ARMCHAIR WHISKIES

WHAT’S IN A LABEL?

Imagine being in the duty-free shop at the airport

LA PURA VIDA

Living life to the full in Costa Rica.

ROOM 101

Every issue we highlight some of those niggly aspects

GETTIN’ GRIZZLY

Tom Fenton’s search for the must-do trails of the UK has resulted in some surprising soul-searching. And a great lap of Grizedale Forest in the Lake District.

Singletrack RECOMMENDED

HERE AT SINGLETRACK TOWERS, WE PUT A LOT OF PRODUCTS THROUGH THE GRINDER. SINGLETRACK RECOMMENDED IS THE ABSOLUTE CREAM OF THE CROP OF THE GEAR WE’VE BEEN TESTING. IT’S THE KIT THAT WE USE LONG AFTER TESTING HAS FINISHED. THE PRODUCTS THAT WE WOULD GO OUT AND PURCHASE WITH OUR OWN MONEY. GEAR THAT’S SO GOOD IT EARNS OUR RECOMMENDED SEAL OF APPROVAL.

THE UNTIDY UNDERBELLY OF ENDURANCE CYCLING

24-hour racer Jason Miles takes a moment to admire the neat rows of shelving that hold all of his beautifully organised bike-racing kit. The hell he does…

TWENTY NINEGNARS

In case you hadn’t noticed, 29ers are kind of hot right now. Wil and the test team take on three of the best to see if big wheels are back.

EVIL THE FOLLOWING

Seattle-based Evil Bike Co. Hasn’t been on the scene

ORANGE BIKES STAGE 5 RS

Of our three 29ers on test, the Orange Stage 5 is the

PIVOT SWITCHBLADE 29 PRO XT

Unlike Evil and Orange, Pivot Cycles has been making

VERDICT

Specific results aside, if there was one thing to take

JEFF STEBER: STAYING INTENSE

The founder of Intense, Jeff Steber, talks to Chipps about keeping up with the times and thinking about the future. Without forgetting the past.

BORDERLANDS - THE CHEVIOT HILLS

Olly Townsend sneaks up to nearly touch the Scottish border in this most northerly and unridden of English counties.

BOTHY BAG

KIT BAG IS OUR CHANCE TO HAVE A NOSY INSIDE THE BAGS

THE WORLD IS FLAT

David Hayward has been testing 17 pairs of flat pedals and here presents his top four.

STEP INSIDE MY LAB

You might think flat pedals are a solved problem, but

DMR VAULT

If you ask a gaggle of bike journalists to recommend

HOPE F-20

First introduced in 2012, Hope’s F20 flat pedals have

DMR V8 V2

The original DMR V8s, now referred to as the DMR V8

NS RADIANCE

When people ask ‘What flat pedals?’ on the internet

VERDICT

During this test, we rode 17 pairs of flat pedals,

THE COMPETITION

In total, we tested 17 diTherent pairs of pedals in

WE JUST WORK HERE

Who we are, what we do (but not why) and what our best

THE WINTER SUN CHANCERS

A winter adventure round the Cami de Cavalls long-distance path that encircles Menorca.

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING.

Dom Perry starts resenting his perfect mountain bike holiday. Has it really become hard work?

DUNKELD EXPOSE

We sent Pete Scullion to the small Scottish town of Dunkeld to see if it really is the best mountain bike town you’ve never heard of…

THE ‘C’ WORD

Antony De Heveningham explores a potent word that’s used often and sometimes inappropriately.