british

Enduro racing is gaining popularity, globally, but the US is admittedly behind the European curve. The event format has taken hold, however, thanks to precursor events with an American spin, including: the Ashland Super D, and Downieville Classic.

Ross Schnell and the Trestle Bike Park in Winter Park, CO ushered in more of the European format with the Trestle All-Mountain Enduro event, which ran in 2011, and will be expanded as part of the Colorado Freeride Festival in 2012. Others are catching on too, making 2012 a banner year for all-mountain Enduro racing in the US.

Here’s a preseason peek at what’s available for 2012, but hurry many of the events are almost full.

BC Bike Race announces 2012 route and Gravity Enduro Stages

BC Bike Race enters their sixth year with the announcement of 2012’s route and new Gravity Enduro Stages. The 2012 event runs 30 June to 7 July in British Columbia, Canada.

The 2012 route offers similar venues as 2011, but add a 7th day in Whistler as well as additions to the other six days’ courses. “We never rest on our laurels, having our course designers who are core mountain bikers and trail builders means new trails are added every year”, said BC Bike Race president Dean Payne.

Shredding a ribbon of single track through British Colombia’s most picturesque scenery

In addition to Whistler, participants will experience single track in the communities of Cumberland, Campbell River, Powell River, Sechelt, and Squamish.

With the addition of two timed sections downhill sections in the first six days, BCBR boasts twelve Enduro-style legs.

Last year, in a continual pursuit to evolve the event, BC Bike Race included two-days with two separate timed sections per day. The format served to launch the “Race within the Race,” now tried and true BCBR have expanded timed sections in 2012.

In 2011, gravity legend Brian Lopes rode the BC Bike Race, won two of the Enduro timed sections. “BC bike race was one of the most fun events I have ever done,” he said.�“Every day we were treated to some of the best trails in the world, trails I would have never experienced if it weren’t for the BC Bike Race. Like all top road stage races, there are categories for those with different skills and it was great to see the BC Bike race organizers throw in some contests for those with exceptional DH skills.”

The 2012 event only has 20 spots remaining — out of 500 — and will shortly be sold out.

The 2012 BC Bike Race, billed as ‘the ultimate singletrack experience’

Bell Super Enduro at Demo, Santa Cruz, CA

One Bike. Three Climbs. Three Descents.�Be the first to race Euro style at the Bell Super Enduro at Demo – Soquel Demonstration Forest’s first legally�sanctioned race, which will be held 14 April, the Saturday before the Sea Otter Classic down the road in Monterey, CA. The event is invite-only and expert riders must submit applications by 11:59pm PST, tonight, 17 February.

The Bell Super Enduro is part of the Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival, which is heading into its third year.

The race takes on a point-to-point format that starts in Aptos Village and ends at the end of Sulphur Springs trail on Hihn’s Mill Road in Soquel Demonstration State Forest. Racers must complete 3 ‘transfer climbs’ and 3 ‘special stages,’ which are timed downhill runs, and detailed in the course�map. A rider’s placing is the cumulative time of the 3 timed ‘special stages’; racers will descend on a closed course at 30-second intervals. “We want to be in touch with the future of the sport, and Enduro — how it’s been done in Europe — is the future in my opinion,” Evan Turpen, event manager for the Bell Super Enduro at Demo told BikeRadar. “It’s what people do on a normal basis, they go pedal and ride trails with their buddies; they climb up and race down.”

The 3 transfer climbs do not count toward your score, however, failure to complete one within the allotted time will result in a time penalty or possibly disqualification from the race. Turpin said he rode the course this past Tuesday and estimated it took 4 hours to complete. “It’s physical,” he said.

The field is limited to 50 riders due to permit restrictions. As a result, an application process will be used to select a representative field of athletes: men and women, near and far, amateur and pro, sponsored and not; see the race application for further details. “We’ve got 163 entered,” said Turpen, “but we can only take 50.”

Oregon Enduro series presented by Santa Cruz

After a successful inaugural year, the Oregon Super D Series made a mark as one of the top mountain bike events in the country. For 2012 the event is back with a new name — Oregon Enduro Series — and an additional stop.

The 2012 season adds a new stop in Bend, Or to the 2011 season’s line up of Hood River, Oakridge, and Sandy River. The draw of the weekends remain the Super D racing, series promoters plan to grow the festival components, adding unique events all weekend with more opportunities for demos, cross-promotions and partnership exposure.�“Our goal is to support and celebrate riders, not just racers,” say Oregon Enduro promoters. “That means people who love to ride bikes and play outdoors; all ages, abilities, background and competitive nature or lack there of.”

Although the full series is only in it’s second year, established events such Hood River, Sandy Ridge and Bend Super D’s have longstanding history of successes in the Pacific Northwest. All individual series races will have cash and merchandise prizing with the overall award ceremony following the last race, the season finale at Sandy Ridge.�

2011 Oregon Enduro Series:

• Race 1: Hood River – 28-29 May
• Race 2: Bend – 2-3 July
• Race 3: Oakridge – 7 August �
• Race 4: Sandy Ridge – 3-4 September

From the latest product news to details of routes and events, our news round-up is a collection of short snippets of information in one handy article.

Today we bring you the limited edition Liquigas Sidi Ergo 3 shoes, Madison Saracen’s new team manager, the latest Nukeproof recruit, developments from the Cornwall Festival of Sport and much more.

Product and team news

New shoes celebrate eight-year Sidi/Liquigas partnership

Sidi have unveiled a fetching limited edition version of their Ergo 3 Carbon shoes in the distinctive green colours of Team Liquigas Cannondale. The Ergo 3 represents the high watermark of Sidi’s current road cycling shoe range, something reflected in the €363 price tag. They will have their own unique number printed on the inside, come packaged in a team colour shoe bag and will be available from the end of April.

Will Longden appointed Madison Saracen DH team manager

Will Longden, the four-time British mountain bike champion, with titles in 4X, downhill and dual slalom, takes the reins of the Madison Saracen Downhill Race Team from Tim Flooks, who has stood aside due to ill-health. Longden will be kept on his toes in 2012, having to juggle the new job with his role as Downhill Co-ordinator at British Cycling and racing duties for Lapierre-Nema.�

Fogelquist joins Nukeproof

Canadian dirt jump star Jack Fogelquist will ride for Nukeproof in 2012. He has used the firm’s components for a number of seasons but this year will be his first as a full factory rider. As well as riding the Snap 4X Pro and Scalp DH bikes, he’ll be involved in the development of new dirt jump and slopestyle frames, which are both at the prototype stage. Among his targets this season are the forthcoming Sea Otter Classic and Crankworx Colorado.

