Shred Magazine Issue #57

DON’T GIVE UP THE DAY JOB? Shred talks to two National Champions who also have day jobs

BIKES

FA S H I O N

TRAILS

LIFESTYLE

RACING

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SH RED 57 INTRO

We’ve been pretty busy at Shred HQ so this issue we took everything home. That’s right, we barely left our own front door and did a whole issue on what’s great about the South West of the UK, our homeland. We have some great riders, we have some great trails and we also have the potential to be a riding area that equals South Wales or Scotland for some gnarly riding spots and banging trail centres. We also spoke to some National Champions, but not your usual run of the mill pro’s, we got together with the National Champions that also have day jobs. Don’t forget if you can’t get hold of a printed copy of Shred (they are in cool bike stores and at events nationwide) then you can subscribe at our website www.shredstore.co.uk.

Thanks for reading. Steve Toze, Editor

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CAN’T USE FULL TRAVEL? WE SOLVED THAT.

TREK MOUNTAIN BIKES. SOLUTIONS FOR THE DIRT.

There’s an old score to be settled this winter, men and women will line up to do battle for the border on the ancient trails of the historic Mt Edgcumbe House. Devon will go head to head with Cornwall to decide which county truly rules the trails. A fantastic trail run that will leave one county victorious and another with a longing for a rematch.

Who’s the best Devon or Cornwall?

Enter by post or online and pick your team.

Entries are £15 for non club runners, £13 for club runners with a discount if you enter both rounds. All runners recieve a t-shirt and there’ll be spot prizes and winners medals as well as a few special prizes along the way. Enter online at:

shred NEWS

TRAIL CENTRE SHOWDOWN

Some locals kick off about a new Trail Centre in Devon, but it could be anywhere!

As mountain bikers we get to see all the goodness that trail centres bring, they get us closer to nature, they offer a riding experience that whilst a bit harsh on nature during construction overall offer a kinder way for man to ride his machine in the forest, especially when it’s pouring down outside. We don’t see the bad side of trail centres as we see the good they bring.

Imagine if you couldn’t see the good; imagine if you lived in a housing estate and you didn’t travel very often and you’d never seen a trail centre. And then someone wanted to build one next to your house. This is exactly what is happening in Plymouth and despite no real objections in the planning stages now

it’s got to the point where it may become a reality there’s the inevitable friction. For the local riding crew there’s frustration, most of them can understand the reasons for the local people to complain but they also know that they are wrong, unfounded and just plain crazy in some instances. It would seem that Generation X and Y are far more partial to some outdoor sports and leapt on the trail centre with gusto, the older people of the region are upset, they don’t want change, they want the woods to remain the same. The trail centre will bring much needed visitors to the region, for us it will be an asset and will help more people ride bikes, for now the fight goes on.

shred XMAS ride for charity

Get involved with Shred this Christmas and help your community Last year we organised the first ever Santa Shredz ride in our hometown of Plymouth. It was a great success, 25 or so mountain biking Santa’s raised a bunch of money for our local homeless charity and had an amazing laugh doing it. We are doing it again and we want your help, to organise your own Santa Shredz ride on your patch. There’s a prize for the Santa Shredz organiser that raises the most cash for their local homeless charity and we’ll be putting photos of all of the Santa Shredz rides in our January issue of Shred Magazine.

Head to www.shredstore.co.uk for the full information and download an info pack.

e n bik ntai y ride u o M arit ch

EDITOR: Steve Toze steve@shredlimited.com ADMIN & SUBS: James Birch james@shredlimited.com AD SALES Mel Hamilton mel@shredlimited.com DESIGN: Adam T Farley OTHERS: William @ Ethos Geoff Waugh Simon Young Snapper Chick Bob Bogden Williams Jim Pascoe Paul West Follow us online at: www.shredmagazine.com Follow us on twitter: @shredmagazine Or catch up with us at major, and a few minor, MTB events in 2011/12 This publication is © Shred Limited 2011. All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced without consent from the publisher, and not without applicable credit. Shred Limited reserve the right to alter, amend, accept or reject submitted material for publication. Please don’t send us original copies of anything if you expect to get them back. Every effort is made to make sure the content of Shred is correct. Shred Limited, however, cannot be held responsible for any errors, omissions or actions that are taken based on the content of Shred Magazine. The opinions within Shred Magazine do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. Rip off our magazine and we’ll send the boys round to your bike shed. Shred is printed in Devon with a decent deal for the environment.

