike metrics aren’t the only
consideration when testing. Fundamentals like
travel and geometry also play a big part in the
decision process. All four bikes have 150mm
forks, but only Specialized and Forestal claim
to match travel front and rear. Pivot boasts
132mm, which is technically short-travel trail,
right? Sorry, we’re splitting again. The Trek Fuel
EXe has 140mm out back and also has the most
progressive geometry, Specialized is the least
progressive, especially in terms of sizing.
But numbers alone never paint a perfect
picture, much in the same way that e-bike power
and range claims all have to be taken with a hefty
dose of salt. There’s also a distinct difference in
the handling of a lightweight mid-power e-bike
that can’t be explained by the reduced weight
alone. We chalk that up to lightweight, mid-
power e-bikes being closer in feel to analogue
bikes because the frame proportions are also
very similar. After all, there’s only so much
stiffness you can de-tune from the oversized
down tube on a full power e-bike that’s required
to house the bigger battery.
So is the full power e-bike the equivalent
of the stronger, more brutish Neanderthal?
The lightweight mid-power e-bike, the
smarter, more agile homosapien? The
neanderthals roamed the earth first and
even co-existed with homosapiens before
eventually dying out. We doubt that the full-
power e-bike is going anywhere soon, as
bigger, heavier riders need more powerful
e-bikes. But it’s great that this new breed of
e-bike offers a different ride feel and experience
especially for lighter riders. Only time will tell if
both coexist in harmony. But 20 years ago who
would have predicted that the 26in wheel would
become extinct?
But that’s not the question we’re trying
to answer here. No, we want to know which
lightweight mid-power e-bike is the best for
trail riding. And with so many variables the
answer proved much harder to come by than
we initially anticipated.

CONTROL T YRES EXO+ PROTECTION

The new EXO+ technology starts with
a 60 TPI casing coated in our new tear-
To make the testing process as fair as possible we fitted the same Maxxis resistant topping rubber. Compared
tyres to all four of our lightweight mid-power e-bikes. And because it’s one to the outgoing version, the new EXO+
has nearly twice the tread and sidewall
area where bike manufacturers tend to save weight, often at the expense of
puncture resistance plus a roughly 20%
performance, the weights quoted in this test are with our control tyres fitted.
increase in pinch cut resistance.
We opted for classic Maxxis combo. Fitting a 2.5in Minion DHF up front
with a 2.4in DHR II on the rear, both with folding Kevlar beads and the tougher
EXO+ casing for increased puncture protection. 3C MAXX TERRA
An intermediate compound, 3C Maxx
All tyres were in the medium 3C Maxx Terra compound which again made it
Terra is softer and offers more traction
a level playing field especially and control than 3C Maxx Speed, yet
for the range test. All tyres provides better treadwear and less
are available at extrauk.co.uk, rolling resistance than the softest
prices starting at £74.99 each Maxx Grip tyres

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 87


BIKE TEST
Full carbon frame with
side-bar style shock
position. All that’s missing
is geometry adjustment
FORESTAL CYON NEON 29
W
£ 9,9 9 9 ith only three models, the
Forestal range is pretty
easy to navigate. It’s an
e-bike only brand from
Andorra, where the Siryon
is the 170mm-travel enduro model that
we tested in the November issue, the
Hydra is a Siryon with a dual-crown fork,
and the Cyon is Forestal’s 150mm-travel
trail bike.
Forestal then splits each platform
into tiers, lowest to highest as follows:
Halo, Neon and Diode, so the Cyon
Neon tested here is the mid-range,
mid-powered, mid-travel model.
Simple, right?
It shares the exact same full carbon
frame as the other two bikes in the Cyon
line-up, a frame that’s designed around
a powerful 60Nm Bafang-built EonDrive
motor (1.95kg). Geometry and sizing is
modern for a 150mm-travel 29er trail
Asymetric frame design
partly shields the RockShox
Super Deluxe shock
88 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
Forestal’s signature Twin
Levity linkage drives the
RockShox Super Deluxe
Ultimate RCT shock and
boasts 150mm travel
With 400W peak
power and 60Nm
torque, the Forestal
has plenty of oomph
bike, bar the 480mm seat tube length
that limits the amount of drop you can
run on your seatpost. Also, it rides a little
high in its travel and is the only bike in
this test without geometry adjustment.
So we’d like to see Forestal add a low
geometry setting to bring its vital stats
a little closer to the Trek Fuel EXe, which
has arguably the best geometry in test.
With a bright, clear display nestling
in the top tube, the user interface on
the Forestal is certainly hi-tech, but
takes longer to boot up. It has GPS for
maps and tracking, so if your bike gets
stolen you should be able to find it as
easily as tracking down your phone. The
handlebar remote offers five modes –
Walk, Eco, Sport, Race and Nitro.
Powering all of the electronics on the
Cyon and tucked neatly inside the down
tube is a 360Wh battery (1.8kg). Forestal
will also offer a 250Wh aftermarket
range extender when it’s ready, bringing
the total battery capacity to 610Wh.
And while that sounds like a lot of juice,
the Forestal is one energy-hungry bike.
As such, it fared worst in our range test,
only just offering an hour of ride time
before the lights went out. So you’ll need
the range extender, once available, if
you plan on venturing further afield.
Which raises an interesting
dichotomy. The 250Wh range extender
is going to weigh roughly 1.5kg, which
will bring the total weight of the bike
close to 20.5kg. So almost the same
weight as the lightest full-power e-bikes,
yet with less range and less power.
SUSPENSION
The 150mm-travel Cyon shares a similar
Battery capacity is
360Wh, but there’s
also a 250Wh range
extender coming soon
suspension layout to the 170mm Siryon,
but that’s not to say the Cyon is simply
a shorter-travel version of the Siryon.
Far from it. By manipulating the main
pivot height and the Twin Levity linkage
layout, Forestal has made the Cyon less
progressive than the Siryon while also
increasing the amount of anti-squat
to improve pedalling efficiency. Now,
if you’re reading this and screaming,
“it’s got a bloody motor, who cares
about anti-squat?” we hear you. But
we suppose Forestal was thinking
about how the bike pedals when you’re
above the level of assistance or when
the battery runs out. And the latter is a
real concern on the Forestal. Ultimately,
the suspension on the Cyon did not
feel as good at ironing out chatter and
providing traction as the Siryon, and
we don’t think it’s simply due to the
RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate shock.
Yes, running the shock softer meant the
bike felt plusher off the top and held
better straight-line speed through the
roughest sections of trail, but then it
didn’t hold its shape as well in corners,
even when we increased the low-speed
compression damping. So we went back
to the firmer set-up.
In keeping with the more sporty
suspension feel of the frame, Forestal
has fitted a 150mm-travel RockShox
Pike Ultimate fork. It saves about 140g in
weight over a Lyrik, but given the overall
weight of the bike and its intended use,
we think the plusher and stiffer Lyrik
would been a better option.
COMPONENTS
The stock 2.3in Maxxis tyres sit a little
 SPECIFICATION
Frame Alpha Box
Carbon, 150mm
travel (144mm
measured)
Shock RockShox
Super Deluxe
Ultimate RCT
(230x60mm)
Fork RockShox Pike
Ultimate, 42mm
offset, 150mm travel
Motor Forestal
EonDrive, 60Nm
400W peak power
Battery Forestal
Aurora Perform
360Wh, 52V
Display Forestal
Smart Dashboard
3.2in Touchscreen
Wheels
Crankbrothers
110/148mm hubs,
Crankbrothers
Synthesis Carbon E7
rims, Maxxis Minion
DHF/DHR II EXO
29x2.3in tyres
Drivetrain Praxis
Carbon, 32t, 165mm
chainset, SRAM X01
Eagle r-mech and
HIGHS shifter, SRAM XG-
Power on 1295 10-50t cassette
tap Brakes Magura MT7
HC levers, four-
piston, 203/180mm
Components
Forestal Oxydon C
780mm bar, Forestal
Oxydon 45mm
stem, Crankbrothers
Highline 7 150mm
post, Fizik Aidon X3
E-MTB saddle
Sizes S, M, L, XL
Weight 18.82kg
(41.49lb)
Contact silverfish-
uk.com