Cornwall Festival of Sport links up with Chain Reaction Cycles

The Cornwall Festival of Sport, a multi-sport summer event which we revealed details of last week, has secured Chain Reaction Cycles as its retail partner. The partnership will see the online retailer providing mechanical support both within the festival village and out on the road, a massage service for weary competitors and a shop for those looking for products at exclusive festival prices.

Routes, racing & rides

Artists given chance to impress at USA Pro Cycling Challenge

Aspiring and established artists are once again invited to enter a nationwide contest to design posters for each of the 12 host cities of the 2012 USA Pro Cycling Challenge. Winners will be selected for all 12 cities, plus a national poster that’ll be seen around the globe. You can enter from today via the race’s Facebook page and have until 16 March to do so. Fans of the page will select their three favourites for each city, plus the ten best national posters, with a panel of judges announcing the winners on 16 April. They’ll receive a cash prize as well as the priceless opportunity to showcase their work during the second edition of the race, won last year by Levi Leipheimer.�

Biking guide unlocks off-road routes in Keswick

Lakeland bike shop Keswick Bikes have just published a leaflet featuring five “do-in-a-day” off-road track and country lane rides that all begin and start in the Lake District town. Routes include The Skiddaw Loop, Lonscale Fell and the Glenderattera Valley, The Borrowdale Bash, The Old Railway Line & Castlerigg Stone Circle and Swinside Circuit, and features comprehensive directions, route difficulty and refreshment locations. To pick up your copy, email kmb@keswickbikes.co.uk.

We’ve�ridden Cotic’s ballsy hardtail before, fully kitted out with a trail-ready Shimano Deore XT 3×10 transmission. But, as the kind of bike that’s designed to be equally at home lining up at the start of a 4X race or taking the short route down an Alp, it comes pre-equipped with ISCG05 mounts for a chainguide.�

Which made us wonder, what would it be like set up with a 1×10 transmission?�There was only one way to find out. Although Cotic don’t supply complete bikes, the British company were happy to spec us a one-off BFe with single chainring up front.

Whether you choose to set your BFe up with a single chainring or three, it’s a genuine wolf in sheep’s clothing. The extra strength needed to cope with up to 160mm of front wheel travel has been cleverly and subtly built in without sacrificing comfort, looks or fun. By the time you’ve built the bare frame into a complete bike it won’t be cheap, but few hardtails offer so much versatility.

Ride & handling:�Big-hit tough and ride-all-day comfy

Many hardtails designed around long forks aren’t exactly subtle. The BFe, however, is different. For a start, its relatively low all-up weight (12.1kg/26.8lb) makes it a viable choice for all-day epics, as well as giving it a turn of speed that belies its hardcore potential.�

Then there’s the attention to detail in the frame build, which combines thin walls and careful tube profiling to provide all the strength required, while retaining the beguiling zing that defines the best of the steel hardtail breed.�

Combine all this with a willing 150mm fork, a reliable transmission and grippy, big volume tyres, and it’s almost impossible to come back from a ride on the BFe without a big grin. Very few bikes successfully combine such headbanging potential with ride-all-day comfort. The BFe is the exception that proves the rule.

As for the 1×10 transmission, it suits the frame’s fun character. A dose of extra ground clearance will be welcome for riders used to tackling woodsy, technical trails and, with one less bar-mounted control to worry about, it’s easy to concentrate on the important bit – the ride. Having said that, the BFe’s such an accomplished all-rounder that we did occasionally wish we had a lower gear for steep, technical climbs.

Frame & equipment:�You’ll need the experience and budget to self-build

It’s not easy to design a frame that’ll tackle just about anything, but Cotic designer Cy Turner has tackled this seemingly thankless task head-on. The result, fine-tuned over the past six years, is a steel hardtail that’s tough enough to handle a fork up to 160mm (with all that that implies in terms of intended use) and yet light enough and specced appropriately, to ride all day.

The backbone for this versatile chassis is an over-diameter, thin-walled tube of Reynolds 853 – a clever steel alloy that’s remarkably strong and light.�Most welded frames, whether steel or aluminium, are weakened near the joints by the heat applied during manufacture. With Reynolds’ high end tubeset, the steel air-hardens during the cooling process after welding, actually increasing strength.

Reynolds 631, a close but slightly more cost-effective relative, provides head, top and seat tubes. The top tube is ovalised to increase lateral (pedalling) stiffness while adding some vertical give to the main triangle, while the oversized seat tube�is compatible with telescopic seatposts and has no�bottle boss mounts, making it easy to drop a standard post out of the way�for steep descents.

Bridgeless chainstays and ovalised wishbone seatstays provide great gobs of mud clearance but, unusually for a UK-designed bike, there are no down tube Crud Catcher bosses because Cy reckons they compromise strength. The BFe’s oversized tubes and strategically placed gussets add strength, while comfort is retained through thin tube walls and some cunning ovalisation.

The beauty of buying a bare frame is that you can spec it any which way you like, building in parts you may already have lying around or going for broke with a complete new set of components. �Our test bike’s Marzocchi Bomber 44 RC3 Titanium fork makes the most of the frame’s big-hit potential, offering 150mm of coil and air sprung travel in a relatively light package. Finishing kit from the relatively unknown KCNC works well, and a DMR Viral chainguide provides the finishing touch �to keep the chain on board.

This article was originally published in What Mountain Bike magazine.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (BRAIN) Feb 2, 00:21 MT —Germany’s Ghost bikes will be sold in North America for the first time through an exclusive agreement with Mountain Equipment Co-op, the Canadian retailer announced on Wednesday. The deal marks the first time MEC has sold a brand other than its company branded road, mountain, hybrid and urban bikes, since it began selling complete bikes in 2010.

What Mountain Bike�editor Matt Skinner caught up with Dom Mason, creative director and bike designer at Kinesis UK, to talk big wheels, full-suspension, and disc brakes at the Tour de France. Here’s what he had to say…

Matt Skinner: What made you ‘believe’ in the 29er thing finally?

Dom Mason:�Up until recently I wasn’t convinced by the whole 29in argument. Big bikes with ponderous handling didn’t really seem to work for the type of riding that we’re into or suit the Maxlight ‘fast trail bike’ style. So a ‘Maxlight29’ was logged and went into the file marked ‘Hmmm… interesting’.

