TOM’S MARIN EL ROY£2,375

Dry, dusty trails have our tech editor emerging blinking into the sunlight

While I’m sure that by the time you read this things will have changed, recently the weather has been prime for riding. It hasn’t rained properly for weeks and the sun has been shining. Much like how winter slop makes it a battle to keep your tyres pointing in the right direction, so do the current super-dry and dusty trail conditions. There’s no hero dirt to speak of, just a fine sprinkling of dust over hardpack. The result is a delicious mix of fast rolling and instant-breakaway traction that means bike handling has to be absolutely on-point to get close to top speed. I love it!

With summer nearly here and travel restrictions on the wane, it’s been amazing getting out and riding properly with friends in slightly further-flung places once again. I’ve been rediscovering riding spots that I once used to frequent, checking out the amazing work done by the local trail builders and, of course, enjoying some post-ride barbecues!

The El Roy remains my bike of choice for weekend rides, and is proving a reliable partner when firing down the trail blind behind mates. I’ve talked before about its frankly ridiculous (in a good way) geometry – a front end so long that it’s two corners ahead of the rear, and a seat angle that feels almost awkward on the flat but works so well on steep climbs. This gives the bike a feeling of steadfast security, which ensures that when hitting those steep, nadgery trails I love, I’m never left a quivering mess of nerves.

As I’ve detailed in past issues, the El Roy is my testbed for both wheels and brakes this spring. I’ve been trying to get ahead with a few First Rides and kit tests, but they’re pretty much done now, so I’m freer to get swapping hoops and stoppers. I can’t see myself changing much else on the bike while this is ongoing. However, with my dropper cable in desperate need of some TLC, I have made one fairly significant change...

Alongside the El Roy, I’ve been riding a Specialized Epic XC bike a fair bit. The Epic comes with a rigid post and, while I’ve been happy highposting it for the most part, there have been times when I’ve missed having a dropper. So I’ve got hold of one for it – and not just any old post, but a wireless RockShox Reverb AXS. Yes, this is an expensive bit of kit, but I can run it on both bikes, which effectively halves its price, right?! It’s stupidly easy to swap over – I’ve fitted a clamp for the remote on both bars so all I have to do is swap the controller and post between the bikes. Its action is faultless and there are no cables to get sticky! www.marinbikes.com