by Ben Haworth and Amanda Wishart 3 hours ago 12

It’s peak holiday season and we’ve installed a revolving door at the front of Singletrack Towers to deal with the high turnover of suntanned/stressed-out staff. This week sees the return of Amanda, allowing Benji to skip off into the sun next week.

I (Amanda) have spent three weeks learning from my mistakes on how to stay hydrated when riding in the heat. Given the temperatures this weekend, and the fact that many of you may be at a PMBA race in Llangollen, let’s review what we all know. It’s like revision for a test, you know it but it needs to be at the front of your mind:

Water is hydrating, but adding salts helps your body absorb it. If you chug away at just water, eventually you might dilute your salts, and that is bad. If you’re overheating, prioritise bringing your body temperature down – dip your head in a stream, or your entire body where possible! Wear sunscream. Don’t leave a Dynaplug in direct sunlight and pick it up, and if you do, make sure you have burn gel in your first aid kit…

Now the serious stuff is covered, go enjoy the sunshine, and if you’re racing at Llangollen keep an eye out for me and my camera. The only reason I go to events is to mingle with the MTB community, so come say hello.

A most excellently cartoon-looking bike for kids from Early Rider. No suspension. Decent brakes. Good standover. Handy cockpit. Impressive flat pedals. 8-speed drivetrain from Box with clutch mech and trigger shifter. 11-40T cassette. Narrow-wide chainring. External BB cups. 2.25in tyres with a nice tread. You can read more about this bike – and other proper MTBs for kids – in a future issue of Singletrack Magazine.

For Rebel Alliance team building days out at the bike park, the Lazer Cage looks ace. 20 vents. Fixed visor. 5-star rating from Virginia Tech. Claimed 820g weight. Approved for downhill racing. Magnetic buckle. Goggle grip. Fibreglass shell with carbon fibre reinforcements and chin bar. Features Lazer’s “fully Integrated Rotational Impact Protection” Kineticore technology.

Well now. This is one of the nicest looking bikes we’ve seen for quite some time. Also, you wait three decades for high pivot idler bikes to become A Thing, and then two arrive at the same time (remember the Deviate Claymore featured in FGF 608?) I guess we’ll have to do some sort of HPI head-to-head then! This Hope HB916 then. Produced in Barnoldswick. The front triangle is constructed in one piece while the chain and seat stays are a mix of aluminium and carbon. Internal cable routing, frame protection, ‘Butty Box’ down tube storage and… bottle bosses. Because are a spoliled and/or delusional bike media types with warped minds, £7k for this doesn’t sound overly crazy.

Headsets are still an exercise is brute force. To make the task of whacking and pressing metal things into or onto other metal things, our ST Workshop sponsors Park Tool have kindly supplied us with this crown race setting system. No more flat blade screwdrivers and hammers for us. This Park Tool CRS 15.2 system will do pretty much any combo of tapered steerer and headt ubes. It even comes with adapters for certain obscure/proprietary (mainly road frame) standards and there’s an extender section for when working on forks with REALLY long steerers. Thanks Park Tool!

Remember Benji’s recent ‘How much to start mountain biking‘ feature? In it he made the wild claim that it only costs £605 to start mountain biking and – more importantly – to keep mountain biking for a good few years after the initial purchase. This Voodoo Braag is the bike that he’ll be riding up and down Helvellyn to prove his theory. Or not. After an inspection of the bike, we’re a bit more confident in the project. It’s a seriously impressive bike for the money. Decent geometry. Function where it matters. The only two things that are preying on Benji’s mind: the pedals (not pictured, slippery-looking metal flats), and riding inner tubes again.

Have you ever bought something just because you like the look of it? Of course you have. You’re a human being. Benji is a version of a human being too and he’s purchased this pull-over (smock?) jacket almost entirely because of the colourway and the retro style logo. He doesn’t expect it to be much cop as an actual outdoor jacket but it’ll look good in the pub while he waits for the rain to blow over. And that’s the main thing.

This tool fixes to the rim and helps roll tyre beads into place. It only accommodates up to 2.2in tyres though, so we’re not sure how much use it’ll get here!

Amanda couldn’t be bothered internally routing a seatpost on her new test bike, so she’s dug out an old PNW externally routed one, at a whopping 90mm drop. It didn’t fit, but this shim means it will. For anyone wincing in horror, it’s a racey XC bike, so 90mm is better than nothing.

We have two fresh art prints from Beate our long time ST artist. Both are high quality prints mounted on board.

First is the Isle of Wight, a magic place to ride where time moves at a different pace. Time feels slower, as I [Charlie] did when I last rode over the endless downs.

The other fine print is The Duddon Valley, a less ridden corner of the Lake District. However, it’s a classic Lakeland landscape of rocks and crags. Beate says “I enjoyed bringing out the stark contrasts and shadows cast by stone formations in the chilly crisp light”.

Charlie says: “There has been colossal demand for my small knobs, so we have created a combo bundle deal of a big tub and a small knob. The small 10g knob is good for a long weekend away or popping in your pack for mid ride application. It’s often used as lip balm, but don’t forget the first rule of Bum Butter. Don’t double dip. Full Singletrack Members get a hearty discount and free UK postage.

“And in this hot weather… all that sweat on your back is only going to one place. Butter your bum.”

A hearty well done to tofu21 for this week’s winning forum thread. We’ve all been there. Most of us are very much still there in fact. Permanent residents.

Every week the winning TOTW in FGF gets a prize. And it’s the majestic Forum Bottle Opener that is to be awarded.

Ahoy there tofu21, please email editorial@singletrackworld.com to claim your opener. Please include your postal address, as it speeds up despatch!

Please give @singletrackmagazine a follow on Instagram. Amanda’s back from her hols now so the usual super flow of lovely pics will resume.

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I can’t decide whether the HB916 or the Seeker 20 is the better looking bike. On balance that seeker looks amazing!

If you want to go faster?

The only two things that are preying on Benji’s mind: the pedals (not pictured, slippery-looking metal flats), and riding inner tubes again.

Oh yes, a nice overhead cagoule.

I had a cotton one, treated, for years as a sailing instructor and it was ace….

What’s the difference between Bum Butter and Singletrack Salvation, please? I seem to have an unopened pot of each.

I had a voodoo Bokor. Managed to go tubeless with the original rims and tyres. So all he should need for a couple of quid is some tubeless valves, sealant and rim tape. Sorted.

Ah man, I have enough trouble keeping Stars in Their Eyes out my head anyway. Thanks @singletrack.

BTW, love the carbon weave finish on that Hope, always been a sucker for that finish since I owned a pair of Pace RC39 forks.

So all he should need for a couple of quid is some tubeless valves, sealant and rim tape. Sorted.

Weeeeellllll. I wonder whether that’s in the spirit of the original article? The point of this bike was that it was alright out the box.

For folks with half a jar of sealant and maybe some tubeless valves the in the shed, and experience of using both, it’s more-or-less trivial to go tubeless.

For a hypothetical beginner, maybe less so.

THe Hope bike looks stunning. Have they now adopted normal standards for the bike or are they still doing thier own wired sizing that only they make parts for?

Dam kids bikes are so good nowadays!

Thought that Craghoppers cagoul was a Berghaus jacket until I had a look at the logo pic.

THe Hope bike looks stunning. Have they now adopted normal standards for the bike or are they still doing thier own wired sizing that only they make parts for?

148x12mm rear wheel, post mount rear brake which of the same as the latter HB130’s.

T47 BB which is basically a screw in shell and press fit bearings… My HB160 BB still fine after 4 years. Also no issues with the radial mount brake or 130x17mm hub.

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