The first time around, 29ers seemed to look and ride just like scaled up small-wheeled bikes. There was certainly something interesting going on but they just didn’t click with my thinking on what a bike should do. Some refinement and thinking was required with geometry and componentry.

Now, the movers and shakers have filled that evolutionary gap. New thinking on geometry and vastly improved suspension forks, wheelsets, tyres, headsets and also the acceptance of 2×10 drivetrains has turned the idea of the big-wheeled bike from an eyebrow raiser into a really exciting new branch on the riding tree. Now it’s worth sitting up and taking notice.

The wider availability of longer-travel forks and larger-volume tyres that aren’t designed solely for endurance racing was the catalyst that spurred me into action. Warp-speed, flowing singletrack, tempo-pace climbs and fast dips and crests are where the Maxlight frames excel. Twenty-nine-inch wheels are fast, so if we could harness that speed and work it into a ‘fast trail friendly’ package, we knew we might have a winner.

If a 29er is going to have the Maxlight name on it, it needs to take 2.2s with sideblocks, it needs a 100-120mm trail fork up front, and it has to be capable of being ridden aggressively. Hold on, don’t 26in bikes do all that rather well? Well yes, but speed is the key here. We know 29ers are capable of steamrollering trails and going rather fast over the bumpy downhill stuff, so adding a dollop of legendary Maxlight handling into the mix might just lead to a trail destroyer!

What’s the thinking behind your 29er prototype, and what can you reveal about it?

I wanted to make a 29er that worked for more aggressive trail riding. Super-light weight and riding for hours round a circuit weren’t high on the tick list when I started thinking about a 29in frame worthy of the Maxlight name. Quick handling, fast trail prowess and big grins were firmly at the top. The 29in Maxlight, now called the Maxlight FF29�– you can make up your own ‘FF’ combinations�– turned out to be one of the most difficult frames I’ve ever designed.�

The 29er is a packaging nightmare. You know exactly where you want to put all the centres and contact points for it to ride right but there are many physical barriers to doing that. Key areas to get right are chainstay length, BB height, stack height and trail. The large wheel size throws up all sorts of problems you just don’t get with a 26in wheel, like front mech, chainring and toe clearance. As soon as you try to deal with them you run into handling issues and you’re back to that ‘ponderous’ word again.

Dom displays the new Kinesis Maxlight FF29 29er�– one of the most difficult frames he’s ever designed, but worth the effort

The first prototypes felt wrong. They wouldn’t accelerate because the bars were in your chest, and manuals and wheelies were an effort because the rear-centre was too long. But although I was quite ready to throw my hands up and say, ‘There, I told you 29ers were rubbish’, it amazed me with how much fun it was to ride, really encouraging some playfulness and not what I was expecting from the 29er experience. So we moved to prototype numbers two and three.

I played with head tube lengths, front- and rear-centre dimensions, BB drop, dropout types, stay profiles and seat tube shapes. I found that by putting a 2.5° radius bend on the base of the seat tube I could increase mech clearance and tyre clearance, and shorten the stays to lighten up the front end. I’m dead against weird S-bend seat tubes or slack angles that move your saddle too far back.�

BB height is now virtually the same as on a 26in Maxlight, and short head tubes with integrated 1.5in tapered headsets help keep the bars low. These factors are essential for stable cornering, strong acceleration and climbing. I settled on a medium length rear-centre as I felt it had the right combination of high-speed stability, manual-ability and tyre clearance. It also keeps the front wheel planted on steeper climbs.

I ditched swappable dropouts for a specially developed post mount dropout. 2×10 helped to sway this decision�–�it meshes well with the 29er ‘fast trail bike’ concept and helps out with clearance. A steep head angle keeps the trail dimension as close to a small-wheeled Maxlight as possible and ensures lively handling.

The prototypes were tested by as many riders as possible, including our Kinesis Morvélo Project riders, under all types of conditions and with many build types. There’s a lightweight ‘XC race’ version with carbon stays out on the winter circuit�–�we’ll hopefully introduce this for 2013.

The Maxlight FF29 will be in the UK for around Feb/March 2012. There’ll be three sizes, although the small will be in limited quantity, and three colours. The pain and anguish of the colours and graphics is a whole other story… Price is still not fixed but will be around £500, and there’ll be the option of ordering a package with a specific carbon fork or X-Fusion suspension fork, and possibly Reynolds’ XC29er wheels.

Does wheel size actually matter?

Yes, certainly. If you take it to extremes and imagine your mountain bike with 20in wheels�– assuming the geometry was designed to take them�–�you’d have a bike that accelerated like lightning and would relish the smooth, firm, tight stuff. But get it near rocks, ruts and roots, and you’d be off into the bracken! It would also get submerged when the going got bog-like. Huge wheels, on the other hand, would take an eon to spin up to speed and coax around corners but would iron out the bumps, take huge lean angles, glide over soggy bits and once you got them going, wouldn’t want to stop.

Twenty-six-inch wheels will always have their place, I don’t believe they’ll die. They’re better at accelerating and weaving through ‘baby’s head’ size rock gardens, for example, and will always rule on super-tech, tight trails. For high-level XC racing though, I think that if you’re on 26in wheels you’re now at a disadvantage.�

The new 29er was developed with help from the�Kinesis Morvélo Project�crew

Twenty-nine-inch wheels certainly bring a different aspect to riding, and with advances in wheel/tyre technology can now be light enough to spin up almost as fast as a mid-level 26in wheel. I wanted to harness the speed, handling and ‘steamrollering’ virtues, and build them into a frame that could wring every last bit of enjoyment out of the type of trails we ride. I hope I’ve done that. There’s certainly a fashion aspect and ‘next big thing’ appeal to the 29er. The bike industry needs this and has embraced it.�

There’s still huge debate over the 29 v 26 thing but it’s always great to get people talking and if it inspires people to try something new, get back out on a hardtail and ride with their mates, then great! After an initial large dollop of scepticism, I;m convinced that they have their place in the riding landscape, just like the skateboard, or dreaded micro-scooter, started as a fashion craze and has now become engrained in riding culture.

How does the relationship between Kinesis UK and Kinesis International�in�Taiwan work?

They approached us in 1999 because they’d seen what Giant, who started as a frame building company, had become. They make frames and carbon forks for many well known brands and wanted to promote Kinesis as a brand name across Europe. In 1999 they only had five carbon forks to offer, so we started with these and quickly realised that we needed a frame to sell them with, so I designed my first frame!�

It was called the Racelight R. It worked okay and sold okay, and made me realise I could put my engineering and riding background into frame design. Shortly after, I designed the first Maxlight, then the Crosslight CX frame and then the Racelight T winter trainer. Our Kinesis UK range now includes 18 framesets, four bikes and 12 forks.