Shred Limited New Victoria House Weston Park Road Plymouth PL3 4NX Tel. 01752 663666 e.mail: sales@shredlimited.com www.shredlimited.com

Shizzle Greetings kids, here’s some stuff that’s been happening out in the big world of Mountain Biking some we stole off Facebook and Twitter but some we actually found our for ourselves (or made up). Torq have sacked off Kona and will be riding Whyte Bikes for 2012, Luke ‘Egwood’ Eggar is off the Shred National Trust team and back with Southfork Racing. In the ‘industry’ Silverfish UK have taken over as distributer of Yeti bikes so expect a few more of them around the Shred office, the Eurobike and Interbike trade shows went well, the big lottery winning number not surprisingly twentynine as some manufacturers now admit they were wrong not to have them sooner and others claim that all 29ers were shit until they built one. In the world of 4X someone did something and won a race but no one cares as no one does it anymore. In DH some British bloke called Danny ‘the hitman’ Hart is now World Champion as is British Junior rider Manon Carpenter. Our Shred editor is rumoured to have retired from racing, the South West champs were won by John Whittington who is rumoured not to live in the South West but got it by doing a piratey accent at sign on. The South West champs course at Combe Sydenham was branded as the toughest XC race off all time with a body count of around a dozen. Specialized have released new female specific road race bike with McClaren called the Clunge, the Kielder 100 was too hard for most people with only around 150 making it to the end, which means around 650 people are lightweights that shouldn’t have signed up. Losers.

shred NEWS

Sleepless in the Saddle

News from the 24hour racing scene across the globe Now in its 10th year Sleepless has survived a change of venue, several changes of title sponsors and enough rain to last a lifetime.

The ultra friendly vibe and easy logistics of this year’s event are S.I.T.S trademarks and should’ve been pretty familiar to anyone that’s raced at sleepless before; as should the sudden down pour about 5 laps in. “Not good in the wet” is how most people would describe the singletrack sections at Catton Park but with several thousand wheels running through the sticky mess left after the rain had stopped a dry line returned pretty quickly and times were back down after a couple of laps. They’ve done quite a bit of work on the course in the last couple of years and really it rides pretty well, the silly off camber sections have all gone and the figure of eight layout gives the solos two chances to moan at their pit crew every lap.

Perfect for those 3am tantrums.

The World Solo Champs is all change.

You wait two years for a World 24 Hour Solo Championship, and then two come along at once. After a year without a World

Solo event Twenty4sports, the World Solo Championship organisation, plan to run next years event up in Canmore Alberta, home to the annual 24 hours of Adrenaline.

What you might not be aware of yet is the plan to run an alternative Solo World event organised this time by twenty4sports former event partners C.O.R.C. These guys were the hosts when the Solo Worlds landed in Canberra last year and have a whole bunch of experience running top line 24hour events in Oz. Their event will be the centre piece of a week long festival of mountain biking next May at the 24h Finale Ligure on the Italian Med. Quite how these two events will sit together on the calendar remains to be seen. Both teams have a proven record of delivering world class events and last year, working in collaboration provided the sort of professionally run showcase that the sport deserves.C.O.R.C. look to be in it for the long haul and have detailed dates and venues in their press release, including Fort William in 2014.

