contents

9. Editorial Chipps jumps to his doom, with only a parachute to save him – and still finds mountain bike parallels.

10. The HimaChal Alex Baker went to India to ride the Himalayan Challenge race. Lots of ups, lots of downs and lots of tired smiles.

20. Blame the Dog: Depreciating Radness Mike Ferrentino’s regular take on the twisted world of the bicycle.

22. Secret Spots - Huw Cooke Huw Cooke takes a trip to the dark side of the woods to find his own kind of peace.

26. Head to head Two bikes pitted against each other. In this issue a Cotic BFe and a Kona Five-O hardtail go head to head.

30. Interview – Ian Warby of the CTC Ian Warby is the Mountain Bike Officer of the Cyclists’ Touring Club and all round good guy. Ben catches up with him.

37. Bike Test – Titanium Full Sussers Is there a call for ti full suspension? Chipps tests three bouncy bikes from Global, Merlin and Titus to find out.

46. Column - Philly D Have you seen Philip Diprose’s mojo? He’s lost it and he wants it back.

48. Grinder Lots of products sanded down and tested to the max in the wintery weather, including Giant’s new Trance-X and Specialized’s women-only Myka.

58. The Eiger Sanction Cris Bloomfield rides a new route through the Austrian Alps, finishing at the foot of the famous, and deadly, Eiger.

67. Grouptest: Hydration Packs A dozen hydration packs around the £70 mark trail-rated.

76. Column - Faye Stewart Our ‘Trail Swap’ author returns with a regular view on mountain biking.

78. Fitness – Spring Training Matt Hart has let you cruise over winter long enough. Here he gives you the chance to get fit in time for the summer. But it won’t be easy.

84. Unsung Heroes Dave Garoutte from DKG Engineering developed monocoque trials bikes and unicrown forks long before you even started riding.

86. Grouptest: High End Disc Brakes A test of the best disc brakes you can buy today.

94. Column – Roly Lambert Roly’s just been into the garage. He found – that he’d not actually thrown anything away. Ever...

96. Long Term Test Bikes A look at the respective sheds of some of the staffers here. In this issue, Ben’s Cannondale Prophet, Sim’s Giant Anthem and Dave’s custom Kona one-speed.

100. Competition Win! A Gary Fisher HiFi Plus, worth £1400. Top bike, top competition.

102. Gallery Is it time for summer yet? Dusty trails? No? Then let us remind you what they look like in our photo gallery.

106. NAHBS David Agnew ponders the worth of expensive bikes while trolling the aisles of the North American Handmade Bike Show.

116. Route Guide: The Gower Benji and faithful ride-buddy Jon take on the wilds of Wales’ Gower Peninsula all to bring you a route guide worthy of riding.

127. Outro A scary look behind the scenes (behind the bar actually) of the Singletrack Awards Dinner.

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