We have a pretty special relationship with Kinesis International. They’re the masters of alloy tube manipulation and design, and use the most advanced welding techniques. It’s fantastic to be able to work with them to develop tube shapes that work exactly for a frame design I have in mind, or pick from a vast catalogue of tubes and forgings for a new project or update. Tooling up for a new forging or carbon frame is very expensive, but by working in conjunction with Kinesis International we can afford to do it.

They’re happy to use our riding and geometry experience, and we’re more than happy to use their huge expertise in manufacturing. Our ADP (Advanced Development Project) frames, like the carbon Maxlight KM810, are made possible by this approach. We get to use the developed parts and tubes first, and then they can roll them out for other brands to use in their own way.

How long has your first full-suspension bike been in the pipeline for and what will set it apart from the crowd?

We’ve been playing with suspension ideas for as long as I can remember. It’s such a difficult area, because as soon as you’ve settled on an idea, technology moves on! The big boys are pushing suspension technology so hard that it’s tough to keep up. Kinesis make suspension frames for some of the best, so this year we’ve convinced them that it’s worth investing in some tooling to make our own.

Development is still in progress but I’m very excited to say that we’re getting pretty close to finally having our first Kinesis UK full-suss frames, designed in conjunction with the Kinesis International engineers under our ADP programme. I have the first sample of a 100mm rear/120mm front 29er frame in my office right now. 100mm XC and 140/150mm AM frames are on the way. We hope to go into production mid-2012.

Dom (left) hits the trails with Jo Burt of Mint Sauce fame

Was ‘mismatched’ travel a ‘must’ all along, or an idea that’s evolved?

I like the idea of getting over the front and taking out the big hits with a longer-travel fork, then getting some more feedback from the rear and using your legs to react to the terrain, so that’s the way we’re going with it at the moment.

What’s your view on the effect(s), if any, of the tough economic conditions right now – on both the rider/consumer, and the industry?

When things get tough economically, the last thing that people will give up is their sport�–�their passion and escape. When times are hard these things take on even more significance and importance. We all know how precious and cathartic riding is in our lives. Sport and the objects of desire that surround it help give a feeling of security and purpose in testing times. Riders will hang on to their favourite bike long after selling everything else!

The bike industry is thriving at the moment. People are quick to realise that they really don’t need to take the car. It can be quicker to ride and, hold on… it’s fun! Beat the traffic jams and tighten those flabby muscles. More people are riding bikes out of necessity and then deciding they might ride at the weekend and trading up to something that performs better. The kids get involved and all of a sudden the whole family are out on the trails. More children will grow up with bikes in their lives, so long-term it looks good for cycling.

Is the Government doing enough to support British manufacturing and/or the bike industry?

The Government and our beloved banks could do more to support innovation in small businesses in the bike industry and to encourage entrepreneurship in startup businesses as a whole. More and more young people are willing to go it alone as their chances of employment dry up. If the bike industry continues on a high then there’ll be more opportunity to become part of it and make an idea into a business. There’s plenty of creativity and energy in the riding community. If lending dries up it’s going to be virtually impossible to kickstart a UK business that could be helping to underpin our economy in years to come.

Generally speaking, what have been the biggest dead-end trends you’ve seen over the years – things that promised to change everything but never did?

Hmmm, tricky. Here are a few I can think of: 20in-wheeled downhill and road race bikes; belt drives; mountain bike disc wheels; drop bars for mountain bikesd two-wheel drive; 24in rear wheels on downhill bikes; tiny narrow bars where your lever hoods touched in the middle; skinsuits for downhill; overuse of the word ‘Epic’; ‘Reverse Rise’ mechs; super-elevated stays and tucked-in rear wheels; Alpinestars style; Oakley 3 grips (ouch! Google ‘em); hydraulic shifting; solid tyres; elastomer suspension; suspension hubs; suspension pedals…

Conversely, what’s been the most significant development?

Difficult to pin down one thing, but materials developments passed down from high-tech industries have always been a strong driver for the bike industry. Chromoly steel, titanium, scandium and manipulated alloy tubing have all been passed down and spurred huge advances in our industry. Carbon is a relative newcomer to bike design. I remember the distrust that many riders had for our Kinesis carbon forks 12 years ago! Now carbon’s even found its way into downhill bikes and can be used for very highly stressed suspension parts.

The human can supply so little power, relatively, that any material that can deliver more energy to the wheel and lighten the bike has huge benefits in performance. So, yeah I guess advances in material technology will always offer the most significant developments in performance for bike design. Oh, and those 5kg jars of Nutella.

What’s on your radar as the one trend to watch, in 2012 and beyond?

Disc brakes in cyclo-cross is an interesting one. The new�Crosslight Pro6�went down very well. Disc brakes for road race bikes will be next, as soon as the standards have settled… Boom! Discs make loads of sense for road bikes; it’s more about lightness in control and the related lack of fatigue where the benefits lie, rather than outright braking power. We’re so used to discs in mountain biking that we’ve forgotten how bad rim brakes were. Also, all those precious carbon rims won’t be overheated and worn away; no doubt they can be made lighter to compensate. Discs will appear on the ProTour one day, for sure.

It’s trails like this that keep Dom going; that and huge jars or chocolate spread!

What’s been your favourite bike event of the year, and why?

Eurobike is the best of the shows. I really enjoy the relaxed attitude there and the social aspect�– you’re actually allowed to�ride�bikes! It’s great to see what all the small European builders are up to and get a feel for the direction the industry is taking. There always seems to be a completely new brand with a 50-bike line-up every year, too. Weird.

For riding events, it’s got to be the�Brighton Big Dog�promoted by those fine chaps at�Morvélo Bicycle Apparel�and organised and manned by local riders. Great atmosphere and friendly racing.

What keeps you getting back in the saddle?

Riding is wonderfully freeing. The harder the riding situation, the more you have to focus on just that one moment. Thinking about the tax return is simply not possible when you’re pushing your limits a bit. I’m never going to be a super-fit, race-winning athlete, but that’s never been the draw for me. I like riding fast and pushing things until I get a little out of shape or making myself try something that I’m not sure I can do. Sessioning a spot, riding with friends and maybe crashing a few times are all part of the fun for me.

What’s the best way you’ve found to conquer your demons out on the trail?

