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Into China. A bleary, jet-lagged state is rarely conducive to smooth Customs formalities – especially in China, where you need a visa for entry and a sponsoring company to vouch for you. Luckily my papers were in order and, after a silent look up and down, the young customs officer let me through and into mainland China. China these days is falling over itself to modernise and westernise, sometimes at the expense of quality over quantity. Our first stop was Huizhou, a city you won’t have heard of, but one which has rocketed from a couple of million residents to over five million in half a dozen years, such is the concentration of industry and the self-perpetuating nature of a growing city that needs builders, who need homes, that need builders… While the city didn’t feel too foreign, there was a certain Wild West air to everything, as the explosion of people and building and industry still hadn’t erased all the old China underneath. Every now and then a glimmer of that old China would show through from underneath the smart concrete covering. My companions for the trip would be Simon Wild, the brand’s coordinator and both its biggest critic and biggest fan, and Ryan Carroll, responsible for most of the suspension and 3D design for the brand. Both strong characters, they work well together in a married-couple kind of way. Bickering endlessly some days and wordlessly communicating great ideas the next. Ryan lives in Taiwan, which gives him great access to the factories for both feedback and quality checking. A lot is made of ‘QC’ for manufacturing in China. It seems that there are literally Chinese whispers, and instructions passed down the line can result in well-meant mistakes as designs are lost in translation. This trip was just one of several that Simon and Ryan make during the year to make sure that things are on track. First timers. Stepping into Hua Chin, my first Chinese bike factory, I was aware of the public perception of what I might see: the terrible working conditions, the miserable young workers sticking things together with barely enough competence to get the job done for the lowest price possible. Obviously, this wasn’t the case. And how! The long factory building, lit by sweeping windows, was clean and orderly and a lot less grimy than many similar factories I’ve seen in the UK. Linda, one of the owners showed Simon, Ryan and me round in the rough order that bike building would go. We started with crates of shiny alloy tubes, all cut and mitred ready for making into Saracen’s new alloy Kili Flyer. ‘This one seems to be made of plastic’. ‘Really? I think this one’s metal’. 12
Not all factories are dark, dank, dingy, dungeon-like dens. Making 2D into 3D… 13
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Page 14 and 15: Wailing welding solos on the wah-wa
Page 16 and 17: Building Boris. Our afternoon visit
Page 18 and 19: Laying up the slices of carbon, rea
Page 20 and 21: Final holes are drilled, post mould
Page 22 and 23: Our final stop was to see the sampl
Page 24 and 25: JASON MILEs PHOTOGRAPHY ED ROLLASON
Page 26 and 27: TRAIL HUNTER EXPLORES THOSE MUST-DO
Page 28 and 29: That’s LegoLand down there in the
Page 30 and 31: Soon to be railing corners on the w
Page 32 and 33: We climb higher. Al leads the way,
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Page 36 and 37: Pick a better day for weather, we d
Page 38 and 39: Balls. The walkers, sensing blood,
Page 40 and 41: RECOMMENDED HERE AT SINGLETRACK TOW
Page 42 and 43: TROY LEE DESIGNS RAID KNEE PADS Pri
Page 44 and 45: TOPEAK RATCHET ROCKET LITE NTX Pric
Page 46 and 47: WORDS CHARLIE THE BIKEMONGER ROOM 1
Page 48 and 49: KILLER HARDTAILS Wil and the crew r
Page 50 and 51: KONA HONZO CR TRAIL DL Price: From:
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Page 54 and 55: NUKEPROOF SCOUT 290 RACE Price: Fro
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Page 58 and 59: TRILLION CYCLES PRIME Price: From:
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VERDICT In a marketing landscape th
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ENDURO BAG “To finish first, you
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Bright coloured photo-gimp avengers
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Bright enough for any weather. 70
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Illustration by BEATE KUBITZ 72
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Mmmm Guinness. We didn’t bother c
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CROWN COPYRIGHT The Knowledge Total
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KEITH BONTRAGER “Strong, light, c
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Keith, we were talking about the co
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It’s 15 years since we last inter
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And finally, Keith, you made your n
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Hangover remedy: A single dose of s
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A Hopton, a skip and a jump. Hopton
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Essential fuel for any aspiring que
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HI-TECH RUBBER James Vincent and th
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STEP INSIDE MY LAB Tyred and Tested
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102 The tough casing on the TRSr ty
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BEST SUMMER TYRE MICHELIN WILD ROCK
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106 At 1150g, the Hutchinson Toro i
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BEST ALL ROUNDER MAXXIS HIGH ROLLER
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VERDICT We tested ten set of tyres
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PREMIER DEALERS. Bike shops and bus
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DISCOVER AN EXTRA 32 PAGES OF EXCLU
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Rise and shine! Our two guides pick
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After the descent we continue down
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Island hopping and a change of scen
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Snack-time, Azores style. Formosa f
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The Azores The Azores are a group o
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IAn BAILEY PHOTOGRAPHY IAN AND FRIE
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In the clearing, Matti, our guide,
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Not the bars he had in mind. Hike-a
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A sprinkling of magenta on a cloudy
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What goes up… In proper ’90s st
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142 Those fat tyres just glide over
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There’s far too much order in tha
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ChIPPs LAST WORD Event organisers a
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