Glentress MTB Heaven

Advantages: Near to Edinburgh; Trails for all abilities
Disadvantages: Populated by 'showy buggers' when busy

...ridden route. For experienced mountain bikers who want a little more adrenaline. Longer, steeper, narrower and with bigger jumps and drops. One of the highlights must be the 'Spooky Wood' with a multitude of berms and tabletops down a descent of around 2km. The total distance is 17km (from the lower car park) and the last descent is either shared with the black route, or with the new blue section, where every jump and drop has a choice of easy (blue) or hard (red). Black Route - or the 'Helly Hansen V Trail'. A mental 29km which really is for those who are very fit and very able on a mountain bike. Includes BIG drops and jumps and a section of North Shore. Pretty much everything has a 'chicken run', but you wouldn't be riding this route to avoid everything! Freeride Park - brilliant fun for a quick blast with two or three routes down...

blackpuddinonnabike 20.05.2008 · Read review
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Review of Glentress 7 Stanes Mountain Bike Centre

The original freeride skis

Advantages: Ease of turning, handling, style, following.
Disadvantages: None I can think of.

...I go to Sandown ski club ever week, and I always try to get the Salomon X-Screams. They are incredibly easy to turn, have a nice carving action, and are probably one of the best skis around. They have a huge free-ride following, and are used by beginners and experts alike. They are the skis by which all others are judged. The newer X-screams have the Prolink arms 'to guarantee ski/snow contact'. Wether it actually works is another matter... but it sounds and looks cool! So basically, these skis will suit anyone, especially those who are looking to improve their turning and confidence, and want to learn how to carve easily. Excellent skis!...

Domhughes 11.12.2000 · Read review
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Review of Salomon X Scream

Freeride Manomano

Advantages: Light, strong, perfect
Disadvantages: absolutely nought for my riding style

...Ok, first I should make it clear that although I'm writing an op for the Kona Manomano bike I only actually run the FRAME from the '98 Manomano bike which I picked up while working at my local mountain bike shop a couple of years ago now. The bike had been stripped down for various parts leaving the frame which I snapped up for a fair sum (£450). I now, and have been for the last 2/3 years, running it as a freeride/downhill rig and I have to say, its perfect. As I'm not one for hucking off cliffs and/or houses the 7005 ally structure is quite strong enough and the fox vanilla rear shock provides 3.5" of plush, lovely suspension even when I havent cleaned out the pivot bushings for ages and I've been riding it in British winter weather!? I run it with 5" Stratos FR4 dual-crown forks and various other dh gubbins such as MRP chain...

davechm 12.03.2003 (13.03.2003) · Read review
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Review of Kona Manomano

Continental Grand Prix MTB

Advantages: Make an MTB better on road
Disadvantages: Can be hard to find. No good off road

...Continental have produced the Grand Prix tyre in mtb size. 26" x 1" It has the same tread pattern as the road tyre and is very light (c.200g) Foldable too - with a kevlar bead I rode them on my Specialised mtb over the summer on a commute (8 miles each way) and they are superb for use on the road. It is the closest to a road bike tyre that I have ever seen, is very responsive and feels fast! If you ride an mtb mostly on the road and can feel the energy sapping from your legs with big knobbly tyres, you could do far worse than get a pair of these! They seem very durable too and can be inflated to decent pressures too - I ran them at close to 100 psi They are quite rare in shops and I had to search through a few on line stores to find one that listed them and had them in stock....

bicyclerubber 05.11.2005 · Read review
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Review of Continental Grand Prix

Huge range of MTB only reviews

Advantages: The second best place for MTB reviews (after Ciao, of course)
Disadvantages: Potential minefield of poor writing and misinformation

...of the english langwidge + ofen make up sentunsees that mak no sens, and you've got yourself a bit of a minefield to wade through. However, once you've waded through the minefield of poorly written reviews and people who've grasped the wrong end of the stick, it really is a very helpful place to look at new MTB stuff....

Pritch 15.02.2002 · Read review
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Review of mtbreview.com

Claud Butler Spectre MTB

Advantages: Frame, construction, value, you name it - it's got it..
Disadvantages: probably seems an oldie and unfashionable in these days of FS bikes.

...of a geniune british-built MTB..?? I got mine as an end-of-line item for £250, nearly three years back, and haven't seen one other in Kent, let alone seen anything else ready-to-ride that even closely matches the overall picture for that kinda money. In fact, i tried out plenty of bikes (non-suspension types) between £250-800 in price, and would still pick mine over them all - the nearest alternative i would have considered was a Trek 6000 (1996 model), but then you are talking still about twice what i paid for the CB. It does all i ask, and survives my road-rage madness, and i have not had one injury or bad encounter that could be attributed to any failing in the product. One rule to remember, if you ever find one and get tempted... forget bicycle, think motorcyle when you ride and manoveur.. it likes to strung out. ...... I love my...

RoadWarrior 16.03.2001 · Read review
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Review of Cycling - General

Simply the best full suspension MTB

Advantages: lightweight; very strong; slick gears; very fast
Disadvantages: cost; keeping it yours !

...Enthusiasts might tell you this is only the best downhill MTB. I don't care which way you're going, you simply have to ride this bike to appreciate how fast and slick it is. Its hard getting a dealer demo because of the cost but more about that later. Features: 6061 Series Aluminum twin Monocoque front, light-weight Monocoque swingarm with integral disc brake mounts and cable stops; Answer Mars Super, 80mm of Travel with Lockout; excellent Fox Float RL, with Rebound Adjuster and Lockout rear air shock; Shimano XTR throughout; Mavix X517. I chose downhill bars which I find more comfortable. Most dealers give you these for a free swap. disk brakes are extra but possible. You don't have to be fit to be the fastest thing on the road and off-road it knocks about 5 to 10 years off your age. A great bike. The XTR gearchange is...

ramibekhit 04.09.2002 · Read review
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Review of Marin Mount Vision

A good buy if you can still find them

Advantages: Lightweight, Good componentry, Reliable
Disadvantages: A little front-heavy

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Pritch 18.01.2001 (17.01.2001) · Read review
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Review of Trek 6000 MTB

Carrera Banshee full suspension MTB

Advantages: Everything, build, price, quality, aftercare, look of bike
Disadvantages: none

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dingoo 21.12.2007 · Read review
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Review of Carrera Banshee

Basic workhorse which matches its rivals

Advantages: Cheap; Secure; Lockable; Easy to mount a bike
Disadvantages: Looks basic

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blackpuddinonnabike 13.11.2007 · Read review
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Review of Thule Freeride 575 Bike Carrier