GEOMETRY
Size tested L
Head angle 65.1°
Seat angle 69.4°
Effective SA 75.6°
BB height 340mm
Chainstay 446mm
Front centre 802mm
Wheelbase 1,248mm
Down tube 744mm
Seat tube 480mm
Top tube 625mm
Reach 473mm

LOWS
Drains the
battery fast

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 89

BIKE TEST
square on the wide Crankbrothers
Synthesis carbon rims, so we’d upgrade
both. Ideally to a 2.5in front paired with
a 2.4in on the rear. We’d also go with
EXO+ casings, or similar, as the stock
EXO casing is too flimsy on a 150mm-
travel bike that weighs almost 19kg.
And the benefits of switching the tyres
would be twofold. The increased volume
would drive up grip and comfort, while
the tougher casing would drive down
wasted time fixing punctures. Also, the
sluggish 17° freehub engagement of
Bafang-made motor with
60Nm torque is impressively
punchy on steep, techy climbs
Hi-tech top tube display
looks the business but
takes its time to boot up
90 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
the Crankbrothers E7 rear hub is really
noticeable on more stop/start trails, so
we’d change that too.
We loved the feel of the Magura MT7
brakes, the kinked one-finger lever
blades offering a better lever position
and feel than the straighter blades on the
MT7s fitted to the Specialized S-Works
Levo SL. Even the smaller 180mm rear
rotor never got overwhelmed. Magura’s
integrated clamps have to go though,
because if you run your levers anywhere
close to flattish, the SRAM X01 shifter
pod and dropper remote are both tucked
too far under the handlebar for easy use.
So while separate clamps wouldn’t be as
neat, they would be way more functional.
And while we’re talking functionality,
can brands please stop making
complicated stem, spacers and top-caps
that only look cool when you have all
of the spacers stacked under the stem?
Just stop. Please.
PERFORMANCE
Of the four mid-powered e-bikes in
this test, the Forestal Cyon is easily the
closest in terms of motor performance
to a full-power e-bike. And not simply
because of its impressive 60Nm torque
or 400W peak power. No, the compact
Bafang-made motor also provides a
decent amount of overrun, which makes
getting the Cyon up and over technical
sections of steep climbs that much
easier. The extra grunt is also handy for
powering your way through soft, boggy
sessions of trail.
The level of support is somewhat
deceptive though, because while it
allows you to soft-pedal on gradual
gradients and let the motor do most of
the work, the opposite seems true when
you really drop the hammer on steep
climbs, possibly due to the increased
cadence. You change gear less on the
Forestal than on the other bikes too –
again, more like a full-power e-bike.
So those are its strengths, but it also
inherits some of the weaknesses of
full-power e-bikes. It’s one of the
noisiest bikes here, at least until you stop
pedalling or punch through the 15.5mph
sound barrier. With the motor off, the
bike is as silent-running as any. Get
above the assistance limit however and
you also notice the additional resistance
in that motor. It’s not like pedalling
through treacle, but it definitely requires
more rider input than on the other bikes.
And if we had to guess, we’d say it’s
the increased drag of the motor and
impressive power output that puts the
extra drain on the 360Wh battery.
VERDICT
Having been impressed by the 170mm-travel Forestal
Siryon, we had high hopes of the 150mm-travel Cyon.
Unfortunately it didn’t quite deliver. The suspension and
geometry didn’t feel as good overall, and when combined
with the limited range, it makes less sense as a trail bike.
We’d also like to see faster freehub engagement, wider,
tougher tyres and probably a RockShox Lyrik fork instead
of the Pike. For a modern bike, the seat
tube is also too tall. So while Forestal’s
pricing and power output look
impressive, you’ll need to factor in
the additional cost and weight of the
250W range extender, otherwise you’ll
not get very far on the Cyon.
BIKE TEST
Asymmetric seat
stay pivot hardware
offers high and low
geometry settings
DW-Link rear suspension
delivers 132mm travel – 10mm
less than the Switchblade
PIVOT SHUTTLE SL 29 TEAM XTR
N
£12,800 o one can accuse Pivot of
jumping on the lightweight
e-bike bandwagon. When
it launched its first Shuttle
e-bike back in 2017, it was
a 140mm-travel carbon ripper with
DW-Link suspension, a Shimano E8000
motor, 500Wh battery, Di2 electronic
shifting and a build kit that delivered an
