MEDIA MENTOR PLEASE

HARDCORE HARDTAILS

Dear Jamie Darlow, I understand you are the front section editor for mbr and as such I hope you don’t mind me contacting you to ask for your advice and support. My name is Ollie Gambie. I am a 17-year-old enduro racer based in Devon. I am currently doing my A-levels in graphic design, media studies and business studies and beginning to think of my future.

I have a passion for anything bike-related and have loved graphic design for a number of years now, so very keen to combine both. I have wanted to join the bike industry ever since I started riding four years ago and it is getting to the point now where I need to be asking some questions to help shape my future and give me the best possible start in the industry. I would appreciate any information you can share regarding the following questions:

I would love to know how you started your current job and what did you have to do to get there? Could you possibly tell me what it’s like to work as an editor in the bike industry? What is your general day-to-day schedule?

What’s it like working on a magazine like mbr?

Can you give me any advice about how I would get into the mountain bike media industry?

I have been given the opportunity to do a week’s work experience next year. Would mbr consider having me for the week?

If you have some spare time, could we please have a video call to have a chat about advice you might give?

I have attached a mock-up of my work, in your magazine style. I would love to get some feedback from you. I would also be very interested to learn about how you go about creating the design of the magazine.

JD - Hi Ollie, life in media is hard work, stressful, underpaid and without much recognition for your efforts… but it’s great! There’s not enough space here for a full reply, so I’ll be in touch.

TRAIL FINDERS

Great mag and it gets read from cover to cover on the days it’s delivered. Noticed this a couple of editions ago but forgot to get in touch. You have some great articles about some really interesting places to ride with just the name of the centre/trail without saying where it is. Take for example this month’s article about Afan, nothing to say where it is – no postcode, no address, no phone contacts. Took me a good 20 minutes to chase it down and I am still not sure it’s the right place. I have a camper van that I use to visit places to ride and get inspiration from your publication. I have done Ben Nevis, (fell off the last hump before the finish on the World Cup run and broke a rib), Comry Croft, Llandegla, the Marin trail, and more all this year.

I am looking at others and would like to be in the right area to try out these rides. Knowing that Afan is in the south of Wales is no good if I am looking in the north. So please could you just add a little box in the article giving the area or district; even a postcode would do – thanks again for a great mag. PS. I am 73.

THE COVID EFFECT

Is it just me or are walkers getting friendlier towards us mountain bikers? Before Covid I’d be shouted at every few months by a sanctimonious walker, usually using Nordic skiing poles, telling me I was ruining the landscape. Now though, I really think there’s a more liveand-let-live attitude going on. People usually just ignore me now and stay well away. Perhaps folks have realised there’s more to life than getting het up about people riding push bikes. Let’s hope so.

BIKES FOR HEAVYWEIGHTS

Just wondered whether someone could provide me with some advice for the following question?

Firstly, a little background – I am a 46-year-old-male who hasn’t ridden for about 25 years, I have a very sedentary job and have piled on the weight. I am 6ft 2in tall, but weigh nearly 170kg. I have read many forums about ‘Clydesdales’ which I think is the term for male cyclists over 200lb, but cannot seem to get any clear advice as to a mountain bike to get back into riding, ultimately lose weight and enjoy a sport I loved in my youth.

What bikes/components would you suggest are suitable to cope with my excessive weight? I want to ride trails far more than on the road, although there may be some tarmac riding. Clearly I’m not looking for a £10K fullsuspension beast to descend Snowdon, but am thinking along the lines of a good hardtail, with the ability to ride some beginner/intermediate trails with enough breadth to progress as I become lighter.

I have two budgets, depending on how my current Cycle2work scheme is increased, but would say up to £1,000 now, but possibly between £1,000 and £2,000. I would imagine that whatever bike I get, some of the components would not be up to scratch, so maybe different wheels etc? I would like any advice you could give, including, don’t try and buy a bike until you’ve lost a lot more weight, which I fear may be the answer!

Thanks in advance for any information you can give, as I really am unsure where to start – maybe a decent feature to do at some point in the mag!

Ed – Thanks for the mail, Daniel, and I really hope you can get back out there and rekindle your passion. Realistically I think your choice is going to be extremely limited at that kind of weight if you want to keep within manufacturer’s recommended weight limits as they tend to top out around 130kg (300lb). We found a brand online that sells a mountain bike that’s designed to take much heavier riders – over 180kg in fact. The brand is called zizebikes.com and it ships to the UK. Good luck!

We said: 29in might be stealing the headlines but 27.5in wheels aren’t dead yet

They’ve done a good job of killing 26in off, for no good reason!

I have a couple of 26in wheel bikes that I still enjoy riding and that my teenage sons use – they don’t seem to have an issue and out-pace me on my 27.5in/29in wheel bikes.

Went from a 29in hardtail XC to a full-squish 27.5in. The difference in playfulness while still rolling plenty fast – and being snappier entering quick climbs – means I won’t be going back. Long slogs of flat are bit dull, but tyre choice

NEXT MONTH

affects that. Bottom bracket and crank arm clearance are the only things I miss.

Arse-to-wheel-clearance (bum buzz) is what’s keeping me with the smaller wheel, and away from 29.

I like my 3x9 (11-28, 44/34/24), bottle in cage, saddle pack, and 26in wheels, everything else is just dumb Millennial, Gen Z trendy bollocks.

As much as everyone loves saying it… #26aintdead.

Just pick a bike and wheel size/ mix to suit your riding – you wouldn’t wear Arctic survival gear in the desert, would you?

There are an equal amount of advantages as there are disadvantages for any wheel size and, as with all things, this situation comes down to compromise. You have to decide what you are prepared to compromise on/decide what advantage you think is better.

And stop being so dismayed when someone on a 16-yearold 26in bike keeps pace/ pushes you on your all-singing, all-dancing latest spec/trend everything bike. Remember: it’s skills that make you fast, not equipment….

Four bargain rippers from Whyte, Nukeproof, Merida and Kona on test