WINTER DUATHLONS

For people that suck at mountain biking

CHASER DEER D U AT H L O N

Running and riding a bike makes a change from just riding a bike. First up the Run Rider duathlon at Ashton Court, Bristol on the 16th October and then the National Trust will be hosting three Deer Chaser duathlon events during December, January and March. More info on the Deer Chaser events at www. shredevents.com or the Run Rider at www.runrider.co.uk.

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shred NEWS

FOREST OF DEAN TRAILS REBORN New trails set to become the best Welsh trails not in Wales!

Rowan Sorrell and the boys from back on track have been busy building in Cannop. The new blue trail is part of the wider 1SW project which has already given us more trails at Haldon and Ashton Court. The new Vederer’s trail sits alongside the original red route and the downhill tracks, all starting off from the Cannop car park. They take in new parts of the forest and finish in a super fun swooping decent which will leave you with a massive grin on your face. Don’t be put off by the moderate grade of this trail, the faster you ride it the more fun it is, even Steve Jones of Dirt fame gave it the thumbs up on a recent visit. The final decent is currently graded red and an alternative finish is being investigated, hopefully keeping both lines.

There is also a fun little skills loop which is well

worth a couple of spins around and means that there is now a proper days riding at Cannop.

There will be further developments at Cannop including a bridge across the main road which opens up a huge area of forest to be explored without having to brave the traffic. The café has had a new bike corale installed so that you can rest your steed up whilst you get a brew. The new trail and facilities are yet another really good addition to the growing number of trails around the South West with still more to come over the next 2 years from Paul Hawkins and the rest of his team.

To find out more about 1SW have a look on their website www.1SW.org.uk

issuefiftyFIVE PAGE 17

DON’T GIVE UP THE DAY JOB?

Paul Hopkins, Veteran National Champ and man of distinction. Shred meets him...

This was the first time I had ever met Paul Hopkins.

If you are mountain bike racer in the south then you probably have heard of him, i’d heard of him and I’d also seen him ride plenty of times, usually to pretty good effect. He’s one of those guys that’s been around for years and he probably doesn’t realise that when he’s racing people talk about it, everyone enjoys watching Paul Hopkins race. Hopkins doesn’t fit into what you’d expect from a rider of his standard, he’s not an elite rider and he doesn’t race to pay the bills which is why he’s driving about in a Jag and not a rusted out Ford Fiesta. He acts like a pro, he trains like a pro and he rides like a pro so it was no surprise that this year he ended up with the National Champions jersey on his back.

So why do they like to see him race? You only have to take his race at Dalby Forest British XC this year, Hopkins rolls up late to the start and is gridded at the back, the first kilometre or so of track is narrow, twisty single track with only a couple of quick overtaking spots yet somehow between the starting gun and the end of this first kilometre Hopkins managed to get his way through pretty much the entire Vet category, at least 100 or so riders - people almost enjoy getting out of his way. Over the granite slab sections Hopkins is happy to get the bike in the air, he’s the perfect ambassador for his sponsors Merida.

Most people think Paul is an elite level rider that is hiding out in Vets but in fact Hopkins was never in Elite, he raced in Experts and did pretty well and has raced solidly every year for the past twenty years, how does he find the enthusiasm to never miss a season? “I tend to stop riding at the end of the season and totally put the bike down and don’t even look at it until I really, really want to ride it again.

Then you have a bit of motivation to train and once you start doing well in a few races the enthusiasm comes.” said Hopkins. “I really enjoy the training and Shaftesbury is a really small place but there’s a good riding scene so I can really enjoy it”.

Probably Paul’s biggest claim to fame came from being the star of the reality TV show ‘So you want to be a F1 Driver’ taking people out of everyday life and seeing how the cope being a Formula One driver. Hopkins is pretty proud of being part of that experience, “It gave me a really good profile at the time as it was on TV everywhere and probably is still being shown on the Dave Channel somewhere, I got from around 3500 right down to the final three and got the chance to drive a Benetton F1 car, it was an amazing experience”.