impressive 19.95kg package.
So six years on, the SL version is a
completely different bike. Built around
the new Fazua Ride 60 motor (1.96kg)
and corresponding 430Wh integrated
battery (2.2kg), the Shuttle SL has the
best range in this test without needing
a range extender. So almost overnight
Fazua has gone from being the kid at
the back of the e-bike bus that smoked
fags on his lunch break, to becoming an
all-star player that all the cheerleaders
want to date.
Svelte, stealthy Fazua Ride 60
motor kicks out the power
without kicking up a fuss
92 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
Integrated Fazua
430Wh battery helps
reduce range anxiety
Extra battery capacity comes at a cost
though, mostly in weight, but at 18.47kg,
with our EXO+ casing Maxxis control
tyres fitted, the Pivot Shuttle SL is still
the second-lightest bike in test. The
motor is really quiet too, which just adds
to the whole natural ride feel of the bike.
Fazua’s handlebar-mounted Ring
Control is very intuitive in use, and while
it feels fragile, it works like a charm. The
LED Hub battery/power indicator on the
top tube uses a traffic light system for
the three power modes. In Breeze the
max power is 120W, River delivers 280W
and Rocket peaks at 350W. There’s also
a fourth Boost mode. Hold the control
button up for two seconds and, no
matter which mode you’re in, you get
a peak power delivery of 450W that’s
sustained for 12 seconds. Use it too
often though, and it will burn through
your battery like a wildfire. There’s also
a USB-C port tucked under the LED Hub
for charging accessories.
Some things remain unchanged,
however. The rear hub spacing is
still Super Boost Plus 157mm, but by
manipulating the position of the pivots in
the front triangle, Pivot has been able to
introduce small changes in the chainstay
lengths with the same swingarm across
all four frame sizes. On sizes Small and
Medium, the rear ends measure 430mm;
on the size Large it grows to 432mm
and XL gets 436mm. They are all short
rear ends, then, but they are paired with
generous reach numbers – our size Large
test bike measuring 480mm.
SUSPENSION
Six years on and Fox is still Pivot’s
Reynolds Blacklabel
309/289 XC Carbon
wheels use front
and rear-specific
widths (30mm
f/28mm r)
preferred suspension supplier, the
Shuttle SL 29 Team XTR equipped with
a Factory-level Float X shock and 36
Float fork. The 150mm-travel 36 fork
uses the e-bike-tuned GRIP2 damper
that has less low-speed and more high-
speed compression damping than the
standard Fox 36 fork on the Specialized
Levo SL. As such, it’s not quite as plush
or as supportive.
Still, with the DW-Link rear
suspension capped at 132mm travel,
and being quite progressive in nature,
the bike actually feels very balanced,
especially when running the fork with
more air pressure to make it ride a little
higher. The shock tune also is very light,
so if you run the rebound damping too
fast, you’ll notice a slight top-out clunk
on really choppy terrain. Still, it’s nice for
once not to have to run all of the dials
wide open, and still find that the shock
doesn’t return fast enough.
COMPONENTS
And Shimano is still Pivot’s preferred
drivetrain supplier, where XTR 12-speed
helps Pivot hit that target weight without
compromising on gear range – the XTR
cassette delivering a 10-51t range, in
smooth, even increments. No additional
batteries required. The Fazua Ride
60 motor uses an open-source ETRO
crank interface, and Rotor supplies the
165mm alloy crank arms on the Shuttle
SL. Freehub engagement on the carbon
Reynolds wheelset is lighting-fast, so the
bike feels really rapid and quick to react
to pedal inputs, which just enhances
the altogether snappy ride feel. The
motor also has overrun, which makes
 SPECIFICATION
Frame Carbon
Hollow Core,
132mm travel (130
measured)
Shock Fox Float X
Factory
Fork Fox 36 Float
Factory Grip2,
150mm travel,
44mm offset
Motor Fazua Ride 60
350W peak power
(450W 12s Boost)
Battery Fazua
Energy 430Wh
integrated 43.2V
Display Fazua Ride
60 LED Hub with
handlebar Ring
Control remote
Wheels Reynolds
110/157mm hubs,
Reynolds Blacklabel
309/289 XC Carbon
rims, Maxxis
Dissector 29x2.4in
MaxxTerra EXO
casing tyres
Drivetrain Rotor
Ekapic 32t, 165mm
chainset, Shimano
M9100 XTR r-mech,
12-speed shifter and
10-51t cassette
Brakes Shimano
XTR M9120 four-
piston, Galfer
203/180mm
Components
Phoenix Team
Carbon 780mm
bar, Pivot 45mm
stem, Fox Transfer
Factory 170mm post,
WTB saddle
Sizes S, M, L, XL
Weight 18.41kg
(40.59lb)