I tend to get a bit fixated on a riding spot and ride it again and again with a thousand-yard stare until I nail it and realise everyone else has ridden away. If it’s a drop or climb, I visualise myself at the bottom or crest and don’t think too much about how I’m going to get there, just imagine that I’m there already. Remembering to relax, look far ahead, drop my shoulders and heels and flow normally takes half the ride but when it all comes together on a tight, tree-lined fast and flowing trail, that’s when the demons are left behind. Until a tree reaches out and grabs your bars…

An abbreviated version of this article was originally published in What Mountain Bike magazine.

What Mountain Bike�editor Matt Skinner caught up with Dom Mason, creative director and bike designer at Kinesis UK, to talk big wheels, full-suspension, and disc brakes at the Tour de France. Here’s what he had to say…

Matt Skinner: What made you ‘believe’ in the 29er thing finally?

Dom Mason:�Up until recently I wasn’t convinced by the whole 29in argument. Big bikes with ponderous handling didn’t really seem to work for the type of riding that we’re into or suit the Maxlight ‘fast trail bike’ style. So a ‘Maxlight29’ was logged and went into the file marked ‘Hmmm… interesting’.

The first time around, 29ers seemed to look and ride just like scaled up small-wheeled bikes. There was certainly something interesting going on but they just didn’t click with my thinking on what a bike should do. Some refinement and thinking was required with geometry and componentry.

Now, the movers and shakers have filled that evolutionary gap. New thinking on geometry and vastly improved suspension forks, wheelsets, tyres, headsets and also the acceptance of 2×10 drivetrains has turned the idea of the big-wheeled bike from an eyebrow raiser into a really exciting new branch on the riding tree. Now it’s worth sitting up and taking notice.

The wider availability of longer-travel forks and larger-volume tyres that aren’t designed solely for endurance racing was the catalyst that spurred me into action. Warp-speed, flowing singletrack, tempo-pace climbs and fast dips and crests are where the Maxlight frames excel. Twenty-nine-inch wheels are fast, so if we could harness that speed and work it into a ‘fast trail friendly’ package, we knew we might have a winner.

If a 29er is going to have the Maxlight name on it, it needs to take 2.2s with sideblocks, it needs a 100-120mm trail fork up front, and it has to be capable of being ridden aggressively. Hold on, don’t 26in bikes do all that rather well? Well yes, but speed is the key here. We know 29ers are capable of steamrollering trails and going rather fast over the bumpy downhill stuff, so adding a dollop of legendary Maxlight handling into the mix might just lead to a trail destroyer!

What’s the thinking behind your 29er prototype, and what can you reveal about it?

I wanted to make a 29er that worked for more aggressive trail riding. Super-light weight and riding for hours round a circuit weren’t high on the tick list when I started thinking about a 29in frame worthy of the Maxlight name. Quick handling, fast trail prowess and big grins were firmly at the top. The 29in Maxlight, now called the Maxlight FF29�– you can make up your own ‘FF’ combinations�– turned out to be one of the most difficult frames I’ve ever designed.�

The 29er is a packaging nightmare. You know exactly where you want to put all the centres and contact points for it to ride right but there are many physical barriers to doing that. Key areas to get right are chainstay length, BB height, stack height and trail. The large wheel size throws up all sorts of problems you just don’t get with a 26in wheel, like front mech, chainring and toe clearance. As soon as you try to deal with them you run into handling issues and you’re back to that ‘ponderous’ word again.

Dom displays the new Kinesis Maxlight FF29 29er�– one of the most difficult frames he’s ever designed, but worth the effort

The first prototypes felt wrong. They wouldn’t accelerate because the bars were in your chest, and manuals and wheelies were an effort because the rear-centre was too long. But although I was quite ready to throw my hands up and say, ‘There, I told you 29ers were rubbish’, it amazed me with how much fun it was to ride, really encouraging some playfulness and not what I was expecting from the 29er experience. So we moved to prototype numbers two and three.

I played with head tube lengths, front- and rear-centre dimensions, BB drop, dropout types, stay profiles and seat tube shapes. I found that by putting a 2.5° radius bend on the base of the seat tube I could increase mech clearance and tyre clearance, and shorten the stays to lighten up the front end. I’m dead against weird S-bend seat tubes or slack angles that move your saddle too far back.�

BB height is now virtually the same as on a 26in Maxlight, and short head tubes with integrated 1.5in tapered headsets help keep the bars low. These factors are essential for stable cornering, strong acceleration and climbing. I settled on a medium length rear-centre as I felt it had the right combination of high-speed stability, manual-ability and tyre clearance. It also keeps the front wheel planted on steeper climbs.

I ditched swappable dropouts for a specially developed post mount dropout. 2×10 helped to sway this decision�–�it meshes well with the 29er ‘fast trail bike’ concept and helps out with clearance. A steep head angle keeps the trail dimension as close to a small-wheeled Maxlight as possible and ensures lively handling.

The prototypes were tested by as many riders as possible, including our Kinesis Morvélo Project riders, under all types of conditions and with many build types. There’s a lightweight ‘XC race’ version with carbon stays out on the winter circuit�–�we’ll hopefully introduce this for 2013.

The Maxlight FF29 will be in the UK for around Feb/March 2012. There’ll be three sizes, although the small will be in limited quantity, and three colours. The pain and anguish of the colours and graphics is a whole other story… Price is still not fixed but will be around £500, and there’ll be the option of ordering a package with a specific carbon fork or X-Fusion suspension fork, and possibly Reynolds’ XC29er wheels.

Does wheel size actually matter?

Yes, certainly. If you take it to extremes and imagine your mountain bike with 20in wheels�– assuming the geometry was designed to take them�–�you’d have a bike that accelerated like lightning and would relish the smooth, firm, tight stuff. But get it near rocks, ruts and roots, and you’d be off into the bracken! It would also get submerged when the going got bog-like. Huge wheels, on the other hand, would take an eon to spin up to speed and coax around corners but would iron out the bumps, take huge lean angles, glide over soggy bits and once you got them going, wouldn’t want to stop.

