One of the other big development goals is to create a trailhead space that will bring the riding community together. “The cool thing about Mystic is that there are so many logging roads crisscrossing the hill. With some careful planning, you can make it a really cool trail riding experience with a few links here and there,” he says. Dirt Art was contracted to put together a master plan about 12 months ago to look at the future of the park. As part of that they designed several trails on Emily Spur, some of which has just been built, to offset some of what will be lost in Mystic Bowl.
In fact, we loved the Giro Aether MIPS so much, that we gave it a five out of five stars and a Cycling Weekly Editor’s Choice Award. The only reason why you wouldn’t want to buy it is if your head fundamentally didn’t fit any of the size options. Electric mountain bikes occupy a slightly different space in the mountain biking sphere as they can be suited for any type of riding style previously mentioned. They’re also more powerful than standard bikes and can enable riders to travel farther and handle terrain that conventional bikes can’t. Most of these bikes are full-suspension, that can go over nearly any type of terrain. Trail bikes strike a balance between downhill and cross country style features with 27.5 or 29” wheel sizes, and lightweight suspension and travel between 130mm and 160mm.
Now with twelve years of experience, Genesis offer a truly brilliant range of bicycles to cover almost every discipline. Rugged hardtail mountain bikes, traditional and modern road bikes, classic commuters, cyclocross, tourers and some specialist machines too. We know that what might not fit one of us, might fit another team member better, meaning that this best road bike helmets buyers guide has depth and breadth in terms of recommendations. Padding makes a helmet more comfortable but also helps to wick sweat away from your head. An ideal road bike helmet design will feature padding that can be removed for washing and replacement. The style and thickness of padding varies between helmets, so again, it’s worth trying a few models on to see which works the best for you.
This leads to an added element of upkeep as more parts generally mean more maintenance. Bearing the same name as the sport, XC bikes are for long-distance riding and racing. Hardtails make up a large proportion of the bikes designed for cross country, although full-suspension bikes with a lockable front suspension are now more common. As mountain biking has developed over the years, so too have the types of bikes. Besides the ones listed below, there are several subcategories and combinations thereof. They have two functions – to reduce the weight of the helmet, and also to add ventilation.
The Ventral is one of the lightest helmets available, making it ideal for those who measure rides in vertical metres rather than horizontal kilometres. Excellent ventilation helps in the heat but the adjustment mechanism is a bit basic and there is no MIPS to save genesis bicycles weight. Specialized Soil Searching is a movement to recognise, celebrate, and support the trail builders who help shape our sport and our stoke. That tender closed in mid-February, and Elevation Parks, Dirt Art’s bike park management and development arm, had won.
Cross Country has traditionally not been too much in our wheelhouse, but we’re still keen to look at it if there is local interest and we can help support it,” he says. As part of taking over park management, French says they’d like to bring events to the park. They’d like to get the Mystic Downhill running primo again so they can start considering bringing DH racing into the park. But the future of Mystic is not just about gravity, and French tells Flow a major part of the development plans involves improving links and connectivity and building new climbing trails.
“It will be similar to what we do in Maydena, where the whole area will be under our lease and under our responsibility. So we’ll manage the trail development, the trail maintenance, and the general operation of the park, including safety management and putting on bike patrol,” he says. The key change going forward is that rather than splitting management between two entities to run the park day to day and then having more outside contractors come in to build new trails, Elevation Parks will be in charge of everything.
Specialized’s updated S-Works Prevail 3 helmet is designed to be both airier and safer than the outgoing model. Unlike some other aero lids, the Utopia Y is not bulky looking, and it also comes in a wide range of nine colors so you’ll be able to find a look that suits your individual style or genesis bicycles matches your bike. Despite its closed-off silhouette, the deep channelling and vents under the brow keep your noggin cool and your sunglasses free of sunscreen-infused sweat. You can adjust the retention band down to the millimetre, giving the helmet an excellent snug – yet comfortable – fit.
For those looking to get into it, there are several different types of bikes to choose from. With a range of specifications and technical aspects, there’s a lot that you’ll need to keep in mind to get the right bike for you. The Core range is based around a 6061 aluminium tube set that is butted where needed with some gentle manipulation to ovalise the down tube as it meets the seat tube at the bottom bracket shell.
The shield is kept secure with a magnetic anchor attachment and it can also be stored in a flipped-up position. There’s a new MIPS iteration that’s more comfortable than the original version and the helmet has a compact shape that fends off the weather without overheating. We found the fitting system to be effective and comfortable with a good amount of adjustability. Bell’s XR helmet is aimed at cyclists who like to ride both on and off-road and require a helmet to cover both terrains. We found the Protone to be one of the most comfortable helmets we’d ever tested, and indeed one of the lightest, beating the Giro Synthe by 20g (0.7oz).