GEOMETRY
LOW SETTING
Head angle 65°
Seat angle 71.8°
Effective SA 75.5°
BB height 342mm
HIGHS Chainstay 432mm
Impressive Front centre 810mm
range Wheelbase 1,242mm
Down tube 742mm
Seat tube 440mm
Top tube 635mm
Reach 480mm

LOWS
EXO casing
tyres

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 93

BIKE TEST
awkward, stop-start climbs that much
more manageable.
We’ve had mixed experiences with
Shimano XTR brakes. On the Canyon
Spectral:On CFR, for example, they felt
amazing with the Shimano Ice Tech
Freeza rotors. On the Pivot, the four-
piston calipers are paired with Galfer six-
bolt rotors and they seem to have less
power and more dead lever travel. So
like most things Shimano, it’s probably
best to keep it in the family.
All of the contact points on the
DW-Link suspension delivers
a tight, responsive ride
Fazua’s rotating Ring
controller is neat
and ergonomic
94 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
Shuttle SL are dialled though. The
Phoenix carbon bar has a nice profile,
the WTB saddle is comfy and even the
Pivot lock-on grips are nice and soft.
Upgrading the stock Maxxis Dissector
tyres for something with a little more
meat made a big difference to the
overall ride quality of the bike, so that’s
one upgrade we’d really recommend
before punching holes in the stock EXO
casing rubber.
PERFORMANCE
In our First Ride on the Shuttle SL, we
mentioned that the Fazua Ride 60 Motor
had a slight delay in pick-up once the
overrun had run its course. Well, Fazua’s
latest firmware update eliminated that.
We also said that the Pivot Shuttle SL
was the first lightweight e-bike where
the very first question wasn’t, “when is
the range extender available?”
Now that we have performed our
various range tests, it’s pretty clear
why. The Pivot literally blows the door
clean off the Forestal in range, leaving
the Trek limping behind in the distance,
where only the Specialized with its range
extender can exceed the miles accrued
on the Pivot. The motor is smooth and
efficient too, Fazua claiming that the
losses in the system are as low as four
watts. It also claims that the motor
decouples from the bottom bracket
axle when pedalling above the speed
limit or when the motor is switched off,
improving efficiency further.
So there’s no questioning the Shuttle
SL’s staying power, but how does it
handle? The short rear end and support
from the DW-Link suspension make it
TEST
WINNER!
great for snapping in and out of tight
turns, but the flip side is the bike also
gets deflected off line easier when
traversing slippery off-camber roots
or navigating nasty rock gardens.
Basically you get more feedback from
the trail, so while that makes it a really
exciting and engaging ride, it’s also
more fatiguing. Something worth
considering given how good the range
is with the 430Wh battery.
The short rear end also makes the
bike feel slightly smaller than the
generous reach suggests, and to
compensate for the more rearward
weight bias, we found ourselves
shuffling our feet forward on our
flat pedals a touch to better load the
front end. Rolling the bar forward and
softening up the fork a little really
helped in that department too. Get the
Shuttle SL on more flowy, pumpy terrain
and it is a total rocket ship, primed for
take off. You can literally go to the moon
on jumps.
VERDICT
As an out-and-out trail bike, the Pivot Shuttle SL
delivers the goods. The Fazua Ride 60 motor is quiet,
smooth and efficient too, so it offers a very natural
ride feel while the 430Wh internal battery offers an
impressive range. In fact, the limiting factor here, other
than the EXO-casing tyres, is the 132mm
rear travel. It’s just not enough for how
fast this bike can be ridden. Skilled
riders will be able to ride around that
limitation, but if you’re looking for
one bike to tackle all situations, the
Shuttle SL may come up a little short.
BIKE TEST
Roval Traverse SL 29in
carbon wheels provide
a very compliant ride
Top-of-the-range SRAM
XX1 AXS drivetrain with
10-52t cassette
SPECIALIZED S-WORKS TURBO LEVO SL
W
£ 9,9 9 9 hen Specialized launched
the Levo SL back in 2020,
it was going where no
mountain bike brand had
ever gone before. And
while it wasn’t really a moonshot, it was
still a leap into the unknown that paved
the way for all of the other lightweight
mid-powered e-bikes in this test.
So how has the original 150mm-
travel lightweight e-bike aged? Well,
it certainly isn’t suffering from a case
of middle-age spread. In fact, it’s the
lightest bike here, and by quite some
margin. Decked out with a SWAT tool,
bottle cage and our EXO+ casing Maxxis
control tyres, the S-Works Turbo Levo SL
weighs a scant 17.65kg, with no obvious
concession to strength or durability on
the specification. That’s almost 1.5kg
lighter than the Trek Fuel EXe.
320Wh battery + 160Wh bottle
battery range extender = best
total battery life in test
96 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
Flip-chip in the
shock eyelet offers
high and low
geometry settings
S-Works bike ships
with 160Wh range
extender included
And having a bottle cage fitted as
standard is really important, as the
S-Works Levo SL is the only bike here,
and in the Levo SL line-up, to come
with a range extender as standard – the
160Wh bottle battery adding 50% to
the range of the 320Wh main battery
housed inside the down tube. And given
that the range extender normally costs
£340 extra, the S-Works Levo SL looks
surprisingly good value for money.
Even without the range extender, the
Levo SL burned past the Forestal Cyon
and Trek Fuel EXe in our range test,
only narrowly losing out to the Pivot
Shuttle SL with its 430Wh battery. Yes,
you have to work harder on the Levo
SL, as the 35Nm motor isn’t as poky as
the 50/60Nm units elsewhere in this
test. The motor is very efficient though,
so when you’re emptying your tank, it
never feels like the bike is robbing you of
precious energy.
Yes, the LED power display looks
basic, but the remote switch that lets you
toggle between the three power modes
is one of the best, as is the rest of the
integration. Even the speed sensor on
the rear dropout is that much neater and
better protected than any of its rivals.
SUSPENSION
Having the bottle cage mounted so low
in the frame is a boon too, as it keeps
the extra 1,092g range extender low
and centred. As such, fitting it has less
of a negative impact on the handling
and suspension. Which is much more
important than where the 450g shock is
positioned, right?
And it’s actually the Fox Float DPX2
shock that dates this bike. Not in terms
of performance, but because it’s been
replaced by the new Float X, just as
brands were getting to grips with the
tuning possibilities of the DPX2. So the
S-Works bike is a carry-over model from
2022, but that doesn’t detract from
the fact that Specialized has nailed the
150mm-travel rear suspension on the
Levo SL. And while it shares a similar
suspension layout to the full-power Levo,
with considerably lower anti-squat and
a less progressive rate, the SL has more
grip and a much less hectic ride feel.
The 150mm-travel Fox 36 Factory
fork has every bit the measure of the
rear suspension, and it felt noticeably
smoother and more sensitive than the
e-bike-tuned version of the Fox 36 on
the Pivot. Then again, it’s hard to say if
it’s just the tune of the GRIP2 damper, as
we didn’t test the forks in isolation.
COMPONENTS
There’s a saying in motor sports, that
if you want to go faster, you fit better
brakes. Well the opposite is kinda true
here. The Levo SL is such an eye-
wateringly fast bike, you need those
bigger, heavier, 203mm rotors and
Magura MT7 brakes just to reel it in a bit.
Playing around with the reach adjustment
on the very first ride, we unscrewed
the adjuster a little too far and the lever
return spring pinged out. And it’s not
something you can just pop back in
trailside, so be warned. And while there’s
no faulting the power and modulation of
the MT7 brakes, we preferred the lever
feel and position of the one-finger HC
lever blades on the Forestal.
 SPECIFICATION
Frame Fact 11m
carbon, 150mm
travel (146mm
measured)
Shock Fox Float
DPX2 Factory
(210x52.5mm)
Fork Fox 36 Float
Factory GRIP2,
51mm offset,
150mm travel
Motor Specialized SL
1.1, 35Nm, 320W
peak power
Battery Specialized
SL 320Wh 48V
integrated
Display Specialized
TCU 10 LED
Wheels Roval/DT
HIGHS Swiss 110/148mm
hubs, Roval
Impressive Traverse SL 30mm
handling and rims, Specialized
range Butcher/Eliminator
Grid Trail Gripton
29x2.3in tyres
Drivetrain Praxis
Carbon M30, 30t,
170mm chainset,
SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS
r-mech and 12-speed
shifter, SRAM XG-
1299 Eagle, 10-52t
cassette
Brakes Magura
MT7, four-piston,
Loic lever blade,
203/203mm
Components
Traverse SL Carbon
780mm bar, Deity
50mm stem,
RockShox Reverb
AXS 170mm post,
Bridge Hollow Ti
rails saddle
Sizes S, M, L, XL
Weight 17.65g
(38.91lb)
Contact specialized.
com

