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Interviews with Tahnée Seagrave and Brad Benedict, adventures from the Scottish Highlands and Snowdonia, the world's lightest 29er, a test of affordable DH bikes and more in this month's MBUK

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Published: March 22, 2018 at 8:00 am

Roots to success – Tahnée Seagrave

From cutting her teeth in the French Alps to living in rural Wales and now topping World Cup downhill podiums, we ride and hang out on the sofa with the UK's hottest new female talent. Tahnée lets us in on what pushes her to win and how the trails she trains on have contributed to her success.

Tahnée Seagrave sits on the sofa with her dog
On the trails and on the sofa, we hang out with top UK downhill racer Tahnée Seagrave. Credit: Andy Lloyd
Tahnée Seagrave rides her downhill bike at Revolution Bike Park
Tahnée rails a turn at her second home, Revolution Bike Park in Mid Wales. Credit: Andy Lloyd

There & back again

Armed with inflatable packrafts, camping kit and bikes, our regular contributors the Trippin' Fellas go on a hunt for Britain's 'Last Great Wilderness'. Immersed in the Scottish Highlands and surrounded by deep lochs and high peaks, the boys find a remote paradise of flowing singletrack and teeth-chattering rock gardens.

Joe Flanagan and Ali Parkin camp by a loch in Scotland
The Trippin' boys take us on a rafting and biking adventure in the Scottish Munros. Credit: Sam Flanagan

Cleaning Up

Californian Brad Benedict is one of the main men responsible for the design of the Specialized Enduro. He visits MBUK and reveals to us how he went from mopping floors to commanding respect at one of the world's biggest bike brands. We discuss his R&D work and discover how his work influences what finally ends up in the shops.

Brad Benedict and Rob Weaver at the Forest of Dean
Brad explains the finer details of his Specialized Enduro test mule to our Rob. Credit: Steve Behr

Gustav Gullholm's Scott Scale RC

XC and punk aren't two words you'd expect to hear used together, but that's how we'd describe Gustav Gullholm, the mad Swede who's gone on a quest to build the world's lightest 29er. We check in with him and discover how numerous custom parts and hours of elbow grease have created this 6.22kg featherweight whip.

Gustav Gulhollm's Scott Scale RC in the snow in Sweden
Find out more about this fully-custom featherweight masterpiece in our Superbike section. Credit: Andreas Timfält

Coed y Brenin

The Snowdonian trail centre was created way back in 1996, but old-school doesn't necessarily mean boring, as we revisit its classic trails with a crew of new-school rippers who are at the top of their game – Adam Brayton, Joe Smith and Matt Walker.

Joe Smith jumping into Y Slab at Coed y Brenin trail centre
Norco World Cup rider Joe Smith shows us how wild you can get on a red-graded trail, during our Wrecking Crew visit to Coed y Brenin. Credit: Andy Lloyd

Downhill on a budget

Can a rig costing less than half the price of most top race bikes still cut it when it comes to the task of taking on gnarly trails at high speeds? We test four sub-£3,600 contenders from Commencal, Nukeproof, Specialized and Trek.

Seb Stott and Ed Thomsett ride downhill bikes at Bike Park Wales
Giving the Nukeproof Pulse and Trek Session some hammer at BikePark Wales as part of our affordable DH bike test. Credit: Steve Behr

And there's more...

We've got grouptests of 15 trail-riding packs and six clipless pedals, loads of individual product reviews and long-term reports on our MBUK staff rides. We also teach you how to whip, trick in the skatepark and fix four common cornering mistakes to get your skills on point for the summer.

Olly Morris rides a corner in the Forest of Dean
Overcome the cornering mistakes that have been holding you back with Pro Ride MTB coach Olly Morris. Credit: Steve Behr

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