“

One of Paul’s biggest influences is fitness trainer Bernie Shrowsbury - trainer to F1 stars such as Jenson Button and himself a former SBS member. He helped Paul develop a training method that he has used right up to this day. Paul is happy to be a bit of showboater, “Courses have changed a lot over the years, when the conditions are tough or a little more technical it is a good opportunity to scare yourself a little bit or get stuck in, these are the times I do the best.”

Despite being the wrong side of forty age hasn’t really caught up with Hopkins, “I train a bit smarter and work on specific areas for the races I am going to do, I try to keep it enjoyable and I find it a great stress reliever. I have a business to run and I have two kids and a really understanding wife so it is good to get on the bike and blast out 30miles or so after work.” Does he wish that he’d tried to make it as a Pro cyclist? “No, there is that bit of you that wishes your tried to do it but I am aware of the negative side of things, a bad year on the bike could be the end of it but now if I can’t ride I can throw myself into more time with my work or my family without feeling any pressure to ride or race”.

So how come Paul Hopkins is rolling around in a big black Jaguar, “I always wanted one, I had a crappy Mazda before and I really liked the look of them. My business has been going well so I thought I’d get one” So what does he do? He sells caravans, as he says “I’m a proper Pikey!”

Ashton Court

Shred met Paul at Ashton Court in Bristol, we’d heard good things about the new trail but we were blown away by the difference between the new trails at Ashton Court and the old favourite trail used for many a Bristol Bike Fest. The main difference is sustainability, the new trail is built like all good trail centres with decent drainage and a sound riding surface. What is really great though is the variety of good lines and the fact that is pretty much flat the whole way round so you can really give it full beans and see just how long you last without any descents to rest on. We were pretty much unable to ride the full loop at full tilt, that said Paul Hopkins was never really out of breath.

A good chance to ride the trails come in the form of Oktoberfest held on the 15th October, or you can do what we did and roll up and ride anytime you like!

THE MAGIC ROLLERCOASTER: ASHTON COURT

the story so far .....

(BONTRAGER)

In the day we sweat it out in the streets of a runaway American dream At night we ride through mansions of glory in suicide machines Sprung from cages out on highway 9, Chrome wheeled, fuel injected and steppin out over the line Baby this town rips the bones from your back Its a death trap, it’s a suicide rap We gotta get out while were young `cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run.

Heading out for a lap/Photo:Geoff Waugh/ Location:Bontrager Twentyfour12

AN AMERICAN MOUNTAINBIKER IN PLYMOUTH

I’m not sure how much of the 2011 Bontrager Twentyfour12 was Keith Bontrager’s american dream, but needless to say whichever bit it was the Californian former bike maker still got stuck in there himself. I didn’t even see Keith this year, I heard his voice from the back of the rider briefing.

When I say back, I actually mean back at the van as I tried to bolt together my single speed bike bolting false hope in the form of a smaller chainring. All of this grease-monkery was in vain, the singlespeed was thrown into my van in disgust two laps in and I rode a normal bike for the rest of the event. The track was good, fun and rideable without an over indulgence in sickening climbs or boring fire road sections. From a rider’s point of view the riding was good, the downhill into the finish was the scene of many mini battles between riders keen not to lose face on the run home and plenty of chest puffing tales around the pit area, as well as a few scars and bruises.The real triumph of Bontrager Twentyfour12 has got nothing to do with riding. Bontrager brings something pretty special to the table, this year a big tent, a photo booth, a cool goody bag and a bunch of people that want everyone to feel the same experience. There’s no top table at Bontrager Twentyfour12, there’s no special treatment, just every rider getting their noses in the trough and having a great time. The feel of Bontrager Twentyfour12 is a feeling not be missed, its not about the mountain bikes or podiums or the failing lap strategies scribbled on whiteboards at 3am. It’s about friends not seen for twelve months, beers shared and stories around the camp fire. If this was Keith’s american dream then dreams can come true.