GEOMETRY
Size tested L (low)
Head angle 65.6°
Seat angle 67.1°
Effective SA 74.2°
BB height 341mm
Chainstay 435mm
Front centre 785mm
Wheelbase 1,220mm
Down tube 726mm
Seat tube 455mm
Top tube 615mm
Reach 450mm

LOWS
Short reach
numbers

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 97

BIKE TEST
Engagement on the Roval Traverse
SL rear wheel was fast and consistent,
and while the carbon 29in rims come
with tubeless-ready tape installed, the
wheels also ship with individual plastic
spoke hole covers that replace the rim
tape and are 24g per wheel lighter.
Taken together with the suspension
and frame stiffness, the Roval wheels
help give the Levo SL a nice damped
ride feel, with no sudden deflections or
150mm rear travel comes
courtesy of a perfectly tuned
Fox Float DPX2 Factory shock
Display is rudimentary
but mode switching is
easy and intuitive
98 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
nasty surprises to catch you out.
The SRAM XX1 AXS drivetrain is also
first rate, where the 10-52t cassette and
smaller 30t chainring really come into
their own when you are limping home
in Eco mode, or worse still, when the
battery is totally flat. And while the big
chunky Deity stem looks cool and feels
solid, there’s probably some weight
to be saved here, if you’re hell bent on
getting the Levo SL under 17kg.
PERFORMANCE
With the lowest torque, smallest
battery capacity and least progressive
geometry, you could be forgiven for
thinking that the Levo SL is well past its
prime. Ride it, however, and one thing is
crystal clear: this bike is so much more
than the sum of its parts.
The finely tuned suspension, balanced
weight distribution and flex in the full
carbon frame make it such an easy
bike to ride fast. And because the rear
suspension is free to move up and down,
as it’s less inhibited by the drivetrain, the
bike carries more speed forward across
choppy terrain that would typically
chip away at your momentum and
confidence. So even with the same tyres
on all four test bikes, the Specialized
sounded and felt more damped, much
in the same way softer-compound tyres
would, albeit without the extra drag.
It is not damped to death though, and
its poppy, lively nature and shorter
wheelbase make it super-easy to
manoeuvre, especially at lower speeds.
And while not as light as an analogue
trail bike, the Levo SL masks its extra
weight extremely well.
Now, we’re not saying that the
Levo SL wouldn’t be even better with
a slightly steeper and shorter seat
tube, and a more generous reach
measurement. Maybe even with the S
sizing and adjustability of the Stumpy
Evo. No, what we are saying is that you
shouldn’t get sucked into the numbers
game. Yes, there’s less support from the
35Nm motor, so you can’t soft-pedal
and expect the bike to do all of the
work for you. But anything you do put
in above and beyond the 320W peak
power of the motor isn’t wasted on
overcoming resistance. So if you want
a bike for trail riding that’s light, has
a great range, and can also tackle the
nastiest of descents, don’t discount the
Levo SL, even if Specialized has done
that to the price.
VERDICT
Want the lightest bike in this test? It’s the Specialized
Levo SL at 17.65kg. Want the bike with the most range?
Again, it’s the Levo SL, the S-Works bike coming with a
160Wh range extender to give a total battery capacity
of 480Wh. Want the bike with the best suspension?
Well, that’s the Levo SL too. Want the bike with
the most cutting-edge geometry and
sizing? Sorry, you’ll have to wait
for that part. But given how right
Specialized got everything else,
the Levo SL is still a really
competitive bike, even though
it’s three years old.
BIKE TEST
Having SRAM’s XX1 AXS
derailleur hardwired to
the main battery is kind
of oxymoronic, but it’s
a great feature
TREK FUEL EXE 9.9 XX1 AXS
T
£13,500 he Trek Fuel EXe was the first of
a new breed of e-bikes to come
equipped with the TQ HPR 50
motor. And while the German-
made motor doesn’t boast the
most torque (50Nm), or the highest
peak power (300W) in our lightweight,
mid-power e-bike test, it is extremely
compact and quiet. So small and so
quiet in fact, that the Trek Fuel EXe
regularly passes for an analogue bike.
Part of the deception is down to
the sleek full-carbon frame, which, to
the untrained eye, makes the EXe look
much like any other Trek trail bike – the
monochrome display embedded in the
top tube is the only real giveaway. The
EXe is also an absolute doppelganger for
the new analog Fuel EX.
Both 29ers deliver 140mm of rear
wheel travel that’s bolstered up front
TQ’s clever concentric design
is seriously compact
100 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
RockShox AirWiz
is exclusive to
both of the Fuel
EXe 9.9 models
German-made TQ motor
is compact, quiet and
delivers 50Nm torque
by a 150mm fork. Flip the EXe over
however, remove a couple of hex bolts,
pop the protective cover off and you
can slide the 360Wh battery effortlessly
out of the bottom of the down tube. It’s
the rabbit in the EXe’s hat. The battery
weighs 1,834g and combined with the
1,850g motor, TQ has delivered a truly
lightweight system.
Having a removable battery has its
pros and cons. On the plus side, it can be
removed for ease of charging or simply
swapped out for a second battery,
instantly doubling the range of the bike,
rather than adding 50% like most range
extenders. The only negative is that
frame weights are about 200g heavier
than if the battery is fully integrated.
There’s also an aftermarket 160Wh
range extender that slots into the bottle
cage. And with the charging port that
doubles as the connection for the range
extender, directly above the bottle
cage, Trek guarantees a short, secure
coupling, even if the placement isn’t as
good as on the Specialized Levo SL for
weight distribution.
At 19.11kg with a headset tool, bottle
cage, handlebar cut down and our
Maxxis control tyres fitted, the Trek Fuel
EXe is the heaviest on test. It’s also the
one that rides the most like an enduro
bike, so we can forgive that.
Also, if you want the lightest bike
in the EXe range, that honour goes to
the 9.9 XTR which weighs almost 1kg
less and costs £12,500, thanks to the
Shimano XTR drivetrain and lighter
Bontrager dropper post. And if it were
available, that’s the bike we’d have
preferred in this test.
Available in six
models, starting with
the Fuel EXe 9.5 at
£6,400 all with 360Wh
removable batteries
SUSPENSION
One of the main advantages of having
such a compact motor is that brands
don’t have to work their suspension
design around it. And that’s even more
important with a single-pivot design
like Trek’s With 140mm travel and 100%
anti-squat Trek has the numbers on the
EXe really dialled in. Unfortunately, we
can’t say the same for the tune on the
RockShox Super Deluxe shock. From
day one it felt slightly over-damped in
compression. Not so much as to make
the bike feel harsh, it just increased
the dynamic ride height and made the
EXe feel harder to get off the ground,
even when running all of the damping
adjusters wide open.
We had no such complaints with the
150mm-travel RockShox Lyrik Ultimate
fork. We are not sold on AirWiz though.
The offset valve on the fork makes it
harder to attach the pump, and do you
really need lights on your fork or shock
to let you know if the pressure has
changed? Hardly. That said, if RockShox
can integrate ShockWiz into AirWiz, we
think it would be well worth paying a
premium for.
COMPONENTS
One-piece carbon bar/stem combos get
a bad rap, and rightly so, as most have a
goofy profile that you can’t adjust out.
Not so the Bontrager Race Shop Limited
unit on the Fuel EXe. Trek has absolutely
nailed the profile, so for once, there
really is no need to adjust anything.
Weighing a scant 270g with a whopping
820mm width (830mm with grips),
we chopped the bar down to 770mm
 SPECIFICATION
Frame OCLV
Mountain Carbon,
140mm travel
(138mm measured)
Shock RockShox
Super Deluxe
Ultimate AirWiz
RCT2 205x60mm
Fork RockShox Lyrik
Ultimate AirWiz
Charger 3 RC2,
150mm travel
Motor TQ 50Nm
300W peak power
Battery TQ 360Wh
removable
Display TQ OLED
Integrated w/
controller
Wheels Bontrager
Line Pro 30 Carbon,
Bontrager SE5 Team
Issue 29x2.5in tyres
Drivetrain e*thirteen
e*spec Race carbon
32t, 165mm chainset,
SRAM XX1 AXS
r-mech and shifter,
SRAM Eagle XG-1299
10-52t cassette
Brakes SRAM Code
RSC, 200/200mm
HIGHS Components
Bontrager RSL
Great one-piece bar/
geometry stem - 820/45mm,
& sizing RockShox Reverb
AXS 170mm post,
Bontrager Arvada
138mm saddle
Sizes S, M, L ,XL
Weight 19.11kg
(42.13lb)