Twenty-six-inch wheels will always have their place, I don’t believe they’ll die. They’re better at accelerating and weaving through ‘baby’s head’ size rock gardens, for example, and will always rule on super-tech, tight trails. For high-level XC racing though, I think that if you’re on 26in wheels you’re now at a disadvantage.�

The new 29er was developed with help from the�Kinesis Morvélo Project�crew

Twenty-nine-inch wheels certainly bring a different aspect to riding, and with advances in wheel/tyre technology can now be light enough to spin up almost as fast as a mid-level 26in wheel. I wanted to harness the speed, handling and ‘steamrollering’ virtues, and build them into a frame that could wring every last bit of enjoyment out of the type of trails we ride. I hope I’ve done that. There’s certainly a fashion aspect and ‘next big thing’ appeal to the 29er. The bike industry needs this and has embraced it.�

There’s still huge debate over the 29 v 26 thing but it’s always great to get people talking and if it inspires people to try something new, get back out on a hardtail and ride with their mates, then great! After an initial large dollop of scepticism, I;m convinced that they have their place in the riding landscape, just like the skateboard, or dreaded micro-scooter, started as a fashion craze and has now become engrained in riding culture.

How does the relationship between Kinesis UK and Kinesis International�in�Taiwan work?

They approached us in 1999 because they’d seen what Giant, who started as a frame building company, had become. They make frames and carbon forks for many well known brands and wanted to promote Kinesis as a brand name across Europe. In 1999 they only had five carbon forks to offer, so we started with these and quickly realised that we needed a frame to sell them with, so I designed my first frame!�

It was called the Racelight R. It worked okay and sold okay, and made me realise I could put my engineering and riding background into frame design. Shortly after, I designed the first Maxlight, then the Crosslight CX frame and then the Racelight T winter trainer. Our Kinesis UK range now includes 18 framesets, four bikes and 12 forks.

We have a pretty special relationship with Kinesis International. They’re the masters of alloy tube manipulation and design, and use the most advanced welding techniques. It’s fantastic to be able to work with them to develop tube shapes that work exactly for a frame design I have in mind, or pick from a vast catalogue of tubes and forgings for a new project or update. Tooling up for a new forging or carbon frame is very expensive, but by working in conjunction with Kinesis International we can afford to do it.

They’re happy to use our riding and geometry experience, and we’re more than happy to use their huge expertise in manufacturing. Our ADP (Advanced Development Project) frames, like the carbon Maxlight KM810, are made possible by this approach. We get to use the developed parts and tubes first, and then they can roll them out for other brands to use in their own way.

How long has your first full-suspension bike been in the pipeline for and what will set it apart from the crowd?

We’ve been playing with suspension ideas for as long as I can remember. It’s such a difficult area, because as soon as you’ve settled on an idea, technology moves on! The big boys are pushing suspension technology so hard that it’s tough to keep up. Kinesis make suspension frames for some of the best, so this year we’ve convinced them that it’s worth investing in some tooling to make our own.

Development is still in progress but I’m very excited to say that we’re getting pretty close to finally having our first Kinesis UK full-suss frames, designed in conjunction with the Kinesis International engineers under our ADP programme. I have the first sample of a 100mm rear/120mm front 29er frame in my office right now. 100mm XC and 140/150mm AM frames are on the way. We hope to go into production mid-2012.

Dom (left) hits the trails with Jo Burt of Mint Sauce fame

Was ‘mismatched’ travel a ‘must’ all along, or an idea that’s evolved?

I like the idea of getting over the front and taking out the big hits with a longer-travel fork, then getting some more feedback from the rear and using your legs to react to the terrain, so that’s the way we’re going with it at the moment.

What’s your view on the effect(s), if any, of the tough economic conditions right now – on both the rider/consumer, and the industry?

When things get tough economically, the last thing that people will give up is their sport�–�their passion and escape. When times are hard these things take on even more significance and importance. We all know how precious and cathartic riding is in our lives. Sport and the objects of desire that surround it help give a feeling of security and purpose in testing times. Riders will hang on to their favourite bike long after selling everything else!

The bike industry is thriving at the moment. People are quick to realise that they really don’t need to take the car. It can be quicker to ride and, hold on… it’s fun! Beat the traffic jams and tighten those flabby muscles. More people are riding bikes out of necessity and then deciding they might ride at the weekend and trading up to something that performs better. The kids get involved and all of a sudden the whole family are out on the trails. More children will grow up with bikes in their lives, so long-term it looks good for cycling.

Is the Government doing enough to support British manufacturing and/or the bike industry?

The Government and our beloved banks could do more to support innovation in small businesses in the bike industry and to encourage entrepreneurship in startup businesses as a whole. More and more young people are willing to go it alone as their chances of employment dry up. If the bike industry continues on a high then there’ll be more opportunity to become part of it and make an idea into a business. There’s plenty of creativity and energy in the riding community. If lending dries up it’s going to be virtually impossible to kickstart a UK business that could be helping to underpin our economy in years to come.

Generally speaking, what have been the biggest dead-end trends you’ve seen over the years – things that promised to change everything but never did?

Hmmm, tricky. Here are a few I can think of: 20in-wheeled downhill and road race bikes; belt drives; mountain bike disc wheels; drop bars for mountain bikesd two-wheel drive; 24in rear wheels on downhill bikes; tiny narrow bars where your lever hoods touched in the middle; skinsuits for downhill; overuse of the word ‘Epic’; ‘Reverse Rise’ mechs; super-elevated stays and tucked-in rear wheels; Alpinestars style; Oakley 3 grips (ouch! Google ‘em); hydraulic shifting; solid tyres; elastomer suspension; suspension hubs; suspension pedals…

Conversely, what’s been the most significant development?

Difficult to pin down one thing, but materials developments passed down from high-tech industries have always been a strong driver for the bike industry. Chromoly steel, titanium, scandium and manipulated alloy tubing have all been passed down and spurred huge advances in our industry. Carbon is a relative newcomer to bike design. I remember the distrust that many riders had for our Kinesis carbon forks 12 years ago! Now carbon’s even found its way into downhill bikes and can be used for very highly stressed suspension parts.

The human can supply so little power, relatively, that any material that can deliver more energy to the wheel and lighten the bike has huge benefits in performance. So, yeah I guess advances in material technology will always offer the most significant developments in performance for bike design. Oh, and those 5kg jars of Nutella.

What’s on your radar as the one trend to watch, in 2012 and beyond?

Disc brakes in cyclo-cross is an interesting one. The new�Crosslight Pro6�went down very well. Disc brakes for road race bikes will be next, as soon as the standards have settled… Boom! Discs make loads of sense for road bikes; it’s more about lightness in control and the related lack of fatigue where the benefits lie, rather than outright braking power. We’re so used to discs in mountain biking that we’ve forgotten how bad rim brakes were. Also, all those precious carbon rims won’t be overheated and worn away; no doubt they can be made lighter to compensate. Discs will appear on the ProTour one day, for sure.

It’s trails like this that keep Dom going; that and huge jars or chocolate spread!