Spannering in the dark/Photo:Geoff Waugh/ Location:Bontrager Twentyfour12

It’s about friends not seen for twelve months, beers shared and stories around the camp fire

Riders, and organisers, relax/Photo:Geoff Waugh/ Location:Bontrager Twentyfour12

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SHRED BIKE TEST MODA ENCORE

Shred gets hold of a top end race bike that comes in around half the price of your normal top end race bike...and likes it.

Rider:James Birch / Photo:Snapper Chick/ Location:RaceFace Circus of Dirt, Woodbury Common

BIKE TEST

MODA ENCORE

1 American Classic Wheels Light and fast, tubeless ready and way beyond the type of wheels you’d normally get at this price point.

Last issue we took a Giant 29er to the Alps, it saw a pretty tough ordeal so this issue we brought things a little closer to home and got a bike that was cheaper, simpler and smashed it up on our local race circuit.

The Moda Encore is cheap, it’s £2399 which I’ll admit is not cheap if you are buying your bike from the Littlewoods catalogue but if you are looking for a full blown race bike that will double up as a decent trail bike then it’s about half the money that some people spend. The Moda doesn’t have much of a pedigree and most people will never have heard of them but they’ve been pretty active on the UK race scene for the past couple of years and sponsor a few riders. The bikes are designed here in the UK, obviously they are not made in the UK because nothing is really made in the UK anymore - especially carbon framed bikes.

“it’s £2399 which I’ll admit is not cheap if you are buying your bike from the Littlewoods catalogue” Specification is this bikes strongest selling point. It has a stack of decent parts that will make many people look beyond the frame, the American Classic wheels are a hit at Shred, we’ve seen the 29er version of this wheel in action and they are light, roll fast and the bearings hold up well they also look really nice. The SRAM X9 groupset is also really hot and looks great in red with the fork and frame colours. The choice of a Reba RLT with remote lock out was a good one too, this 100mm fork is hugely capable. With a Kore carbon bar and and stem the overall spec choice is one from a bike that would cost more cash which suggests that the frame is going to be a bit crap, but it’s not.

The frame design is ok, nice stiff headtube and BB, a pretty classic fuss free design and a decent paint job the frame does a decent job of holding the parts together. On the trail the bike rides really well, handling isn’t as twitchy as we like in some instances but very forgiving and stable. The light wheels and fast rolling tyres give it immediate good pace and the reasonably wide bar gives you enough room to throw the bike about a bit. At 23.5lb it’s not really very light for XC bike of today’s standards but you could replace the crankset and lose a bit of weight or just accept that 23.5lbs is still pretty light for a mountain bike and it doesn’t suffer from that horrible plastic sound that really light carbon bikes seem to have.

The Moda Encore is a great start for Moda Bikes and their wise decision to build a bike based around value, a solid ride and a multitude of uses should win them fans in the UK. We really enjoyed racing this bike is some really gnarly local races and it took everything we could throw at it with no bother.

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American Classic Seatpost

Kore Bars and Stem

RockShox Reba RLT

Kenda Tomac Tyres

The wheels may be good but the seatpost isn’t so great.

Fiddly to set up and we’re not sure about the graphics either

Nice 660mm width low riser and carbon stem are a decent offering.

The shape feels good too. Lock on grips are a must so good spec.

Another fine choice. 100mm fork with remote lock out is a real bonus and makes the switch between race mode and trail mode even easier.

Nice, fat and fast rolling tyre that helps turn this bike into a real speed demon in the dry Thankfully it didn’t rain.

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DON’T GIVE UP THE DAY JOB?

Carla Haines, U23 National Champ at age 20 and a whole life in front of her, she tells us what got her to this point...

I took part in every sport they had. From netball to dodge ball, athletics to volleyball and I can even remember playing Tag Rugby. I was a bit of a school sports geek. Although I participated in a variety of sports I had a focus on swimming, running and a bit of cycling. I swam for one of the best swimming clubs in Great Britain and ran for Plymouth Athletics club. I was lucky that my parents were very active and they supported my sister, Katie and I in everything we did.