GEOMETRY
(LOW SETTING)
Size ridden L
Head angle 64.60
Seat angle 70.30
Eff SA 77.50
@740mm
BB height 332mm
Chainstay 439mm
Front centre 811mm
Wheelbase 1,250mm
Down tube 750mm
Seat tube 440mm
Top tube 610mm
Reach 482mm

LOWS
Over-damped
shock

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 101

BIKE TEST
after the first ride. And what a difference
it made. It eliminated the slightly weird
flex when fully loaded and made the
bike feel altogether more manageable.
In keeping with the oversized theme,
the SRAM Code RSC four-piston brake
calipers are paired with 200mm rotors
front and rear, so stopping power has
not been compromised just to shed a
few grams. Rotors are the thicker HS2
version too – lever feel is super positive
and they shed heat better to give more
Display screen on
top tube is the only
e-bike giveaway
RockShox AirWiz
connects to phone
for pressure info
102 mbr FEBRUARY 2023
consistent stopping power. Useful on a
19kg bike that can be ridden so hard.
At one point we noticed the bite-point
on the rear brake wander a little. It
turned out that the rear axle just wasn’t
cinched up fully, so a slight movement
of the hub was causing the rotor to reset
the pistons. Rear axles working loose is a
common issue on e-bikes. Once torqued
up correctly the rear brake felt spot on.
The rear axle probably worked loose
when we swapped the stock Bontrager
SE5 tyres for our Maxxis control tyres.
The Bontrager tyres were okay back in
the summer when Trek launched the
bike, but even then the pinging side
knobs were a harbinger of poor wet
weather performance to come.
As such, the tyres on the Fuel EXe
need upgrading. And, yes, we know how
absurd an upgrade sounds on a bike
costing almost £14k.
So let’s balance things out with some
suggested downgrades. We’d ditch
some of the superfluous electronics,
like TyreWiz and AirWiz. They add
nothing in terms of performance, only
price, and by the time you get your
phone out, connect to the SRAM app to
sync with the correct parts, you could
have checked your tyres with a regular
pressure gauge and pedalled off.
PERFORMANCE
The Trek Fuel EXe has the most
progressive geometry in the test. And
with a superbly damped feel to the full
carbon frame it can be ridden harder
than any other bike here. But what
Trek’s frame tech and geometry gain
in raw speed, the overly damped shock
unfortunately seems to take away
some of the playfulness that should be
inherent in any trail bike.
On or off the gas, the EXe offers a
near-silent ride, and while the TQ motor
has zero overrun, pick-up is almost
instantaneous, so there’s a really
natural feel when pedalling. Now, if
you want to pick your way up unusually
steep, technical climbs, that’s going
to be harder without the overrun. So if
that’s the type of riding you are into, we
would suggest you look at a full-power
e-bike like the Trek Rail.
With more torque but lower peak
power than the Specialized Levo SL,
the Trek Fuel EXe feels remarkably
similar in terms of assistance, something
that’s evident from the calories/metre
elevation metric in our range test.
That said, the Trek pulls away from
the Specialized on steeper climbs, even
if the range is nothing like as good as on
the Levo SL or Pivot Shuttle SL.
VERDICT
Before the era of electronics in mountain biking, Keith
Bontrager famously said: “Strong, light, cheap: pick
two.” Well, it looks like Trek has conveniently provided
the exception to Bontrager’s rule. Not only is the Fuel
EXe 9.9 XTR cheaper than the wireless SRAM XX1 AXS
bike tested here, it’s every bit as strong and almost one
kilogram lighter. So that’s the bike to go
for, budget permitting. The EXe would
then be the second lightest bike
on test, not the heaviest, and the
money saved would cover new tyres,
a better shock tune and could even
stretch to a second battery.
BIKE TEST
Conclusion
A
t risk of stating the obvious, the
lightweight mid-power e-bikes
in this test are crazy expensive.
Still, the lightest bikes in any
category always cost a bomb.
The addition of e-bike technology
also makes the testing process
simultaneously easier and harder. Easier,
because you can get more ride time on
each of the bikes. Harder, because you
are not simply accessing the handling of
the bike.
So not only did we have four different
bikes from four different manufacturers,
we had four unique lightweight mid-
power motor systems in this test. So
how did we rate them? The 50Nm TQ
motor on the Trek Fuel EXe feels closer
in power to the 35Nm Specialized Levo
SL motor than either of the 60Nm
motors on the Forestal Cyon or Pivot
Shuttle SL. The Specialized SL motor is
much noisier than the TQ though.
Forestal’s motor has the most support
for soft pedalling and climbing and feels
the fastest, but it also seems to have
the most resistance, especially at higher
cadences and it is really power-hungry.
Now, compare that to the Specialized
SL motor, which rewards riders that
keep the revs really high and is very
efficient. Ultimately, the Fazua Ride 60
motor offers the best balance of power,
support and efficiency. And when
combined with the 430Wh integrated
battery, it also delivers the best range,
without a range extender.
E-bikes are so much more than the
electronics bolted to them though,
so the ratings also reflect the ride
quality and value of each bike. We also
considered how easy the problems are
RANGE FINDER
The Shuttle offered the
most trail to our tester
to fix. Like the shock tune, tyres and
weight of the Trek are relatively easy
to remedy. You simply buy the cheaper
model, which makes it lighter than the
Pivot, but it is still expensive compared
to the Specialized.
The Specialized is the lightest bike
here, has impressive range, thanks to
the complementary range extender, and
the handling and suspension are also
first rate. It’s just the sizing and torque
level that date the Levo SL a touch.
Forestal’s Cyon looks to be
competitively priced and has some
really nice details. But with 400W peak
power, the 360Wh battery is totally
inadequate. Yes, you can run it in a lower
power mode to extend the range, but
you could do the same on a full power
e-bike and get a similar feel with double
the range. Fit a range extender and the
weight of the Cyon approaches that of
a full power e-bike. Add in the fact that
TEST
WINNER!
the seat tube is too tall for a modern trail Make/Model
bike, the tyres are too skinny and the Price
suspension doesn’t quite deliver the ride Weight
quality we expect on a bike at this price,
Contact
and the rating simply had to go down.
So that just leaves the Pivot Shuttle FRAME
SL. With the Fazua Ride 60 motor Sizes
and 430Wh battery it has the best Size tested
lightweight mid-power e-bike system Frame material
on test. And while we can analyse power
Rear shock
and efficiency data all day long, the
simple fact remains that the Pivot Shuttle
Rear travel
SL enabled us to ride more trails with
Suspension fork
less stress than any of the other bikes
here. It has bang up-to-date geometry
Front travel
and sizing too, and the bike feels agile
and playful. It’s still almost £13k and Motor
it has weight saving EXO tyres, which
really aren’t up to the job. Also we think Battery
that Pivot missed a trick by not basing
the Shuttle SL on the 142mm travel Display
Switchblade platform. As a little extra
travel would make it even more versatile. WHEELS
Hubs
Rims
Spokes