What’s been your favourite bike event of the year, and why?

Eurobike is the best of the shows. I really enjoy the relaxed attitude there and the social aspect�– you’re actually allowed to�ride�bikes! It’s great to see what all the small European builders are up to and get a feel for the direction the industry is taking. There always seems to be a completely new brand with a 50-bike line-up every year, too. Weird.

For riding events, it’s got to be the�Brighton Big Dog�promoted by those fine chaps at�Morvélo Bicycle Apparel�and organised and manned by local riders. Great atmosphere and friendly racing.

What keeps you getting back in the saddle?

Riding is wonderfully freeing. The harder the riding situation, the more you have to focus on just that one moment. Thinking about the tax return is simply not possible when you’re pushing your limits a bit. I’m never going to be a super-fit, race-winning athlete, but that’s never been the draw for me. I like riding fast and pushing things until I get a little out of shape or making myself try something that I’m not sure I can do. Sessioning a spot, riding with friends and maybe crashing a few times are all part of the fun for me.

What’s the best way you’ve found to conquer your demons out on the trail?

I tend to get a bit fixated on a riding spot and ride it again and again with a thousand-yard stare until I nail it and realise everyone else has ridden away. If it’s a drop or climb, I visualise myself at the bottom or crest and don’t think too much about how I’m going to get there, just imagine that I’m there already. Remembering to relax, look far ahead, drop my shoulders and heels and flow normally takes half the ride but when it all comes together on a tight, tree-lined fast and flowing trail, that’s when the demons are left behind. Until a tree reaches out and grabs your bars…

An abbreviated version of this article was originally published in What Mountain Bike magazine.

Here’s part three of the series following British cross-country mountain bike racer Oli Beckingsale’s rehabilitation from the broken leg he suffered on the circuit last season.

The 35-year-old fractured the neck of his left femur in what he described as a fairly innocuous fall during the Nove Mesto World Cup round last August. He has spent much of his close season building back up from what was a serious injury, with hours of Wattbike training and gym sessions now behind him.

In the latest installment, Beckingsale is back riding off-road again and, as he puts it, feeling normal again. With the new season on the horizon and the worst of his injury behind him, he’s got his eye on a stage race in Cyprus at the end of February as his comeback event.

We caught up with Whyte designer Ian Alexander at last week’s London Bike Show, pointed a camera in his direction and asked him to talk about two of the bikes the British company are excited about for 2012.

His first pick was the range-topping 150mm-travel 146 X trail bike, designed in the UK for UK terrain. Coming in at a penny under five grand, it sports a full-carbon frame, Fox 32 Float fork, Fox RP23 rear shock and Shimano XTR groupset.�

The second bike showcased is one of Whyte’s�new range of 29ers, the carbon fibre�29ER C. You can check out both videos below, and you can find out more about the 146 X in our first ride review.

You can also read more about Ian and the Whyte story in an in-depth feature in What Mountain Bike’s new issue – WMB131 (February), on-sale now.

Whyte 146 X

Whyte 29ER C

The second London Bike Show kicked off today at the Docklands ExCel centre. It’s a lot bigger than last year’s debut event, with plenty to keep the crowds entertained, including bike polo, Animal Bike Tour stunt demos, the DMR Pump Track challenge and BikeRadar’s own Training Hub, where you can get your fitness and biomechanics appraised by professionals.

Of course there’s plenty of shiny new kit on display too, from brands both large and small. What Mountain Bike’s Matt Skinner has been trawling the aisles and here’s what’s caught his eye so far, on the off-road side of things…

Whyte Bikes

Whyte’s designer Ian Alexander – whom you can read an in-depth interview with in the forthcoming issue of What Mountain Bike (#131), out on Tuesday – was proudly showing of the final production version of the new alloy 829 29er. With heavy use of smooth/double pass welding on both the head tube and seat-tube junctions, it could easily be mistaken for a carbon frame, but a look down into its belly shows the telltale alloy fishscale welds to undermine this first impression.

For a 29er it’s slack, although not as radically laidback as the early prototype that Guy Kesteven tested last year. With our initial test rides showing up the new bike’s undoubted fun factor, with the only fly in the ointment being its slightly high weight for its class, Alexander revealed that next year’s version will jump up from 100mm of fork travel to 120mm to better complement the 829’s fun and fast-riding trail bike feel.

Genesis Bikes

Dom Thomas at Genesis was showing the first real fruits of his labours after taking over design duties from James Olsen. The result is the Fortitude range, made up of three 100 percent rigid 29er hardtails. There’s the singlespeed-specific Fortitude SS, the 1×10-only Fortitude Race (£1,250) and the Fortitude Adventure (£1,500).

The latter uses an Alfine 11 hub gear and comes complete with rack and bottle cage mounts. None of the bikes has provision for front mech cable routing. All share the same basic Reynolds 725 steel frameset with a rolled seat tube to get around the rear tyre clearance issue.

Geometry is adjusted for a suspension fork, should you choose to go down that route in future. Suspension forked 29er hardtails are, however, in development for next year. And Genesis’s first full-suspension bike is still coming, too. We hope to see a prototype within the next six weeks.

Also on the Genesis stand was a very tidy looking alloy framed Core 24 24in-wheeled kids’ bike for all those dads wanting to share the biking bug with their youngsters. It was a very tidy looking package with a 6061 alloy frame, Suntour XCR fork, Shimano Acera/Suntour 3×8 transmission and Shimano M445 hydraulic brakes, all for £550.

Finally, Genesis are reportedly playing with a 1×10 fat bike prototype with a geometry based on the Fortitude, and will also be playing around with 650b wheels in the very near future. Could the inbetweener wheelsize be on the ascendancy? If industry rumours are to be believed, then it’s a definite yes. But how and when exactly remains to be seen…

Saracen Bikes

Saracen have just unveiled their new range for 2012 and top of the pile is the refined Ariel platform. Tweaked framesets and revamped specs and aesthetics now make the bikes better lookers than they were before.

The Ariel 143 gets a trail-ready spec featuring a Shimano Deore XT based transmission, Fox Float RP23 shock, Fox F32 FIT RLC QR15 fork, dropper post – complete with intelligent routing – and collar-and-cuffs colour matching for a smidge under £3,000.

Intense Cycles

Intense’s impressive 18lb complete Hard Eddie 29er has finally made it to the UK and was on show together with its specific rigid carbon fork. UK pricing for the frame alone is confirmed at £1,599 from distributors Extra UK, with pricing on the straight-blade post-mount fork still TBC.

