All Arround MTB

WHY'S IT SUPER? - The 5010 was Danny's co-star in his Wee Day Out film, which has been viewed by over 8 million people. He's got a new one for 2017 but it's set up just the same - It doesn't get much cooler than having your own signature kit, and that's just what Danny's brakes and grips are - With some unique set-up tweaks, Danny has taken a normal trail bike way beyond its intended use The Scottish star's hike of choice for taking his trials skills into the hills Danny MacAskill's rise to fame has been quick and impressive. Hopping onto our screens back in 2009, the viral video sensation soon became a superstar thanks to his ability to ride the seemingly impossible. He's used several different bikes over the years, but in last year's Wee Day Out he opted to ride a Santa Cruz 5010. We wanted to know more about why he choose this model, so he agreed to let us have a fiddle with his 2017 bike, which is identical save for the colour.

Best known for his superenthusiastic course previews, Claudio Caluori also manages the Scott DH team and is the man behind some of the world’s best pump tracks With his hands wedged deep into the pockets of his fashionable, lightweight pea coat, Claudio Caluori proclaims, in a voice familiar to race fans all over the world: “It’s a cool track, but I think I should get a bigger jacket!” The cuttingly cold Highland wind is knocking him about, but the Swiss national has a good excuse for underdoing things in the outer layers department – he’s just spent several weeks building a pump track in Pretoria, South Africa, where temperatures were hovering around 35°C. This, though, is Inverness. In December. Admitting defeat, he heads to his hire car to puffa up and returns with an even wider, warmer smile. LIFE AS A LIFER The race scene is full of people who’ve been kicking around the sport, in one form or another, for most of their lives, but few can boast the smorgasbord of hats wor

WHO IS DAVE HEMMING Dave first appeared in the mag in 1989 and, after becoming the first Brit to win a World Championships medal, was picked to ride for Team MBUK in 1991. He went on to race DH for several years, in-between numerous hare-brained feature missions. These days, he dabbles in everything from enduros to Ironmans, while working for Swiss/Italian brand X-Bionic. WHY THIS IS A SUPERBIKE? -A ’90s classic has been reborn -The original Yo Eddy is pure anodised retro radness -Its new counterpart is the perfect blend of old and new school, combining classic styling with an up-to-date ride It’s crazy to see how far things have come since the early ’90s. At that time, racing downhill on a hardtail with a 90mm stem and the seat up your arse was just what people did. While the technology seems primitive now, bike companies more than made up for it when it came to anodising! With its ‘aquafade’ paintjob, metallic blue parts and punk graphics, old-school UK racer Dave Hem

Got some cash to splash? Or want to find a bargain? Here’s what you need to think about...

What influence do pro riders have on the products they use? We meet enduro ace Jerome Clementz at Alpinestars Italian HQ to find Out There are lots of reasons to be jealous of pro riders, but a big one has to be the seemingly endless supply of free bikes and kit that they get. OK, so in return they have to train like machines and put themselves on the line going scary fast, but we’re still a bit envious. None of that kit is any use if it doesn’t perform as it should, though. The last thing you want midway through a race run is to feel like your shorts are restricting you or your knee pads are about to fall down. A stock product is never going to be perfect – after all, something that fits Richie Rude’s monster calves isn’t going to be much good for the rest of us – so it makes sense to tailor-make kit to a pro’s exact specifications. There aren’t many companies who provide this level of support, but Italian race fanatics Alpinestars are one of the few. With riders like Aaron Gwi

We head to the wilds of shropshire to catch up with double world cup winner and former team mbuk racer marc slugger' beaumont and find out how the local scene has influenced him as a rider Who is marc beaumont? Marc is a 32-year-old DH racer from Craven Arms in Shropshire. He got his big break on the Royal/Orange team in 2001, then transitioned to a full pro deal riding for MBUK in 2005. In 2007 Marc won his first World Cup, in Vigo, Spain, after a poor qualifier worked in his favour and saw him dodge torrential rain in the finals. Three years later, after joining GT, he proved it was no fluke with a follow-up win on the super-rough track in Val di Sole, Italy. Marc took 2015 out from racing to work as a presenter for YouTube bike channel GMBN. Unable to resist the lure of the track, he signed with Madison Saracen for 2016. His best result was 26th at the World Cup in Leogang, Austria. As my knife slices through poached egg and sourdough bread, I can’t help but think I’

The downhill race bike that spends more time airborne and flying sideways than any other

This specialist mile-muncher is set up to tackle the world’s longest ultra-endurance events

In their debut year of racing, YT have put wheels beneath the most feared man on the circuit

This new DH machine went from design board to the World Cup top 10 in just a matter of months

We meet Chris King , known for producing immaculately machined and long-lived headsets, hubs and BBs

If you’re looking for a shiny new steed but are bamboozled by all the different wheel sizes, riding disciplines, frame types and component choices, then you’re not alone. In fact, there’s never been a more confusing time to buy a mountain bike. So it’s a good thing we’re here to help you navigate the potential minefield that is choosing a new ride. So before you get hooked in by a sparkly paint job or dazzled by brand-name parts, read on..

Shaun ‘Napalm’ Palmer has raced bikes, skis, snowboards and motorbikes with the world’s best – and partied hard throughout. We meet him to find out what drives this epitome of an extreme sportsman

The Dudes of Hazzard main man’s bike is a steed of painstakingly fettled perfection and one of the lightest rigs in the Enduro World Series pits

Every so often a rider nails such a perfect run that they earn a heroSwelcomeandaplaceinthehistorybooks.HereS our guide to eight of the greatest rides of all time...

Stu Thomson swapped racking up race podiums for racking up online video views and he’s now mixing it with the directorial big dogs in themusic industry.

This doodle-covered ride tells a story worth hearing

1. TALLBOY 2 The Hightower is the replacement for Santa Cruz’s Tallboy LT, which broke the 29er mould when it was launched back in 2012 but had begun to show its age in terms of geometry.

Behind every successful racer is a dedicated mechanic, and in Canadian DH World Cup star Stevie Smith’s case that’s Nigel Reeve.

Ali Jamieson is a guy with a deep-rooted passion for mountain biking. He’s had to traverse mountains and battle demons – both personal and bureaucratic – to build his MTB holiday company, making his story a particularly interesting one...