25 years and counting! As you can see, we’ve started wearing helmets now!
MBR magazine
MBR magazine is published on every four weeks and is available to buy in all good newsagents as well as in digital form through the usual channels – click here to find out more.
For magazine subscriptions, please click here.
To contact our magazine editorial team, please email mbr@futurenet.com and direct it for the attention of one of the people below.
For subscriptions queries and address changes, please email help@magazinesdirect.com
Editor – Danny Milner
Bike test editor – Alan Muldoon
Front section editor – Jamie Darlow
Digital editor – Aoife Glass
Our online editorial team
Danny racing to 3rd place in the Masters at the EWS Tweed Valley in 2014
Danny Milner, editor
Danny heads the MBR editorial team both online and in print as well writing content and and appearing in video content on the website and on the MBR Youtube channel. Danny bought his first mountain bike – a Muddy Fox Pathfinder – back in 1989 with money earned washing cars up and down his street. Starting out in the early years means that Danny has made all the mistakes – such as fitting drop bars to his mountain bike, drilling holes in components to save weight, and racing with home made disc wheels – so you don’t have to! Since then he’s been hooked on mountain biking and fell into his dream job, writing about bikes, in the early ’90s. He’s worked for MBR magazine since 2002 and lost count of the number of bikes he’s tested.
Although he rarely races now, it was a big part of his life during his early years riding. Best results include 3rd place at the Garbanzo DH race at Whistler’s Crankworx in 2009 and 3rd place in the EWS Masters at Tweedlove in 2014.
His favourite places to ride are Wye Valley, Torridon, Davos, La Thuile, Whistler and his local stomping ground, the Surrey Hills.
Alan Muldoon, bike test editor
Al raced BMX for years before picking up a mountain bike in the early ’90s. After a brief stint racing XC, he switched to DH and 4X, competing at an elite level in the UK on one of the first Intense M1s in the country. He’s worked for MBR magazine since 2001 and and tested, on average, 50 bikes a year since then. Which means he’s reviewed somewhere in the region of 1,000 mountain bikes – no mean feat.
Extremely well respected in the industry, he has an in-depth knowledge of the market and a forensic ability to assess a bike’s handling and performance.
Jamie Darlow, front section editor
Writer and tester for mbr magazine. Jamie writes features for the magazine, and tests everything from helmets to tyres. He also edits the front section of mbr, Buzz, and contributes to the website. Lives in the South Downs, loves all-day rides. Married with four children, he loves travelling with work – if mainly for the extra sleep and chance of some peace and quiet.
PB, typically stoked to out riding!
Paul Burwell
Another stalwart of the team, PB has been involved with MBR since the late nineties. He has been mountain biking from the very start, and now undertakes many of our big comparative group tests. Not always as grumpy as he looks.
Profile photo for Aoife Glass MBR digital editor
Aoife Glass, digital editor
Aoife has been riding, testing and writing about mountain biking for the best part of a decade, and in that time has ridden and rated a whole lot of kit, chatted with some of the biggest names in the sport and ridden some incredible places. She’s all about adventures, big and small, and making mountain biking more accessible to everyone.
Her favourite places to ride are the Forest of Dean, most of Scotland, Whistler and anywhere that involves getting out in the middle of nowhere. She’s responsible for looking after the website, ensuring you get the latest news, up-to-the-minute bike and product info, and everything you need to get out there and ride.
Mick Kirkman testing on his local North Yorkshire Moors
Mick Kirkman
‘Crusher’ Kirkman raced DH and 4X during the early ’00s at an elite level, but despite retiring, he still can’t resist going flat out down the gnarliest tracks around. He’s a regular contributor to MBR bike tests and product tests and has built an extensive knowledge and experience of bikes and products over the years.
James at the launch of the Canyon Neuron in Madeira
James Bracey
Living in the heart of the Welsh valleys, James has some of the UK’s best terrain on his doorstep. Which makes us wonder why he’s always riding a gravel bike. Hopefully his new Focus Jam longtermer will help cure him of that illness.
Videographers: Andrew Daley, Edward Westrop
How we test – Your trust is important to us
And we work hard to earn it. All the latest bikes and products are comprehensively reviewed by some of the most experienced testers in the business, most of which have been doing this for at least 20 years. If we don’t think a product is worthy of our hard-earned, we won’t tell you to part with yours for it. That’s the promise we make with our bike and equipment tests. For all our tests we guarantee that:
- They’re conducted by some of the most experienced and knowledgeable riders in the business.
- Ratings are awarded only after a thorough testing process on a variety of terrain and benchmarked against the best options on the market.
- Tests are independent, and in no way influenced by our advertisers.
In most cases, we fit control tyres to our test bikes to ensure a level playing field and to highlight differences in handling. Tyre pressures are equalised to keep grip levels identical. We also weigh the bikes and measure all the geometry and travel ourselves, because this data doesn’t always tally with the manufacturer’s official figures. The numbers you read in the tests are the actual angles and measurements.
Our ratings are awarded out of 10, with 10/10 being the top mark.
1-4 Means something’s wrong. Possibly a design flaw or a major weakness.
5-6 OK – one or two faults but has potential
7 Worth considering
8 Very good – for the money, we’d buy it
9 Excellent – a slight mod or two and it might be perfect
10 Simply the best!
Social media
Of course we’re on social media, and you should definitely give us a follow on your chosen platforms if you want the latest news, features, reviews and videos from our team.
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Advertising
If you would like to advertise with us, we’d love to hear from you. To find out more about ad rates and deadlines please visit our advertising page and contact one of the relevant people.
Our ownership
MBR is proudly owned by Future PLC, one of the UK’s most successful publishing companies. Future PLC is the home to some of the UK’s best known media brands. Find out more about Future PLC by clicking here.
Our policies
MBR operates under Future policies for privacy and advertising and is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint please contact conmplaints@futurenet.com. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk.
Third party advertising policy
Labelling of commercial content
IPSO Editors’ Code of Practice
Affiliate links
One of the ways MBR makes money in order to keep our content free is through an affiliate linking programme. In our reviews, products and deals round-ups our editorial team will often include a ‘Buy Now’ link, or links will be automatically displayed, to a retail partner. If a reader clicks the link and buys a product, MBR will earn a small fee. This doesn’t affect the amount you pay.
We always try to find the best deals on products that we know and trust from reputable retailers to give to our readers. Our affiliate and advertising relationships don’t affect our reviews or recommendations.
Editorial Complaints
If you have a complaint about our editorial content, you can email us at complaints@futurenet.com or write to Complaints Manager, Future PLC, 3rd floor, 161 Marsh Wall, London, UK, E14 9AP. Please provide details of the material you are complaining about and explain your complaint by reference to the Editors’ Code.