On-One Bikes

On-One’s mission to do for the fat bike market what they did for singlespeeding looks one step further ahead as the British company were again showing their fat bike prototype. It’ll be officially launched on the longest day of the year – 21 June – to underline that it’s a ‘fat bike’ rather than a ‘snow bike’. Endurance racer John ‘Shaggy’ Ross has been helping with development. On-One will be selling it as a complete bike only and are aiming for around £1,000 complete.

Also on the On-One/Planet X stand was the Titus El Guapo 29er, a long-travel trail machine that aims to subvert the 29er stereotype that they’re only good for short-travel applications by being bloody good fun.

Topeak Cycling Accessories

It might not be the best thing sliced bread but it’s certainly a great idea: Topeak’s new Shock & Roll pump combines both a tyre pump and a shock pump in one, together with a smart head that unscrews for Presta valves and screws in for Schrader.

It’s rated up to 300psi and has a two-stage high/low pressure selector so you don’t have to be as strong as a bear to get your shock up to pressure. It’s 25cm long so it’ll fit into most riding packs with ease and ensure you don’t have to travel with two separate pumps on those epic rides. Claimed weight is 270g.

Exposure Lights

On a completely un-mountain bike-related note, Exposure Lights were launching a maritime range of waterproof, floating lights for use on, well, erm, boats. For anyone wondering why they’d launch these at a cycling expo, the London Bike Show is held alongside the Boat Show, the Action Travel Show and the Outdoors Show, with a single ticket granting entry to all four.

What caught our eye was the clever dive lamp prototype. Essentially a Six Pack bike light in a dive casing, its clever talking point is its total lack of buttons. Exposure have deployed clever motion gesture technology to control its three power modes.

You turn it on by tapping its side five times, then rotate it in a clockwise direction to go up through the power levels, one flick of the wrist at a time. Rotate it in the opposite direction and it drops down again. Point it downwards and rotate it a few times anti-clockwise to switch it off. Clever stuff indeed but still at the prototype stage.

London Bike Show ticket offer

The London Bike Show runs until Sunday, 15 January.�You can�buy discounted tickets by entering the code ‘radar’ at checkout. Entry with the code costs £15 compared to an on-the-door price of £20. While you’re there, why not check out the BikeRadar Training Hub?

Commuter-specific clothing is emerging as a hot category for both established cycling brands like Rapha�and boutique urban clothing brands such as�Nau, who look to be worthy competitors in terms of style, functionality�–�and high prices.

We’ve also thrown a piece from Bontrager into the mix, as the Trek-owned brand have made a huge push into apparel in the past couple of years. The company’s unconditional performance and fit guarantees have made it easy to take a chance on their much improved line, from helmets,�to gloves,�to footwear.

Bontrager eVent Packable Stormshell

Bontrager’s eVent Packable Stormshell strikes us as a very versatile piece. Its cut is generous enough to match baggy mountain bike attire or commuter wear, but also formed enough so it doesn’t flap excessively when riding mountain, city or road.

Bontrager’s eVent Packable Stormshell seems like a solid piece and is reasonable value

Yes, the US$219.99 (£149.99) price is high, but we’ve been impressed by the three-layer eVent fabric in the past and Bontrager claim the jacket is 100 percent waterproof, with taped seams and waterproof zippers.

Nau Wax Off pant and Rebound jacket

Earth conscience clothing company Nau are still coming of age. The company, who pride themselves on the sustainability and recyclability of their attire, are making runs at the urban cycling market, chic city wear and snow sports.�Their collection has everything from blazers, high-end wool sweaters and polos, to commuter-minded riding pants and highly technical soft and hard shell outerwear.

The $200 Wax Off is Nau’s cycling-specific cool to cold weather commuter pant. Its organic cotton outer is treated with a synthetic wax finish to ward off the elements, yet remain breathable. It’s lined with organic cotton flannel and sports reinforced knees and seat, five standard pockets and a sixth zip-close security pocket. For a final commuter inspired finish, Nau add inner reflective strips to the rear of the pant’s cuffs, which are visible when turned up.

The Wax Off pant has reinforced knees

The Rebound jacket, at $339.99, is an eco-friendly four-way stretch soft shell that sports a soft woven face that’s DWR treated, which along with its taped seams and waterproof zippers keeps the elements out. Like many of Nau’s pieces it’s meant to meld a city style with backcountry-worthy features. The Rebound is sustainably manufactured and recyclable through Nau once worn through.

Nau’s Rebound jacket

Rapha City Rain Jacket, City Jersey, jeans and City socks

Rapha’s city riding line continues to grow and will soon approach the breadth of the company’s sports line. We’ve recently received a complete set of city riding wear from the British brand. As always the fit and finish is excellent, but one pays for it.

The City Rain Jacket ($320/£220) is one slick piece, especially considering the quick transition it can make from high-vis for on the bike to subtle, understated style off; the florescent, reflective pink highlights on the cuffs and storm tail tuck away once you’ve locked up your steed.

The highlights can be turned in when not riding

Rapha build the jacket out of their own waterproof but breathable fabric, tape the seams, and add a mechanical (flap-style) back vent to keep the rider from getting too ‘swampy’ under effort. The cut of the jacket also seamlessly transfers from bike to town.

The�100 percent merino wool�City Riding Jersey ($165/£130) is more of a sweater than a true jersey and would be comfortable alone or with a nice oxford under it. Rapha do make a point of the piece’s cycling roots with the button-close offset rear pocket and high-vis, removable, logo tab.

Rapha’s City Jersey fits more like a sweater but has the obligatory nod to cycling with an offset rear pocket

Yes, Rapha do jeans too; actually, they were one of the first brands to put out denim aimed at cyclists, and while not trademarked, the under-cuff logo and reflective accents are unmistakably Rapha too. The right rear pocket fits a small U-lock and Rapha ship the $205 (£150) jeans with a swatch of denim for repairs.�

This fall Rapha teamed with Selectism, an online design and fashion outlet devoted to up-and-coming labels, for a special run of black denim with blue accents. While no longer available, Rapha’s staple dark-blue-with-pink version remains in the line.

The under-cuff logo built into Rapha’s jeans is also reflective

Not happy to let a rider with upturned jean cuffs sport a gaudy pair of commemorative ankle-high race socks, Rapha offer a City Riding Sock too. The $25 (£15) stockings are made from a heavier but ultra soft merino yarn, which offers both warmth and wards against stinky feet. The City socks come in three flavors, all with reinforced toes and a mid-calf height.

Rapha’s City Sock��������������