Just after my 10th birthday Katie and I took part in our very first Triathlon, we both won so entered more races within the South West.

My time at Secondary school was very busy.

Not content with competing in Triathlons I also competed in the three disciplines separately. Most mornings involved a 5.30am wake up for swimming training. It was more like a roll out of bed and

zombie walk to the car, half asleep until we got to the pool! I was a National Standard swimmer and many weekends were spent away competing with the club at various meets. Katie and I were getting more serious with training for Triathlon, which at times, was difficult to balance the three disciplines around school work, but we loved it.

I never trained in cycling; I just rode my bike whenever I fancied it with my dad and sister. This was until I joined a club, Bikinmotion, which is based in Torquay, Devon. At the beginning of 2007, I had a go at a local mountain bike race; known to many of us as Soggy Bottom! I had so much fun I entered the whole series in the youth category and won them all. There was something in mountain biking that I still feel the same about today and that is it’s very addictive.

Rider:Carla Haines / Photo:Bob Bogden Williams/ Location:Cann Woods, Plymouth

I have enjoyed every race I have competed in whatever position I was and fell in love with the sport straight away. With this, I had to make a very big decision whether to carry on with triathlon or concentrate solely on mountain biking. In my mind now I made the right choice, even though it was very difficult for me. I still miss it but who says I can never do a triathlon again?

I wouldn’t have been able to do all of this without the support from my parents and sister. Having such a caring family that pick you up whenever you get knocked down is amazing. It makes you appreciate them even more. However, when you find out that someone as close as your own sister is in hospital fighting for her life in intensive care, the world comes crashing down on you. In unforeseen circumstances she desperately needed a liver transplant. Work commitments and training were dropped to support Katie in this traumatic experience. Seeing tubes connected to beeping machines keeping her alive was an image I can never forget. It makes you realise how fragile life really is and you never know what can happen. If it wasn’t for the surgeons giving her a second chance she would not be here today. Through this I learnt so many things; how to be strong minded and never give up and believe that if you really want something it is not impossible to achieve.

I slowly worked my way up through the categories of Youth and Junior in the National Mountain Bike series picking up many podium positions on the way.

Moving up from Junior to U23 Elite was a big step for me, having found a team that believes in me as I believe in myself has been a great advantage to the goals I set myself now and in the future. I survived the year; knowing what to expect I was ready to race and take on the World in my 2nd year as an Elite. With a slow start to the year I raced in the UK, Germany and Czech World Cups. As I mentioned earlier, mountain biking is very addictive. Since competing abroad I have never felt so alive and even more determined to get where I want to be.

My goal this year was to win the U23 National Champs. I was certain that I would win it, the race couldn’t have gone more perfectly for me; course conditions were great, I was on form and was in a zone I have never been before, so focussed and in control. Some days I have to remind myself that I am National Champion, and looking up in my room to see my medal and number board framed and Jersey hanging up I just smile and laugh to myself, IT’S TRUE. My life experiences at age of 20 have made me into the person I am today; a strong minded individual who will fight whatever is thrown at me and follow my dream and doing what I love most; riding my bike. I have a long way to go, but if you train hard you will not only be hard, you will be hard to beat!

if you train hard you will not only be hard, you will be hard to beat!