Our test winner’s stablemates

Front tyre
Rear tyre
GROUPSET

PIVOT SHUTTLE SL 29 WORLD CUP XTR PIVOT SHUTTLE SL 29 RIDE SLX/XT Chainset
Rear derailleur
£12,800 £ 9, 5 0 0 Shifter
Cassette
The World Cup XTR build on the Shuttle SL has a single Sneaking in under the £10k price point, the entry-level
focus… winning the weigh in. At a claimed weight of Shuttle Ride SLX/XT retains the same full carbon frame Brakes
under 17kg, in the smallest frame sizes, the major weight and Fazua internals as our test winning Team XTR build.
savings have been made with an inline Fox DPS shock, Fox The difference is the specification. The XTR kit gets Rotor sizes
34 fork and KS Lev Ci dropper post. You still get the excellent swapped out for SLX 12-speed and a token XT derailleur, COMPONENTS
Fazua Ride 60 motor and full size 430Wh integrated battery, while the bike rolls on alloy DT Swiss wheels. Yes, you still Handlebar
so with the reduced weight get a Fox 36 fork and
the range will be marginally Float X shock, but both Stem
improved, even if the are Performance level, Seatpost
handling won’t be as so you don’t
Saddle
good as get the same
Rating
the Team degree of
XTR build. adjustment
or damping
control.

104 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

 K
B J A
C
ALL THE INFO
H

Long or short stay E

I

F
Depending on your perspective, you can build a pretty solid argument for or against
shorter chainstays on e-bikes. In the plus camp, shorter chainstay lengths – like on the D
Pivot – help offset the more forward weight distribution created by the battery and motor. G
And because the weight of the battery is
forward of the BB, it naturally helps keep
Forestal Pivot (low) Specialized (low) Trek (low)
the front end loaded on steeper climbs
A Head angle 65.1° 65.0° 65.6° 64.6°
and flatter turns, so there’s no need to
have longer chainstays. An additional B Seat angle 69.4° 71.8° 67.1° 70.3°
benefit being that the shorter back end C Effective seat angle 75.6° 75.5° 74.2° 77.5°
makes it easier to lift the front end of D BB height 340mm 342mm 341mm 332mm
the bike. The counter argument is that
E Chainstay 446mm 432mm 435mm 439mm
e-bikes, even mid-power ones, let you
F Front centre 802mm 810mm 785mm 811mm
tackle steeper climbs, so longer stays can
be a real boon here. Shorter stays also G Wheelbase 1,248mm 1,242mm 1,220mm 1,250mm
make a bike feel shorter and less stable H Down tube 744mm 742mm 726mm 750mm
at speed, so getting the balance right is I Seat tube 480mm 440mm 455mm 440mm
really important.
J Top tube 625mm 635mm 615mm 610mm
K Reach 473mm 480mm 450mm 482mm

Forestal Cyon Neon 29 Pivot Shuttle SL 29 Team XTR Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo SL Trek Fuel EXe 9.9 XX1 AXS
£9,999 £12,800 £9,999 £13,500
18.82kg (41.49lb) 18.47kg (40.72lb) 17.65g (38.91lb) 19.11kg (42.13lb)

silverfish-uk.com saddleback.co.uk specialized.com trekbikes.com

S, M, L, XL
L L
Alpha Box Carbon
RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate RCT
(230x60mm)
150mm (144mm measured)
RockShox Pike Ultimate,
42mm offset
150mm
Forestal EonDrive 60Nm,
400W peak power
Forestal Aurora Perform 400Wh 52V
integrated
Forestal Smart Dashboard 3.2in
Touchscreen
S, M, L, XL
Carbon Hollow Core
Fox Float X Factory
132mm (130mm measured)
Fork Fox 36 Float Factory Grip 2 44mm
offset
150mm
Fazua Ride 60 60Nm, 380W peak power
Fazua Energy 430Wh integrated
Fazua Ride 60 LED Hub, w/Ring Control
remote
S, M, L, XL
L L
Fact 11m carbon
Fox Float DPX2 Factory (210x52.5mm)
150mm (146mm measured)
Fox 36 Float Factory Grip 2,
51mm offset
150mm
Specialized SL 1.1 35Nm, 320W peak
power
Specialized SL 320Wh 48V integrated
Specialized TCU 10 LED
S, M, L, XL
OCLV Mountain Carbon
RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate AirWiz
RCT2 (205x60mm)
140mm (138mm measured)
RockShox Lyrik Ultimate AirWiz
150mm
TQ 50Nm, 300W peak power
TQ 360Wh removable
TQ OLED Integrated w/controller

