LIFE ON THE ROAD: THORFINN BARTON

Part 2: The young Scot reaches Portugal

THE HAND OF GOD?

Canadian endurance racer Cory Wallace spends much of his life bikepacking in remote lands. Here, the three-time 24-hour world champ shares a frightening, and enlightening, close call. Did divine intervention save the day?

FREEZE FRAME FOX'S DEN

Top riders including Laurie Greenland, Phoebe Gale, Kaos Seagrave and Dennis Luffman headed to BikePark Wales for the Fox Hit The Park event, to ride the trails and show off their sponsor's latest gear.

SPECIALIZED FUSE COMP 29

£2,000 Spesh’s burly aluminium hardtail is very good, but not perfect

MERIDA ONE-SIXTY 8000

£6,600 Taiwanese brand's most aggressive enduro bike to date

TREK FUEL EX 9.9 XX1 AXS

£12,500 Does Trek's pedigree trail bike still reign supreme on the trail?

GROUP TEST WATERPROOF JACKETS

Twelve of this season's newest styles ridden-in and rated

LONGTERM RIDES

Team bikes ridden hard for a year

TEAM IDOLS

ANDY WARD, OWNER OF THE MBUK-BACKED GT VIRIS TEAM, LOOKS BACK ON A SUCCESSFUL 2022 RACE SEASON FOR HIS FIVE TALENTED YOUNG RIDERS

LET BATTLE COMMENCE!

OLD-SKOOL VERSUS NU-SU AT THE MALVERNS ROUND OF DIRT WARS

BECAUSE IT'S THERE

AFTER A SESSION ON GOOGLE EARTH, JAMES VINCENT AND HIS RAGTAG RIDING CREW HEAD TO SCOTLAND TO RIDE WHAT'S NEVER BEEN RIDDEN BEFORE... AND FIND OUT WHY

HOW TO...RIDE ON THE LIMIT

Pushing just beyond your comfort zone is the key to progression, but just how far should you take it?

#117 Joe Barnes' Hope HB.916

The Barnoldswick crowd's latest hand-crafted carbon fibre superbike, with a splash of imagination only 'Top Chief' could provide

BIKEPACKING FOR BEGINNERS

Rachael Wight shares five lessons she learned on the Pennine Rally

TRAILCREW PHOENIX CYCLEWORK

Rising from flat Suffolk farmland, this perfectly-formed study in how to create elevation where there isn't any is a focal point for East Anglian radness

SCRUBBING

The scrub is an advanced technique, so you should be comfortable moving the bike about in the air before trying this. Begin by finding a jump that you're confident on and isn't too kicky. Too steep a transition and you're at risk of getting bucked over the bars as your bike rebounds. Ideally, the jump will be a little short for the amount of speed you're carrying into it, so that it forces you to push down to meet the landing. Start slow and work up to full speed.

MONDRAKER FOXY CARBON

£6,299 Will the Foxy's new tech blow your MIND?

GETTING HIGH AT HIGH ALTITUDE

World Tour road racer by trade, endurance mountain biker by nature, Lachlan Morton came unstuck on the Colorado Trail Race, finding himself riding in darkness and chasing fairies

Where the Wild Things are

How off-grid can you go on a bikepacking trip? Chris pedals onto Dartmoor accompanied by bushcraft expert Haze Outdoors to find out

HAIL TO THE KING

THE INAUGURAL STONE KING RALLY WAS A GRUELLING TRANS-ALP ENDURO STAGE RACE. OUR TECH ED-IN-CHIEF LIVED TO TELL THE TALE

BIGRIDE DIRTY STOPOUTS

No posh lodge or gourmet food for Max and Russell this issue! This ride was going to be all about roughing it in a Lakes bothy, until the weather changed...

HEAD-TO-HEAD BIKETEST HIGH-PACED HARDT AILS

Designed to cover big distances at speed, we find out which of these two lightweight XC machines is quickest out of the blocks

6 of the Best Summer Gloves

Lightweight paw protectors for a sweat-free grip on the bar

DIRTY SECRETS

What our favourite MTBers get up to when they're not messing about in the mud

Out Front

WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF MOUNTAIN BIKING

LONGTERM RIDES

Team bikes ridden hard for a year

SKY TO SEA

PROBABLY THE BEST ENDURO RACE YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF... MOUNTAINOUS MAYHEM AND FUN IN TURKEY

SPECIALIZED STUMPJUMPER EVO ELITE ALLOY

£4,750 Competitively-priced trail smasher that still pulls its weight

RECHARGED

THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A PROPER MOUNTAIN ADVENTURE TO GET YOU BUZZING, NO MATTER WHAT LIFE THROWS AT YOU

GRIME TIME

EXPERT WORKSHOP ADVICE