6 | C o n t e n t s

C o n t e n t s C o n t e n t s C o n t e

P h o t o g r a p h e r : J o h n G i b s o n R i d e r s : B a r r y W i c k s a n d R y a n T r e b o n L o c a t i o n : A n y m o t e l r o o m , a n y w h e r e , a n y t i m e . 9. Editorial Chipps gets jealous about your riding and your friends. He hopes you’ll reciprocate.

10. Sicily Our Italian correspondent Simon Cittati reports back from the lushness, lava and world-class riding of Sicily.

20. Springtime Benji waxes lyrical about springtime and lambs.

e n t s C o n t e n t s o n t e n t s C o

24. Interview – Rachel Atherton One of the fastest women in the world, and cheerful with it, is tracked down and quizzed for our interview.

31. Bike Test – Alpine Hardtails It’s an unapologetically British thing to ride a hardtail with a big fork. Ben looks at three from Dialled Bikes, DMR and Orange.

40. Column: Blame the Dog Once again Mike Ferrentino steamrollers his way through principles that people hold dear. This issue it’s riser bars. . .

42. Through the Grinder Nine pages of products that have been laundered through the finest Calderdale mist and grit and then reviewed for you.

54. Fish Out Of Water – Corners Just how hard can it be to go round a corner? Depends on how quick you want to be. Nigel Page shows that it takes a lot of skill to do it well.

63. Grouptest: Summer Gloves A look at 19 pairs of full fingered gloves that are light enough for all-summer use.

70. Column: Roly Lambert Too much coffee has once again got Roly thinking. This time it’s about a bike that adjusts to your terrain – with clothing to match.

72. Head To Head – Tomac Snyper vs Pace 506 Two bikes aimed squarely at the all-mountain rider pitched head to head on the same terrain.

74. Column: Phillip Diprose Phillip Diprose shares his guilty midweek secret: he likes to go out into the deserted woods on his bike and... camp.

76. Local Bikes for Local People Just how differently do riders from the south set up their bikes compared to riders from the north, or Wales, or Scotland? Benji investigates.

83. Fitness – Peaking for an event Matt Hart guides you through the steps needed to be on top form for your chosen event of the season.

88. Long Term Test Bikes A regular look at the chosen bikes of the editorial team.

92. Column: Jon Woodhouse Jon Woodhouse is a capable rider, but even he gets visited by The Fear every now and again.

94. Wheels Chipps looks at the tools you need to maintain and build wheels at home and then goes off into fluffy prose about how beautiful handbuilt wheels are.

100. Column: Faye Stewart Our girl on the ground, Faye has been off doing sneaky practice on the BMX track.

102. Competition – Win Tickets to Fort William We have a Jiffy bag of tickets to the Fort William World Cup to give away. Which means you have a good chance of winning!

104. Gallery Sim’s excelled himself this issue with some gorgeous images from around the world to inspire you to ride.

110. What Women Want Chipps and the Singletrack Women’s Test Squad have some sage advice about buying bikes for women with bikes from Kona, Scott, Santa Cruz, Titus and Orange.

118. Route.Guide – The Cotswolds More than just home to twee thatched villages, the Cotswold Hills have some great, and quiet, trails within spitting distance of Bristol.

126. Members’ Club Subscribe to Singletrack. Get great discounts all over the place. Simple.

127. Outro Mental pictures and crazy ponderings as usual. Who writes this stuff?