Crankbrothers 110/148mm Reynolds 110/157mm Roval/DT Swiss 110/148mm Bontrager 110/148mm

Crankbrothers Synthesis Carbon E7 Reynolds Blacklabel 309/289 XC Carbon Roval Traverse SL 30mm Bontrager Line Pro 30 Carbon
Stainless Stainless DT Competition Race Stainless
Maxxis Minion DHF MT EXO 29x2.3in Maxxis Dissector MT EXO 29x2.4in Butcher Grid Trail Gripton 29x2.3in Bontrager SE5 Team Issue 29x2.5in
Maxxis Minion DHR II EXO 29x2.4in Maxxis Dissector MT EXO 29x2.4in Eliminator Grid Trail Gripton 29x2.3in Bontrager SE5 Team Issue 29x2.5in

Praxis Carbon, 32t, 165mm
SRAM X01 Eagle
SRAM X01 Eagle 1x12sp
SRAM XG-1295 Eagle, 10-50t
Magura MT7 four-pistion, HC 1-finger
levers
203/180mm
Rotor Ekapic 32t, 165mm
Shimano M9100 XTR
Shimano M9100 XTR 1x12sp
Shimano M9100 XTR 10-51t
Shimano XTR M9120 four-piston
203/180mm Galfer
Praxis Carbon M30, 30t, 170mm e*13 e*spec Race carbon 32t, 165mm
SRAM XX1 Eagle AXS SRAM XX1 AXS
SRAM XX1 AXS 1x12sp SRAM XX1 AXS 1x12sp
SRAM XG-1299 Eagle, 10-52t SRAM XG-1299 Eagle, 10-52t
Magura MT7, four-piston, Loic lever SRAM Code RSC
203/203mm 200/200mm

Forestal Oxydon 780mm (31.8mm
clamp)
Forestal Oxydon 45mm
Crankbrothers Highline 7 150mm
Fizik Aidon X3 E-MTB
Phoenix Team Carbon 780mm Traverse SL Carbon 780mm (35mm Bontrager RSL 820mm (one-piece)
clamp)
Pivot 45mm Deity 50mm Bontrager RSL 45mm
Fox Transfer Factory 170mm RockShox Reverb AXS 170mm RockShox Reverb AXS 170mm
WTB Bridge Hollow Ti rails Bontrager Arvada 138mm

FEBRUARY 2023 mbr 105

 GUEST COLUMN

MATT WRAGG
Zen and the art of
mountain bike maintenance
When a move to the South of France forced Matt to confront his shortcomings as a
bike mechanic, he learned to love the zen-like mindfulness of a well-seated nut

I’m not a natural mechanic. Bike parts break in my hands, blunder forwards, hoping to set it right and prove myself
bolts strip, threads rip and tools shatter. Many an evening I’d worthy. Throw in my difficulty at judging my own strength
sheepishly besiege my mechanically-minded neighbour’s and soon I’d have that small, but critical shard of broken bike
house, nursing the latest casualty of my heavy handedness like lying accusingly on the floor.
a wounded bird, hoping he could fix the mess I had made. Today, other than the internals of my suspension, I build
That all changed when I moved to the South of France. my own bikes from the ground up. I have even got over my
When your helpful neighbour is a continent away and a trip to hatred of bleeding brakes. While I may never make it as
a bike shop is at least one hour each way, self-sufficiency becomes important. a race mechanic, I do something that I think is even more
Tools came first, because tools are a good substitute for talent when you’re remarkable and unexpected for me: I enjoy it.
starting out. Having the right tool means that you are not improvising, and there are Rather than a source of anxiety, time in the workshop has
usually instructions to follow. A workstand, good Allen keys and adjustable wrenches become therapeutic. When the world is fast and confusing,
were added to my toolbox. Soon specialist tools followed: bearing presses, EZ-outs, I can tune it out and focus on getting one small detail right.
and a high-pressure airline, finally a homemade work bench with a heavy-duty vice. What I did not expect when I started to become a better
My £9.99 toolbox could no longer contain it all and a workshop began
to take shape. Today it’s one of my favourite parts
of the house, and installing some locking metal
cupboards is my goal for this winter, possibly a
My instinct is to pull hard on
heater too. By having the right tools to hand, fewer
bolts were being stripped and my bikes were ready
every tool, but as I slowed down
WHO IS
to ride more of the time.
The final step was to look inwards. I could pay more attention to
MATT
WRAGG?
The more time I spent working on bikes, the more
I started to recognise my patterns. Much of the time,
the breakages came when I was being impatient,
how much force I used
distracted or frustrated. My natural instinct is to pull
Matt Wragg
hard on each and every tool, but as I slowed down
is a freelance I could pay more attention to how much force I used, and to mechanic was how much it would affect the rest of my life
photographer and make sure things were lined up before I applied pressure. too. That process of learning how to take a step back from
writer based near The big breakthrough was learning how to be methodical. the problem is useful in so many situations – whether it’s a
Nice in France. It may sound obvious, but realising that if I take a deep breath kitchen tap leaking water into the cupboard, a dry stone wall
He has been a
and plan my attack, I have a pretty good chance of fixing collapsing in the garden or changing brake pads on the car.
prominent voice
in mountain bike whatever is broken. Paying attention to my stress levels, and Today, when things go wrong, I know what to do. Maybe not
journalism and walking away when I start to get annoyed is another huge step. specifically, but I know I can break the problem down into its
photography for Finally, I recognise the limits of my abilities – I could certainly component stages and plan a strategy for fixing it, and stop to
more than a decade, open a fork damper, but the chance of me getting it back get help when I am in over my head.
his passion is
together in working condition are slim, so I recognise the point It may sound like an empty cliche, but
telling stories about
the bicycles we ride where I need to stop and take it to a professional. learning to be a better bike mechanic has
and the people that In the past, I would spiral. When the first thing went wrong, changed my life. Now if only people were as
ride them. I would panic. Appalled at my own incompetence I would logical to figure out…

106 mbr FEBRUARY 2023

.
9000 9027