1 REPACK
1976 Where it all began. Had Californian rock'n'roll-band roadie and road cyclist Charlie Kelly not begun venturing off-road with his roommate Gary Fisher on modified singlespeed town bikes, then organised a downhill time trial to find out who in their 'klunker crew' was quickest, our sport could have been very different. As it was, the Repack races - thus-named because riders' coaster brakes got so hot they had to re-pack them with fresh grease after every run held on Marin County's Mount Tamalpais led to the development of mountain biking as we know it.
2 BREEZER SERIES
1977 Wanting to get one up on his Repack-racing rivals, Charlie Kelly offered fellow 'klunker crew' member Joe Breeze $300 to build him "a proper frame". The result was the Breezer Series 1, arguably the first purpose-built mountain bike. This custom 'ballooner' bike, now on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, was made from tough chromoly steel, rolled on 26in wheels and was kitted out with a mix of hardwearing road/touring parts (Phil Wood hubs, SunTour gears, Dia-Compe brakes) and repurposed motorbike components (Magura brake levers, steel riser bar).
3 SPECIALIZED STUMPJUMPER
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Esta historia es de la edición July 2023 de Mountain Biking UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
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BIKETEST BACKCOUNTRY HARDTAILS
We see whether carbon fibre or steel, big-name value or boutique attention to detail comes out on top on the trails
NUKEPROOF MEGAWATT CARBON 297 RS
The original Megawatt proved itself almost instantly, winning our inaugural E-Bike of the Year award in 2022.
CALIBRE LINE T3 29
£1,100 (with £5 GO Outdoors card) Cost-effective proper' mountain bike
FIRST RIDES
STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX & ONTO THE TRAILS
ROUTES QUICK BLASTS
Facing shorter days and inclement weather, Max finds three satisfying routes that show it doesn't have to be an all-day ride or nothing
GRIME TIME
EXPERT WORKSHOP ADVICE
TRAILCREW HAVOK BIKEPARK
A hand-cut, rider-built bike park, Havok reopened earlier this year at a new site in West Yorkshire and is still expanding
From dust it did rise
Steve Thomas traces the birth of British mountain biking, from 'tracker bikes' to Muddy Fox
THROW DOWN THE CAUNTLET
In our final challenge of the series, we see if e-bikes really are as good at climbing as they're cracked up to be, as we tackle Antur Stiniog back to front
THE RIDER OFF YEAR' 23
THE BIG REVEAL! You voted in your thousands - now meet our winners...