Rider:Carla Haines / Photo:Bob Bogden Williams/ Location:Cann Woods, Plymouth

CONSUMERISM 1

RaceFace Next SL 2x10 Crankset £595

At the moment we’d have to say that very few cranksets do a reasonable job of getting on top of Shimano’s XTR crankset in the style stakes but whilst in a 3x10 set up the XTR looks great, in a 2x10 its looks a bit like a hot model with an eye patch pretty decent but you know something is missing. RaceFace’s Next SL 2x10 looks like it was designed to be this way - and they are made of carbon. We usually prefer a decent alloy crank for most riding duties but for some only carbon will do. They are pretty expenive at just under £600 but they weigh just 595g including a BB come in three different ring configurations (26/38, 28/40, 30/42) and have a titanium spindle. Chainrings are RaceFace’s Turbine rings which have used for ages and find them to shift as well as Shimano and a lot better than SRAM. All in all a pretty looking piece of kit that delivers the goods for people that must have the best. www.silverfish-uk.com

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e.thirteen XCX wheels Price £TBC

When US brand e.thirteen took over hub brand Chub and crank brand The Hive a couple of years back it was inevitable that the company made famous by chain devices would spread its wings. We’ve already been riding e.thirteen’s cranks and they are a wonderful piece of design, using many new features and ideas such as the polygonal interface and a really neat BB cup system with decent seals. The wheels are available shortly and come in XC, DH and All Mountain variations with the latter also available as a 29er wheel. The XCX features a custom Scandium 21mm rim, tubeless ready, DT Swiss Super Comp spokes, QR/ QR15 & 142mm axle options and larger flanges (say that without smiling) to increase spoke triangulation giving Weight is a very respectable 657g for the front and 787g for the rear. www.silverfish-uk.com Here’s how we review our products at Shred. First up we try to only review products from the people that support Shred Mag with advertising or, if the product is of significant interest to our readers. This stops us being biased because we only feature advertisers products.Next up if they arrive and they are a bit shit then we don’t put them in, we’ve only got limited space so what’s the point of filling it with junk. Once we’ve got to this point we use three criteria; Function, does it do the job intended?

Design, has the product been made to look and perform beyond just its function? Style, does the product exude a sense of desirability?

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Mavic Plasma Helmet

£125

When Mavic released their first range of clothing we immediately fell in love with it. What should have been a euro looking bunch of lycra actually turned out to be a high end, almost bespoke, line of clothing that performs brilliantly, lasts well and looks good. Mavic have taken this ethos into a range of helmets for road and mtb. Matt finish on this black Plasma helmet with nice detailing and a familiar fit that is nothing remarkable but a high quality alternative to some of the other top end helmets on the market. One for Mavic fans.

5

YETI SB66 £TBC

I’ve wanted a Yeti for years, I am not sure why I never got one sooner maybe I couldn’t afford it, maybe I never really saw the exact one I wanted.

For 2012 the Yeti range is being handled by Silverfish UK, which is great as they are near our offices, but also good as the range is much bigger for 2012. This model is the SB66 which is set to be the perfect trail centre rig there also an extended range of 29er bikes including the SB 96 which uses some of the elements of the bike above but on a 29er platform that still has 5” of travel in the tank, this is the bike that will be very popular at Shred. More info in our next issue and hopefully an exclusive test on the SB66.

4

TRP Parabox cable to disc converter £350

TRP is the race product development arm of global brake giantsTektro, famous in the early 90s for their ano levers and their pre-V-brake systems that gave Shimano a run for their money. Much anticipated and UK launched at CYCLE, the TRP Parabox will convert cable operated brake levers and STI type shifters to hydraulic brakes. Supplied as a complete ready-to-ride kit with converter, callipers and rotors. All you’ll need is a disc-specific cross bike or you could go Tomac style and run drops on your MTB. www.trpbrakes.com

6

LEZYNE Superdrive LED light £99.99

Well established for their high level of emphasis on product design and exceptional quality it was only a matter of time before the Lezyne net cast a little wider away from the pumps and multi tools they have become famous for. Most interesting for us was this LED light; packing a mighty 250 lumens into a small 126g package which is sealed up in a weatherproof aluminium housing. Like your Garmin or other gadgets this will charge from USB, comes in a choice of stealth colours (black, grey, silver) and will run for about 1.5hrs on full gas or as long as 4hrs on a steady low setting. We’ll get some proper test samples and check them out for next issue. www.upgradebikes.co.uk

