Now, I must admit I have never tried electronic gear shifting. But whilst I had the option to put it on my bike I decided to go for mechanical XT 8100. I am not an electrical engineer and I don’t think I would find it so easy to fix electronic derailleur on the side of the road, plus, I already always forget to charge my phone, my earbuds, and my music player before a ride, adding shifter batteries would be the end of me! So the horror when the MTB press announced that XT mec

#MakeMountainBikingChillAgain has started to appear on my social media recently, and I must say, it is awesome to see. For years now all my algorithms have been filled with perfectly curated man-made trails on hard packed earth and huge wooden obstacles, jumps, drops and tight boardwalks; Giant, busy bike parks full of £10,000 bikes and full face helmets. YouTube is full of crazy downhills and massive back flips in the air. Don’t get me wrong, I am in awe at the skills and de

When I was still competing my bike of choice was a 2010 Trek 8500. Back then, for the grand sum of £1500, it was considered a very high end competition alloy hardtail. Shimano XT 770 groupset including hydraulic brakes (although weirdly, but actually not that weird for Trek, a SRAM cassette), carbon seat post, Fox 32 forks, and Bontrager XXL components all around. With its Bontrager XR1 tyres, it was one very light aluminum bike. I loved it. My Trek 8500, kept original except

Well what a real surprise that was. Watching GMBN (Global Mountain Bike Network) Youtube channel as I often do, and they release this amazing video filmed right in our neck of the woods (literally). The forest where many of our trails pass through was home to a round of the French XC championship. It is an excellent video looking at the pro teams, but what is great to hear is how the course is loved for its natural design and obstacles. La Creuse is perfect for that. Anyways