Just get out and ride
With a coach
We head back to school to bust the coaching taboo and see if a spot of tutoring can improve our riding

Interview
Curtis Stigers
The 80s jazz legend tells mbr about his local riding spots, the theory of relativity and his latest album and tour

UK Trails
Trail of the year
We’ve covered thousands of miles of singletrack in the routes section this year, but which would we champion as the best the UK has to offer?

Bike test
Ultimate trail bikes
The most gorgeous, lightest, most expensive trail bikes in the world tested and rated. Be warned though, you will want to own one of these beauties. Time to extend that mortgage…

Grouptest
Jackets
Riding in just a jersey’s not an option for most at this time of year, so we’ve taken a look at 12 waterproof jackets

NEW! Natural skills feature
How to cross water bars
Away from the trail centre trails can get tougher and less predictable. Chris Ball starts our new natural trails skills series with water bars

PLUS
• FOUR PULL-OUT RIDE GUIDES with Ordnance Survey mapping.
• Pages of advice on maintenance, consumer, route and health issues.
• Back to basics workshop guide to bleeding Avid Elixir brakes.
• Shedloads of new products ridden and rated.