Hat from Fox

Jacket, Shorts& Socks from Surface

Shred Socks by Sockguy

Shorts by Madison

Hoody by Fox

Jersey by Madison

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dates with destiny Saturday 1st October Wiggle Super Series Brockenhurst College, Hampshire www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk Saturday 1st October Grantown XC Race Anagach Community Forest, Grantown-on-Spey www.wolfpaxriders.com

SEND YOUR EVENT DATES TO JAMES@SHREDLIMITED.COM FOR NEXT ISSUE

Saturday 8th October XT Enduro Hawley Lake XCracer.com

Saturday 15th October Kona Oktoberfest 8 hour Enduro Ashton Court XCracer.com

Saturday 8th October Relentless 24 Enduro Fort William XCracer.com

Sunday 16th October Run Rider Duathlon Ashton Court

Saturday 8th - 9th October Marin Exposure Dusk til Dawn Thetfrod Forest, Suffolk www.thetfordmtbracing.com

Saturday 22nd October Night of the Knobbly Tread Black Park Country Park, Bucks www.blackparkraces.co.uk

Sunday 9th October St Filian’s MTV Challenge The Vellage Store, Perthshire www.margaretjgordonart.co.uk

Sunday 23rd October Black Park Duathlon Black Park Country Park, www.blackparkraces.co.uk

Sunday 2nd October Viking Challenge Enduro Redmile School xcracer.com

Sunday 9th October Roc d’Azur Enduro Frejus, France XC Racer.com

Sunday 23rd October Sweat Shop Black Park Duathlon Black Park Country Park XCracer.com

Saturday 8th October Gladiator Challenge MTB Sportive Crompton Moor

Saturday 15th October Oktoberfest Kielder Enduro Kielder Forest

Saturday 29th October Coed Y Brenin Off Road Duathlon Coed Y Brenin, Wales

Sunday 2nd October Super Enduro Southern UK Caesar’s Camp, Aldershot www.superenduro.co.uk Sunday 2nd October Howies Coed y Brenin Enduro Coed y Brenin Forest, Wales www.summitcycles.co.uk

Sunday 30th October Devon vs Cornwall 10K Mt Edgcumbe www.shredevents.com Saturday 5th November Go-MTB North Wales Series Nant Bwich yr Haearn, Conwy www.welshcycling.co.uk Sunday 6th November Whyte Winter Enduro Rd 1 Thetford Forest, Suffolk www.thetfordmtbracing.com Sunday 20th November Wiggle Super Series Norden Park, Corfe Castle www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk Sunday 4th December Whyte Winter Enduro Round 2 MTB Endurance Thetford Forest, Suffolk Other places to look for events www.xcracer.com www.britishcycling.org.uk www.shredevents.com

subscribe and get a pair of shred socks for free 4 issues & socks £10 next issue December

Stratos

FIT AND PERFORMANCE Ergo 3D Pro Insert: high density progressive cushioning with 3 different densities and 4 different thicknesses, preshaped foam for form fitting comfort.

Air Stretch Seamless under short: lightweight hightly elastic fabric with a seamless construction for form fitting comfort and support.

Ergo pockets: 2 zipped thigh pockets bonded in lightweight durable materials.

www.mavic.com

ANY TRAIL, ANY TAIL Whether you’re heading out to endure an epic End to End challenge, looking to take on the rigours of a World Cup XC or just the regular Sunday forest thrash SDG’s top end carbon and titanium railed saddles have you covered. Our range of performance road and XC inspired saddles are all grown from our legendary Bel-Air saddle. Whether your preference is the slimmed down race ready Circuit or the more comfort driven Formula and Falcon shapes there is an SDG saddle for any trail, and any tail.

FALCON: £89.95 Solid Titanium (220g)

CIRCUIT: £149.95 Carbon (165g)

FORMULA FXR: £99.95 Solid Titanium (230g)